Balast Artificial

Research project
Artificial Ballast
Final report on the main results

and advances of the
Artificial Ballast project
Supported by
Expte: P-7/08
Research consortium
Research project
Artificial Ballast
Final report on the main results

and advances of the
Artificial Ballast project
Supported by
Expte: P-7/08
Research consortium
Research consortium:
Publisher:
Spanish Railways Foundation
Calle Santa Isabel, 44
28012 Madrid www.ffe.es
Preparation:
Artificial Ballast Research Consortium
- Fundacin Caminos de Hierro (FCH)
- Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM)
- INGECIBER, S.A.
- Cement Manufacturers Group of Spain and the Spanish Institute of Cement and its
Applications (OFICEMEN / ACE)
- Spanish Railways Foundation (FFE)
Design, layout and graphic production:
Vibra Diseo S.L. - www.vibraestudio.com
Fundacin Caminos de Hierro
Polytechnic University of Madrid
Cement Manufacturers Group of Spain and the Spanish Institute of Cement

and its Applications
Spain, November 2012

Project Reference: P7/08
Artificial Ballast Project. National Programme for Public-Private Cooperation. Sub programme
of cooperation projects related to Transport and Infrastructure. Area C: New Technologies in
Infrastructure. Line 26: New Materials for Railway Infrastructure.
INGECIBER, S.A.
Spanish Railways Foundation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0. Executive summary of the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1. Definition of the mechanical, geometric and functional properties of artificial ballast.
Application of behaviour prediction or modelling tools (SP1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2. Research related to applicable materials in artificial ballast production (SP2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3. SW tool development for mechanical analysis of granular media (SP3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4. Research into applicable prefabrication techniques (SP4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5. Dissemination and internationalization (SP5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Final report on the results and advances of the Artificial Ballast project
0. Executive summary of the project

0.1. Project Fiche
Project Title: ARTIFICIAL BALLAST. Main Researcher: Pedro Gonzlez Requejo
Composition of the research consortium and assignment of sub-projects:
- Fundacin Caminos de Hierro (FCH). SP1
- Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). SP2
- INGECIBER, S.A. (INGECIBER). SP3
- Cement Manufacturers Group of Spain and the Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications
(OFICEMEN/IECA), SP4
- Spanish Railways Foundation (FFE). SP5
The ARTIFICIAL BALLAST Project is part of the National Plan for Scientific Research, Development and
Technological Innovation, 2008-2011, within the context of the 2008 National Programme for PublicPrivate Cooperation. Sub programme of Public-Private Cooperation Projects related to Transport and
Infrastructure, and within the area of New Technologies in Transport Infrastructure.
0.2. Summary of Project background and objectives

Ballasted track is a type of railway infrastructure endorsed by practice and current and future
application on high-performance railway lines, including AVE lines.
Ballasted type track has many advantages, of which we can mention savings in construction, the
possibility of correcting the track geometry throughout its useful life through tamping operations, speed
in construction, levelling and repair operations. Ballast is also a material that gives the track flexibility,
damping and noise and vibration attenuation.
However, the ballasted track solution has disadvantages that can, in a very general and simplified
way, be summarized as the need for relatively frequent track geometry maintenance operations and a
relatively short useful life of the ballast (between 15 and 30 years).
The trend towards improved materials, with the application of materials science and engineering,
has reached railway infrastructure components in a descending fashion (rails, fastening attachments,
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sleepers).
This improvement logic leads us to consider ballast as the next material liable to be tackled from
the point of view of design and industrial production, and within the general trend in the field of
civil engineering and building towards replacing natural materials with higher performance artificial
materials.
The artificial ballast solution is an innovative alternative that lies between a natural ballasted track
and a slab track, enhancing the qualities of the ballast (granular media) and the slab track (controlled
design and material). Until the implementation of this project, this intermediate solution had not
been raised or researched: this first technical feasibility study marks the beginning of a new approach
to railway infrastructure design, with possible medium or long term application, but whose potential
benefits justify it being addressed at any early stage.
The project is therefore aimed at the study of a new artificial granular material, applicable in
railway infrastructure and that could replace natural ballast and improve the functional properties of
this settlement layer without losing its advantages as a geometric adjustment layer. This project has
had the character of a technical feasibility study and initial research. It has tackled the studies and lines
of research needed to develop the new material, directed from the current state of knowledge and
technique towards the definition of a material with suitable properties, whose production is feasible at
an industrial level, with minimum cost and compatible with a medium-term application as an improved
alternative to natural ballast railway lines.
The project has had to address the study of new material from very different angles and fields of
knowledge, which has made it essential to have a consortium with complementary members and
multidisciplinary teams.
0.3. Results summary

The results of the project, despite its character of a technical feasibility study and initial research, can
be described as very encouraging.
Indeed, by analysing the properties required of the new material it has been possible to rigorously
define the mechanical strength properties of the material constituting the artificial ballast, starting off by
identifying the mechanical properties of the healthy rocks used for ballast production and considering,
in the first stages, that these properties are those that shall be met by the artificial material. A particularly
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important effort has been made in this project to identify the mechanical properties of the rocks used
in the production of ballast and their extension to high-strength micro-concrete and mortars, leading
to characterization tests not commonly performed on rocks or mortars. This is why a full series has been
defined and developed, comprising rocks from three reference quarries, and which has been extended in
the case of hardness tests to ten other quarries, considering six mortars that have been collected as basic
artificial ballast material or as comparison material. This test series has been established by rigorously
respecting the parallelism in the evaluation of rocks and mortar, and establishing a crossover test
method for chaotic geometries and ordered geometries in the case of the Los Angeles test. In evaluating
the surface hardness, a new testing protocol (nonexistent in regulations) has been established and, to
evaluate burst strength in contacts between grains, the Vertex Burst Test (VBT) has been created.
The results of mechanical parameter characterization have covered simple compressive strength,
tensile strength and flexural strength, fracture energy, surface hardness, the Los Angeles coefficient and
the new Vertex burst test.
The choice of high-strength mortars as pilot material for artificial ballast has finally been confirmed
as a sound choice. In fact:
A minimum permitted characteristic resistance, Rck, of 90 MPa has been established and justified
from the artificial material, a strength that has been achieved by mortars formulated and tested in
this Project.
The fracture energy G of the high-strength mortars proposed is slightly lower than that in the rocks
analyzed, but shows a G/Rck ratio that is clearly favourable in the case of mortars.
Surface hardness Hv of high strength mortars has proved much higher than expected from
bibliographic data and has even been found to be improvable with surface hardening processes
such as carbonation, allowing Hv values of 130 kg/mm2 to be achieved, which are comparable to
the lowest Hv values obtained for ballast quarry rocks.
The Los Angeles tests have made it possible to estimate LA values in ballast produced with high
strength mortars: for mortars with nano-silica an LA of around 16 is obtained, i.e., at the LA value
limit for conventional lines in Spain.
Therefore, and despite being an objective judged as difficult to attain at the start of the Project, it
has been possible to achieve the aim of obtaining and testing high strength mortars that, like artificial
stone, are at the threshold quantified and justified in this project for application in the production of
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artificial ballast grains.
0.4. Final considerations and definition of priorities in future research projects
We have innovated in the characterization of both rocks and mortar and new surface hardness
testing protocols, as well as a new Vertex Burst Test (VBT) which has given encouraging results and an
acceptable correlation with LA coefficient values.
It seems very appropriate to increase our knowledge about natural ballast in all aspects, but it seems
especially urgent to make progress on the experimental side: it is possible to obtain more data about
current tests (grading after the LA test) and it is possible, at reasonable cost, to increase the frequency of
certain tests (Franklin strength tests), and to extend monitoring with simple (surface hardness) and more
complex tests (compression, flexural, fracture, vertex), even though the latter involve the very hard work
of producing prismatic test pieces of healthy rock from ballast quarries.
In addition, simulations of artificial ballast behaviour performed with a DEM (Discrete Element
Method) programme have made it possible to evaluate the influence of parameters defining the
geometry of artificial granular media:
Grading envelope variations introduced in the simulations do not give clear or conclusive results
as distortions are introduced by the random generation of granular media. However it does seem
that by restricting the grading envelope (in this case eliminating particles of under 40 mm with
respect to a natural ballast envelope) does not worsen the performance of the ballast, something
that would be favourable for the production of artificial ballast.
It has been shown that the behaviour of the ballast is especially sensitive to degraded track
situations (bad sleeper support), which suggests that the design of the new material should take
into account stresses in this situation.
Increasing the friction coefficient between the particles improves the performance of artificial
ballast, but this is especially important in degraded situations, which is very encouraging for the
development of a new material with an improved friction coefficient between particles since
it ensures a substantial increase in ballast strength against the phenomenon of accelerated
degradation.
It is possible to achieve reductions in track geometry maintenance costs with the new material,
since design of an artificial ballast with a high friction angle is possible and makes it possible to reduce
deformation under load cycles, significantly delaying degradation processes and, therefore, reducing the
need for intervention.
Furthermore, analysis of the state of the art in knowledge regarding natural ballast has made
it possible, as will be seen in future research proposals, to make advances in knowledge about this
material, as well as deducing certain limitations and, therefore, opportunities to improve knowledge and
characterization.
The Vertex Burst Test invites us to extend the search for new characterization tests to allow better
predictions regarding granular media behaviour and to define contact parameters between particles in
the simulation programmes.
The DEM simulations will be a key instrument in testing the geometries of artificial granular media.
However, simulations in this Project have shown that these types of simulations require exceptional
computing power, which should be considered in future work: simulation tools will be the basis of the
initial geometric design of granular media.
Although the results regarding material (high strength mortars) are extremely encouraging, this line
of research should continue by seeking higher strength but, above all, higher surface hardness.
The results of the Project indicate that artificial ballast can help railway infrastructure with lower
life cycle costs in the medium or long term, but the ability to direct its design could make it an option
in those cases where rigid types like the slab track are not applicable, and where particularly severe
conditions have to be faced (very high risk of ballast pollution, extreme weather conditions, exceptional
traffic loads, etc).
0.5. Summary document structure

The following is a summary of each of the Subprojects that have formed the ARTIFICIAL BALLAST
project:
SP1. Definition of the mechanical, geometric and functional properties of artificial ballast.
Application of behaviour prediction or modelling tools.
SP2. Research related to applicable materials in the artificial ballast production.
SP3: SW tools development for mechanical analysis of granular media.
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SP4: Research into applicable prefabrication techniques.

SP5: Dissemination and internationalization.
1. Definition of the mechanical, geometric and

functional properties of artificial ballast. Application
of behaviour prediction or modelling tools (SP1)
Subproject 1, Definition of the mechanical, geometric and functional properties of artificial ballast.
Application of behaviour prediction or modelling tools, has been implemented by the FCH.
In addition to its own research work, this subproject has had a central role because it has established
part of the criteria taken into account in the implementation of the remaining Subprojects, with special
impact on Subproject 2 and Subproject 3.
The main objectives of this subproject have been:
Establishing the state of the art with respect to natural ballast as granular material: knowledge of
the rocks used in its production, the means of production, the applicable regulations and control
and characterization tests on both the rock and the granular media, as well as the geometry of the
grains.
Analysis of the state of the art in terms of understanding the behaviour of the ballast and its role as a
settlement layer in the railway infrastructure, with special emphasis on studies based on behaviour
simulations.
Preliminary definition of the geometry of the granular media as a necessary step for the definition
of the geometries that have to be introduced in the simulations of artificial material behaviour in
SP3.
A definition of the mechanical and functional requirements of the artificial material, taking into
account the features required of the material that forms the basis for natural ballast production, i.e.
siliceous rocks and usually of metamorphic or igneous origin.
Establishing the simulation programme for the behaviour of artificial ballast and its development
with SP3 tools, making predictions about the behaviour of artificial granular media and gaining
guidance from such behaviour with respect to the design of the new material.
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15
1. Definition of the mechanical, geometric and functional properties of artificial ballast. Application of behaviour prediction or modelling tools (SP1)
The main conclusions of this Subproject are summarised below:

