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Applied Sciences
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Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies
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Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2022) | Viewed by 12659

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xueyu Geng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geotechnical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Interests: soil dynamics; railway engineering; ground improvement; machine learning; uncertain quantification
Dr. Honglei Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: soil dynamics; foundation treatment; slope engineering; slurry dewatering; data assimilation; CFD-DEM simulations; consolidation theory
Prof. Dr. Junwei Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China
Interests: open-ended pile installation; fluid–seabed–structure interactions; offshore wind farm; discrete element simulation; pile–soil interface weakening mechanism; p–y curves
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The performance of railway systems largely depends on railway infrastructure earthwork conditions. Many of earthworks alongside the railway were built more than 100 years ago and were poorly engineered by modern standards. Moreover, with the increasingly frequent severe weather conditions due to climate change and the increasing demands for the mobility and transportation of goods, maintaining a high level of safety performance for our aging railway systems remains a constant challenge. However, with the development of modern technologies, e.g., Earth Observation, Artificial Intelligence, and advanced sensor development, we can modernise and upgrade our existing railway system not only to ensure a safe running of the train, but also to achieve an even more reliable and more efficient railway performance. This Special Issue aims to collect the newest technology related to the maintenance of the existing railway earthwork and the design for the future.

Dr. Xueyu Geng
Dr. Honglei Sun
Dr. Junwei Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • big data
  • AI
  • uncertain quantification
  • low CO2 emission
  • earthwork
  • stability
  • climate change

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 6435 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Random Forest-Based Models for Earth Pressure Balance Tunneling-Induced Ground Settlement Prediction
by Peixi Yang, Weixun Yong, Chuanqi Li, Kang Peng, Wei Wei, Yingui Qiu and Jian Zhou
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 2574; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13042574 - 16 Feb 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1969
Abstract
Construction-induced ground settlement is a serious hazard in underground tunnel construction. Accurate ground settlement prediction has great significance in ensuring the surface building’s stability and human safety. To that end, 148 sets of data were collected from the Singapore Circle Line rail traffic [...] Read more.
Construction-induced ground settlement is a serious hazard in underground tunnel construction. Accurate ground settlement prediction has great significance in ensuring the surface building’s stability and human safety. To that end, 148 sets of data were collected from the Singapore Circle Line rail traffic project containing seven defining parameters to create a database for predicting ground settlement. These parameters are the tunnel depth (H), the tunnel advance rate (AR), the EPB earth pressure (EP), the mean SPTN value from the soil crown to the surface (Sm), the mean water content of the soil layer (MC), the mean modulus of elasticity of the soil layer (E), and the grout pressure used for injecting grout into the tail void (GP). Three hybrid models consisting of random forest (RF) and three types of meta-heuristics, Ant Lion Optimizier (ALO), Multi-Verse Optimizer (MVO), and Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA), were developed to predict ground settlement. Furthermore, the mean absolute error (MAE), the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean square error (RMSE) were used to assess predictive performance of the constructed models for predicting ground settlement. The evaluation results demonstrated that the GOA-RF with a population size of 10 has achieved the most outstanding predictive capability with the indices of MAE (Training set: 2.8224; Test set: 2.3507), MAPE (Training set: 40.5629; Test set: 38.5637), R2 (Training set: 0.9487; Test set: 0.9282), and RMSE (Training set: 4.93; Test set: 3.1576). Finally, the sensitivity analysis results indicated that MC, AR, Sm, and GP have a significant impact on ground settlement prediction based on the GOA-RF model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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12 pages, 5456 KiB  
Article
Interlocking Settlement Induced by Widening Subgrade of Railway Line
by Dae Sang Kim, Ungjin Kim and Young Kon Park
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(13), 6638; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12136638 - 30 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1403
Abstract
In areas where it is difficult to secure additional land for railways, a plan to increase rail transport capacity by widening existing embankments is required. When widening the embankment, additional stress is generated at the bottom of the existing embankment, resulting in an [...] Read more.
