Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Effect of steel fiber content on structural and electrical properties of ultra T

high performance concrete (UHPC) sleepers
Younghoon Baea, Sukhoon Pyob,
⁎

a
Korea Railroad Research Institute, 176 Chuldobangmulgwan-ro, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do 16105, Republic of Korea
b
School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: This experimental research investigates the structural and electrical responses of ultra-high performance con-
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) crete (UHPC) railway sleepers with three different levels of steel fiber content. The UHPC sleepers used in this
Railway sleeper research were fabricated using a conventional concrete sleeper manufacturing process including the post-ten-
Steel fiber sioning method. They were then evaluated via static bending tests at the rail-seat section and via electrical
Static bending test
insulation performance tests. Test results indicate that UHPC sleepers with all three levels of steel fiber content
Electrical resistance test
sufficiently meet international requirements. The results from the first cracking load and the load when a crack
width becomes 0.05 mm indicate that an amount of steel fiber greater than 1% is required to effectively control
early-stage crack development in UHPC sleepers. In addition, the relationship between fiber volume fraction and
normalized strength highlights that the material characteristics of UHPC, especially its tensile capacities, cor-
relate strongly with the structural behavior of UHPC sleepers.

1. Introduction and motivation carrying capacity and fatigue performance. They reported that 0.25%
steel fiber content enhanced load carrying capacity and fatigue re-
Concrete has been adopted as the primary material used for railway sistance when compared to sleepers without any steel fiber; however,
sleepers (ties) in modern railway systems, excluding North America, to adding 0.5% steel fiber produced irregular results. Sadeghi et al. [18]
deliver vehicle loading from rails to substructures. While traditional designed and manufactured prestressed concrete (PSC) sleepers with
wooden sleepers have a useful lifespan of about 20 years, concrete various amounts of hybrid steel fiber (a mixture of short and long fi-
sleepers have a much longer potential service life of more than 50 years bers) and different numbers of prestressing steel wires, then evaluated
[9]. However, cracks in concrete sleepers could be initiated and pro- the effects of these additions on the mechanical properties of the PSC
pagated due to a variety of factors, including train repetition load, sleepers. The fibers were mixed with a volume ratio of 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7,
temperature expansion, stress concentration, age degradation, and poor and 1%, while the number of prestressing wires were 4, 6, or 8. Based
ballast conditions. If deteriorating concrete sleepers are not properly on a series of structural tests, they concluded that the sleepers that
maintained, the safety of the railway system can be compromised. In an included 6 prestressing wires and 0.5% steel fiber (by volume) showed
investigation of the most common causes of damage to concrete slee- the best performance. Yang et al. [25] also investigated how the use of
pers in North America and around the world, Van Dyk et al. [21] listed steel fibers and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) influ-
the following: deterioration of concrete material beneath the rail, enced the static and fatigue performance of PSC sleepers. By using
shoulder/fastening system wear or fatigue, cracking from dynamic 0.75% steel fiber content, they were able to reduce the number of
loads, derailment damage, tamping damage, cracking from environ- prestressing wires in the sleepers from 16 to 14. Experimental results
mental or chemical degradation, manufacturing defects, and so on. showed that the sleepers reinforced with steel fiber had greater bending
A large number of studies are being conducted to minimize concrete and fatigue capacities, preventing both crack propagation and brittle
sleeper failure due to cracks. Recently, there have been various at- shear failure, when compared to the sleepers without steel fiber. Al-
tempts to mitigate crack problems in sleepers and improve their fatigue though various studies have attempted to apply steel fiber to concrete
performance by adding steel fiber to the concrete [18,10,25]. Parvez sleepers in order to increase their ductility and fatigue resistance, there
et al. [10] evaluated the effect of adding 0%, 0.25%, and 0.5% steel have been limited case studies. More research is therefore required to
fiber content to concrete sleepers as a means of improving their load quantitatively investigate the effects of steel fiber on different types of