a) State of the art and preliminary definition of the geometry of the granular media.
Ballast modelling using the discrete element method (DEM) has shown itself to be a suitable line of
study in idealizing the behaviour of ballast as granular media in light of the most recent studies in this
field.
Such studies already show that the degree of ballast compaction (in this case it refers to the
degree of stabilization or consolidation) is a key factor in its behaviour. Although there are studies into
ballast tamping, the ballast studies do not generally cover the different stresses to which this material is
subjected. For methodological purposes, and within this subproject, a classification has been established
of the actions to which the ballast is subjected and which are, by number of load cycles at a decreasing
rate: traffic loads in the reference situation (good sleeper support, absence of exceptional dynamic
overload), traffic loads in degraded situations (decreased sleeper support, loose sleepers, exceptional
dynamic overloads) and tamping actions.
An analysis of the regulations forced us to see that the ballast tests provided for by the regulations
involve a very poor characterization of mechanical properties in the case of the rocks used for ballast and
low in the case of granular media.
Apart from minor adjustments proposed in the grading envelope, there are no studies that give
guidance on new geometries of granular media. However, the generation of geometries for modelling
based on natural ballast allow us to establish a possible breakdown of the grain geometry into three
levels: shape (or base geometry), indentations (or anfractuosity) and roughness (or texture).
The following have also been identified as aspects to be included in a reflection on the geometry of
artificial ballast:
The grading envelope as a basic defining element of grain sizes (circumscribed spheres).
Alternatives regarding production techniques for the material and the nature of the basic material
(high strength mortars).
The geometries applied in natural ballast modelling as a starting point for defining geometries in SP2
simulations.
The geometry of grains applied in modelling ballast behaviour shows two tendencies: the generation
of particle shape from simple shapes (2D discs or polygons, 3D spheres or clusters of spheres) and the
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generation of actual ballast particles through digitization, thereby creating grain libraries. In this
project, and faced with the wide range of possibilities open, we opted for SP3 modelling, using spherical
or ellipsoidal type geometries and with sizes adjusted to grading envelopes close to those in natural
ballast.
b) Functional and mechanical requirements.
With relation to the functional requirements of the new material, the stresses to which the ballast is
subjected have been evaluated. Studies that consider the ballast as a continuous medium allow stresses
beneath sleepers to be estimated at between 150 kPa and 300 kPa in normal situations (good sleeper
support and axle loads of about 200 kN without any exceptional dynamic loads) as against the maximum
limit values of 500 kPa admitted. Studies carried out estimate that the actual contact surface between
the ballast and the sleeper is between 2% and 8%, resulting in contact stresses of about 15 MPa, an order
of magnitude below the compressive strength of rocks used in ballast. However, stress levels much closer
to breaking stress can be deduced by considering contact levels that are consistent with the grading of the
ballast. The stresses in degraded situations (lack of sleeper support) or when tamping will in any case be
much higher, even though they are respectively associated with small or very small numbers of load cycles.
As for the mechanical requirements of the material, identification of the minimum properties required
has been approached the natural way, meaning by identification of the mechanical properties of the
healthy rocks used for ballast production and considering that these properties are those that shall be
met by the artificial material.
A particularly important effort has been made in this Subproject to identify the mechanical properties
of the rocks used in the production of ballast and their extension to high-strength micro-concrete and
mortars, leading to characterization tests not commonly performed on rocks or mortars. This is why a full
test series has been defined and developed in this work, carried out in SP2 and comprising rocks from
three reference quarries, and which has been extended in the case of hardness tests to ten other quarries,
considering six mortars that have been collected as basic artificial ballast material or as comparison
material. This test series has been established by rigorously respecting the parallelism in the evaluation of
rocks and mortar, and establishing a crossovertest method for chaotic geometries and ordered geometries
in the case of the Los Angeles test. In evaluating the surface hardness, a new testing protocol (nonexistent
in regulations) has been established and, to evaluate burst strength in contacts between grains, the Vertex
Burst Test (VBT) has been created.
The mechanical parameters analyzed, and for which results were obtained, are as follows:
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Rc: unconfined compressive strength.

Rt: Tensile and flexural strength.
G: Fracture energy.
H: Surface hardness.
LA: LA test.
VBT: Vertex Burst Test.
The main conclusions of characterizing the mechanical properties of artificial material were:
The compressive strength of the artificial material can be estimated at a minimum characteristic
resistance, Rck, of 90 MPa, which has been achieved by mortars formulated and tested in this
project.
The fracture energy of the high-strength mortars proposed in SP2 is slightly lower than that in
the rocks, but the G/Rck ratio is clearly favourable in the case of mortars.
Surface hardness Hv shows variations and does not correlate with either the compressive
strength or the LA coefficient. The hardness in the case of mortars proposed is lower than that in
rocks. However, it has proved much higher than expected from bibliographic data and has even
been found to be improvable with surface hardening processes such as carbonation, allowing Hv
values of 130 kg/mm2 to be achieved, which are comparable to the lowest Hv values obtained
for ballast quarry rocks (132 kg/mm2 for basalt).
The LA crossover tests have made it possible to estimate expected LA values in ballast produced
with high strength mortars: for mortar M1c* (mortar with improved nano-silica) an LA
equivalent to the chaotic system in order 16 rocks was obtained, i.e., at the LA value limit for
conventional lines in Spain.
A new test called the Vertex Burst Test has yielded some encouraging results: despite the
variations in results, by processing results and obtaining a fracture energy integral, G (VBT),
it has been possible to obtain results with a very reasonable correlation with the LA coefficient,
which could allow us to complete the limited approach necessary in the LA test.
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c) Application of models to artificial ballast analysis.

In the area of artificial ballast behaviour simulations performed with a DEM (Discrete Element
Method) programme in SP3, it is noteworthy that this Subproject defined the criteria that have governed
the development of the model, the loads applied, model calibration and the simulations programme
and a definition of cases to simulate. The following conclusions should be stressed from the simulations:
that restricting the grading envelope (in this case by eliminating particles of less than 40 mm with
that would be favourable for the production of artificial ballast since they simplify it and increase
minimum particle weight.
The performance of the ballast is significantly worse in degraded situations, which suggests that the
design of the new material should take into account stresses in this situation.
Increasing the friction coefficient between the particles improves the performance of artificial
ballast, but this is especially important in degraded situations, which is very encouraging for the
development of a new material with an improved friction coefficient between particles since
it ensures a substantial increase in ballast strength against the phenomenon of accelerated
degradation.
It is therefore possible to achieve reductions in track geometry maintenance costs with the new
material, since design of an artificial ballast with a high friction angle is possible and makes it possible
to reduce deformation under load cycles, significantly delaying degradation processes and, therefore,
reducing the need for intervention.
Outlined below is a summarized description of the results in each of the work areas that have formed
this Subproject.
1.1. State of the art in required properties and natural ballast behaviour
This task has been subdivided into three parts:
A first part devoted to analysis of ballast behaviour as part of the railway infrastructure and
behaviour models for ballast as granular media.
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A second part devoted to analysis of currently applicable regulations.

A third part devoted to the state of the art regarding knowledge of the mechanical properties of the
rocks used for ballast.
A stabilization phase either through the action of stabilizing machines (or, alternatively, by a set
number of axles or TBR passing at low speeds).
The first part involved a comprehensive compilation of existing studies regarding the mechanical
behaviour of the infrastructure and its degradation, with special emphasis on the behaviour of the ballast
layer.
A consolidation phase in which, after being mechanically stabilized, it is subjected to the first
passing traffic, usually with certain restrictions too (or, in the absence of mechanical stabilization,
as the last stabilization stage due to passing traffic).
It was found that the current direction of research into railway ballast clearly leans towards the use
of discrete models (DEM), which do however require a huge computing capacity. Within the discrete
element method there are two very different approaches, the most classical and widespread one being
A normal service phase in which the ballast performs its function under traffic loads on lines with
normal maintenance conditions.
An end of life phase in which ballast performance gets worse through loss of roughness,
contamination, broken grains, environmental factors, etc.
Although it depends on the authors, the different phases can be associated with traffic levels in axle
loads or gross tons (20t/axle can be estimated). Stabilization may be mechanical or associated with
50,000 axles passing, consolidation may be associated with between 20,000 and 50,000 axles passing,
and the normal service phase with up to 15-30 million axles.
Figure 1 Grain system with Structure Rigide Localise or privileged force paths on the grain layer.
Source Saussine
MD (Molecular Dynamics), compared with the more recent CD (Contact Dynamics.).

Ballast modelling using the discrete element method (DEM) has shown itself to be a suitable line of
study in idealizing the behaviour of ballast as granular media.
These studies and their experimental checking also show that the degree of ballast compaction (in
this case it refers to the degree of stabilization or consolidation) is a key factor in its behaviour. And that
the ballast material is not uniform material according to the areas being studied, areas defined as ballast
areas, areas defined by tamping and stabilization activities and by the concentration of loads transmitted
via the track assembly.
As for the state of ballast compaction under the sleeper, and although it depends on the authors, it is
possible to distinguish four phases of behaviour associated with the state of the ballast:
Furthermore, it has been found that ballast behaviour can be studied in very different load situations.
While the behaviour under traffic loads in a normal situation is the general trend, it seems necessary to
study the degradation of ballast under different stresses:
Under traffic loads in reference situations (good sleeper support, no exceptional dynamic
overloads).
Under traffic loads in degraded situations (decreased sleeper support, loose sleepers, exceptional
dynamic overloads).
Under tamping operations.
Stresses under traffic loads in reference situations are the most moderate but amount to tens of
millions of cycles. Degraded situation stresses should have a much lower number of cycles (one or two
orders of magnitude), but the stresses to which the ballast may be subjected, especially in the case
of unsupported sleepers, can be very high. In the tamping case, even if we are dealing (in successive
tamping operations) with very few load cycles, the stresses are most probably the highest: the aggressive
nature of tamping is evident in practice in the low number of times it can be applied on ballast.
As NON stabilized ballast.

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Different data sources were analysed as items to reflect upon:
The studies found in the bibliography consider natural ballast to be a starting point and do not
therefore consider optimization of natural ballast fatigue behaviour, although they do consider grading
envelope adjustments and suggest that the stability of the system will be greater with the increased
interlocking between the particles or the internal friction of the granular system, without addressing the
problem that this increase would hinder the tamping of the latter, or at least increase the risk of ballast
degradation in tamping operations.
The grading envelope as a defining element of granular media in the case of random and chaotic
geometry of grains, such as natural ballast, as indicators of possible artificial ballast grain
distributions according to the size of circumscribed spheres.
Alternatives in the form of obtaining or making particles as the conditioning element for a possible
grain shape, taking into account the most likely nature of the basic material (high resistance
mortars).
In the second part of this work devoted to the State of the Art, the regulations affecting ballast were
reviewed, both Spanish and European regulations, with some reference to regulations in other countries.
A feature of this analysis is the limited characterization of the mechanical properties of rocks used for
ballast, making it necessary in the SP1-3 work for this project to analyse other applicable regulations
and tests.
Existing data in the bibliography were collected in the third and final part of this work with relation
to the mechanical properties of rocks used for ballast. Despite the enormous variation in data and the
very specific nature of the rock tests, this work was necessary in a first approach to the mechanical
requirements of the new material that arise in the SP1-3 work area.
Geometries applied in natural

ballast modelling as a basis for
defining the base geometry for SP2
simulations.
% that passes
Ballast A (NRV)
Ballast A (NRV)
1.2. Preliminary definition of geometric design for granular media

In the ballast modelling and behaviour studies carried out to date, the dimensions of the grains
coincide with parameters deduced directly or indirectly from natural ballast and meet grading envelope
regulations. Except for a few reflections on grading envelope adjustments, no references have been
found to the generation of artificial granular assemblies or to optimizations in these types of granular
materials, which has given some guidance regarding modifications to the grading envelope or the
geometry of the particles with respect to a natural ballast reference.
The preliminary definition of artificial ballast grain design in this work is based on considering the
problem, analysing the conditions and providing the necessary definitions to implement the simulation
programme and test plan.
From the experience gained in the bibliography, it is possible to classify grain geometry on three
levels: shape (base geometry), indentations (anfractuosity) and roughness (unevenness, texture) with
possible statistical distributions of sizes that might not be independent.
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Sieve (mm)
Figure 2 Ballast grading envelope in Spanish regulations
It has been shown in the natural

ballast case that Spanish regulations
have evolved in recent years to a
narrower envelope in the case of higher
quality ballast (discarding sizes over
63 mm), although there are different
opinions on improving the performance
of the ballast by modifying the grading
envelope.
The preliminary design of the

geometry will in any case contemplate the grading envelope and variations with respect to this reference
envelope, suggesting at least two variations; one wider (best graded granular media) and another
narrower one (more uniform sizes in grading envelope).
To the extent that production methods may be a determinant of grain forms, artificial ballast grain
production techniques and alternatives have been called upon on a large-scale in this work (particle
moulding with geometries that allow easy stripping and crushing of blocks of material with preferred
fracture planes, and controlled exploding of blocks of material).
Two trends were found in the bibliography for ballast behaviour modelling with respect to the shape
of the grains:
Mathematical generation of particle shape, usually in simple shapes (2D discs or polygons, 3D
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spheres or clusters of spheres).

