Transportation Engineering, Exam Study notes

Traffic Flow
1. What is the physical limit to spacing on a road?

2. What is the relationship between speed and rate of travel?

3. What is the headway? What is the difference with time gap?

4. What is the storage? How can you estimate it from the density?

5. What is the continuity expression for traffic flow?

6. In queuing theory, what are and ?

7. Can D(t) be greater than the capacity of the system?

8. What happens if A(t) > D(t)?

Level of Service
1. What is the definition of capacity, in the context of traffic flow?

2. Why is it undesirable to design for traffic flow at maximum capacity?

3. What are the criteria used to define the LoS for freeway and 2 lane highways?

4. What is the peak hour factor?

5. What is the effect of the lane and shoulder width on the level of service?

6. Does the level of service increase or decrease with increasing traffic flow rates
(convention is

LoS A > Los B)?

7. What is the difference between flow rate and hourly volume?

8. Give three factors that affect the level of service for a multilane highway.

9. How is the effect of heavy vehicles in a traffic stream taken into account in
determining the level
of service of a highway?

General Road Design

1. What is Austroads and what do they do?

2. Why do we need design guides and standards?

3. Which guide is more conservative between Austroads and RTA?

4. What do we need geotechnical investigations for road design?

5. Give examples of one road from each of Classes 1 to 7, not including those
given in the course notes.

6. What are the two principal components in road design?

7. What is the name of the RTA's internal guide to geometric design?

8. Cite some of environmental considerations for road design.

9. How does the traffic composition affect the road design?

10. What is the desired speed? Is it a unique value?

11. What is the 85th percentile? Is it a unique value?

12. How is the operating speed defined for a section of the road?

13. How is the design speed for a particular road element defined?

14. Why does the designer tend to limit the speed difference between sections to
10 km/h? What if it is not possible?
15. List 2 design sight distances.

16. What are the establishment sight distance and the continuation sight
distance?

17. On what factors does the stopping distance of a vehicle depend? Which ones
are not quantified in the design guide?

Vertical Alignments
1. Which geometric characteristics of tangents have to be designed in a vertical
alignment?

2. What are the three design criteria used for vertical curve design?

3. What do BVC, EVC and IP stand for?

4. How does the design of the vertical curve impact the construction cost?

5. What kind of vertical curve is used in geometric road design? Why?

6. Under what circumstances will the horizontal position of the lowest point on a
sag curve coincide with the horizontal position of the point of intersection?

7. Is a vertical curve required in a situation where a +0.3% grade meets a -0.2%

grade in a speed environment of 60 km/hr? If so, how long should it be?

8. Show that the offset is symmetrical with respect to the IP.

Horizontal Alignment
1. What are two important functions of transition curves?

2. What geometric properties of clothoid spirals make them especially suitable

for use as transitions between straights and horizontal curves?

3. What happens to the position and length of a circular curve when transitions
are included?

4. Is there any condition under which a horizontal curve is not required?

5. At which point should full super-elevation be developed?

6. How is the length of a transition spiral determined?

7. What is the tangent run out length?

8. Establish a relationship between length of spiral (Ls) and tangent run out (Lt)
in the case of a constant speed and rotation rate.

9. How is super-elevation developed when there is no transition curve provided?

10. What is the only circumstance under which compound curves of differing
radii can be reasonably used?

11. Why are lanes widened on circular curves?

Cross Sections
1. What are two advantages of wider road shoulders?

2. Why is it important to account for drainage in the cross section?

3. What are the functions of the benches?

4. What are the functions of the verges?

Pavement Types and Materials

1. Explain the functions of the base and sub-base of a pavement.

2. Draw a cross-section through a simple flexible pavement indicating base and

sub-base layers, wearing course, subgrade, the formation level, and the
pavement portion.

3. What is a bulb of pressure?

4. Explain the significance of repeated loads to the long term performance of

pavements.

5. Which part of the pavement provides skid resistance?

6. Under which condition can a weak material be placed in a pavement?

7. Cite 2 RTA documents specifying the characteristics of pavement materials

8. Cite two types of bound pavement layers?

9. What is the difference between modified and bound pavement layers?

10. Draw a graph representing all types and subtypes of pavements

11. Why are there different classes of bitumen available?

12. How does the asphalt modulus evolve with increasing temperature? With
increasing speed?

13. Cite 3 types of asphalt.

14. What are the purposes of pre-coating agents and cutter oils in the spray
sealing process?

15. What is a DD14/20?

16. What is a bituminous emulsion and what is its purpose?

17. What is the difference between bitumen and tar?

18. What are the different types of concrete pavements?

19. What are the functions of a prime?

20. How is the CBR test modified to take account of the poor drainage conditions
which might occur in subgrades in low lying areas?