In areas where it is difficult to secure additional land for railways, a plan to increase rail transport capacity by widening existing embankments is required. When widening the embankment, additional stress is generated at the bottom of the existing embankment, resulting in an additional settlement (interlocking settlement) of the existing embankment. Reinforced subgrade for railways (RSR) is an efficient method for widening embankments without additional sites. In this study, an existing railway embankment in operation was widened using the RSR, with the interlocking settlement evaluated and analyzed during and after construction. Results show that a widened embankment using RSR can secure train operation stability on existing tracks, even in ground conditions including shallow soft layers. The interlocking settlement was mainly affected by the backfill load and hardly affected by the wall load of the RSR. In addition, it was confirmed that the interlocking settlement mainly occurred in the backfill construction and stabilization period of RSR construction and converged early. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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19 pages, 6882 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of the Usage of Combined Biopolymer and Plants in Reinforcing the Clayey Soil Exposed to Acidic and Alkaline Contaminations
by Jing Ni, Jiaqi Chen, Shuojie Liu, Ganglai Hao and Xueyu Geng
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 5808; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12125808 - 07 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1459
Abstract
In the last decade, biopolymers have been extensively studied, showing a great potential in soil reinforcement and the promotion of vegetation growth with limited environmental impact. In this paper, a soil reinforcing method with combined biopolymer (xanthan gum, XG) and plants (oat) was [...] Read more.
In the last decade, biopolymers have been extensively studied, showing a great potential in soil reinforcement and the promotion of vegetation growth with limited environmental impact. In this paper, a soil reinforcing method with combined biopolymer (xanthan gum, XG) and plants (oat) was proposed to strengthen the clayey soil with different pore fluid pH values. A series of laboratory tests were conducted, mainly including the plant cultivation tests and the direct shear tests. It was found that oats grew better in the neutral, weakly acidic, and weakly alkaline soil environments. Both 0.25% XG and 0.50% XG that mostly promoted plant growth, also led to higher soil shear strength. An excessive XG content (e.g., 0.75% and 1.00%) may lead to the formation of a hard XG–soil matrix, preventing oat growth and therefore resulting in a lower shear strength. The XG–oat combination was found to be more effective in treating the soils with acidic pH values. Furthermore, the XG–oat combination is able to reduce the types and contents of heavy metal elements in the soil. Therefore, we suggest using biopolymers in combination with plants to improve the stability and geotechnical performances of the shallow soil slopes that are exposed to acidic and alkaline contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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19 pages, 7267 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation into Lateral Behavior of Monopile Due to Scour Enhanced: Role of State-Dependent Dilatancy
by Ning Jia, Junwei Liu and Xuetao Wang
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(2), 921; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12020921 - 17 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1689
Abstract
The removal of soil during scouring is crucial to the lateral resistance of piles in bridges of railways or highways. In this process, dilatancy of the interface soil induces variation in normal stress, which in turn influences the interface soil lateral resistance. Due [...] Read more.
The removal of soil during scouring is crucial to the lateral resistance of piles in bridges of railways or highways. In this process, dilatancy of the interface soil induces variation in normal stress, which in turn influences the interface soil lateral resistance. Due to the lack of analysis in previous studies in terms of cohesionless soil state (i.e., relative density and stress level) in remaining soil after scouring, it is difficult to simulate the properties and behavior of interface soil. The objective of this study is to explain the change of the sand state at the compression interface after scouring, quantify the stress-strain characteristics of the pile during this period and eventually present the prediction p-y curves of the lateral service capacity. The state-dependent constitutive model for saturated sand is employed, combined with the 3D finite element simulation, and the state development of the remaining soil is exhibited. The enhancement of dilation and stress relief of the remaining shallow horizon eventually gives rise to the reduction of the lateral resistance. In addition, the remaining overburden soil surrounding the pile restricts the interface soil, enlarging the normal stress and strengthening the deep horizon. Then, the friction angle considered the influence of state-dependent changes is used to quantify the hyperbolic p-y curves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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20 pages, 50121 KiB  
Article
Space-Time Effect Prediction of Blasting Vibration Based on Intelligent Automatic Blasting Vibration Monitoring System
by Fan Chen, Gengsheng He, Shun Dong, Shunjun Zhao, Lin Shi, Xian Liu, Baichuan Zhang, Ning Qi, Shenggui Deng and Jin Zhang
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12010012 - 21 Dec 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1774
Abstract
The vibration produced by blasting excavation in urban underground engineering has a significant influence on the surrounding environment, and the strength of vibration intensity involves many influencing factors. In order to predict the space-time effects of blasting vibration more accurately, an automatic intelligent [...] Read more.