Indirect generation by digitizing real ballast particles, and creating libraries of grains, with specific
sub-libraries in some cases with various combinations regarding particle shape index.
For modelling behaviour, and faced with the wide range of possibilities, simple spherical or ellipsoidal
type geometries were chosen, avoiding the geometry of indentations and roughness that will be idealized
by the friction angle of the granular media, and which will be obtained by suitably calibrating model
parameters that define tangential contact forces between particles.
To perform the test series, and particularly for the LA test on the artificial material, two geometries
were chosen: chaotic geometry arising from the crushing of large blocks of mortar and an ordered
geometry composed of cubic 4cm x 4cm x 4cm grains, because this 4cm edge corresponds on the one
hand with the average grain size of ballast and, on the other hand and for operational purposes, with the
dimensions of the standardized mortar test specimens (4x4x8 and 4x4x16).
1.3. Definition of the mechanical and functional requirements of the artificial

material
A definition of the mechanical and functional requirements to be met by the artificial material used
to make the artificial ballast required full and accurate knowledge of the properties of the natural ballast.
This work was structured in two parts:
The first part analyzed the stresses and strains that occur in the natural ballast in operation and the
phenomena of degradation.
The second part involved a thorough analysis of the natural ballasts mechanical properties, based
on data from ballast quarries and an extensive series of tests on the natural material, establishing the
thresholds of mechanical properties to be met by artificial material used in the production of artificial
ballast in the future. This work also evaluated the mechanical properties (and compared them with the
above thresholds) of the high strength mortars proposed as the basic material for artificial ballast in the
future.
Models that consider the ballast layer as a continuous medium allow the average stress of the ballast
to be estimated at certain points. These stresses under the sleepers vary according to authors and models
but can be estimated at between 150 kPa and 300 kPa for 200 kN axles without any especially severe
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dynamic load phenomena, these values being lower than the stresses considered to be the maximum
limit by several authors for ballast and varying between 400 kPa (Lpez Pita) and 500 kPa (Esveld). On
the other hand, and for contact between the lower sleeper side and the ballast layer, there are studies
that have evaluated the actual surface contact between the edges of the ballast particles and the
concrete surface of the sleeper, this surface area varying between 2% and 8% for the most commonly
used sleepers. This would lead to relatively low stresses in contact (15 MPa), an order of magnitude lower
than the compressive strength of the rocks used for ballast (Spanish regulations establish a minimum
strength of 120 MPa for the approval of a quarry). Stress levels more consistent with breaking stresses are
obtained by considering few contacts per grain of ballast and millimetre-contact surfaces.
The various models of ballast analysis, such as the discrete method, do not give contact stress values,
but rather forces between particles, although they are generally insignificant, since they are generally
models based on simplified geometries.
Stresses under traffic loads in reference situations might be moderate but amount to tens of millions
of cycles, while the stresses in degraded situations (lack of sleeper support) are much higher, but with
a necessarily low number of cycles (one or two orders of magnitude) due to maintenance work, and
stresses in the case of tamping represent, in successive tamping operations, very few load cycles but with
stresses that are probably higher, justifying the number of tamping operations to which the ballast can
be subjected to being limited to 5-10 times.
Research into the artificial material that should form the basis of artificial ballast can be based on two
different approaches that are described below:
a) The natural route, meaning the identification of mechanical behaviour parameters in healthy
rocks that is used to produce the ballast. These parameters, in a first approach, shall be the
minimum that the future artificial material will be required to fulfil, initially ignoring if these
mechanical properties are all necessary or whether some are intrinsic to the natural material but
not necessary for correct behaviour of a ballast layer.
b) The analytical route, which means correct interpretation of these resistant parameters in the
behaviour of the ballast. In this sense it would be necessary to:
Distinguish the minimum levels from the analysis of the rocks that should be respected.
Distinguish the minimum levels from the analysis of the rocks which are intrinsic properties of
the rock and which may be reduced.
25
Distinguish those properties that, in a particular way, should be enhanced, i.e. whose
improvement has a substantial impact on improving the behaviour of the ballast.
evaluation of rocks and

mortar, and establishing
a crossover test method
for chaotic geometries
and ordered geometries
in the case of the
Los Angeles test. In
evaluating the surface
hardness, a new testing
protocol (nonexistent in
regulations) has been
established and, to
evaluate burst strength in
contacts between grains,
the Vertex Burst Test
(VBT) has been created.
There has been a significant effort made in the SP1-3 work area in defining the mechanical and
functional requirements of the artificial material and, particularly, in establishing the mechanical
properties required of the basic material in the future artificial ballast, in accordance with the natural
route mentioned above.
The identification of the mechanical properties of the rocks used in ballast production is not very
precise. An effort has been made in this respect to analyse the tests currently defined for rocks and to seek
available values in the bibliography, which are by nature very dispersed.
Having focused the project, for obvious economic reasons, on defining alternatives in micro-concretes
and high strength mortars with cement bases and various additives, advances in defining the mechanical
properties of concrete mortars have been taken into account, especially with regards to fracture energy.
As a necessary complement, and because of the limited scope of the standard tests for concrete, it
has been necessary to analyze the techniques currently used in characterizing the properties of structural
ceramic materials, both in improving the toughness or fracture energy characterization and in the
application of indentation techniques in the evaluation of surface hardness.
This work has involved extensive analysis of the mechanical properties of ballast rocks from Spanish
quarries by using the results of control tests at these quarries, and which have been a source of invaluable
information and for which the authors of this research are very grateful to ADIF.
However, natural ballast regulations in general and Spanish ones in particular establish very limited
structural characterization of the material: the compressive strength of the rock and the behaviour of the
granular media as a result of crushing and sieving in the LA test.
26
Difficulties in the
production of more than
250 prismatic or cubic test specimens of rocks from the three reference quarries have exceeded all expectations.
Figure 3 Analysis of the relationship between the LA coefficient and the different ballast parameter characterization tests
The mechanical parameters analyzed were therefore as follows:

Rc: Unconfined compressive strength
Rt: Tensile and flexural strength.
G: Fracture energy.
It does therefore involve, in terms of materials science, a very limited definition, particularly when
bearing in mind that the Los Angeles is an empirical test, with complex impact and wear phenomena and
that, as seen in this work, not only depends on the basic material, but very substantially on the geometry
of the granular media.
H: Surface hardness
This is the reason why a full and complex test series has been defined, implemented in SP2, comprising
rocks from three reference quarries, and which has been extended in the case of hardness tests to ten
other quarries, considering six mortars that have been collected as basic artificial ballast material or as
comparison material. This test series has been established by rigorously respecting the parallelism in the
The main final conclusions of this work are:
LA: LA test.
VBT: Vertex Burst Test.
The compressive strength of the artificial material should be set at a minimum of 120 MPa. This is a minimal
regulatory level but is also the value which is obtained from an exponential fit of LA values based on the
27
Figure 5 Los Angeles (LA) test results compared with compressive strength results (Rc)
Figure 4 Analysis of the relationship between the LA coefficient and the shape index in one of the reference quarries studied
average quarry strength through the Franklin test for LA=14, Rc,m (F)= (69/LA)3. This strength can
result in a lower Rck of around 90 MPa for the following reasons:
- Because it was found that the average strength values obtained through the Franklin are higher
than those obtained by unconfined compression (10 to 15%), and that characteristic strength
values obtained by unconfined compression can be as much as 20%-30% lower than the average
strength values through the Franklin.
- Because it has been shown that with a controlled geometry, no acicular or flaky elements would
exist (SI = 0), which allows us to forecast an improved LA granular media value that can be
estimated at 6%.
The tensile strength levels obtained for rocks are very high but not very representative due to tests
being carried out on completely healthy specimens of rock and discarding fissured rocks. They are
not therefore comparable with the mortar results showing an acceptable tensile strength and above
28
that provided for in EHE expressions.

The fracture energy of the mortars is slightly lower, but the G/Rck ratio is clearly favourable in the case of mortars.
The surface hardness evaluation shows major variations and has not managed to correlate with either the
compressive strength or the LA coefficient. However, the hardness obtained in rocks is reasonably in line with
bibliographic data while results in mortars are much higher than expected at the start of the project, reaching
values of 100 kg/mm2 (around double that predicted by bibliographic data for conventional mortars) and it has
been found that carbonation gives an increased hardness value Hv of around 15% - 20%, which is interesting and
makes it possible to achieve Hv values of 130 kg/mm2, which are comparable to the lowest Hv values obtained
for ballast quarry rocks.
The results of the LA tests with ordered geometry (4cm edge cubes) have established that the LA value with
chaotic geometry is between 15% and 30% higher. So for mortar M1c* for (mortar with improved nano-silica)
an LA equivalent to the chaotic system in order 16 rocks was obtained, i.e., at the LA value limit for conventional
lines in Spain.
29
Figure 6 Rock specimens in 4 cm edge cubes for LA test with ordered geometry
And finally, the new Vertex Burst Test has yielded some encouraging results: despite the variation
found in the F-d curves obtained and in spite of many more test results being necessary to confirm
its validity. However, by standardizing the VBT curves and the integral as a fracture energy indicator
G (VBT), it has been possible to obtain results with a very reasonable correlation between G (VBT)
and the LA coefficient, which could allow us to complete the limited approach necessary in the LA
test.
The LA test is widely accepted as a test for assessing the adequacy of natural ballast to withstand
stresses from low traffic loads and those arising from installation and maintenance operations (tamping
and stabilization).
The LA test is a widespread test of recognized and undoubted usefulness due to its robustness and
simple implementation. But it cannot be regarded as an accelerated reproduction of the damage that
ballast in service will suffer and is a test with some limitations:
The test involves a series of complex friction and impact phenomena that are very hard to associate
with usual mechanical parameters in materials science.
The test is very sensitive to geometry and the state of the material (micro-fissures) but these factors
cannot be quantified in the test result.
It can be hazardous to make assumptions.
30
Figure 7 Vertex Burst Test. F-d graph and correlation of fracture energy with LA
It seems very appropriate to supplement the test with an evaluation of the grain size after the test so
as to evaluate the fissures or micro-fissures in the ballast grains.
1.4. Application of models in analysing the behaviour of artificial granular

media
This task involved:
Analysis of railway loads to define those applied in simulations of ballast behaviour and passing
loads per axle on the sleeper.
31
Establishing the criteria to be used in developing models for simulation of behaviour and the criteria
for calibrating these models.
Defining the simulation programme followed in SP3.
Compiling the results of the simulations and their subsequent analysis.
The reference simulation S (0) was performed with a typical natural ballast, with flexible modules
and density defined for an average and representative rock, with grain size according to the regulatory
grading envelope and a friction coefficient of = 30 .
The simulations extended to one million load cycles that, as confirmed, were sufficiently numerous
to appreciate the fatigue behaviour.
In the state of the normal/degraded track.

In degraded situations, simulations introduce a lack of sleeper support (unsupported or loose
sleepers). This absence or reduction in sleeper support was idealized in the model by applying an
oscillating load with a negative part to annul the actual weight of the sleeper and rail so that the sleeper
does not rest on the ballast in situations when it is not in use.
The most striking result of the simulations is the fatigue curve, which represents permanent
deformations of the ballast layer according to the number of load cycles.
SIMULATION
REMARKS
GEOMETRY
A circular function, zero peak load was introduced, with peaks every 4.24 m at 300 km/h, which is
the equivalent of a system with an excitation frequency of 20 Hz. This frequency was admitted because
it optimized the processing time and through it being far from the resonant frequencies observed on
the track (30-40 Hz).
% that passes
The aim of the simulation programme, based on the reference simulation with conventional natural
ballast, was to test the effects on behaviour and leading to modification or variation:
% that passes
Upper Curve
% that passes
Lower Curve
Trend. Interp.
Interp.
Uniform Artificial
Graded Artificial
Of the geometry in the arrangement of the grains (randomly generated).