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: shpyo@unist.ac.kr (S. Pyo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2020.111131
Received 20 March 2020; Received in revised form 11 June 2020; Accepted 14 July 2020
Available online 31 July 2020
0141-0296/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

concrete sleepers. Table 1

High strength concrete is generally used in the production of PSC Mix design and compressive strength of UHPC.
sleepers because it allows for the introduction of prestressing forces at Series F0.5 F1.0 F1.5
the early stages of curing, which expedites the PSC manufacturing Cement 0.8 0.8 0.8
process. For example, European standards [5] specify a minimum GGBFS 0.184 0.184 0.184
compressive strength for concrete of C45/55 MPa, while Australia [1] Silica fume 0.179 0.179 0.179
Silica powder 0.137 0.137 0.137
specifies 50 MPa. The International Union of Railways recommends Water 0.22 0.22 0.22
minimum tensile and compressive strengths for concrete sleepers of Superplasticizer (solid content) 0.009 0.009 0.009
3 MPa and C50/60 MPa [22], respectively. Recently, concrete with Steel fiber (volume fraction) (%) 0.5 1.0 1.5
compressive strengths greater than conventional high strength concrete Fine aggregate Silica sand I 0.233 0.230 0.228
Silica sand II 0.565 0.559 0.553
have been used to develop new types of concrete sleepers with en-
Coarser fine aggregate Dolomite I 0.293 0.290 0.287
hanced structural capabilities. Thun et al. [20] and Parvez et al. [10] Dolomite II 0.587 0.580 0.574
developed concrete sleepers with compressive strengths of more than Compressive strength (MPa) 1 day 60 52 48
100 MPa, while the authors [2] have also recently proposed a PSC 2 days 84 107 81
sleeper that fully utilizes the material benefits of ultra-high perfor- 7 days 121 142 133
14 days 134 164 149
mance concrete (UHPC). It is expected that using UHPC in sleepers can
28 days 149 160 159
enhance their load carrying capacities and crack opening resistance,
thus effectively elongating their lifespan. This is in part because UHPC
has several material benefits as compared to conventional concrete,
parameter, are shown in Table 1. It should be noted that the mix pro-
such as compressive strengths higher than 150 MPa [24], tensile duc-
portion with the 2.0% fiber volume fraction was not considered in this
tility [15,3], impact resistance [13,27,12,14,28], abrasion resistance
research because 2.0% of fiber volume couldn’t enhanced tensile
[11] and high durability [16]. In order to achieve the impressive ma-
properties compared with 1.5% of fiber volume due to the usage of
terial benefits, a special mix design process based on the optimized
coarser fine aggregate [15]. Each UHPC series name is related to the
packing density is generally required [23]. In addition, the effect of
fiber volume fraction: F0.5 represents a UHPC mix with 0.5% fiber
steel fiber volume contents on the mechanical and electrochemical
volume fraction, for example. It is noted that the amount of aggregates
properties of UHPC was also evaluated [19,26]. However, to the best of
slightly decreases as the volume of steel fiber increases. The UHPC
the authors’ knowledge, there is a lack of published research on the
mixture without steel fiber was not considered in this research due to its
effects of steel fiber content on the structural and electrical responses of
brittle nature, which is not preferable for structural applications. It
UHPC sleepers. This paper was motivated by this gap in research.
should be noted that GGBFS was used to improve flowability of the
In this study, UHPC sleepers with three levels of steel fiber volume
fresh mixture, replacing 20% of the volume of the cement. The effect of
fractions, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%, were fabricated. The effects that different
GGBFS on the flowability of the fresh mixture of UHPC can be found in
steel fiber content levels had on the structural responses of the UHPC
Kim et al. [8].
sleepers were investigated using static bending strength tests at the rail-
Each of the three mixtures in Table 1 was prepared in the same way,