The vibration produced by blasting excavation in urban underground engineering has a significant influence on the surrounding environment, and the strength of vibration intensity involves many influencing factors. In order to predict the space-time effects of blasting vibration more accurately, an automatic intelligent monitoring system is constructed based on the rough set fuzzy neural network blasting vibration characteristic parameter prediction model and the network blasting vibrator (TC-6850). By setting up the regional monitoring network of monitoring points, the obtained monitoring data are analyzed. An artificial intelligence model is used to predict the influence of stratum condition, excavation hole, and high-rise building on blasting vibration velocity and frequency propagation. The results show that the artificial intelligence prediction model based on a rough set fuzzy neural network can accurately reflect the formation attenuation effect, hollow effect, and building amplification effect of blasting vibration by effectively fuzzing and standardizing the influencing factors. The propagation of blasting vibration in a soil–rock composite stratum is closely related to the surrounding rock conditions with a noticeable elastic modulus effect. The hollow effect is regional, which has a significant influence on the surrounding ground and buildings. Besides, the blasting vibration of the excavated area is stronger than that of the unexcavated area. The propagation of blasting vibration on high-rise buildings was complicated, of which the peak vibration velocity is maximum at the lower level of the building and decreased with the rise of the floor gradually. The whip sheath effect appears at the top floor, which is related to the blasting vibration frequency and the building’s natural vibration frequency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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14 pages, 4204 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigating on Representativeness of Tracers in PIV Model Test of Dredged Slurry Treated by Vacuum Preloading
by Jiahao Wang, Zunan Fu, Yanming Yu, Guoshuai Wang, Li Shi, Zhiying Yuan, Kang Yao and Jie He
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(20), 9715; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11209715 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1111
Abstract
The vacuum preloading method is commonly adopted for improving the soft ground that the embankment of the railway line is laid on. The PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique is a powerful tool in observing the formation of the soil column, a phenomenon that [...] Read more.
The vacuum preloading method is commonly adopted for improving the soft ground that the embankment of the railway line is laid on. The PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique is a powerful tool in observing the formation of the soil column, a phenomenon that is unique to the dredged slurry when treated by vacuum preloading. However, it is not clear to what extent the motions of the slurry particles can be represented by the PIV tracers. In this paper, a mesoscopic model has been established by using the CFD-DEM method to reproduce the vacuum consolidation process of the slurry, in which the PVD (Prefabricated Vertical Drain) membrane, the slurry particles, and the tracers are described by the DEM, and the pore water is governed by the CFD method. Eight computational cases that can cover a broad range of material parameters governing the PIV model tests on the dredged slurry have been designed and studied by the established model. The representativeness of the PIV tracer is evaluated by comparing the statistic displacement of the tracer to that of the slurry particles. It is found that for the commonly used tracer, the carbon powder, can reliably represent the particle motions of the slurry since the difference in displacements of the tracer and the slurry particles is smaller than 6.5% if the diameter ratio between the tracer and the slurry particle is within 1.8. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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17 pages, 4554 KiB  
Article
Deformation Behavior of Saturated Soft Clay under Cyclic Loading with Principal Stress Rotation
by Zunan Fu, Guoshuai Wang, Wenbo Song, Yanming Yu, Pengfei Wei and Tingyu Wu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 8987; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11198987 - 27 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2039
Abstract
Under long-term traffic loading, the soil elements in subgrade are subjected to continuous principal stress rotation. In order to study the deformation properties of soft clays under traffic loading with principal stress rotation, a series of cyclic torsional shear tests were conducted on [...] Read more.
Under long-term traffic loading, the soil elements in subgrade are subjected to continuous principal stress rotation. In order to study the deformation properties of soft clays under traffic loading with principal stress rotation, a series of cyclic torsional shear tests were conducted on Wenzhou soft clays under different torsional cyclic stress ratios and degrees of principal stress rotation. The test results showed the stiffness softening of soil under long-term traffic loading. In addition, the principal stress rotation induced by traffic loading aggravated the deformation of clay samples and pore pressure accumulation. A modified dynamic pore pressure model was applied to consider the effect of principal stress rotation on undrained cumulative pore pressure, predicting the growth of cumulative pore pressure at different cycles. Considering loading cycles and the principal stress rotation, a modified Hardin–Drnevich (H-D) backbone curve model under traffic loading with principal stress rotation was proposed, and the predictive values of this model agreed well with the experimental values. Compared with the traditional H–D model, this model better reflects the cyclic deformation of soft clays under long-term traffic loading with principal stress rotation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Railway Earthwork Maintenance and Design: Advanced Structures and Technologies)
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