In the type of material (natural/artificial).
32
GRADING
STATE
Table 1 Final simulation programme
The defining of the model parameters is outlined in SP3. The validity of these parameters were
confirmed by checking that the model results are consistent with experimental data and with the results
of models already validated and calibrated. This check was carried out for reference simulation case S
(0) and is based on the correlation of model results with deformation found experimentally, both elastic
deformation during one cycle, and plastic deformation during a high number of cycles load.
In the grading of the artificial material.
COEFF.
Reference
Geometry variation
Geometry variation
Geometry variation
New Geometry ref.
Artificial material
MA with variation
MA with variation
MA with CG variation
New Geometry ref.
Artificial material
MA with variation
MA with variation
The simulation of 106 load cycles with three sleepers and out of phase loads required 15 days of
processing, making this simulation unfeasible for a reasonably broad programme of simulations and
justified the change to a reduced model with one single sleeper: simulations with one single sleeper
were found to be consistent with those carried out with three sleepers.
In the friction coefficient of the artificial material.
MATERIAL
Sieve (mm)
Figure 8 Grading envelope parameterization. Definition of envelope for

uniform material and graded material
It is generally possible
to distinguish two phases in
fatigue curves. A first phase
with very varied curves, and
corresponding to a ballast
stabilization in the form of
accelerated growth of ballast
layer deformation under the
first thousand load cycles, and
a second phase with a clear
trend in which the ballast
settlements show logarithmic
growth.
33
Settlements (mm)
The main results of the simulations lead to the following conclusions:

With artificial material and under normal load, friction angle increase improves slightly, from
11.43 with a normal ballast of 30 to 12.77 when = 40 and 13.57 when = 50.
In degraded situations (poor sleeper support) a very severe worsening of ballast behaviour is seen
with values that are divided by 5.2 for the natural material and by 3.5 for the artificial material.
However, in this degraded situation, increasing substantially improves the ballast strength as
goes from 1.56 to 4.57 when = 40 and to 4.97 when = 50.
Cycles
Figure 9 Representation of simulation programme fatigue curve
Despite the variable behaviour, the first stabilization phase shows the actual phenomenon of
railway infrastructure stabilization which occurs with the first 100,000 to 200,000 gross tons of traffic,
corresponding to about 5,000-10,000 load cycles.
Results were parameterized by defining a settlement law:
that restricting the grading envelope (in this case eliminating particles of fewer than 40 mm with
that would be favourable for the production of artificial ballast.
From these conclusions, it should also be noted that since the ballast performance worsens
substantially in degraded situations, the design of the new material should pay close attention to this
load situation, or others like tamping.
Increasing the friction coefficient of between particles substantially improves artificial ballast
performance in degraded situations, which is very encouraging for the development of a new material
with an improved friction coefficient between particles.
Ne being the number of stabilization cycles and being the parameter that defines the asymptotic
branch of settlement. It should be understood that the ballast performance improves, in identical load
conditions and states, if there is reduced permanent deformation in a large number of load cycles and,
therefore, if the value of increases. The value of may be regarded as being inversely proportional to
the settlement maintenance coefficient k in appendix 1 of the UIC 719, and which is expressed as the
ratio between the number of levelling operations necessary to maintain the track and the number of
operations considered as the reference level.
34
35
2. Research related to applicable materials in artificial

ballast production (SP2)
One objective of the Subproject was to compose a material which, from the point of view of physical
and chemical properties, could replace those presently used as ballast, i.e. an artificial ballast. The
challenge was to make a material formed by an aggregate of particles to simulate the behaviour of a
natural stone that has been formed over many years and, in some cases, under extremely unique pressure
and temperature conditions.
It did not only involve developing the material, but also ensuring that neither the materials nor the
process compromised the viability of the objective due to cost and/or technical difficulty.
To begin the basic technical parameters to be met were defined. The first requirement established
was high strength and adhesion between the particles in order to reduce to a minimum the loss of
material caused by the tamping it would be subjected to in service.
The first proposal of the UPM was the preparation of a polymer concrete. This ensured both strength
and compactness and also surface hardness. Other members of the consortium raised two basic issues
for viability:
Fluid rheology would be required to facilitate production (similar to that found in self-compacting
concrete).
A maximum aggregate size of between 4 and 8 mm to allow the production of parts able to meet
the natural ballast size range and, at the same time, the requirement that one part might alienate
at least three full-sized aggregates.
In addition to these two technical premises, a logistical and economic consideration was added: the
use of autoclave and the need for storage near the construction site would make use of the new material
too expensive and difficult.
The first experimental phase of the Subproject started from all the above requirements. There were
two objectives to achieve: high strength with small size aggregates, and an improved interface between
aggregates and the binder matrix.
36
37
2. Research related to applicable materials in artificial ballast production (SP2)
Given the limitations established in the maximum aggregate size, the first point compared between
mortars and micro-concretes was the mechanical behaviour.
It could not be a conventional mortar as the performance

features requested of it, both mechanical and wear features,
were high.
A comprehensive series of mortars and concretes was prepared with different types and different
proportions of additives. Micro-concretes were prepared from sieving the aggregate to a maximum size of 8
mm and self-compacting concretes with different additives were studied.
So the first part of the work, described in detail in the report

corresponding to the preparation of the sample, included the
phase when the various conventional active additives were
analysed, both in mortars and concretes.
All samples underwent both mechanical and micro-structural tests. We needed to determine both the
influence of aggregate size on the mechanical properties and, secondly, the influence of the additive on
both the interface and the characteristics of the gel formed.
Formula
Density
(g/cm3)
Molar volume
(cm3/mole)
Heat of formation
(kJ/mole)
Tricalcium silicate
C3S
3.21
71.00
-2927.82
Bicalcium silicate
C2S
3.28
52.00
-2311.60
Tricalcium aluminate
C3A
3.03
89.10
-3587.80
Tricalcium aluminoferrite
C4AF
3.73
128.00
-5090.30
Gypsum
CSH2
2.32
74.20
-2022.60
2.1.1. Materials
Calcium silicate hydrate
C1.7SH4
2.12
108.00
-3283.00
2.1.1.1. Aggregates
Calcium hydroxide
CH
2.24
33.10
-986.10
2.1.1.1.1. Sand
Ettringite
1.70
735.00
-17539.00
Monosulfate
C6AS3H32
C4ASH12
1.99
313.00
-8778.00
Hydrogranate
C3AH6
2.52
150.00
-5548.00
Ferric hydroxide
FH3
3.00
69.80
-823.90
Component
Figure 10 100x100x100 pixel box (1 pixel = 1 m3) full of

spherical particles according to PSD curve
The results showed that even if achieving high strength

concretes is something that specialized laboratories currently
achieve without difficulty, obtaining similar results in mortars
involved the use of much more specific active additives, and
meant that the preparation and analysis started with different
dosages of mortars prepared with nano-additives.
2.1. Experimental series
CEN standard sand, implementing standard UNE-EN 196-1
Table 2 Cementitious material properties
Having compared the mechanical behaviour of mortars and concretes prepared with limitations, we
looked at the possibility of achieving adequate behaviour values with respect to the behaviour requested,
based only on mortars. If we achieved the expected results we would be on the safe side, because the
increased aggregate size would reduce the interface and increase surface strength.
Figure 11 Sand grading curve
38
39
2.1.1.1.2. Sieved gravel
Standards corresponding to tests used on cement are:

Compressive strength: UNE-EN 196-1.
Start and end of setting: UNE-EN 196-3.
Chemical analysis: UNE-EN 196-2.
Fineness: UNE 80122:1991 (EN-196-6).
2.1.1.3. Additives
2.1.1.3.1. Traditional additives
Figure 12 Gravel grading curve
2.1.1.2. Cement: CEM I 52.5 R/SR

Figure 13 Dross
CEM I 52,5 R/SR cement was supplied by Portland Valderrivas.
Figure 15 Fly ash
Figure 16 Norwegian silica fume
Whose compositions are:
SiO2
19,20
Al2O3
6,07
Fe2O3
1,70
CaO
63,41
MgO
2,56
SO3
Dross
Fly Ash
Norwegian silica
fume
SiO2
37
55.1
90 min.-100 max.
Al2O3
11,84
30
0,6
5,8
3,38
Fe2O3
CaO
43,5
3,0
K2O
0,82
MgO
6,35
1,6
Na2O
0,33
SO3
0,3
2,09
K2O
Na2O
Cl-
0,0
0,45
Chemical Analysis Reference (%)
ClTiO2
Fire Loss
LOI
TiO2
Table 3 Cementitious properties
40
Figure 14 Spanish silica fume
Table 4
Composition of
traditional additives
Fire Loss
LOI
Spanish silica
fume
0,18
0,01
0,43
0,002
1,42
0,2
41
2.1.1.3.2. Nano-silica
Levasil 200/40% distributed by Obermeier.
Water
Cement
Cv
Gravel
Sand
Sp2
Mv
11.4
22
3.4
39
39
0.5
0.05
Property
Table 6 Dosage in kg of HAC2 with 15% content in fly ash cement weight
Content (%)
40.54
Density (g/cm3)
1.295
PH 20C
10.3
Surface area (m2/g)
205
Viscosity(mpas)
9.21
2.1.2.2. Mortars
N
Name
a/c (%)
Water (g
Cement (g)
Sand (g)
Additive (g)
M1
M10
MB
NO ADDITIVE
0.5
225
450
1350
M2
M3
20% blast furnace slag
0.5
225
360
1350
90
M12
M2
5% Micro-silica
0.5
225
450
1327.5
22.5
The micro-silica used complies with standard UNE -83-460 and is distributed by Ferroatlantica S.L.
M13
M1c
5% Nano silica
0.5
225
450
1327.5
22.5
Chemical analysis (%)
M20
M1C*
5% Nano-silica
0.38
161
450
1350
22.5
2.1.1.3.3. Micro-silica
Loss on
ignition
SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
CaO
MgO
SO3
K2O
Na2O
Cl-
85
1.5
0.1
Table 5 Micro-silica
2.1.3. Selection of the material according to the test results

The mechanical results obtained for samples with additives showed that although they were
improved and good mortars were obtained, the results were a long way from meeting the objective. The
highest values were obtained by reducing the water/cementitious material.
2.1.1.3. Natural rocks
Compressive strength was determined according to standard UNE-EN 12390-3.
Part of the material characterization to be performed involved a comparison of the properties obtained
with natural rocks in nature, as it involved finding an artificial material to simulate the behaviour of a
natural stone such as ballast. In this respect, we selected quarries distributed throughout Spain.
Flexural strength was determined according to standard UNE-EN 12390-3
We selected three types of rock for the experimental series. The rocks selected were granite from
the La Curva quarry that was selected as the comparison quarry. A high quality rock of corneal nature
(Aldeavieja Quarry), and a very high quality ophitic rock taken from the San Felices quarry.
Table 7 (see next page) shows the values obtained for the compressive and tensile strength of the
mortars tested in MPa, at characteristic ages.
2.1.2. Materials
2.1.2.1. HAC2
42
43
Table 7 Results of compressive

strength tests
Natural Rocks
Artificial Specimen
7 days
Test
R1c
R1c
R2
R3
M1c
M1c
M1c
M1c
M2
M2
M3
M3
M4
M4
MB
MB
M 1 c*
M 1 c*
Rc
197
201
213
225
94
92
94
91
52
51
47
47
44
44
50
48
83
95
The appearance of the material obtained,

which, as already mentioned, was a long way from
the strength demanded, looked very similar in
appearance to very compacted petrous material at
different stages.
Artificial Specimen
28 days
Artificial Specimen
90 days
Test
M1c
M1c
M1c
M1c
M2
M2
M3
M3
M4
M4
MB
MB
M 1 c*
M 1 c*
M1c
M1c
M1c
M1c
M2
M2
M3
M3
M4
M4
MB
MB
M 1 c*
M 1 c*
Rc
105
104
102
104
75
75
71
70
71
71
58
57
98
104
112
110
109
108
78
78
72
71
76
75
62
61
108
104
Electron microscopy analysis allowed us to verify

that very significant changes had occurred in the
structure of the cementitious matrix interface. Basically, a very significant difference had taken place in
the size and shape of the two phases that have most influence on the weakness and lack of adhesion of the
interface. Portlandite, traditionally very crystalline and hexagon shaped loses its regularity and reduces
its size. Figure 17 and Figure 18 show the changes in the sizes of the Portlandite in test specimens with
nano-particles.
44
Figure 17 Portlandite in mortars without additives
Figure 18 Portlandite size comparison in mortars analysed