seat section, in accordance with the European standard [6]. In addition,
using a horizontal shaft mixer with a capacity of 80 L: (i) silica fume
electrical resistance tests were carried out in accordance with the
was mixed with all fine aggregates for approximately 5 min; (ii) silica
European standard [4] in order to identify the effects of steel fiber
powder, cement, and GGBFS were added and mixed together for at least
content on the UHPC sleepers since railway sleepers are required to
another 5 min; (iii) water and superplasticizer were then gradually
provide proper electrical insulations.
added into the dry mixture while the mixer was spinning (the mixture
usually became fluid within 3 min); (iv) the coarser fine aggregates,
2. Fabrication of UHPC sleeper
dolomite, and high-strength steel fibers were then added to the wet
mixture. The fresh mixture was placed in 50 mm molds without vi-
2.1. Raw materials and mix design
bration, covered with plastic sheets, and stored at room temperature for
24 h prior to demolding. The compressive strength at 1 day of curing
One of the authors [15] recently developed a new type of UHPC
was measured immediately after the demolding. The other demolded
mixture that lowered materials cost by adopting coarser fine aggregates
specimens (except for those that would be tested at two days of curing)
(with a maximum particle size of 5 mm), while maintaining key ma-
were additionally cured in a water tank at 23 °C; no special curing
terial benefits of UHPC, such as high compressive strength, tensile
process such as pressure or heat curing was used. Additional com-
ductility, and flowability. The particle packing theory (Andreasen and
pressive strength measurements were also taken for 2, 7, 14, and
Andersen (A&A) model and the modified A&A model) was applied to
28 days of curing, after the specimen was dried for 24 h in a laboratory
adequately design the UHPC mixtures with different sizes of solid
environment. At least three specimens were tested and the average
constituents including coarser fine aggregate with the maximum par-
values are summarized in Table 1.
ticle size of 5 mm. The mix design and raw materials used for this re-
Compressive strength values for the UHPC sleepers tested at two
search were primarily based on the research by Pyo et al. [15]. The
days of curing of the tested UHPC series showed more than 80 MPa,
materials used for the UHPC mixture were Type 1 ordinary Portland
which is already well above the required strength for introducing pre-
cement, undensified silica fume containing about 95% SiO2, silica
stressing forces, as will be discussed in Section 2.3. The compressive
powder (with a median particle size of 3.15 μm), GGBFS, silica sand,
strengths of F1.0 and F1.5 at 28 days of curing are almost the same, and
and coarser fine aggregate (dolomite) with a maximum particle size of
about 10 MPa higher than the compressive strength of the F0.5 series. It
5 mm. Aggregate particle size information can be found in Pyo et al.
can be therefore concluded that increasing steel fiber beyond a volume
[15]. The steel fiber used in the production of the sleepers had a
fraction of 1% in UHPC mixtures with coarser fine aggregates does not
minimum tensile strength of 2,450 MPa, a diameter of 0.2 mm, and a
contribute to enhanced compressive strength (unlike in the case of
length of 19.5 mm. It is known that the tensile capacities of UHPC vary
UHPC mixtures without coarser fine aggregates). This was also identi-
depends on fiber characteristics such as fiber length and aspect ratio,
fied by Pyo et al. [15]. It should be pointed out that the air-cured
and type [17]. A polycarboxylate-based superplasticizer with 25% solid
specimens at the curing ages of 1 and 2 days showed relatively incon-
content by weight was also used.
sistent strength development patterns compared to the water-cured
The three mix designs used to fabricate UHPC sleepers for this re-
specimens. This is because the specimens for the early aged testing were
search, in which the volume fraction of steel fiber was the experimental

