International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 132

Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 8190

STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION OF COMPOSITE

RAILWAY SLEEPERS
Yasmeen B

Dr. T.Bhagavathi Pushpa,

P.G Scholar, Dept of Civil Engineering,

Anna University Regional Campus,
Madurai, India.

Asst. Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering,

University College of Engineering,
Ramanathapuram, India.

Abstract
Rail transport is the movement of passengers
and goods using wheeled vehicles, made to run on railway
tracks. Railways provide an energy-efficient way to
transport material over land. The railway tracks are a large
part of the system and provide smooth and hard surfaces on
which the wheels of the train roll with a little friction. Also,
the track spreads the weight of the train which means larger
amounts can be carried than trucks and roads. For some
railway infrastructure components, such as rails, alternative
materials are limited. However, for components such as
railway sleepers, there are number of alternative materials
available. Recent trend has been to exploit advanced fibre
composite material for railway sleepers. Although early
works in fibre composite development was largely in the
aircraft industries, its outstanding characteristics of strength
and durability makes it attractive for civil engineering
applications such as bridge, beam reinforcement, railway
sleeper and structural slab. This project is mainly to analyse
and compare the classical sleepers and composite sleepers.
These sleepers are structurally optimised in various shapes
using ANSYS software. From the comparison of obtained
results the best sleeper is recommended for railway track.
Keywords: Prestressed
polyurethane

I.

concrete,

Glass

fibre

reinforced

INTRODUCTION

Railway is an important and popular means of transportation

for people and freight in many parts of the world including
India,European countries, Australia and America. One of the
most important parts in the railway track is the sleepers.
They constitute the railway track superstructure together
with rails, ballast, sub-ballast, base and formation layer of
the base. The gauge should be maintained and as far as
possible alignment should not get distorted. Another aspect
they should able to provide firm and even support to the rail
sections. The rail sections have been placed at the top and if
they are not being supported then they are going to sink into
the ballast cushion.
They should be able to transport the load to a wider
area of ballast. This is another important respect that, it
should be able to transport the load as a concentrated load
which is coming from the rail track sections to the ballast
section. It should act as elastic medium, i.e., it should be
able to absorb the blows or the vibrations which are coming
from the rolling stock movement over the rail sections. If it
is not elastic in nature, then the deformation will keep on
increasing and finally the track will become irregular in
shape or it will be higher amount of settlement of certain
locations.
The longitudinal and lateral stability permanent
way should also be there, this is another aspect. As we have

seen in the case of rail sections not only there has been
movements of the forces which are acting in the longitudinal
direction but there are other forces which are acting in the
lateral direction too and all those forces which are acting
either of the direction are going to be transported finally to
the sleepers. If the amount of these forces is quite large then
the sleepers will come out of their position and will be
moving either along with the rail sections or they will just
loose this strength which they are going to impart to the
overall track structure. So this aspect of stability both
directional stability should be maintained
As world timber resources dwindle, timber sleepers
must be replaced by those of an alternative material. The
alternative material should have at least the same properties
as timber and be competitively priced. Steel and concrete
sleepers have been extensively used in several railway
tracks. Steel sleepers were found to be difficult to maintain,
noisy and required special fastenings for electrical
insulation. Concrete sleepers were heavy, relatively brittle,
and stiff. Subsequently prestressed concrete was introduced
and has been a popular material for sleepers although
manufacturing cost is high. However, some of the railway
tracks were built hundreds of years ago and track
components such as rails and sleepers need to be replaced or
require extensive maintenance. In order to overcome these
disadvantages composite materials are used for the
manufacturing of sleepers. To improve the lateral resistance
of sleepers the shape of the sleeper is modified as Y and
V. These shapes will be created using ANSYS and the
properties of composite material chosen, will be applied and
analysis will be undertaken. ANSYS is an analysis software
which is extensively used in structural engineering
applications.
Allan Manalo and ThiruAravinthan
(2012)[1] presented the investigation onto the mechanical
behavior of sleepers made from glue-laminated fibre
composite sandwich beams and evaluation against the
performance requirements for a railway turnout application.
The results show that the orientation of sandwich
laminations has a significant effect on the behaviour of
railway sleepers made from glue-laminated fibre composite
sandwich beams. Composite sleepers with edgewise
sandwich laminations showed the most efficient section
among the investigated beam configurations. Gluelaminated fibre composite sandwich beam has strength and
stiffness suitable for railway turnout sleeper application. The
new composite turnout sleeper has better mechanical
properties than most of the commercially available
composite sleepers.
Czesl aw Bajer and Roman Bogacz
(2013)[2]presented the dynamic analysis of Y-type track