45
Similarly, the Ettringite crystals had undergone a more dramatic reduction. They had changed from
the well known sticks to fine hairs that covered the inside of the pores.
Figure 19 Ettringite crystals in mortars with and without additives
These changes towards greater surface/mass relations would have densified the interface and
achieved that appearance of artificial stone.
The results obtained in strength behaviour for mortar M20 after seven days are shown in Table 8. In
the table, H corresponds to oven curing, C to curing in a chamber and C to curing in a saturated bath of
Ca(OH)2.
t (Days)
Breaking
stress
undue
bending
(kN)
Bending
strength
(MPa)
H 118C
5,50
12,88
13,50
14,20
84,38
88,75
86,56
H 118C
6,05
14,18
13,00
15,10
81,25
94,38
87,81
C 22C
3,98
9,34
15,70
14,00
98,13
87,50
92,81
C 22C
3,75
8,80
15,00
14,90
93,75
93,13
93,44
3,57
8,37
15,00
15,10
93,75
94,38
94,06
4,00
9,38
15,00
15,30
93,75
95,63
94,69
3,79
8,88
16,05
14,08
100,31
88,00
94,16
T
(C)
Comp. break. Stress

(tn)
Comp. Strength (MPa)
Av. Comp.
strength
(Mpa)
Bending
strength
(MPa)
Av. Comp.
strength.
(MPa)
13,53
87,19
9,07
93,13
8,88
94,30
Table 8 Mechanical strength in MPa after seven days of mortar M20
The mechanical study was not limited to compression and tension. Fracture energy tests were also
conducted and a vertex test was designed in order to assess the maximum load strength of the cube
prepared.
Figure 20 Image of a test specimen and section with artificial stone appearance
From the results obtained it was necessary to achieve significantly improved strength characteristics.
Having tested the proportion that supplied the best results, we proceeded to test dosages that
improved mechanical behaviour by reducing the water content and we studied the effect caused by
temperature and curing conditions on the sample.
46
Figure 21 Illustration of tests performed for vertex burst

47
With respect to the durable characteristics of the material, one of the most influential parameters
is porosity. But not only total porosity, pore size distribution can largely explain the behaviour of the
durable material. In this respect, the proposed material substantially reduces both porosity and the
accessible pore size distribution.
Figure 23 shows the variation in the pore distribution of mortars by adding nano-silica.
Figure 22 Illustration of tests performed for vertex burst
The results of all tests and at all ages proposed in the work plan for the Subproject can be found in the
details of tables attached to reports.
There are however two more aspects regarding the behaviour of the ballast that should be noted.
One of the most characteristic is behaviour in the Los Angeles test. The need to tamp the material
implies that the service will suffer great wear due to the impact on the different material particles, so we
considered it vital to improve adhesion between the different constituents.
Figure 23 Pore distribution and cumulative total volume of intruded mercury (in proportion to the sample total)
The test was carried out according to the relevant regulations regarding the weight and number of
turns, but using the same cubes obtained for mortar specimens prepared. The comparison test was also
performed for different natural rock specimens. The results are shown in Table 9.
As can be seen, the values obtained for M20 already approach the value of the rock with pore pressure
coefficient A (granite).
48
Material
CLA (%)
M1
15,37
M17
15,2
M20
12,5
Cornea
8,1
Granite
10,3
0phite
Sample holder
Placing sample
holder on scales
Micromeritics
Autopore IV 9500
test equipment
Table 9 Results of Los Angeles test standard UNE-EN 1097-2
Figure 24 Methodology for mercury intrusion porosoimetry test

49
This pore distribution should clearly improve durable results and this is shown by the results achieved.
The improvement in this behaviour is evident in some of the most characteristic durability tests: chloride
penetration and freeze/thaw behaviour.
One of the aggressive ions that, due to their size and mobility, penetrate cementitious materials most
easily is chloride. Basically the materials resistance to the penetration of aggressive ions is measured by
measuring the diffusion and/or resistivity coefficient.
The migration test was conducted through application of standard NT BUILD 492. (specifications
and procedures are described in the report on behaviour against aggressive physical conditions and
chemicals).
Figure 25 clearly shows the reduction that this parameter involves for the proposed dosage compared
to a traditional mortar and the working procedures.
Mortar
Electrical Resistivity
( m)
Electrical Resistivity
(k cm)
Chloride permeability
(ASTM C1202)
CEM I
184,03
18,40
Low
CEM I + 5% nano-silica
426,12
42,61
Very low
CEM I + 5% nano-silica
426,12
42,61
Very low
Table 10 Resistivity values in the proposed sample and the reference mortar
Freeze-thaw behaviour may constitute a limit to the use of a material subjected to sudden temperature
changes. The test was performed according to the standard UNE-EN 12390-1:2009. As can be seen, the
results have been significantly improved in the proposed mortar, as expected given the micro-structural
characteristics of the material.
Figure 26 shows the variation in mass loss results for the various materials in the different cycles and
an illustration of the test conducted.
Freeze-thaw test
chamber
Ultrasonic bath
Figure 25 Diffusion coefficient values and illustration of the test
We also measured the resistivity of the samples studied. A very significant increase was found here,
as expected, when nano-particles were added.
The table below gives the variation in reference resistivity values between the reference sample and
the mortar proposed.
50
Samples subjected to freeze-thaw test
Figure 26 Results of the weight loss in different cycles and illustration of test
51
Another aspect that characterizes the ballast as a material is surface hardness. It is here where the
values obtained are considered to be more limited. Surface hardness tests were conducted on various
natural rock samples and mortars proposed. In no case did our material reach the reference values of
the rocks. The values obtained were approximately 30% lower than the softer natural rocks, basalt and
serpentine. Mortars selected were subjected to an accelerated carbonation process in a chamber with a
controlled humidity of 65% thereby achieving an increase in hardness of approximately 20% compared
to noncarbonated mortar.
Table 11 shows a comparative diagram of the hardness values found.
Material
Rock
Mortar
Description
Vickers Hardness (kg/mm2)
Granite
383
Quarzite
215
Basalt
133
Reference
82
CEM I + 5% nano silica
107
CEM I + 5% carbonated nano-silica
122
Table 11 Hardness results
2.2. Final conclusions of Subproject SP2

The Subproject summarized here was based on an ambitious and, above all, innovative premise,
trying to obtain an artificial stone with a predefined shape and characteristics. For the material to be
economically accessible, abundant and relatively low cost products have to be used as the base. This
eliminates the first choice of so-called high tech materials, which even if they allow high performance
are very costly in the area of construction where the volume of the material is high.
This first limitation meant that cement-based materials could be a suitable base. These materials,
commonly considered low-tech, have limitations for obtaining certain basic performance features for
the application we want to analyze. It was thus a question of considering a cementitious material with
significant changes in its performance features.
The macroscopic behaviour of the material is nothing more than the integrated sum of its microstructural behaviour, so that these changes should occur first, at this level. As a preliminary step it
involves establishing the weakest elements of the material and/or those that should/can be modified to
improve its performance.
In a first approach, the cement based material can be considered to consist of the following: a
hydrated silica gel matrix, an aggregate with a variable composition and shape and an interface formed
by hydrated silica gels and other crystals, and which ultimately determine the adherence of the other two
phases. The material that we should synthesize should thus act on three levels.
The aggregate level was limited by the natural ballast grading and regulations on mortar and
concrete test specimens, which requires the test specimen dimensions to be at least three times the
maximum aggregate size. This limitation has two negative consequences for our objectives: it makes it
difficult to achieve high performance features and increases the interface, reducing the contact surface
between the aggregate and the matrix.
The following have been used conventionally in these materials to improve performance: lowering
the water/cement ratio, using active additives and increasing the curing temperature. Each of these
changes has different effects on the microstructure of the material. In a second phase, the study focussed
on the changes that active additives conventionally used have on the micro and macro properties of
structural mortars and concretes.
Figure 27 Hardness comparison

52
With active additives it was possible to achieve high strength levels with a suitable dosage and
by suitably reducing the w/c ratio. But the high strength alone did not allow any modifications to the
53
interface that should help to achieve the properties required for use on the material.
The number and size of crystals formed is determined by the first stages of the hydration process.
In short, the concrete setting and hardening process is nothing more than a dissolution/precipitation
process. In the most soluble cement phases they dissolve and pass into solution. In the second stage,
when the latter begins to be saturated, the solid hydrated compounds begin to precipitate.
The precipitation process begins by forming precipitation nuclei involving a limited number of
molecules. The nucleation rate determines the size of the crystal. If this rate is high a large number of
crystals are formed and these are smaller. The rate of nuclei formation depends on the relative degree of
supersaturation of the solution. The degree of particle subdivision largely determines the reaction rate.
Therefore, the alternative of using the more active additive, silica fume, in nano-size, could be an option
in order to act simultaneously on both the interface and the hydrated silicates.
All this led to mortars and/or micro-concretes being studied and proposed as the most suitable
material to achieve the proposed objective. The material has complied with reasonable targets related
to strength, compactness, wear, fracture energy and better than expected results regarding durable
behaviour. While surface hardness results obtained are less satisfactory or very close to those obtained in
natural rocks of lower hardness.
The project started four years ago and the current knowledge of the research group about dosage and
production of materials with nano-particles has experienced significant progress.
Although the experimental part of the Subproject has been
completed, work has continued to improve the material in aspects
that we consider most important.
The use of nano-particles is not straightforward, they are generally
used dispersed in the liquid phase and, in the subsequent kneading
process of the material, a more homogeneous distribution of such
particles in the paste has been achieved. The degree of success in
achieving this objective depends largely on the materials behaviour.
The team worked on a new production process that optimizes the
dispersion of the particles. The process is based on cement particles in
which nano-particles have been previously dispersed (Figure 28). The
results obtained show increases in resistant behaviour of at least 25%
54
RMN Si
Sample
MORTARS
%P
MCL
MCL Si
PCP_7d
PCP_28d
4FMA_7d
63.3
4.12/3.78
2.82/3.78
4FMA_28d
83.5
2.34
2.34
10FMA_7d
68.0
4.48/3.96
2.60/3.96
10FMA_28d
81.5
3.86/3.68
3.33/3.68
4NCV_7d
66.1
3.14
3.14
4NCV_28d
82.7
4.02
2.74
10NCV_7d
85.8
4.55
2.33
10NCV_28d
74.2
5.82
2.33
4FCV_7d
75.0
4.29
2.30
4FCV_28d
82.7
4.85
2.40
10FCV_7d
72.4
4.27
2.25
10FCV_28d
84.3
4.89
2.87
8F2NCV_7d
84.3
3.84
2.51
8F2NCV_28d
85.0
3.79
2.44
8F2NCV_28d
85.0
3.79
2.44
Table 11 Nuclear magnetic resonance data for silica-29
(in the worst case) for the same amounts of cement and the same water/cement ratio. This suggests that
the mechanical strength could be higher, if deemed suitable for use.
Figure 28 Cement with nano-particles deposited
The hydration process that takes place under these conditions changes the hydrated calcium silicates
produced. Hydration through the nano-particle changes the total chain length of silicates and the
degree of polymerization. The most detailed study shows that this increase is due to aluminium being
55
added to the chain. These changes in the structure of

the silicates determine changes in their mechanical
behaviour.
The new production methodology also allows us
to reduce the size of the Portlandite and Ettringite
crystals to nanometric scale.
The micrographs in Figure 29 show the respective
Ettringite and Portlandite crystals obtained with the
new technology of kneading and which are 200 and
500 nm respectively. In other words we reduced the
size of the crystal by one order of magnitude, which
means an exponential increase in the adherence and
hence the consistency of the material.
Figure 29 Cement with nano-particles deposited
Figure 30 shows a diagram of images that

summarize the evolving microstructure of the material.
We have achieved the objectives proposed, changed the gel structure and changed the size and
number of crystals in the interface and have thereby obtained changes in the macroscopic behaviour.
Changes in the
aggregate-pasta
interface
Evolution in the
gel chains
We therefore believe that the proposed material is viable. It is reasonably close to the requirements
demanded, but as scientists we continue to believe that there is great potential for improving the
performance obtained and to which we hope to be able to contribute.
Figure 30 Evolution of the
proposed material in images
Evolution of crystal
sizes. Changes in
the type of crystal
deposition
56
Mechanical shape
and characterisation
tests
57
3. SW tool development for mechanical analysis of

granular media (SP3)
This report summarizes the process followed by Ingeciber to complete the work corresponding to
Subproject SP3: Research and development of numerical tools:
The Subproject has been divided into the following work areas:
SP3-1: State of the art in numerical tools for the study of granular media.
SP3-2: First proposed numerical tools to study granular media.
SP3-3: Application of numerical tools for the study of granular media.
3.1. State of the art in numerical tools for the study of granular media
Continuous element analysis requires the simulation of contacts between particles in each element,
making it very laborious and most of the time, it far exceeds the computing capacity of I.T. equipment.
Because of the granular nature of the ballast, discrete element method analysis is the most suitable
for computing, since it makes it possible to simulate gaps and contact between particles, as well as the
possibility of including various types of loads.
The programmes considered by Ingeciber for project resolution are shown in the following table:
BALL&TRUBAL: FORTRAN.
58
59
3. SW tool development for mechanical analysis of granular media (SP3)
60
SDEC: spherical shapes, finite differences.
MIMES: Allows different particle shapes in 2D.
YADE.
PASSAGE/DEM: Prediction of particle flow under different loads.
ESyS-Particle: ED for granular flow, breaking rocks and earthquakes.
UDEC/3UDEC: ED in 2D and 3D. Especially for geotechnics.
PASIMODO: granular elements.
ASCALAPH: molecular models.
LMGC90: ED y EF. PASIMODO: granular elements.
AUTODYN.
Chute-Maven: granular elements and interaction with Autocad.
PFC.
EDEM: granular elements.
GiD DEMpack.
61
3.2. First proposed numerical tools to study granular media

