Han-Lin Wang

A Newly Designed TDR Probe for Soils with High Electrical Conductivities

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is a fast, accurate, and safe technology for field monitoring of soil moisture. Commonly used information in TDR signals includes the apparent dielectric constant and electrical conductivity. Because general TDR principles are not available for apparent dielectric constant measurements by travel time methods in soils with high electrical conductivities caused by the significant signal attenuation, the conventional commercial probes lose their purposes. For this reason, a new probe has been designed for measuring dielectric constants in highly conductive soils on the basis of the surface reflection coefficients method. This new probe can make the reflection at the soil surface more distinct. Experiments were conducted to verify the accuracy of measuring dielectric constants in different soils using this new probe. Finally, the probe was used to measure water content and dry density in the field. The results show that the probe has good integrity and high strength. This probe is capable of obtaining the dielectric constant in soils with high electrical conductivities using surface reflection coefficients methods with reasonable accuracy. In addition, it indicates that the dielectric constant measured by this approach matches well with that determined by travel time methods in the relative error range of 10 % in lowly conductive soils. Compared to oven-dry methods, the relative errors of water content and dry density determined using this new probe are less than 10 % and 3 %, respectively.

Effects of degree of compaction and fines content of the subgrade bottom layer on moisture migration in the substructure of high-speed railways

Moisture migration and distribution in the substructure are found to be the important reasons for water-related problems in high-speed railways. In this study, a numerical model of a double-line ballastless track-bed consisting of a substructure (subgrade surface layer, subgrade bottom layer and subsoil) and a superstructure (including two concrete bases right above the substructure) was established. The superstructure was considered as an impermeable boundary in this model, while two fissures were set at the joint edges of the left-line concrete base and the surface layer, simulating the infiltration area of rainwater. The effects of degree of compaction and fines content of the bottom layer due to moisture migration in the high-speed railway substructure were investigated on this model by applying and analyzing the 2013 rainfall data of Hangzhou, China, for a three-year period. The results show that the saturation zones develop in the subgrade, after a three-year period, with the size increasing with the increase in the degree of compaction or fines content due to higher water retention capacity and lower permeability of the soil. Furthermore, the variations of volumetric water content at different depths of the left-fissure profile indicate that as the degree of compaction or fines content increases, the arriving time of the wetting front increases, but the fluctuation amplitude of the volumetric water content after the arrival of the wetting front decreases on the whole. The degree of compaction appears to present a more significant impact on these two parameters. In particular, a threshold value of the degree of compaction between 0.90 and 0.93 is observed, prolonging the arriving time of the wetting front remarkably at a certain elevation. Besides, it takes a longer time for the wetting front to pass through the interface between the surface layer and the bottom layer for each case. From a practical point of view, it will be beneficial to employ drainage methods to drain out the water before it reaches the bottom layer.

Mechanical Behaviors of GRPS Track-Bed with Changing Water Levels and Loading Cycles

This paper presents a full-scale model study of the mechanical behaviors of geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) railway track-bed under coupled effects of changing water levels and large number of loading cycles. Four testing procedures were performed: water level increasing, loading at high water level, water level lowering and loading at low water level. The results indicate that with the water level increasing and loading at high water level, the differential settlement between the subsoil (simulated by water bag) and pile cap increased, leading to more significant soil arching effect. When enough loading cycles were applied at high water level, a stable soil arching was developed. At the stable state of soil arch, the distributions of dynamic soil stress were slightly influenced by the lowered water level and loading at low water level. In these two procedures, the overall settlement of the model varied slightly and the differential settlement stayed nearly unchanged.