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Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

cured in the large-scaled fabricating facility in which curing conditions

such as temperature and humidity were difficult to control unlike with
the laboratory conditions.
Furthermore, another critical strength value of UHPC, tensile
strength, was referred to the previous experimental results conducted
by one of the authors [15]. They performed the direct tensile tests of the
UHPC samples with three levels of steel fiber contents, in which the mix
proportions were the same as in Table 1 except for the partial sub-
stitution of GGBFS for cement. It should be noted that the tensile
strength of the UHPC with steel fibers is strongly related to the struc-
tural response, which will be discussed in Section 3.

2.2. Review of structural design and layout of UHPC sleeper

This section reviews the structural design of the used UHPC sleeper
developed by the authors [2]. The structural design was carried out
based on the strength design method to fully utilize the material ben-
efits of UHPC. The positive bending moment at the rail-seat section and Fig. 2. UHPC-PSC sleeper mold.
the negative bending moment at the center section of the sleeper were
both calculated by considering the dynamic loading and dynamic in-
tensioning method [22]. After the introduction of prestressing forces,
crease factors, the effective moment arm length (following UIC 713R
the sleepers were air cured for at least 28 days before the structural and
[22]), the dimensions of the sleeper, and non-uniform distribution of
electrical resistance tests. Three sleepers for F0.5 and F1.5 series each
support from the ballast. Fig. 1 shows the dimensions of the sleepers
and six sleepers for F1.0 series were prepared for the study into the
used in this research, which were adapted from the authors’ previous
effects of steel fiber content on the structural performance of UHPC
research [2]. They were also designed to incorporate four prestressing
sleepers, focusing in particular on the rail-seat section.
rods with diameters of 9.2 mm and a prestressing force of 69 kN per
steel rod.
The sleeper’s structural design was reviewed based on a compat- 3. Test results and discussions
ibility analysis of strain. This resulted in safety factors of 1.61 and 1.34
for the rail-seat section and center section, respectively [2]. A post- 3.1. Requirements for performance tests
tensioning method was adopted in order to allow for the fabrication of
small quantities of UHPC sleepers for the purposes of this research, In order to examine the effects that different amounts of steel fiber
following the method used by Bae and Pyo [2]. In addition, two an- on UHPC sleepers, static bending strength tests and electrical resistance
chorage reinforcing bars (H10) were placed on both ends of the sleeper, tests were carried out. The static bending strength test was performed
where prestressing anchors are located. No stirrup was used. on the rail-seat section of the sleeper, which is the most critical. Before
conducting the static bending test, performance criteria for the de-
2.3. Fabrication of UHPC sleepers signed UHPC sleeper were calculated using EN 13230-2 [6]. The re-
ference test load of the rail-seat section, Fr0, can be calculated using the
Fig. 2 shows the mold that was used to fabricate the UHPC sleepers, positive design bending moment (Mdr+) at the rail-seat, as shown in Eq.
as well as the four prestressing rods with diameters of 9.2 mm each (1). More detail on evaluating the bending moment can be found in Bae
according to the aforementioned structural design. The three different and Pyo [2].
UHPC mixtures listed in Table 1 were prepared using the mixing pro- 4Mdr+ 4 × 12.68[kN m]
cedure described in Section 2.1. The wet mixture was poured into the Fr0 = = = 126.8[kN ]
Lr 0.1 0.5 0.1[m] (1)
mold and the same external vibration process that is used in the con-
ventional PSC sleeper production method was applied. The cast sleepers where, Lr is the distance between the center lines of the supports for the
were covered with a plastic sheet and demolded after 24 h of curing. bending test arrangement on the rail-seat section, which was set to
The demolded sleepers were air-cured for an additional 24 h, and then 500 mm. The other two reference values are the maximum load when a
prestressing forces were introduced with 69 kN per each rod. As in- crack width becomes 0.05 mm (Fr0.05) and the failure load (FrB). For the
dicated in Table 1, three UHPC mixtures produced sufficient compres- static bending test, these values were set by multiplying the reference
sive strengths (of more than 45 MPa) to proceed with the post- test load (Fr0) by the coefficient for each case, in which the coefficients,

Fig. 1. Schematic of the UHPC sleeper designed for this research: (a) top view, (b) side view.

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Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

Table 2
Performance criteria of the UHPC sleeper.
Test items Requirements

Static test of rail-seat section Frr ＞ Fr0 = 126.8 kN

[2] Fr0.05 ＞ k1s × Fr0 = 1.8 × 126.8 = 228.24 kN
FrB ＞ k2s × Fr0 = 2.5 × 126.8 = 317 kN
Electrical resistance test (EN ≥ 5 kΩ
13481-2 [7])

k1s and k2s, are 1.8 and 2.5, respectively, as defined in UIC 713 (2004).
In addition, Frr is the load when the first crack propagates up to a point
of 15 mm from the bottom of the rail-seat section.
Fig. 4. Static bending test procedure at the rail-seat section (modified from
Maintaining electrical insulation is vital to the proper functioning of [6]).
railway track circuitry, and the electrical resistance of concrete slee-
pers, especially those reinforced with steel fibers, needs to be evaluated,
Table 3
in which the European standard requires 5 kΩ or more (EN 13481-2
Static test results for rail-seat section of F0.5 PSC sleeper.
[7]). Table 2 summarizes the performance criteria for UHPC sleepers
for both the static bending test and the electrical resistance test. Specimen No. Frr (kN ) Fr0.05 (kN ) FrB (kN ) Failure mode