21. What is cut back bitumen?

Pavement Design
1. What does DESA stand for? What about DSAR?

2. Give three possible configurations of axles and tyres.

3. What is the difference between lightly trafficked and moderate to heavily

trafficked pavement in terms of traffic loading?

4. What guides can be used to design flexible pavements and overlays?

5. What kinds of failure mode are considered for flexible pavement in AGPT0212?

6. What are the two possible approaches to design a pavement? What is the
main difference?

7. What are the precise aims of mechanistic pavement design? What does it seek
to eliminate?

8. What do NHVAG and ESA/HVAG represent?

9. How can the subgrade modulus be inferred from the CBR?

Pavement Failure and Maintenance

1. What is bleeding? Why is that to be avoided?

2. Cite five ways that a pavement can fail through poor construction.

3. If a pavement fails due to longitudinal cracks parallel to the pavement edges,

what is a likely cause?

4. What is the difference between rutting and shoving?

5. What can be done to fix cracks in the surface course of a pavement?

6. What properties of a pavement are measured to assess its condition?

7. How is deflection measured?

8. What are the adverse effects of water on pavements?

9. What can be done to prevent re-saturation of the sub-grade by capillary

action?

10. What is crack reflection?

11. How is the temperature dependence of asphalt addressed in the design of

overlays?

Earthworks
1. Why is there two layers (SMZ) and (UZ) in the typical cross section of the
upgraded pacific highway (K2B)?

2. What is the PI and why is it a criterion to select fill material?

3. Give two reasons why the preliminary geotechnical investigations are

important for earthworks.

4. Under what circumstances is the average end area method of volume

estimation most accurate, and least accurate?

5. What is the definition of the bulking factor and the compaction factor?

6. Which kind of material can have a bulking factor below 1?

7. Rank the following earthworks commodities in order of increasing cost to an

earthworks project: topsoil; base gravels; imported select material; general fill.

8. What volume of a finished compacted clay embankment is carried by 6 m3

capacity truck? (3.7m3)

9. Which precaution should be taken when a fill is built against an existing batter
or slope that is steeper than 10H:1V?

10. In optimising a construction project to minimise earthworks costs, what is the

usual Australian strategy in regard to balancing earthworks? Why?

11. What is the significance of a falling (i.e. downward sloping) mass diagram
curve?

12. What is the significance of a mass diagram that finishes at a higher value
than the value it begins at?

Railways
1. What are the functions of ballast?

2. What materials can the sleepers be made of?

3. What is a travel up

4. What is a switch?

5. What is a guard rail?

6. How are rails joined?

7. What are the fundamental differences between trains and cars that affect the
geometrical design of railways?

8. Draw a sketch of a turnout and a crossover showing rails and sleepers

9. How is the flange/rail contact reduced in a straight?

10. What is the normal gauge? Is increased or reduced in curves?

11. Does friction appear in the mechanical equilibrium of a train in a circular

curve?