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International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 133

Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 8190

under moving smooth or oscillatory load. The Y-type track

is compared with the classical one. The amplitude growth
under the moving load and in certain distance in front of the
contact points is the main quantity investigated in their
paper. The track with classic concrete sleepers is inuenced
much more by rotational inertia and shear deections than
the track with Y sleepers. The increase of elastic wave
velocity in track with Y-shaped sleepers and more uniform
load distribution will be proved by the analysis and
simulations. Measurements and numerical simulations
proved lower noise emission of the track with modied
sleepers. They are characteristic of lower amplitude level
and in the same way lower acoustic emission.
Kishore
Kumar
and
SambasivaRao
(2014)[3]established a typical finite element model of the
concrete sleeper that focuses on analyzing the behavior of a
concrete sleeper during a train passage. A finite element
model of a pre-stressed concrete sleeper is established for
static load conditions. The studies done with the sleeper
model showed that the train load has great impact at the rail
seat positions at the two ends of the sleeper maintained at
broad gauge distance i.e. 1.76m. Their analysis also showed
that the interaction between the sleeper and the underlying
ballast is of great importance for the dynamic behavior of
the sleeper. This analysis showed that the finite element
program was well suited for modeling concrete sleepers. In
summary, the in-situ condition had a remarkable influence
on the natural frequency, modal damping, and vibration
mode shape of prestressed concrete sleepers, especially in
the low frequency range and flexural deformation.
Malik and pawan (2014)[4]given that the
emergence of plastic industries has become a boon for
various engineering applications. Plastics are durable,
lightweight materials, which are easy to transport. The
major advantage of plastic is it is recyclable in nature, which
helps to conserve landfill space, natural resources and
reduce pollution. Earlier in railways, wooden, concrete or
steel sleepers are used. Due to their high cost and limited
life span, nowadays plastic sleepers all over the world at
large scale. An attempt has been made to study various
engineering plastics used in railways and the advantages of
plastics over other construction materials. Moreover, special
attention is given to fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) i.e.
plastic composites. The study concluded that plastics are
more reliable, more economically viable and have longer
life span.
Manalo et al(2001)[5]suggested a modern Yshaped steel sleeper to replace the traditional steel sleeper.
From the name itself implies, the Y-steel-sleeper is shaped
like a Y in its horizontal layout. Compared to the usual
steel sleeper, the Y-steel-sleeper possesses much greater
resistance against cross movements due to the greater
amount of ballast contained between the two parts of the Yfork. However, due to its form, laying of the Y-steelsleepers should follow strict guidelines that require high
output renewal trains. And they also suggested the use of
fibre composite alternatives for railway sleeper which have
the ability to compete effectively with conventional sleeper
materials.

SakdiratKaewunruen
and
Alexander
Remennikov (2006)[6]demonstrates the finite element
modeling to investigate the static behaviors of railway
prestressed concrete sleeper, with the uses of nonlinear
material properties. Commercial package, ANSYS10, was
employed in this study, for which it would be benefit for the
industry. The finite element model of the prestressed
concrete sleeper was developed. The concrete bricks and
prestressing wires were modeled using SOLID65 and
LINK8 elements, respectively. The prestressing was applied
using the initial strain to LINK8 elements in the discrete
manner. Applied displacement method was used in the
analyses due to the fast and smooth convergence of
numerical iterations. The hogging moment test of railway
concrete sleeper was carried out, to evaluate its performance
under such loading. It was found that only known
compressive strength of concrete, measured from exacted
cores, and existing formulae are sufficient to model the
prestressed concrete sleeper.
Wahid Ferdous et al (2014)[7]conducted test using
composite materials for railway sleepers and they analyze
the sleepers by modifying the shape of the sleepers. The
results shows that the optimized shape of sleeper reduces
approximately 2/3 volumes of material. Behavior of
optimized composite sleeper is comparable with timber
sleeper. The vertical deflection, bending stress and sleeperballast contact pressure are obtained within the allowable
limit.

