Potential of Rubber-Modified Asphalt Concrete for High-Speed Railway Roadbeds (Stage 1)

A. Proiect Description. The Contractor shall furnish all necessary materials, facilities, equipment and qualified personnel to perform the services described below: 1. The work provided for hereunder is designated by the following title: "Rubber- Modified Asphalt Concrete for High-Speed Railway Roadbeds." 2. The research problem statement and objective(s) are as follows: This contract will assess the potential of a layer of rubber-modified asphalt concrete under the ballast to improve the durability and reduce the deformation, vibration and noise of track structures for high-speed rail. Rubber-modified asphalt concrete has the potential to significantly reduce the pressure on soil subgrade and reduce the vibration from passing trains to the surrounding environment. The research will include computer simulations to investigate the influence of the depth and thickness of the asphalt layer on performance and, for comparison, on the same system without the asphalt layer. Laboratory tests to measure the stiffness and damping ratio of rubber-modified asphalt concrete under loading conditions associated with typical axle loads. The IDEA product will include specifications, performance assessments, and cost estimates for use by the high-speed railroad industry to determine whether and how such installations should be made in the track structure. The project shall be performed in the following two contingent stages. Satisfactory performance of each stage must be approved by the IDEA program before the next stage of project activity can commence.