12. Why are grades compensated?

13. Why are geotextiles often placed at the base of the ballast?

14. What kinds of loads are exerted on the rails? Illustrate your answer with
sketches.

15. What happens to ballast particles with load repetitions?

16. How is the risk of heat buckling reduced when laying rails in conditions of
extreme temperatures?

17. Why is fouling an issue?

18. Why are rails more prone to breaking during winter than summer?

Traffic Flow
9. A freeway has a flow-density relationship approximated by v = 70 D for 0< D
<40 and a jam density of 120 v/km where D is in vehicles/lane/kilometer. Flow on
a particular day is approximately 2,100 veh/lane/h. At 10:00 a.m. an incident
occurs which reduces capacity to 1,600 veh/lane/h. The incident is cleared 45
min later and the flow returns to the normal. Assuming there are no ramps
upstream, what are the speeds of the forming and clearing shock waves of the
queue upstream of the incident? (-11.28 km/hr, -34.98 km/hr) When and where
do they intersect? (at 12.48 km after 1.1 hours ) Solve this exercise analytically
and graphically in a space-time diagram.
10. Same road than in exercise 9 and same initial traffic flow. Consider a traffic
light for a pedestrian crossing (it is not a traffic intersection) that goes red for 2
minutes. Plot on a space time diagramthe different zones of traffic, the
boundaries between these zones and the trajectory of vehicles.11. Consider a
single track 90 km long from west to east. There is one double track section from
60 km to 67.5 km from west end. A train leaves west at 1.00 pm doing 45 km/hr.
If another train leaves east at 1.30 pm and can travel at a speed up to 90 km/hr,
what is the earliest time this train can arrive at the west end and how should it
travel? Train B arrives at km60 at 2.20 pm and reaches the W end at 3 pm
travelling at 90 km/h
12. In question 11, the fast train (probably a passenger train) as to travel slow or
wait for about 0.5hour. How can the double track be modified to optimize
passenger travel? Consider that the passenger train and slow train can be 15 and
10 minutes late, respectively.
13. Consider a single track 50 km long. A coal train 2 km long leaves one end at
1.00 pm and travels at 40 km/h. A passenger train leaves from the same end at
1.30 pm and travels at 80 km/h. How long and where has to be the siding to
allow the passenger train to overtake the coal train without having it stopping?
Siding from km 40 to km 44.
14. Because of a minor collision, one of the two lanes of a freeway is blocked at
9.30 am. The normal capacity of the freeway of 3000 vh/hr is then reduced to
1200 vh/hr. The flow on the freeway at this time of the day is 2500 vh/hr. The
incident is cleared after 30 minutes.
a. Does a queue form? Yes
b. What is the longest time a vehicle is in the queue? 15.6 min
c. At what time does the queue clear? 11h18 am
d. What is the total delay? 585 v.h
e. If a driver enters into the queue at 9.50 am, how many vehicles would be
ahead of him?
How long would he have to wait in the queue? (433 veh, 14.7 min)
15. Same exercise with a changing traffic flow: 1300 veh/hr before 9.45 am and
2800 vh/hr after. The accident is cleared after 45 minutes. (yes, 17.7 min,
cleared after 4.875 hours, 1917.18 v.h, 105 v, 5.25 min)16. A post office has 5

counters and opens at 9 am. People are arriving 15 minutes before the opening
of the post office at a rate of 12 persons/hr. A counter can accommodate a client
in 6 minute. The number of counters opened and the arrival rate of clients are
given in the table below. What is the earliest time at which you can come to the
post office without having to wait? (at 10h52 am)
Time
9.00-9.30
9.30-10
10-10.30
10.30-11
11-11.30
11.30-12

Number of counters
opened
1
2
2
3
3
5

Arrival rate
[pers/h]
18
24
14
12
18
30

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Level of Service
10. The following PTSF and ATS have been determined for 4 segments of a 2 lane
highway.
Determine the LoS if the segments are class I and class II.
Segments
1
2
3
4

ATS [km/hr]
87
96
68
48

PTSF [%]
36
54
85
90

11. Calculate the ATS and PTSF of a rural two-lane two-way road that has 3.3m
lanes and 2.2m shoulders. It is constructed in rolling terrain and has 40% of no
passing zones. BFFS is 100 km/hr. Traffic includes 8% trucks/buses and 6%
recreational vehicles. The directional split of traffic volumes is 60/40. Measured
hourly volume is 600 veh/hr (2 way volume) and the PHF is 0.83. No access point
on the segment considered (85.7 km/hr, 60.8 %)
12. Repeat the calculation of ATS where the FFS has to be estimated from field
measurements of 95 km/hr under a flow of 600 veh/hr. (89.4 km/hr)
13. Consider the ATS and PTSF calculated in question 10 and determine the level
of service of the road (class I). (C)
14. The PTSF of a rural two-lane two-way road has been estimated to 48%. The
road (class I) is constructed in level terrain and has 60% of no passing zones. The
BFFS is 100 km/hr. There are about 6 access points per km of facility. The
directional split of traffic volumes is 60/40. vp has been estimated to 700 pc/h.
What minimum (lane+shoulder) width can be used to achieve a LoS B? (3.3 m of
lanes and 1.2 m shoulder)
15. Consider a rural 4-lane freeway through a rolling terrain with a BFFS of 110
km/hr. The traffic stream includes 6% trucks and busses and 15% recreational

vehicles for a volume of 2100 veh/hr (in one direction). There are two 3.5m lanes
in each direction and adjacent areas are free of

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General Road Design

19. Using the sections and section operating speeds, estimate the speeds at all
points of the road presented in the figure.

