A Review of The Effectiveness of Different Types of Railway Sleepers

A Review of The Effectiveness of Different Types of Railway Sleepers
  IJETT-book-cover           
  
© 2021 by IJETT Journal
Volume-69 Issue-10
Year of Publication : 2021
Authors : Mbatha Abednigo Jabu, AA Alugongo, O Maube, NZ Nkomo
DOI :  10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V69I10P224

How to Cite?

Mbatha Abednigo Jabu, AA Alugongo, O Maube, NZ Nkomo, "A Review of The Effectiveness of Different Types of Railway Sleepers," International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, vol. 69, no. 10, pp. 193-199, 2021. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V69I10P224

Abstract
The railway structural material often suffers from aggressive loading and vibration in the locomotive industry. The durability of the sleepers currently in use and their vibration properties are not sufficiently resilient to vibration, and this can lead to premature failure such as cracking in the mid-span of concrete sleepers and on the rail seat due to impact loading. This review paper discusses the effectiveness of the different types of railway sleepers that are currently in use. This paper reviews the mechanical properties of a composite sleeper, timber sleeper, concrete sleeper, and steel sleeper, and possible solutions to eliminate failure of sleepers are discussed. Timber sleepers historically were the most widely used in the railway industry. However, termite, end splitting, and fungal decay susceptibility have been known as the root reason for timber failure. On the other hand, steel sleepers have a threat of fatigue cracking and corrosion. A concrete sleeper possesses great compression strength. However, they have low ductility and elasticity. This results in cracking the mid-span of the concrete sleeper. The composite sleeper has been introduced to replace sleepers that are in use. Composite sleepers have great mechanical strength. However, the composite sleeper has low hydrophilicity, and this can cause weak bonds between resin and filler. There is still a need for further research to come up with optimized composite sleepers that can have enhanced vibration properties and great mechanical strength.

Keywords
Sleeper, Mechanical properties, vibrational analysis, railway line

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