An investigation on the stiffness of timber sleepers for the design of fibre composite sleepers

Ticoalu, A. and Aravinthan, T. and Karunasena, W. (2008) An investigation on the stiffness of timber sleepers for the design of fibre composite sleepers. In: 20th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM 20): Futures in Mechanics of Structures and Materials , 2-5 Dec 2008, Toowoomba, Australia.

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Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation on timber railway sleepers with a view to select a suitable stiffness and a modulus of elasticity for the design of a fibre composite railway sleeper. Eight full size timber sleepers were tested using a four point bending test arrangement. An overview of existing material for railway sleepers is also presented. Based on the tests, it is concluded that timber sleepers have significant variation in strength and stiffness as can be inferred from the modulus of elasticity (Esleeper) which ranged between approximately 9520 MPa and 27600 MPa. It is desirable to develop a concept fibre composite sleeper within a similar range of modulus of elasticity. Based on the statistical analysis, it is proposed to use the lower tail value that is 12000 MPa as design modulus of elasticity for the fibre composite railway sleeper.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Commonwealth Reporting Category E) (Paper)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London. Permanent restricted access to published version due to publisher copyright policy. Author's version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. 2 print copies held in USQ Library at call no. 624 Fut.
Depositing User:	Prof Thiru Aravinthan
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - Department of Agricultural, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2009 22:59
Last Modified:	25 Nov 2014 01:16
Uncontrolled Keywords:	railway sleepers
Fields of Research :	09 Engineering > 0905 Civil Engineering > 090503 Construction Materials 09 Engineering > 0905 Civil Engineering > 090506 Structural Engineering 09 Engineering > 0912 Materials Engineering > 091202 Composite and Hybrid Materials
Socio-Economic Objective:	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970109 Expanding Knowledge in Engineering
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/4849

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