Drainage improvement under CN railways with the use of a multi-linear drainage geocomposite

Mario Ruel, David Rodger, Stephan Fourmont

In the proceedings of: GeoEdmonton 2018: 71st Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 13th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Geosynthetics I (Geo Composites)

ABSTRACT: Under the action of cyclic loads due to the passage of trains, the ballast put into place under the railways undergoes densification and degradation over time which reduces the void index and thus the hydraulic conductivity of the material. This phenomenon may be critical for the durability of the structure if the ballast is not able to quickly evacuate the water, especially during heavy rainfall, flooding and/or snowmelt. The installation of a geocomposite with mini-pipes Draintube under the ballast layer allows to increase the draining capacity of the overall system and compensates for the loss of hydraulic conductivity of the ballast. The high density of the mini-pipe network in the geocomposite offers a high flow capacity and a lower response time than a homogeneous layer of draining material even for zero slopes. Sous l™action des charges cycliques dues au passage des trains, le ballast mis en œuvre sous les voies ferrées subie une densification et une dégradation dans le temps qui réduit l™indice des vides et ainsi la conductivité hydraulique du matériau. Cette problématique peut être critique pour la pérennité de l™ouvrage si le ballast n™est pas capable d™évacuer rapidement l™eau, notamment lors de phénomènes pluvieux important, d™inondations et/ou lors de la fonte des neiges. La mise en œuvre du géocomposite à mini-drains Draintube sous la couche de ballast permet d™augmenter la capacité drainante du système et de compenser la perte de conductivité hydraulique du ballast. La densité du réseau de mini-drains dans le géocomposite offre une capacité de débit importante et un temps de réponse plus faible qu™une couche de matériau homogène et ce même pour des pentes nulles.

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Cite this article:
Mario Ruel; David Rodger; Stephan Fourmont (2018) Drainage improvement under CN railways with the use of a multi-linear drainage geocomposite in GEO2018. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{geo2018Paper227,author = Mario Ruel; David Rodger; Stephan Fourmont,title = Drainage improvement under CN railways with the use of a multi-linear drainage geocomposite ,year = 2018}