Evaluation of Macro-Synthetic Fibre Reinforced Concrete as a Sustainable Alternative for Railway Sleepers

Abstract

Sleepers are among the most essential components within the track infrastructure and are characteristically made from timber, steel and prestressed concrete. However, due to recent concerns in regard to the inferior quality, degradation, durability, high-cost and environmental impact of the conventional materials, researchers are now focused towards sustainable alternatives such as composite materials. Correspondingly, even if these new sleepers provide the adequate strength characteristics towards the redistribution of high static and dynamic loads, their practical implementation remained fairly limited due to their unknown long-term behaviour and high production cost. This paper presents a review of the Macro-Synthetic Fibre Reinforced Concrete (MSFRC) sleepers which uses BarChip fibres towards the optimisation of the mechanical properties. In addition, the effects of different fibre dosages and aspect ratios will be thoroughly assessed. Further, the sustainability aspects of the MSFRC sleepers will be discussed with respect to durability and resource minimisation. As a result, the implementation of the recycled fibres within the concrete sections is expected to reduce the overall carbon-footprint of the sleeper towards a characteristically adequate and sustainable alternative material for railway sleeper applications.