Distinguished Professor Buddhima Indraratna
Director, Centre for Geomechanics and Railway Engineering
University of Wollongong
Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Buddhima.
Download The Latest AgendaConference Day One: Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Tuesday, April 30th, 2019
12:00 PM Geotechnical Challenges and Sustainable R&D Solutions in Track Design, Construction and Maintenance
There are significant engineering challenges in design, construction and maintenance when tracks are built on low-lying and coastal areas. With increasing numbers of rail projects are planned to be constructed in coming years (e.g. Inland Rail) which will involve 14000 tonnes of steel and a rigorous process for efficient construction that will shed light on the remaining process. In preparation for this, rail owners should adopt innovative and effective methods to improve serviceability and effectiveness, and reduce maintenance and construction costs of rail tracks. This session will address the importance of adopting sustainable solutions in track design, construction and maintenance of resilient tracks catering for heavy freight trains in various ground conditions, including:
- An overview of typical Australian track problems across various passenger, freight and heavy haul to analyse track damages and develop resilience techniques to ensure long term protection of the corridors
- Preserving dedicated corridors which could link to the Inland Rail as a long term necessity to improve the efficiency of future supply chains
- The implications for Inland Rail and freight networks: Optimum heavy haul track design approaches (i.e. testing and computational modelling rigor) for improved track longevity and faster speeds
- State-of-the art geotechnical laboratories at the CGRE including series of large-scales testing facilities for ballasted tracks and iconic national facility for cyclic testing of highspeed rail (ARC-LIEF) recently constructed at the Russell Vale
Stream Chair: