Static behavior of railway psc sleepers using nano based carbon fiber reinforced concrete

This paper presents the experimental study on static behavior of Railway Prestressed concrete (PSC) sleepers Using Next Generation Nano Based Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete. The next generation nano based carbon fiber reinforced concrete is prepared using advance concrete materials such as GGBS, Silica Fumes, Carbon fibers, Polypropylene fibers and Carbon Nanotubes, (CNTs) integrated with High Performance Concrete having its compressive strength of 60 N/mm2. Five different PSC test specimens were casted viz. S1(M60), S2(M60+CNT), S3(M60+CNT+PF), S4(M60+CNT+CF) and S5 (M60+CNT+PF+CF). Carbon Nanotubes were first dispersed in deionized water and surfactant using an ultrasonic mixer as per state-of-the-art techniques, then the CNTs, Carbon fibers, Polypropylene fibers were combined with concrete. The PSC sleepers are casted at Sri Maruthi Builders and manufacturers of PSC railway sleepers, Yeshwanthpur, Bangalore, Karnataka and static tests were carried out at Department of Civil Engineering, UVCE, Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Load deflection curve was established. Ductility index, energy absorption and toughness index characteristics are determined and also the crack pattern, first crack load and ultimate load were studied. It is experimentally observed that sleeper specimen S5, first crack load and the ultimate load has been significantly enhanced as compared to other PSC railway sleeper test specimens.