II.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials
Glass Fibre Reinforced Polyurethane
Fibre reinforced Foamed Urethane FFU sleepers
are made of continuous glass fibre reinforced rigid
polyurethane foam. The foam contains advantages over
plastic and wood, e.g., durability and corrosion resistance,
electrical insulation, light weight and strength, and good
fabrication/assembly/coating.Contrary to concrete, the high
damping characteristic of FFU bearers would be beneficial
to the impact and vibration absorption at turnout crossings
transferring to supporting components.
Sleeper section
Conventional Sleeper:
Length
: 2750 mm
Width
Top
: 150 mm
Bottom
: 250 mm
Height
: 185 mm
Sleeper spacing :500mm
Y Sleeper:
Size
: 130x160x2600 mm
Laying distance between Y sleepers
Axes
: 576 mm
Properties
Prestressed concrete
Density
: 2400 kg/mm3
Young's Modulus: 30000 MPa
Poissons ratio : 0.3
Glass fibre reinforced polyurethane
Youngs modulus : 8100 MPa

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Poissons ratio

: 0.3

International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 134

Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 8190

Methodology
ANSYS
ANSYS civil software is a comprehensive FEA
analysis (finite element) tool for structural analysis,
including linear, nonlinear and dynamic studies. The
engineering simulation product provides a complete set of
elements behavior, material models and equation solvers for
a wide range of structural design problems. ANSYS has
proven to be the most integrated, productive and practical
general purpose structural program on the market today. A
three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model of a
railway sleeper is developed by a general purpose finite
element analysis package, ANSYS.
Sleeper models were created in ANSYS
mechanical APDL software and meshed. The solid 20node
186 was assigned as element type. Then the models were
exported to ANSYS workbench software. The properties of
prestressed concrete and glass fibre reinforced polyurethane
were assigned to the sleepers using engineering data options.
The boundary conditions and ballast actions were assigned
using support conditions option in workbench. The load was
applied as a point load at the rail seat locations. The rail axle
load was assumed as 230 kN.

III.

Fig. 3.2 Vonmises stress on composite multiple normal

shaped sleepers
The maximum vonmises stress on composie
multiple normal shaped sleepers were 2.8002x10 -6MPa. This
value was obtained at the point of application of load. This
value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

General
The sleeper models were created using ANSYS. A
total of 8 types of sleepers were created. They were
prestressed normal shaped sleeper, composite normal shaped
sleeper, prestressed multiple normal shaped sleepers,
composite multiple normal shaped sleepers, prestressed Y
shaped sleeper, composite Y shaped sleeper, prestressed
multiple Y shaped sleepers, composite multiple Y shaped
sleepers.
Vonmises stress results
Vonmises stresses produced on various sleepers
due to the application of load are shown in Figures 3.1 to
3.4.

Fig. 3.3 Vonmises stress on prestressed multiple Y

shaped sleepers
The maximum vonmises stress on prestressed
multiple Y shaped sleepers were 4.2121x10 -6MPa. This
value was obtained at the point of application of load. This
value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

Fig. 3.1 Vonmises stress on prestressed multiple normal

shaped sleepers
The maximum vonmises stress on prestressed
multiple normal shaped sleepers were 3.7796x10-6MPa. This
value was obtained at the point of application of load. This
value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

Fig. 3.4 Vonmises stress on composite multiple Y shaped

sleepers

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International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 135

Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 8190

The maximum vonmises stress on composite

multiple Y shaped sleepers were 2.747x10-6MPa. This value
was obtained at the point of application of load. This value
get reduced in the nearby sleepers.
The Vonmises stresses produced on composite
Y shaped sleepers were lesser than the prestressed multiple
normal shaped sleepers, composite multiple normal shaped
sleepers, prestressed multiple Y shaped sleepers.
Total deformation results
Total deformation on various sleepers due to
the application of load are shown in Figures 3.5 to 3.8.

Fig.3.7 Total deformation of prestressed multiple Y

shaped sleepers
The maximum total deformation of
prestressed multiple Y shaped sleepers were 1.597x10 -5mm.
This value was obtained at the point of application of load.
This value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

Fig.3.5 Total deformation of prestressed multiple normal

shaped sleepers
The maximum total deformation of
prestressed multiple normal
shaped sleepers were
1.5215x10-5mm. This value was obtained at the point of
application of load. This value get reduced in the nearby
sleepers.

