Comparison Between the Cracking Process of Reinforced Concrete and Fibres Reinforced Concrete Railway Tracks by Using Non-linear Finite Elements Analysis

Abstract

This study concerns the use of numerical models to analyze and compare the cracking process of two types of Railway Tracks: one in reinforced concrete and the second one in FRC. The models used are the Probabilistic Explicit Cracking models developed by IFSTTAR and fully validated in the framework of previous works. The main result obtained can be summarized as following:When in a given concrete structure, the tensile stresses are localized, the traditional rebars are more efficient to control cracks than the presence of fibres.On the contrary, when the tensile stresses are diffused, that is the case in statically indeterminate mechanical situations, the fibres are significantly more efficient than traditional rebars in regards to this cracks control. The parts of the railway track slabs which are located between the zones delimited by the joints in the foundation slab are concerned by this conclusion.