F0.5 - No.1 236.8 296.8 396.8 Flexural

3.2. Static bending tests at rail-seat section F0.5 - No.2 236.8 296.8 416.8 Flexural
F0.5 - No.3 186.8 276.8 426.8 Flexural
Average 220.1 290.1 413.5
Static bending tests were performed at the rail-seat section of the Standard deviation 28.9 11.6 15.3
fabricated UHPC sleepers as shown in Fig. 3 and in accordance with EN Requirement > 126.8 > 228.2 > 317
13230-2 [6]. Since the rail-seat section of a sleeper directly supports
train load through rails, this section must have sufficient load resistance
capabilities. By conducting a static bending test on the most critical the maximum load when the crack width was 0.05 mm at the rail-seat
section of these sleepers, it is possible to investigate what impact dif- section, after the load was removed.
ferent amounts of steel fibers have on UHPC. In order to evaluate the uniformity of the UHPC sleeper production
The test load was applied to one of the rail-seat sections of each process, a total of 12 sleepers—three each for the F0.5 and F1.5 series
sleeper, with the other end of the sleepers not being fixed in place. The and six for the F1.0 series—were tested using the same testing proce-
process of applying a vertical load to each rail-seat section is illustrated dure. The results are shown in Tables 3–5. Examples of crack devel-
in Fig. 4. After removing the assigned load, crack width was measured opment relative to steel fiber content levels are shown in Fig. 5, while
at each stage using a portable crack gauge (Dico crack gauge, Welt- the relationships between crack widths and the applied load for each
wave) capable of measuring up to 0.01 mm. The reference test load series are shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 5 also shows the shape of crack propa-
(Fr0 = 126.8 kN) was applied according to the design results and Eq. gations in the sleepers by steel fiber content levels, indicating that
(1), and the test load was continuously applied up to the point where numbers of multiple cracking increase as the amount of steel fiber in-
the rail-seat section no longer supported the load (FrB). Fr0.05 in Fig. 4 is creases. The higher number of fine cracks in fiber-reinforced cement-
based materials is another indication of the higher tensile capacities of
these materials and the ductile behavior of the structural responses.
Fine crack development in UHPC sleepers would also imply very high
energy absorption capabilities under repeated train loading and impact
loading, which would increase overall stability for railway track
structures. Fig. 6 shows crack growth patterns according to the load
applied and fiber content levels. With a maximum crack width of
0.5 mm, the applied load ranges for the F0.5, F1.0, and F1.5 series were
359 ~ 381 kN, 375 ~ 438 kN, and 486 ~ 519 kN, respectively. This
result also highlights the fact that, as steel fiber amounts increase, crack
resistance increases for crack widths of the same size.
The results of the static bending tests on the rail-seat sections fully
satisfied the requirements of EN 13230-2 [6], as shown in Tables 3–5.
In particular, the average values of first cracking load (Frr) were 93.3,

Table 4
Static test results for rail-seat section of F1.0 PSC sleeper [2].
Specimen No. Frr (kN ) Fr0.05 (kN ) FrB (kN ) Failure mode

F1.0 - No.1 326.8 386.8 436.8 Flexural

F1.0 - No.2 286.8 396.8 446.8 Flexural
F1.0 - No.3 356.8 356.8 416.8 Flexural
F1.0 - No.4 266.8 376.8 406.8 Flexural
F1.0 - No.5 306.8 366.8 406.8 Flexural
F1.0 - No.6 286.8 376.8 416.8 Flexural
Average 305.1 376.8 421.8
Standard deviation 32.5 14.1 16.4
Fig. 3. Arrangement for the static bending test at the rail-seat section: (a)
Requirement > 126.8 > 228.2 > 317
schematic of test setup and (b) test example.