After thoroughly analyzing the different software on the market, Ingeciber opted for GiD DEMpack
from the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) in its last version, 10.1.8d,
and relying on the latest version of ProblemType dempack-0.1.40, we used the DEMpack programme
as a solver.
solution information and other parameters. The programme can generate a finite element mesh, finite
volumes or finite difference analysis and transcribe information for a numerical simulation programme
into the desired format. It is also possible to run this simulation within the GiD and then transcribe the
results of the analysis.
GiD can be customized and configured by users so that the data required for its own calculation solver
can be generated. These calculation solvers can also be included within the GiD software system.
The programme works, when the geometry is defined, in a manner similar to a CAD (Computer
aided design) programme but with some differences. The most important of these is that the geometry
is constructed hierarchically. This means that a higher-level entity (dimension) is built on lower-level
entities, two adjacent entities sharing the same lower entity.
All materials, conditions and solution parameters can be defined in the actual geometry, separated
from the mesh so that the mesh is only formed once the problem has been properly defined. The
advantages of this are that, by using associated data structures, the geometry can be modified and all
other information will be automatically uploaded and ready to launch the analysis.
All the graphical display of the geometry, mesh and conditions are available for a detailed check of
the model before starting the analysis. Further graphic display features are available to evaluate the
results after analysis. This post-processing graphical interface can also be customized depending on the
type of analysis and the expected results.
3.2.1.2. DEMpack
Figure 25 Diffusion coefficient values and diagram of the test
We justified the choice of the software due to its high capacity in terms of definition and Graphic
Display as a preprocessor and postprocessor, and its capacity to work simultaneously with discrete
elements and finite elements.
3.2.2. Software finally used
3.2.1. GID DEMpack
Due to its high capacity in terms of definition and Graphic Display as a preprocessor and postprocessor
we used GiD postprocessor in its latest 10.1.8d version and relying on the latest version of ProblemType
dempack-0.1.40, we used the DEMpack programme as a solver.
3.2.1.1. GID
GiD is an interactive graphical user interface used for the definition, preparation and display of all
data related to numerical simulation. This data includes the definition of geometry, materials, conditions,
62
The basic formulation of the discrete element formulation using spherical and cylindrical elements
was first proposed by Cundall and Strack (1979). A similar formulation was developed in CIMNE and
implemented in the explicit dynamic discrete/finite element code DEMpack.
For analysis of our model we used the GiD DEMpack software from the International Center for
Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE).
63
3.3. Application of numerical tools for the study of granular media
3.3.2. Simulation S (Gma)
Once the model was stabilized according to the settlement curve for a number of 1,000,000 cycles, we
proceed to perform a series of simulations.
Simulation considering the mechanical properties of the natural material. Besides this simulation,
four more simulations are performed with several geometry generations, ensuring that the results are
practically identical.
The simulations were divided by the type of material, natural or artificial, and the state of the track,
non degraded and degraded track, the latter causing the situation known as bare sleeper.
Outlined below are graphs of the sleeper settlement achieved in the main simulations performed
according to an initial programme of simulations. The example also shows the model geometry used in
each simulation and the friction angles obtained according to the type of material for cases where the
material is changed.
3.3.1. Geometry
The natural material

properties are as follows:
E= 58 GPa
= 0,3
= 2500 kg/m3
Reference geometry from which the simulations are performed is shown in the next image.
Figure 25 Diffusion coefficients and test diagram
In the simulations modifying the particle size in accordance with the grading curve, another geometry
different to the one shown above is generated.
64
65
3.3.3. Simulation S (Gma; MA)
3.3.4. Simulation S (Gma; MA; =40)
Once the necessary simulations have been performed to check that the model is stable enough, we
carry out a series of simulations with the new material, which we refer to as Artificial material.
A new simulation is defined by

increasing the angle of friction of the
granular system by 33% ( = 40),
considering the artificial material.
The artificial material properties are as follows:

E= 29 GPa
= 0,2
= 2300 kg/m3
The material is a very high-strength mortar with nano-silica.
The following graphs represent the angle of friction of the material and the settlement, respectively,
obtained by simulation with the elastic characteristics and density of the new material.
The plastic settlement obtained is 0.960 mm and the elastic deformation measured in one sleeper
element is 0.0305 mm.
3.3.5. Simulation S (Gma; MA; =50)

A new simulation is defined by
increasing the angle of friction of the
granular system by 66% (= 50),
66
67
3.3.6. Simulation (Gu; MA; CG (40,0; 63,0))

3.3.8. Simulation S (Gma) DEG
Size of element: 0,052m, considering the

artificial material.
The phenomenon known as bare

sleeper is simulated by introducing a
sinusoidal load in which we increase the
amplitude value by a factor equivalent
to the weight of the sleeper. The material
used in this simulation is material we
considered as natural material.
The plastic settlement obtained is 0.955 mm

and the elastic deformation measured in one
sleeper element is 0.040 mm.
3.3.7. Simulation S (Gg; MA; GC (31,5; 70,0))

68
3.3.9. Simulation S (Gma; MA) DEG

Degraded track situation
69
3.3.10. Simulation S (Gma; MA; =40) DEG
3.3.12. Simulation S (Gu; MA; CG (40,0; 63,0))

DEG
A new simulation is defined by increasing the

angle of friction of the granular system by 33% (
= 40), considering the artificial material.

The size of the element is the average value
between the maximum and minimum values on
the grading curve.
3.3.11. Simulation S (Gma; MA; =50 )DEG

A new simulation is defined by increasing the
angle of friction of the granular system by 66%
( = 50), considering the artificial material.
3.3.13. Simulation S (Gg; MA; GC (31,5; 70,0)

DEG
The size of the element is the average value
between the maximum and minimum values on
the grading curve.
70
71
3.4. Final conclusions of Subproject SP3

The work has been very productive in terms of the number of calculations and we can talk of various
phases:
Assessment of the MED. This was performed with PFC 2D and involved around a hundred calculations
with simple models that allowed us to analyze both the meaning and the sensitivity of the results
compared with MED-specific parameters, not always directly relatable to the concepts normally
handled in the ballast study.
Actual studies compared with the bibliography. This phase, which began with PFC 2D, consisted in
eight tests whose machine duration time was measured in days (between 10 and 25 days each).
Comparison between the PFC 2D and DEMPack programmes, which basically consisted in
reproduction with the latter of some of the calibration tests performed with the former in the first
MED assessment phase.
Final phase, for which we only used the DEMPack programme, and which consisted in a series of final
simulations that really have been the result of debugging a much larger number of test simulations.
4. Research into applicable prefabrication

techniques (SP4)
The need to find new sustainable solutions for railway lines has driven this project forward with
the purpose of prefabricating artificial ballast with cement-based mortar or micro-concretes through a
precasting system.
Until now, there has not been any record of any study to replace natural ballast with artificial stone,
so the research had to start virtually from scratch and had to begin to define which properties should
be required to serve as a substitute material for the natural ballast, both in mechanical and geometrical
terms. To define these properties, it is not only necessary to take into account the technical requirements
of the material, but also the technological possibilities of artificial ballast production, production capacity
at a competitive price probably being a more important factor than material properties.
Given this lack of previous experiences and following research conducted previously, it was considered
that two techniques could be applied to prefabricated cement-based ballast: precasting from moulds and
precasting from crushed concrete blocks.
Having technically analyzed both proposals, an economic assessment was made to find out the
feasibility of its implementation.
4.1. Production process

Prefabrication systems are conditioned by the type of item being produced. So, regardless of what
kind of product we are analyzing, it is always necessary to pay attention to all the items involved in the
entire production process:
Moulds.
Materials: reception and use.
Production facilities and equipment.
Production Phases.
Concrete pouring and compaction.
72
73
4. Research into applicable prefabrication techniques (SP4)
Tensioning and transfer, and cutting active reinforcements.

Stripping.
Concrete curing.
Surface treatments. Cleaning. Painting.
Internal transport and storage.
Depending on the type of mould used and their mobility, precasting systems are classified according
to the following table:
Fixed Product
Mobile Product
Fixed moulds
Static production
Extrusion
Mobile moulds
Paver type. Laying type
Assembly line production. Revolving machine
Figure 32 Facilities for production of precast concrete elements
4.2. Ballast properties

4.2.1. Ballast functions
Transmitting and distributing the load: In order to avoid the allowable stresses of lower layers being
exceeded.
Embedding: The ballast supports the sleeper by surrounding all sides except the top in order to apply
pressure on the longitudinal (expansion, acceleration, braking) and transverse movement (nosing
and centrifugal force).
Elasticity: Ride comfort is improved by absorbing part of the dynamic effects.
Refining gradient and cant: The ballast produces the cant.
Draining: Achieves faster drainage and also prevents putrefaction of the wood and oxidation of
metals.
Evaporating: Allows the evaporation of water from the line.
Retrieving the geometry: Acting on ballast recovers the geometric capacity of the track. The use of
specialized machinery makes it possible to rectify the effects of alignment and levelling.
Preventing the growth of plants.
Protection against frost: Reduces the susceptibility of lower layers to frost.
Noise reduction: Absorbs noise transmitted through the air.
4.2.2. Technical requirements of the material
Figure 31 Moulds for different precast elements

74
As discussed above, it is necessary to clearly define what requirements should be made of the
artificial product replacing the ballast. Although the difficulty of the task is considerable, we should start
75
by demanding that the material meets the current ballast regulations regarding durability, particle size,
geometry, resistance to fragmentation and abrasion resistance. It will then be necessary to implement
a test section that serves to verify the validity of the product and, based on this test, to fit the properties
and geometry of the industrial product.
4.2.2.4. Shape index
The artificial ballast should be a material that is insoluble in water, resistant to sulphates, strong, hard
and not friable.
4.2.2.1. Grading
Figure 33 Ballast cuboid
4.2.2.5. Length of stones

The test is performed by measuring with appropriate callipers or gauges, on a ballast sample of over
40 kg. For all kinds of railway operating lines and conditions, the percentage of stones whose maximum
length exceeds 100 mm will be 4%.
4.2.2.6. Wear-fragmentation strength
4.2.2.2. Fine particles
Maximum line
speed (km/h)
Type of line
CLA
Type of ballast
Categories of Standard
UNE-EN 13450:2003
1435
200
AVE, A or B
14%
Type 1.
LARB14
1435
200
AVE, A or B
16%
Type 2.
LARB16
1435
C (*)
20%
Type 3.
LARB20
4.2.2.7. Frost weathering
Place of reception for ballast batch
Percentage of total sample weight passing through 0.50 sieve
At production facility
0,6%
On site or intermediate stockpile
1%
4.2.2.3. Fines
76
Track gauge (mm)
Place of reception for ballast batch
Percentage of total sample weight passing through 0.063 sieve
At production facility
0,5%
On site or intermediate stockpile
0,7%
Water absorption percentage by total sample weight (A)
Action to be taken
< 0,5
Acceptance of material
0,5 A 1,5
Performance of the magnesium sulphate strength test.
> 1,5
Non acceptance of the material
4.2.2.8. Sonnenbrand alteration resistance

In certain basalts and rocks containing metal sulphates a type of alteration called Sonnenbrand
77
can occur due to atmospherical reaction , characterized by the appearance of grey and white points,
followed by radial micro-fractures at these points, which are then interconnected. This decreases
aggregate strength, and even causes its subsequent disintegration. If an operations shows the signs
described above, a boiling test will be carried out according to standard UNE-EN 1367-3:2001. For all
kinds of railway operating lines and conditions, the difference in Los Angeles wear coefficients, before
and after boiling, will be 5%.
The following chart is a summary of some of the tests to be carried out on the ballast.
technology, this research seeks to obtain ballasts that are not very homogeneous in shape, but which
meet the durability and strength properties required of natural ballasts.
The system proposed for use is precasting with open moulds, which involves pouring the fresh
concrete into each of the moulds on the top side, which lacks any cover or closure. Once the concrete is
poured it is then compacted, either by vibrating the mould or through a concrete compression system. In
the case of using a self-compacting concrete this stage can be omitted.
As the size of the precast part is reduced, it is more cost-efficient to move the moulds and maintain
the discharge hose fixed. In this way you achieve production of a series of concrete elements more quickly,
resulting therefore in lower costs. The following shows a typical precast system:
Figure 34 Production of artificial ballast with moulds. Fuente: Ctedra de Ferrocarriles de E.T.S.I. Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Madrid
4.3. Production of artificial ballast with moulds

This line of research seeks to generate ballast based on the principle that concrete is an artificial rock
that can be moulded according to structural and functional needs. A clear example of this is the wide
variety of prefabricated elements with countless shapes and sizes, and ranging from paving bricks to
hollowcore slabs.
Harmonizing a very high number of prefabricated systems, both in processes and related to existing
78
The concrete curing process may be performed inside the mould or after it has been emptied. In both
cases, the concrete curing depends on the type of material that has been used in the mould and the final
requirements of the precast part. This is where the research opens up into two subgroups: fast and slow
curing, where the choice of one or the other depends on the size of the series to be produced, and the
marginal costs they represent.
When using accelerated processes such as steam tunnel curing, electric blankets, thermal floors, etc.,
the cure cycle will be studied according to the type of element (cross section dimensions) and the cement
type. The temperature of the concrete will not in any case exceed 70C, the cooling phase should not
be abrupt to avoid the occurrence of surface micro-fissures, and there must always be a resting phase
prior to heating. In curing processes in which temperatures of around 70 to 72 C are reached, there is no
79
disadvantage in using the following materials: steel, plastic or wood, and in the event of steam curing the
most recommended material is steel.
Outlined below is a diagram of an artificial ballast plant.
The design of a prefabricated artificial ballast plant using moulds has been based on a prefabricated
plant of paving bricks and tiles. However, there are two significant differences to be adapted to
prefabricate railway ballast:
In ballast manufacturing there is no gap between layers due to the randomness of the falling stones
during the formation of the benching or ballast replacement.
The finish of the paving bricks
or tiles is completely different
to the ballast aggregate. Stones
in ballast do not, a priori, need
surface treatment. It is only
necessary for all of them to be free
of fine particles, so that the only
treatment needed is washing.
Having
established
these
differences, the following proposal
is given for artificial ballast based on
cement:
Figure 36 Diagram of artificial ballast

production process
80
4.4. Ballast production by crushing blocks

This solution requires previous manufacture of concrete blocks, similar to those made for breakwaters
of ports. However, the mechanical properties required are different because in the case of breakwaters
the most relevant factor is the specific weight of the concrete, while the artificial ballast must meet a
more demanding series of geometric and geotechnical requirements during operation and must therefore
achieve high strength values so that the breaking process does not excessively reduce the mechanical
properties of the concrete. Research will determine if the concrete should be exclusively manufactured in
mass or if it is necessary to include fibre reinforcements, either steel, glass, carbon, nylon, etc., and which
could obtain a more homogeneous material with a higher tensile strength, more controlled shrinkage,
tougher to break, as well as greater impact and fatigue strength, two phenomena to which the ballast is
continuously subjected.
The cement and/or additives that have to be used will be conditioned by the type of environment that
the ballast will be subjected to, however, a priori, this is not a factor that conditions the manufacture of
blocks, although it may have implications as to the curing systems employed.
The concrete blocks for ballast must follow the process traditionally used to make the rocks employed
in obtaining the ballast. The process is as follows: the blocks are introduced into the constant aperture
crusher jaws, and then go to impact mills or cones, before following the selection adjusted to the envelope
ranges established in the
technical requirements for the
supply and use of ballast. The
material is then collected for
transport to its destination.
Figure 37 Diagram of ballast quarry

operations. Source: Technical specifications for ballast supply and use
81
4.5. General outline

In the ballast production process from concrete blocks there are two clearly differentiated processes,
on the one hand there is the plant responsible for the precasting of concrete blocks and, on the other
hand, the ballast plant. These should be located close to each other and with tracks for dumpers to run
along to allow efficient transport.
30 60 mm: this is the range of envelopes established in the technical requirements for the ballast.
In ballast plants whose monthly production is 30,000 m3, production is 250 t/h.
0 30 mm, size which corresponds to the aggregate which is subsequently used in other construction
applications, such as for the production of concrete with recycled aggregate.
This document focuses on the ballast plant, i.e. it defines its layout in the plant and the machinery
to be employed.
To determine the production capacity of the concrete block plant, two design hypotheses have been
established, taking monthly production capacity of ballast plants as the starting point on the one hand
and, on the other hand, the production capacity of concrete blocks.
Finally, we will analyze the annual consumption of ballast by ADIF, to determine the average
production needed to meet that demand.
The crushing process is described below:
As in a natural aggregate crushing plant, in artificial ballast production plant there should be three
different stages based on the size of the material entering and leaving the crusher.
In the primary crusher the maximum size of the rock is 1500 mm, although the optimal size for
concrete blocks crushed is around 900 mm.
The reduction ratio is usually 6, so when leaving the crusher the size of the rocks will be around 150
mm. If they are bigger, the rocks will be re-circulated to be reduced to the desired size through a closed
circuit, while the smaller ones and those between 40 and 125 mm will be transported and stored in the
regulation stock.
Furthermore, rocks sized between 0 to 40 mm are stockpiled for use as recycled aggregate.
From the regulation stock the material is taken to the secondary crusher. In this phase the reduction
ratio should not be greater than 5. Finally, 0-100 mm material from the secondary crushing stage will
reach the screening point in which there are trays for the following trays of particle sizes:
60 100 mm, which goes back on a conveyor to the feed hopper at the screening point.
82
83
Figure 39 Phases of crushing process and products obtained
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Scenario 3
Facilities (A)
6.000.000,00
6.000.000,00
6.000.000,00
Land (B)
2.200.000
3.300.000
4.400.000
Surface area (ha)
2,2
2,2
2,2
Price (/m2)
100
150
200
Civil engineering (C)
1.500.000
1.500.000
1.500.000
Transport (D)
1.304.000
1.304.000
Workshops (E)
1.304.000
1.130.400
1.130.400
1.130.400
%(A+D)
10%
10%
10%
TOTAL
11.734.400,00
12.834.400,00
13.934.400,00
Table 13 Investment per item
4.6.1.2. Operation
After calculating the initial investment, we calculate the cost of producing a cubic metre of ballast.
Data for this has been taken from the operating costs section (3.6), as well as production data calculated
in the document: Definition of production systems and guidance on materials.
Figure 40 Areas of an aggregate crushing plant
4.6. Analysis of economic and environmental viability
The range of costs related to electricity consumption can be seen in the following chart.
4.6.1. Results of production process based on concrete blocks

4.6.1.1. Initial investment
For the initial investment it has been necessary to analyse three scenarios, distinguishing between
the prices per square metre of land. Prices are determined by the Autonomous Community they belong to,
the area they are located and regional planning. This provides a wide variability in land prices, although
three benchmark prices have been established to continue the study:
100
And which form the basis of the analysis:
84
150
200
Figure 41 Electricity costs
85
For calculating artificial ballast

production, 70 % use of the concrete
block is considered.
The following results have been
obtained for the artificial ballast
based on concrete blocks:
Concrete blocks
Annual ballast production
12.000
Use
70%
Annual concrete production
17.143
2.520.806,10
Direct costs
Depreciation
Personnel
(20 years)
586.720,00
(18 Employees)
427.657,52
Electricity
Table 14 Concrete block
proposal results
Concrete Production
4.6.2.1. Initial Investment

For the initial investment it has been necessary to analyse three scenarios, distinguishing between
the prices per square metre of land. Prices are determined by the Autonomous Community they belong to,
the area they are located and regional planning. This provides a wide variability in land prices, although
three benchmark prices have been established to continue the study:
135.000,00
(80 /m3)
1.371.428,57
264.464,43
Indirect costs
Maintenance and Repairs
15%
88.008,00
Other
7%
176.456,43
Total production
m3 artificial ballast
2.785.270,52
232,11
4.6.1.3. Environmental variables
86
4.6.2. Results of production process based on moulds
200
250
300
Analysis has been carried out on the basis of the above:

Facilities (A)
1.500.000,00
1.500.000,00
1.500.000,00
Land (B)
2.000.000,00
2.500.000,00
3.000.000,00
Surface area (ha)
Price (/m2)
200
250
300
Moulds
1.395,00
1.395,00
1.395,00
Concepto
Sub-concepto
Valoracin (Impacto)
Civil engineering (C)
500.000,00
500.000,00
500.000,00
Air quality
CO2 Emissions
Medium
Workshops (E)
150.000,00
150.000,00
150.000,00
Noises
Heavy Machinery.
Facilities and motors
High
High
%(A)
10%
10%
10%
Landslides
Changes in the morphology of the relief
Low
Medium
TOTAL
4.151.395,00
4.651.395,00
5.151.395,00
Gaia
Water
Water Pollution
Medium
Flora
Destruction or alteration of flora
Medium
Fauna
Direct destruction of animal species
Low
Countryside
Changes in extrinsic perception

Formation of visual barriers
High
High
Town
Population centre access changes

Changes in quality of life caused by work
Low
Low
Energy
Energy consumption
High
Table 15 Environmental assessment of ballast production in concrete blocks
4.6.2.2. Operation
After calculating the initial investment, we calculate the cost of producing a cubic metre of ballast.
The range of costs related to electricity consumption can be seen in the following chart.
87
4.6.2.3. Environmental variables

Item
Sub-item
Assessment (Impact)
Air quality
CO2 Emissions
Medium
Noises
Heavy Machinery. Facilities and motors
Low
Low
Gaia
Landslides
Low
Low
Water
Changes in the morphology of the relief
Low
Flora
Water Pollution
Low
Fauna
Destruction or alteration of flora
Zero
Figure 42 Annual electricity costs
Countryside
Direct destruction of animal species
Unlike the concrete blocks, in this proposal maximum use is made of concrete produced. The results
obtained for the artificial ballast plant based on moulds are the following:
Low
Low
Town
Changes in extrinsic perception
Low
Low
Energy
Formation of visual barriers
High
Mould
Annual ballast production
600
Use
100%
Concrete production
600
591.638,06
Direct costs
Depreciation
Personnel
(11 years)
(10 Employees)
Electricity
Concrete Production
Table 17 Mould Proposal

Results
286.188,61
232.969,45
24.480,00
(80 /m3)
48.000,00
64.117,14
Indirect costs
Maintenance and Repairs
10%
28.618,86
Other
6%
35.498,28
Total production
m3 artificial ballast
88
Table 18 Environmental assessment of ballast production using moulds
655.755,21
1.092,93
4.7. Economic and environmental feasibility analysis

The field of precast concrete is traditionally characterized by a fast, economical response to problems
that have arisen in the construction industry, provided there has been a large market that has allowed
substantial repetition and, consequently, a decrease in construction costs. In this regard, precast concrete
products cover a wide range of structural, functional and aesthetic needs.
Accordingly, the first requirement to be made of a hypothetical market for cement-based artificial
ballast is sufficient volume that makes it possible to adopt economies of scale and reduce manufacturing
costs per unit produced.
Ballast consumption has been increasing over the decade 2001-2010 largely due to High Speed
work undertaken and maintenance operations on the conventional network. This growth has tended to
stabilize, but annual ballast consumption in Spain is expected to reach approximately 5 million m3. This
89
consumption may, in principle, justify the use of artificial cement-based ballast provided the product
price increases as a result of major limitations in the extraction of natural aggregates. Current market price
does not allow artificial cement-based ballast production to be sustainable from a financial standpoint.
Creation of micro-fissures in concrete as a result of the forces the concrete is subjected to during
crushing of blocks.
From a strictly technical standpoint, artificial ballast must comply with the conditions established
in the technical requirements regarding compressive strength, abrasion resistance, impact strength
(fracture), grain size, geometry and, especially, durability.
The strengths of this production process are:
Currently, there are prefabrication technologies that, a priori, would satisfy the technical requirements
demanded of artificial ballast with ballast manufactured artificially. However, there is still a large degree
of uncertainty about the viability of its application.
The two production techniques best suited to artificial ballast production are:
Production of ballast from large, crushed blocks of precast concrete.
The advantages of this solution are:
The production of large concrete blocks is a technique used in other civil engineering fields, for
example in dyke breakwaters or counterdykes for ports, for placing them on the bed, and so it is
a mature technology, has the machinery available and the technical and cost requirements are
known.
Crushing plants machinery does not have to be reinvented simply because some adjustments will
have to be made according to the hardness and strength of the concrete. What will be required is to
seek to reduce reject material since fine constraints will be more restrictive.
There is the possibility of on-site ballast production using mobile crushers, which result in a
substantial improvement in productivity.
The main uncertainties that arise in the application of this production process are:
The energy used in concrete block production and crushing might not be in line with desired energy
efficiency.
The crushing process will inevitably generate an amount of waste material, and the unit cost of
material is very high with respect to the rocks used for ballast. This has a negative impact on the
economic efficiency of the process. However, for the process to be sustainable, all the material that
has been rejected may be used later in the production of other concrete blocks for this or other
purposes.
90
Production of ballast from moulds.