B: 89 km/hr, C: 100 km/hr, D=E=F: 93 km/hr, G: 81 km/hr, H: 85 km/hr,

I:90km/hr.
20. Determine the minimum stopping distance on a -2.5% grade at a design
speed of 90 km/hr if RT = 2.5 s. (157.7 m).
21. Determine the minimum stopping distance on a +1.5% grade at a design
speed of 100 km/hr (rural road). (use RT=2.5 s, 174.4 m)
22. Determine the minimum stopping distance for a 3% downgrade on a winding
section of road in hilly terrain, with a design speed of 60 km/hr. With RT=1.5 s
(hilly conditions, driver more alert), 68.6 m
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Vertical Alignments
9. A -3% grade is connected to a +1.5% grade by means of a 200m vertical
curve. The IP chainage is 12km000 and the IP elevation is 100.0m above sea
level. What are the chainage & elevation of the lowest point on the vertical
curve? (12km033, 101 m)
10. A 350 m vertical curve connects a +3.00% grade with a -2.00% grade. If the
chainage of the BVC is 15km000, what is the chainage of the highest point on
the curve? (15km210)
11. Compute the minimum length of vertical curve that will provide 220m
stopping sight distance at the intersection of a +3.50% grade and a -2.70%
grade (670 m).
12. Compute the minimum length of vertical curve that will provide 130m
stopping sight distance at the intersection of a -2.30% grade and a +4.80%

grade considering that there is an overhead obstruction (bridge) 4.5 m above

road finished level (no need for a curve).
13. Compute the minimum length of vertical curve that will provide 130m
stopping sight distance at the intersection of a -2.30% grade and a +4.80%
grade. Headlights dip 1 up. (205 m)
14. Compute the minimum length of vertical curve to satisfy basic design
criteria, as well as continuation sight distance, for a design speed of 100 km/h at
the intersection of a +1.40% grade with a -0.60% grade. Do not design for
trucks. Consider that the MCV speed is 10 km/hr lower than OS. (Continuation
sight distance governs: 900 m).
15. Compute curve elevations and offsets from tangents at 25 m chainage
intervals for a 350 m vertical curve joining a +2.70% grade with a -1.50% grade.
Assume the IP is at chainage 15km000 and elevation 25.00 m. Results should be
in tabular form, with columns for stations, tangent elevations, offsets, and curve
elevations starting at the BVC and ending at the EVC of the curve.
Chainage

x, m

Tangent
Elevation, m

Offset (rx2
/2), m

Curve
Elevation, m

BVC:
14km825
14km850
14km875
14km900
IP: 15km000
15km025
15km050
15km075

20.275

0.000

20.275

25
50
75
175
200
225
250

20.950
21.625
22.300
25.000
24.625
24.250
23.875

-0.038
-0.150
-0.338
-1.838
-1.350
-0.938
-0.600

20.912
21.475
21.962
23.162
23.275
23.312
23.275

16. Plot the profile for the curve data in part a).
17. A vertical curve joins a -0.5% grade to a +1.0% grade. The IP of the vertical
curve is at chainage 20km000 and elevation 150.00 m above sea level. The
centreline of the roadway must clear a pipe
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Horizontal Alignment
12. What should be the lane width in an horizontal curve having a 80 m radius if
the design speed is 90 km/hr and the lane width in straights is 3.5 m? (RTA: 4.3
m)
13. What is the minimum radius of a horizontal curve for a design speed of 80
km/hr so that there is adequate stopping sight distance around an obstacle that
is 18 m from the travel path of the driver around the curve when the car is
positioned evenly within the traffic lane? (with RT=2s, R = 88m).
14. Compute the minimum radius of a circular curve for a highway designed for
110 km/h. The maximum super-elevation is 7% (501 m).