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Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

Table 5 series, while still producing similar failure load values (FrB) when
Static test results for rail-seat section of F1.5 PSC sleeper. compared with the F1.0 series. The F1.0 and F1.5 series demonstrated
Specimen No. Frr (kN ) Fr0.05 (kN ) FrB (kN ) Failure mode more than 30% higher first cracking load values (Frr) and maximum
load when a crack width becomes of 0.05 mm (Fr0.05) compared with
F1.5 - No.1 326.8 456.8 516.8 Flexural the same values for the F0.5 series. Furthermore, the difference be-
F1.5 - No.2 336.8 466.8 526.8 Flexural tween the average Frr and Fr0.05 values for both the F0.5 and F1.0 series
F1.5 - No.3 256.8 466.8 496.8 Flexural
Average 306.8 463.5 513.5
was about 70 kN, whereas the difference between those for the F1.5
Standard deviation 43.6 5.8 15.3 series was 156.7 kN, which is more than twice as high as the other two
Requirement > 126.8 > 228.2 > 317 series. Finally, the difference between the average Fr0.05 and FrB values
for the F0.5 series was about 123.4 kN, whereas the difference between
the same values for the F1.0 and F1.5 series was less than 50 kN. Based
178.3, and 180.0 kN higher than the requirement (126.8 kN) for the on these results, it can be concluded that more than 1% steel fiber
F0.5, F1.0, and F1.5 series, respectively. The average values of the content is necessary in order to effectively control early-stage crack
maximum load when a crack width of 0.05 mm (Fr0.05) were 61.9, development in UHPC sleepers. One can also conclude that prestressing
148.6, and 235.3 kN higher than the requirement (228.2 kN) for the forces are dominant for failure load in UHPC sleepers that include up to
F0.5, F1.0, and F1.5 series, respectively. Furthermore, the average va- 1% steel fiber content, and UHPC including 1.5% steel fiber content
lues of the failure load (FrB) were 96.5, 104.8, and 196.5 kN higher than could enhance the ultimate structural response of the sleeper in addi-
the requirement (317.0 kN) for the F0.5, F1.0, and F1.5 series, re- tion to prestressing forces. It was also evident that compressive strength
spectively. Average values for Frr, Fr0.05, and FrB obtained across the might not be an influential factor in structural responses, since com-
series of tests support the findings that higher amounts of steel fiber in pressive strength was very similar between the F1.0 and F1.5 series.
UHPC sleepers lead to structural responses that outpace requirements. The material responses of UHPC can be correlated with the struc-
However, it should be noted that the F0.5 series showed sub- tural responses of the UHPC sleepers. Pyo et al. [15] evaluated the
stantially lower first cracking load values (Frr) than the F1.0 and F1.5 tensile performance of UHPC mixtures with mix proportions that were

Fig. 5. Results of crack propagation after static bending tests at rail-seat section: (a) F0.5 specimen, (b) F1.0 specimen, and (c) F1.5 specimen.

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Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

Fig. 7. Relationship between fiber volume fraction and normalized strength for
the material and structural responses of UHPC.

Table 6
Comparisons between the experimental data and the calculated data of the
failure load at rail-seat section.
Sleeper type Mn (Cal.) FrB (Cal.) (kN) avg. FrB FrB (Exp.)/ FrB
(kN•m) (Exp.) (kN) (Cal.)