It is a completely clean production process, which could significantly reduce the presence of fines.
Immutability of the mechanical performance of the concrete as a result of the production process.
Continuous monitoring of material properties and rapid detection of a fault.
Considerable reduction in energy consumption during the production process, making ballast
production more sustainable.
When using the lost mould solution, water consumption can be reduced as this can be recycled for
re-use on several occasions in the curing of concrete.
On the other hand, there are uncertainties:
Difficulty in making moulds with these dimensions.
High initial investment, particularly in the case of steel moulds.
Susceptibility of shapes to any deformation that occur in the mould, either as a result of any impact
or thermal phenomena, will affect compliance with regulations and will also hinder the demoulding
process.
The uncertainties of the process cannot be overcome unless a pilot project is carried out to allow
artificial ballast production using both procedures and making it possible to analyze the properties of
the final product, comparing them with ADIF technical requirements. This pilot project would determine
which line of research is most likely to succeed from a strictly technical point of view.
From an economic point of view, both solutions have costs well above the current market price for
natural ballast. For an annual production of 12,000 m3 of ballast, a unit cost of just over 230 /m3 has
been estimated. While in the case of artificial ballast from moulds the unit cost is very close to 1100/m3.
In contrast, the price per m3 of ballast is between 15 and 25.
In summary, we can say that the production of cement-based artificial ballast is still far removed
from the applicable requirements to use this type of technology in the construction of real railway
91
infrastructure. Furthermore, this type of solution does not eliminate what is probably the major drawback
of railway lines on ballast, which are the high maintenance costs and the need for fresh material. From an
environmental point of view, making artificial ballast also involves the removal of material from quarries,
which is the main impact of natural ballast, and the energy consumption of both solutions should be
analyzed in detail.
5. Dissemination and internationalization (SP5)

5.1. Introduction
This document describes the dissemination and internationalization activities in the ARTIFICIAL
BALLAST project conducted by the Research Consortium and coordinated by the Spanish Railways
Foundation (FFE) in SUBPROJECT SP5 WORK AREA 3 Project Dissemination and internationalization .
The various activities have been carried out throughout the duration of the project, although, as reflected
here, dissemination activities, the exploitation of results and internationalization transcend the project
completion date.
The work of disseminating the results sought, among others, the following objectives:
To obtain maximum diffusion and dissemination of project results amongst agents responsible for
decision-making in the construction of railway infrastructure.
Dissemination of knowledge and progress made in the scientific community.
Dissemination of results to all Railway stakeholders.
5.2. Dissemination of results

5.2.1. Style and design guidelines
In order to harmonize production and project a coherent picture of the ARTIFICIAL BALLAST work, a
standard format has been employed.
Figure 43 Logo
92
93
Figure 44 Project image
5.2.3. Development and production

Figure 45 Publication of documentation and Monographs related to the project
5.2.2. Information website and newsletter

The aim of the website was to develop an internal working tool for the research consortium and an
external one for scientific and technical dissemination to the Transport and rail sector in particular. The
following work has therefore been carried out.
Domains purchased: http://www.balastoartificial.es/
Website creation was contracted from an outside company (La Isla de Internet S.L.) that took care of
both graphic design and the development of the necessary IT infrastructure for the operation: databases,
content management and portal management system, the latter being needed to facilitate updates by
any authorized user without web programming knowledge. The maintenance and management of the
content was carried out by the Spanish Railways Foundation (FFE).
The website, prepared for two languages (Spanish/English) is structured into six main sections.
5.2.3.1. Public area structure of the website:
a) Home page.
94
95
b) Project.
c) Research group.
d) Documents.
e) Dissemination.
f) Links.
The website is updated regularly, based on the progress and developments of the project work areas,
the results obtained and the various dissemination and internationalization activities that have been
undertaken since the project began.
A newsletter has been produced in electronic format, with updates and related news, aimed at
researchers, experts and managers in the field.
The website also has a restricted access area which, in this case, refers users (Project partners) to
a portal managed by FFE in which, duly authenticated by username/password, they can access the
collaborative area for the internal exchange of information and documents.
5.3. Information notes, articles and communications

With respect to the transmission of information on the progress of the project, a series of information
notes, communications, articles and posters were produced to support the work of project dissemination.
Poster: Content, design and production of an ARTIFICIAL BALLAST poster, which has been used in
different project dissemination activities.
Information notes, articles and communications: It was considered particularly important to
produce different types of support for dissemination and information about project progress, to be
submitted to various specialized media and presented at conferences and meetings.
a) Digital daily newsletter in Spanish in the Via Libre Magazine.
b) Article in the magazine EURAILmag Business &Technology.
c) Spanish Railway News eNewsletter.
d) Document on Capacities in the Spanish Railway Industry.
96
97
5.4. Participation at conferences, events and forums

a) Oral presentation of the project at the Railway Technology Platform Assembly (PTFE), 29/05/2009.
Spanish. FCH & FFE. This annual event features a large number of attendees, bringing together the
major national stakeholders in railway R&D and, in recent years, international figures, including
rail operators and managers, companies, SMEs, technology and research centres, associations
and institutional representatives, so it is an ideal forum to reach the target audience (scientific
community, railways and agents responsible for decision making), as well as potential end users of
the results of the ARTIFICIAL BALLAST project.
b) Project poster presentation at the International Railway Industry Show (BcnRail) -BcnRail INNOVA
Area. November, 2009.
c) Participation at the InnoTrans International Trade Fair 2010, from September 21-24, 2010 in Berlin
(Germany): at this Fair, the ARTIFICIAL BALLAST Research Project was presented in Hall 22, Stand
11. The project included the presence of their poster at the stand, which was the subject of visits,
due to the interest generated from the point of view of the R&D in the field of road infrastructure.
Along with other railway research projects the International Innotrans 2010 had the support
and collaboration of the International Innovation Unit (UII) and the Spanish Railway Technology
Platform (PTFE), both from the Spanish Railways Foundation (FFE). With all the posters displayed at
the PTFE stand, a printed publication entitled InnoTrans 2010. Spanish Projects and Technological
Innovations on Rail Industry was produced, which was distributed to visitors to the stand and
relevant institutions in the field of railway research.
d) Submission of a written and oral technical paper at the 9th Annual World Congress on Railway
Research (WCRR) held in Lille from May 22-26, 2011. It should be mentioned that participation
at this event had great results in the dissemination and internationalization of the ARTIFICIAL
BALLAST projects results and advances, as it is a forum of great relevance and consideration
among experts.
e) Presentation of the project at the International Railway Industry Show (BcnRail) -BcnRail INNOVA
Area - Railway Industry Project Lecture Room, infrastructure section. November 29 - December 2,
2011.
f) Presentation of papers at the 6TH INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING FOR HIGH SPEED CONFERENCE
98
EFFICIENT RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE. From planning and design to construction and operation.
SESSION 11. Major ongoing railway Innovation projects. Crdoba. June 2012.
5.5. Publication of a final report on the main results and advances of the Project
and conference presenting the results of the artificial ballast project
This document is the final report of the artificial ballast project summary and has been produced by
all members of the consortium under the coordination of the Railways Foundation.
This document was submitted on the day of the projects presentation on November 29, 2012.
This document is accompanied by a CD which includes the final reports on each Subproject.
5.6. Internationalization plan

In March 2011 the Internationalization Plan for the ARTIFICIAL BALLAST project was presented
to the members of the consortium. This led to a number of activities that were essential for proper
internationalization of the project.
a) Drafting of the document on the results, capabilities and expertise of the Consortium as a basis for
proper internationalization work.
b) Presence at ERRAC and contact with other European bodies.
c) Analysis of possible ARTIFICIAL BALLAST positioning in the 7PM and the future Horizon2020.
d) International Agenda of interest for ARTIFICIAL BALLAST.
i. Meetings in ERRAC (Open Workshop of ERRAC Working Group 5 (WP5-Strengthening
competitiveness).
ii. Information seminars on European programmes and meetings to present announcements.
iii. Seminars and conferences on current Seventh Framework Programme and the future
Horizon2020.
iv. Annual Spanish Railway Technology Platform organized by the PTFE. 2010, 2011 and 2012
editions.
99
Figure 46 Participation in a ERRAC Working Group
v. 9th World Congress on Railway Research WCRR, held on 22-26/05/2011 in Lille (France).
Organised by SNCF,TTCI, DB, RSSB, JR,Trenitalia, UIC.
vi. I RailTechnological Forum for Internationalization, organized by the Spanish Railways
Foundation and funded by the MICINN (currently MINECO) in 2011 in Madrid.
vii. BcnRail Congress and Exhibition, International Railway Industry Show, organized by
Railgroup, Barcelona. 2009 and 2011 editions.
viii. Participation at InnoTrans International Fair, Berlin. 2010 and 2012 Editions.
100
101
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Research project

Final report on the main results

Artificial Ballast project

Final report on the main results

Artificial Ballast project

Fundacin Caminos de Hierro

Polytechnic University of Madrid

Cement Manufacturers Group of Spain and the Spanish Institute of Cement

Spain, November 2012

Spanish Railways Foundation

0. Executive summary of the project

0.2. Summary of Project background and objectives

0. Executive summary of the project

0.3. Results summary

0. Executive summary of the project

artificial ballast grains.

0.4. Final considerations and definition of priorities in future research projects

0.5. Summary document structure

0. Executive summary of the project

SP4: Research into applicable prefabrication techniques.

1. Definition of the mechanical, geometric and

The main conclusions of this Subproject are summarised below:

Rc: unconfined compressive strength.

c) Application of models to artificial ballast analysis.

A second part devoted to analysis of currently applicable regulations.

MD (Molecular Dynamics), compared with the more recent CD (Contact Dynamics.).

As NON stabilized ballast.

Different data sources were analysed as items to reflect upon:

Geometries applied in natural

1.2. Preliminary definition of geometric design for granular media

Figure 2 Ballast grading envelope in Spanish regulations

It has been shown in the natural

The preliminary design of the

spheres or clusters of spheres).

1.3. Definition of the mechanical and functional requirements of the artificial

evaluation of rocks and

The mechanical parameters analyzed were therefore as follows:

The main final conclusions of this work are:

that provided for in EHE expressions.

1.4. Application of models in analysing the behaviour of artificial granular

In the state of the normal/degraded track.

Of the geometry in the arrangement of the grains (randomly generated).

Table 1 Final simulation programme

In the grading of the artificial material.

In the friction coefficient of the artificial material.

Figure 8 Grading envelope parameterization. Definition of envelope for

The main results of the simulations lead to the following conclusions:

Figure 9 Representation of simulation programme fatigue curve

2. Research related to applicable materials in artificial

2. Research related to applicable materials in artificial ballast production (SP2)

It could not be a conventional mortar as the performance

So the first part of the work, described in detail in the report

Calcium silicate hydrate

Figure 10 100x100x100 pixel box (1 pixel = 1 m3) full of

The results showed that even if achieving high strength

2.1. Experimental series

CEN standard sand, implementing standard UNE-EN 196-1

Table 2 Cementitious material properties

2. Research related to applicable materials in artificial ballast production (SP2)

2.1.1.1.2. Sieved gravel

Standards corresponding to tests used on cement are:

Figure 12 Gravel grading curve

2.1.1.2. Cement: CEM I 52.5 R/SR