Fig.3.8 Total deformation of composite multiple Y

shaped sleepers
The maximum total deformation of composite
multiple normal shaped sleepers were 3.6163x10 -5mm.
This value was obtained at the point of application of load.
This value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.
The total deformation of composite Y-shaped
sleepers were lesser than the prestressed multiple normal
shaped sleepers, composite multiple normal shaped sleepers
and prestressed multiple Y shaped sleepers.

Fig. 3.6 Total deformation of composite multiple normal

shaped sleepers

Lateral displacement results

Lateral displacements in the direction of
wheel movement in various sleepers due to the application
of load are shown in Figures below.

The maximum total deformation of composite

multiple normal shaped sleepers were 3.9576x10 -5mm. This
value was obtained at the point of application of load. This
value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

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International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 136

Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 8190

The maximum lateral deformation in

prestressed multiple Y shaped sleepers were 1.5987x106
mm. This value was obtained at the point of application of
load. This value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

Fig. 3.9 Lateral displacement in prestressed multiple

normal shaped sleepers
The maximum lateral displacment in
prestressed multiple normal shaped sleepers were
1.8642x10-6mm. This value was obtained at the point of
application of load. This value get reduced in the nearby
sleepers.

Fig. 3.12 Lateral displacement in composite multiple Y

shaped sleepers
The maximum lateral displacement in
composite multipleY shaped sleepers were 4.7238x10-6mm.
This value was obtained at the point of application of load.
This value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.
The lateral displacement in composite Yshaped sleepers were lesser than the prestressed multiple
normal shaped sleepers, composite multiple normal shaped
sleepers and prestressed multiple Y-shaped sleepers. This is
because, the Y-shaped sleepers were connected throughout
the length unlike normal sleepers and also due to the action
of ballast which were well arrested with in the Y-forked
arms.This increases the lateral stiffness of the railway
sleepers and hence the railway track.

Fig. 3.10 Lateral displacement in composite multiple

normal shaped sleepers
The maximum lateral displacement in
composite multiple normal shaped sleepers were 4.7628x106
mm. This value was obtained at the point of application of
load. This value get reduced in the nearby sleepers.

Fig. 3.11 Lateral displacement in prestressed multiple Y

shaped sleepers

IV.

CONCLUSION

This study depicts that the composite sleepers

have more strength and stiffness compared to prestressed
concrete sleepers. Composite sleepers are effective in load
transferring without substantial loss or reduction in its initial
properties with time. Analysis using ANSYS is more
efficient and provides accurate results than manual
calculations. Sleepers are structurally optimized using
ANSYS software to Y shape. From the results the
following conclusions were made:
Total deformation, vonmises stress and lateral
deformation in composite sleeper was less than the
prestressed concrete sleeper. Total deformation, vonmises
stress and lateral deformation in Y shaped sleeper was
less than the normal sleeper in both prestressed concrete and
composite sleepers.
The maximum total deformation of composite
multiple Y shaped sleepers were 3.6163x10-5mm. The
maximum total deformation of composite multiple normal
shaped sleepers were 3.9576x10-5mm. So, the total
deformation of composite multiple Y shaped sleepers were
1.09 times lesser than the composite multiple normal shaped
sleepers.

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International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) 137

Volume 4 Issue 4, April 2016, ISSN No.: 2348 8190

Vonmises stress on composite multiple Y

shaped sleepers were 2.747x10-6MPa. Vonmises stress on
composite multiple normal shaped sleepers were 2.8002x106
MPa. So, the vonmises stress on composite multiple Y
shaped sleepers were 1.02 times lesser than the composite
multiple normal shaped sleepers.
Likewise, the lateral deformation in composite
multiple Y shaped sleepers were 4.7238x10-6mm and in
composite multiple normal shaped sleepers were 4.7628x106
mm. So, the vonmises stress on composite multiple Y
shaped sleepers were 1.01 times lesser than the composite
multiple normal shaped sleepers.
It is easy to mould the composite materials in any
desired shape which is not possible in case of prestressed
concrete. Using composite materials we can reduce the CO2
emissions. The weight of composite sleeper is less than the
prestressed concrete sleeper.
So, it is recommended that the composite Y
shaped sleepers with polyurethane are more efficient than
the normal shaped prestressed concrete sleepers.

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