F0.5 34.48 344.8 413.5 1.199

F1.0 44.37 443.7 421.8 0.951
F1.5 53.19 531.9 513.5 0.965

the structural design. According to Bae and Pyo [2], Mn and FrB for F1.0
series are calculated as 44.37 kN•m and 443.7 kN, respectively. Using
the same method based on strain compatibility analysis, Mn and FrB for
F0.5 and 1.5 series are also evaluated as Table 6. As can be seen in the
table, the calculated flexural strength was conservatively predicted for
the case of the UHPC sleeper with steel fibers less than 1.0%, and were
closely predicted for the cases of the UHPC sleepers with steel fiber
contents of 1.0% or more.
Fig. 8 shows representative relationships between load and deflec-
tion of UHPC sleepers for each loading step. It can be found from the
figure that the stiffness of UHPC sleeper increases and the resistance to
bending increases as the amount of steel fiber increases. For F0.5 series,
a relatively constant slope of load–deflection curves can be observed up
to 346.8 kN (crack width of 0.34 mm after load removal), which is
colored gray area in Fig. 8(a). From the level of load of 356.8 kN, the
decrease of the slope can be clearly identified as the load increases,
represented as dotted lines in Fig. 8(a). In specific, the drastic decrease
of slope can be observed after the load of 366.8 kN (crack width of
0.56 mm after load removal). This is because as crack width increases
the moment of inertia decreases due to the decrease of effective cross-
sectional area, which leads to the increase of deflection, in which the
deflection (y) can be simply evaluated using the equation of y = PL3/
48EI for three-point bending. Here, P, L, E, and I stand for external load,
distance between the supports, elastic modulus of UHPC and effective
moment of inertia, respectively.
UHPC sleepers with steel fiber contents of 1.0% or more show more
Fig. 6. Relationship between applied force and crack width during bending test stable behavior compared with the sleeper with steel fiber contents of
at rail-seat section: (a) F0.5 series, (b) F1.0 series [2], and (c) F1.5 series.
0.5% as can be seen in Fig. 8. For F1.0 series, a relatively constant slope
of load–deflection curves can be also observed up to 406.8 kN (crack
the same except for the partial substitution of GGBFS for cement. Ac- width of 0.10 mm after load removal), which is colored gray area in
cording to their results, the average first cracking strength and ultimate Fig. 8(b). From the level of load of 416.8 kN, the decrease of the slope
tensile strength of UHPC were 6.31 and 8.74 MPa for UHPC with 0.5% can be noticed as the load increases; however, the level of the decrease
steel fiber content, 9.51 and 15.59 MPa for the 1% series, and 9.97 and was insignificant compared with the F0.5 series. Similarly, for F1.5
18.43 MPa for the 1.5% series. Fig. 7 compares the normalized strength series a relatively constant slope of load–deflection curves can be ob-
(relative strength compared to the strength of those with 0.5% steel served up to 476.8 kN (crack width of 0.19 mm after load removal) as
fiber content) between material and structural responses according to shown in Fig. 8(c). The mild decrease pattern of the slope was observed
the fiber contents, highlighting the fact that the material strength of from the level of load of 486.8 kN to 506.8 kN. Therefore, it can be
UHPC, particularly in terms of first cracking strength, strongly corre- concluded that the increment of steel fiber content from 0.5% to 1.0%
lates with the structural responses of UHPC sleepers, especially in the was critical to maintain flexural stiffness of sleepers by resisting crack
context of early-stage crack development. opening with the fiber bridging effect.
The experimentally obtained averaged results were compared with

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Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

Fig. 9. Electrical resistance test setup.

3.3. Electrical resistance test

To ensure proper railway track circuitry functions, securing the

electrical resistance of rail fastening systems is vital, as well as securing
the electrical resistance of sleepers is also important. In addition to
transferring train loads to the trackbed, railway sleepers should main-
tain electrical insulation; they, therefore, require sufficient electrical
resistance to maintain the stability of the signal system. The UHPC
sleepers fabricated for this study were evaluated for electrical insula-
tion performance, in particular because they were reinforced with
conductive fibers and it was necessary to investigate whether these fi-
bers could affect the overall electrical resistance of the sleeper. The
electrical resistance test was carried out in accordance with [4] and the
test setup was prepared as shown in Fig. 9.
The test was carried out in a ventilated room and in a temperature
range of 15 to 30 °C. Mimicking real-life assembly on the track, fas-
teners were used to fix the rails (approximately 0.5 m) on top of the rail-
seat section of the sleeper, with measuring instruments installed and
connected to the electrical supply, as shown in Fig. 10. As is specified in
the standard, water within a 10 to 25 °C temperature range was sprayed
onto the specimen at a speed of (7 ± 1) l/min for two minutes. The
conductivity of sprayed water was adjusted to be in the range of
50 ± 5 mS/m by the addition of sodium chloride. Four spray nozzles
were used with a diameter of 3.6 mm and a spray cone of 110°. Voltage
and current were measured, while alternating current supply of 30 V
RMS and 50 Hz applying, during the time the water was sprayed and for
more than 10 min after spraying had stopped. To evaluate the uni-
formity of the electrical resistance test results, three sleepers were
tested for each UHPC sleeper series.
The results of the electrical resistance test are included in Table 7.

