The impact of using UHPFRC in concrete sleepers on the rail fastening system performance

Abstract The life span of railways is one of the most important concerns of rail systems, where rail fastening systems play a key role in extending the life span of the railway. The fastener system plays a necessary role in fixing the rail on the sleeper. The fastener system's tasks ensure the process's safety during operation. The quality of the fastener system directly affects the safety performance of trains. In this research, four different types of ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) mixtures with two types of steel fiber (50% end-hooked and 50% corrugated) with the same aspect ratio fabricated the pre-stressed concrete sleepers (B70). In addition, the control mix with traditional concrete C50 was tested. From laboratory investigation, this paper clarifies the impact of ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete admixture on the pull-out resistance for the fastening system in sleeper B70 and the effect of increasing the amounts of steel fiber on this test.