15. Determine the superelevation to apply to a curve having an operating speed

of 110 km/hr and a radius of 500 m (6%).
16. A two-lane highway (one 3.6 m lane in each direction) goes from normal
crown with 2% cross-slopes to 7% super elevation by means of a transition
curve. Determine the length of spiral required to obtain an ideal case of
superelevation development. Design speed for the curve is 100km/hr. (85 m)
**************************************************

Cross Sections
5. Determine the geometrical features of a cross-section for a rural road which is
to be located on a ground surface which slopes at 7% (perpendicular to the
direction of the centreline). The existing ground level at the position of the
centreline is 32.4 m and the finished surface level will be 31.9 m. The road has
an annual average daily traffic of 750 vehicles and will be finished with a sprayed
bitumen seal. The natural ground is a dispersive clay. (Lane widths: 3.1 3.5 m,
Crossfall: 3%, Shoulder widths: 1.8-2.0 m, shoulder crossfall: 3 to 5%, batter
slope: 3:1 on cut & 6:1 on fill unless geotechnical analysis allows for steeper
batters).
6. Determine the geometrical features of a cross-section of a rural four lane two
way road in a flat river plain (class 1). The final level of the road is 2.5 m above
the natural ground level. The average annual daily traffic is 8000 vehicles/day.
The median is narrow with a rigid barrier and carriageways are divided. (Lane
widths: 3.5 m, Crossfall: 3%, Shoulder widths: 2.5 m, shoulder crossfall: 3 to 5%,
batter slope: 6:1 fill unless geotechnical analysis allows for steeper batters).
*******************************************************

Pavement Types and Materials

22. What asphalt modulus should be considered for design in case of a modulus
measured under reference conditions of 4000 MPa with an expected average
service temperature of 30 degrees, 5% air void and a traffic speed of 50km/hr?
(2240 MPa)
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Pavement Design
10. What is the design traffic for an annual average daily traffic of 2000
vehicle/day with 35% of trucks in rural area, a design period of 25 years and a
growth factor of 4%? What is then the DESA? (1.5107, 1.35107)
11. What is the design traffic NDT for an annual average daily traffic of 2000
vehicle/day with 10% of trucks in urban area, a distribution factor of 0.3, a lane
distribution factor of 0.6, a design period of 22 years and a growth factor of 4%?
What is the DESA? (1.1106, 7.8105)
12. How many equivalent standard axle loads are imposed by an overloaded
semi trailer with the following axles loads: (6.82)
Front: (SAST width < 375 mm) 7 tonnes

Drive: (TADT) 17 tonnes

Trailer: (TRDT) 21 tonnes
13. What thickness of base and sub-base are required for a flexible granular
pavement over a subgrade with a CBR of 10% for a design traffic load of 2107
DESA? (160mm base, 170mm sub base)
14. What should be the minimum CBR of the subgrade if a total thickness of
pavement of 400 mm has to accommodate traffic of 106 ESA? (5)
15. Repeat the question with a thickness of pavement of 300 mm and traffic of
104 ESA? (3.5)
16. Design a granular pavement for a design traffic of 2106 ESA on a subgrade
having a CBR of 2.5% using two granular materials having a CBR of 90 (Material
#1) and 20 (Material #2). (180 mm base, 440 mm sub base)
17. Produce a pavement design for the road from Tamworth to Gunnedah which
has an average annual daily traffic of 1880 vehicles per day with 14% trucks and
an anticipated growth rate of 5% per year (design period 20 years). The average
CBR of subgrade for the section considered is 3%. The pavement should include
a layer of asphalt (modulus of 3GPa), 100 mm of unbound granular material and
a layer of cemented material (modulus of 5 GPa, thickness 250 mm) (80mm of
asphalt). What is major mode of distress of the pavement? (fatigue of cemented
material) What would be the thickness of pavement in case of a flexible
pavement without bound layers? (150 mm of base, 450 mm of sub-base).
18. What service life can you expect from a pavement having a total thickness of
500 mm (including 180 mm of base) on a CBR 5 subgrade in a rural area of New
South Wales? Consider the following traffic design parameters: 7% of Heavy
Vehicles, an annual average daily traffic of 12,000 vehicles per day, growth of 6%
and a directional split of traffic: 50/50 (18 years).
19. Repeat the question is the pavement is made of 140 mm of base and 400
mm of sub-base (3.8 years).
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Pavement Failure and Maintenance