Fig. 8. Relationship between load and deflection of UHPC sleepers for each
loading step: (a) F0.5-No. 3, (b) F1.0-No. 1, and (c) F1.5-No. 1. Fig. 10. Electrical circuit configuration.

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Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

Table 7 F1.5-No.2 sleeper showed an unstable behavior after spraying without

Electrical resistance test results. saturation. It is clear to identify the trend of decreasing electrical re-
Specimen No. Water condition* Minimum electrical Average (kΩ) sistance as the amount of steel fiber increases if comparing the lowest
resistance (kΩ) values of the minimum electrical resistance results for each series as
shown in Fig. 11(d). Therefore, it can be concluded that although the
F0.5 - No.1 Conductivity: 37.5 34.4
electrical resistance would tend to decrease as the amount of steel fiber
F0.5 - No.2 46.0 ~ 47.6 mS/m 34.2
F0.5 - No.3 Temperature: 31.7
increase in UHPC sleepers, the UHPC sleepers with up to 1.5% steel
21.5 ~ 23.0 °C fibers can secure the electrical resistance in the track system because all
F1.0 - No.1 Conductivity: 27.7 23.9 tested UHPC sleepers meet the minimum value of electrical resistance
F1.0 - No.2 46.0 ~ 47.6 mS/m 23.3 required in EN 13481-2 [7].
F1.0 - No.3 Temperature: 20.8
21.4 ~ 24.3 °C
F1.5 - No.1 Conductivity: 27.2 25.5 4. Conclusions
F1.5 - No.2 46.0 ~ 46.1 mS/m 34.2
F1.5 - No.3 Temperature: 14.9 This experimental study investigated the effects of different levels of
21.2 ~ 21.4 °C
steel fiber content on the structural and electrical responses of UHPC
Requirement Requirement >5
sleepers, based on the European testing standards for concrete sleepers.
* Conductivity of water was modified according to the water temperature, as The UHPC mixture included three levels of steel fiber volume fraction:
per [4]. 0.5, 1, and 1.5%. The UHPC sleepers were evaluated using a static
bending test at the rail-seat section and an electrical insulation per-
They indicate that UHPC sleepers with up to 1.5% steel fiber content formance test. The key observations and findings of this research can be
meet the electrical insulation requirements of not less than 5 kΩ, as summarized as follows:
specified in EN 13481–2 [7]. Fig. 11 illustrates the trend of changes in
electrical resistance before and after water spraying and the minimum 1. The compressive test results of the three levels of steel fiber content
electrical resistance results for each sleeper series. As can be seen in the revealed that additional steel fibers above 1% volume fraction of
figure, the lower steel fiber contents lead to higher minimum electrical fibers in the UHPC mixture with coarser fine aggregates do not
resistance values, faster recovery and more stable behavior of electrical contribute to enhance compressive strength.
resistance after spraying. The standard deviation of the electrical re- 2. The results of static bending tests conducted on the rail-seat section
sistance for F1.5 series was much higher than the other series, and the of the UHPC sleepers, and of the electrical resistance tests, showed

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Fig. 11. Relationship between electrical resistance and time: (a) F0.5 series, (b) F1.0 series, (c) F1.5 series, and (d) minimum electrical resistance results for each
series.

8
Y. Bae and S. Pyo Engineering Structures 222 (2020) 111131

that the sleepers satisfied the requirements of EN 13230-2 [5] and necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
EN 13481-2 [7], respectively, highlighting the applicability of UHPC
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Infrastructure and Transport (Grant 20CTAP-C152046-02). The opi-
nions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not