Title: A Sustainable and Durable Glass Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite Railroad Crosstie

Authors: Mohamed Selim, Matt Moore, Jong Lee and Alexis Green

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/c.19.0831

Abstract: “One of the nation's largest railroads must replace millions of defective wooden railroad ties on its tracks because they're degrading faster than expected” – USA Today 2017 [1]. Finding a practical and economical alternative to hardwood crossties is vital to improve track safety, reduce track maintenance costs and reduce the disposal of wood ties treated with toxic preservatives. While transitioning to a durable composite material solution brings recognized performance and life-cycle advantages, prohibitive material cost has always been a challenge. In this study, a 100% recycled thermoplastic material, introducing lower material costs, has been developed. Moreover, a unique manufacturing process to achieve lower density has been industrialized. The addition of short Advantex® glass fiber (E-CR-glass) ensures superior mechanical performance exceeding all design specifications. The proposed material has been fully characterized by conducting ASTM tensile, compression, and short beam tests. SEM images show favorable fiber orientation and fiber-matrix interface. Moreover, a finite element analysis replicating railroad track, fastener plate, crosstie, and trackbed ballast has been conducted. Modeling results show that the composite crosstie outperforms design specifications for bending strength, compression strength and deflection. Furthermore, Evertrak™ composite crosstie outperformed the hardwood crosstie for all design specifications. The developed composite crosstie offers longer service life in difficult climates, full recyclability, and ability to tailor glass fiber content for application-specific strength.

References: 1. “Railroad sues over millions of rail ties it calls defective”, USA Today, Jeff Martin, The Associated Press, Published 2:37 p.m. ET Oct. 30, 2017. 2. “Implementing of Improved Composite Tie Design and Testing Guidelines into The AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering”, Y. Gao, M. McHenry, and J. Baillargeon, AREMA 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition, September 16 -19, 2018. 3. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way, Manual for Railway Engineering. Chapter 30 – Ties, 2018. 4. McHenry, M. and Prough, B. “Evaluation of Engineered Polymer Composite Tie Bending Properties,” Technology Digest TD-16-045, AAR/TTCI, Pueblo, CO., 2016. 5. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way, Manual for Railway Engineering. Chapter 30 – Ties, 2017. 6. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way, Manual for Railway Engineering. Table 30-A-1 “Mechanical Properties”, 2017.

Conference: CAMX 2019

Publication Date: 2019/09/23

SKU: TP19-0831

Pages: 11

Price: $22.00