12. An asphalt overlay has to be designed for a rural road class 1. The
characteristic deflection (CD) is equal to 1.8 mm and the design traffic ESA is
104. What thickness is given by fig. 6.9? What does this mean? (No asphalt is
required for structural purposes)
13. An unbound pavement is to be rehabilitated using an asphalt overlay
(temperature of 25C). The average deflection is 1.18 mm and the standard
deviation is 0.048 mm. The mean curvature is 0.16 mm. What criteria have to be
considered for the design knowing that the traffic is estimated at 107 ESAs?
What thickness of asphalt overlay is required for this class 1 road pavement?
(110 mm)
14. A section of the road from Singleton to Muswellbrook has a pavement with an
asphalt base (but no cemented materials) that requires rehabilitation

(temperature of 25C). What thickness of asphalt overlay is required if the

rehabilitation has a design life of 10 years, and the road carries 1150 vehicles
per day with 7% trucks, with an expected growth of 8%? Benkelman beam
results for the section are given below. (40 mm for fatigue)
D0 [mm]
1.22
1.28
1.42
1.13
1.21
1.30
1.28
1.28
1.32
1.41
1.05
1.32
1.30
1.40
1.16
1.19

D200 [mm]
0.96
0.98
1.07
0.90
0.92
1.02
1.02
0.98
0.96
1.08
0.82
0.98
1.04
1.02
0.90
0.86

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Earthworks
13. An embankment of 120 m3 has to be built on an area of a road construction
site. The material is an ordinary soil. What is the in situ volume required for this
task? If the material is hauled by a 25T truck (capacity of around 12 m3). How
many loads are required? (133.3 m3, 14 trucks)
14. Compute the area of the following section. X and Y coordinates (in m) are
given for each point (24.93 m2).

15. Given the end areas below, calculate the volumes of cut and fill between
chainages 25km200 and 25km420. If the material shrinks by 15 percent upon
compaction, how much excess cut or fill is there?
Chainage
25km200
25km250

End areas, m2
Cut
25.2
36.4

Fill
0
-43.5

25km300
25km350
25km380
25km420

0
12.36
14.00
32.45

-19.32
-4.52
0
0

16. An earthwork job start at chainage 0km000 and finishes at chainage

22km500. The cut and fill volume are in the following table. The volumes are
already corrected for compaction and are comparable.
a. Plot the earthworks diagram for the earthwork quantities contained in the
following table.
Is the diagram acceptable? Why?
b. There is a possibility to get rid of excess material at chainage 0km750. Redraw
the mass haul diagram taking into account an excess of material of 15%
c. Determine the haul directions on the job.

*Corrected for 10% volume reduction upon compaction.

17. Consider the embankment of question 13 for this question.

a. If the fill material has to be hauled on 3 km, which machine is to be used?
b. Consider now that the material is hauled over 1200 m and two possible
options: transport by scraper or by truck. List the machines to be used to
load/transport/unload the material for each option.
c. Considering the following data, determine the total cycle time for each option
(17.6 min; 20.5 min). If there were only one truck or one scraper to move earth,
how long would it take to haul the whole volume of material required for the
embankment? (2.05hrs; 4.44 hrs)

a. In order to reduce the time required to move material, the contractor wants to
hire more trucks. In case there is only one excavator to load the trucks, how
many trucks would you need to optimize the haulage (3)?
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Railways
19 Calculate the stress transmitted below a sleeper from the vertical dynamic
load in case of a T1 train travelling at max speed. Consider a wheel diameter of
600 mm and a sleeper length and width of 2000 mm and 300 mm, respectively.
20 Calculate the equilibrium superelevation for a train travelling at 100 km/hr in
a 800 m radius curve. If the cant deficiency is 50 mm, what is the applied
superelevation?
21 Considering the data of question 20, calculate the length required for
superelevation development for an XPT train according to the ARTC method. Is it
fully developed in the transition curve?
22 Calculate the ballast breakage index for the following PSD knowing that the
arbitrary limit is 0% passing at 2.36 mm and 100% passing at 56 mm.

23 If a 100m free rail expands 23.4mm when heated by 20C, how much does it
expand when heated through 40C? (46.8 mm)What force will be generated in
the rail if it is welded and fastened into place in its expanded state, and then
cooled by 40C, if E = 210GPa, and the rail has a section area of 2500mm2?
(252kN)
24 A rail is installed at a temperature of 18C. The expected range of
temperature in service is expected to be 10C - 45C. Which force is supposed to
be exerted on the rail to obtain a stress free rail at average temperature (section
of 2500 mm2) (492 kN)? Is it a tensile or compressive stress?