PONDASHRAILWAY

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DESIGN AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF POND ASH RAILWAY EMBANKMENT

Conference Paper · May 2011


DOI: 10.1142/9789814365161_0041

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Vasant G Havanagi Anil Sinha


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Sub theme- Innovation of foundation, rail and highway under extreme condition

Design and stability analysis of pond ash railway embankment

V G Havanagi A K Sinha S Mathur

Scientists, GTE Division, Central Road Research Institute, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110020, India
E-Mail - vasant.crri@nic.in, sinha.crri@nic.in, sudhirmathur.crri@nic.in

ABSTRACT - Pond ash is a suitable embankment material for the construction of


road. However, this material is not in practice for the construction of railway
embankment in India. Very limited basic study is available in the literature. Due to
this, study the behavior of pond ash railway embankment under dynamic condition, a
pilot project on „Design of pond ash railway embankment‟ is carried out by Central
Road Research Institute (CRRI) New Delhi, India. Pond ash is procured from
National Thermal Power Station (NTPC), Kahalgaon, Bihar, India. In this paper,
geotechnical properties of pond ash and local soil are presented. Design and stability
analysis of embankment with different height is carried out considering the uniformly
distributed load due to train loading under the water logged and sudden drawdown
conditions with earthquake factor. It is observed that critical factor of safety is coming
for lower height of embankment in comparison to the higher embankment. Berm is
also considered for higher height of embankment.

1.0 INTRODUCTION
About 100 million tons of pond ash is produced in India and only about 20% is
utilized for Roads, Buildings and other Civil engineering applications. Bulk utilization
of Pond ash is being carried out for road embankment construction in the massive
road development programs taken up by the Indian government viz. National
Highway Development Program (NHDP) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY). India has the second largest railway network in the world. The utilization
of pond ash in railway embankment would not only increase substantially the per
cent utilization, but also provides an alternative to costly good earth and protects the
environment. In this context, a pilot project has been taken up to construct 10 km of
pond ash railway embankment within the National Thermal Power Corporation
(NTPC) plant area, Kahalgaon, Bihar, India. In this this paper, geotechnical
characterization of materials are presentenced. Design and stability analysis of pond
ash railway embankment is also presented under different conditions.

2.0 MATERIALS
Pond ash samples were collected from the pond area at different locations, from
NTPC, Kahalgaon. Soil samples were collected along the alignment of proposed
railway embankment. i.e. Hurra satiation to NTPC Kahalgaon, Bihar, India.

1
3.0 GEOTECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POND ASH
To study the geotechnical characteristics of collected pond ash and soil, different
laboratory experiments were carried out which include:(a) Grain size analysis (b)
Atterberg limit tests (c) Specific gravity test (d) Proctor compaction test (e) Direct
shear test, and (f) permeability test. The results have been discussed in sections 3.1
to 3.6.
3.1 Grain size analysis
Grain size analysis was carried out as per IS: 2720 (Part 4) – 1985. Pond ash was
observed to be a coarse grained material. About 67 % of the material is in the sand
size while remaining 33% of the material is in the silt size. The soil was observed to
be fine grained soil. The particle size distribution curves
Format for pond ash andPage
No.QSP/GTE/05.F.02 soil 4are
of 4
shown in Fig.1.
100

80
Pond ash
60 Soil
% Finer

40

20

0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
Particle size (mm)
Fig.1 Grain size distribution curves for pond ash and soil
Proctor curve for
Fig.Pond
Grainash
size analysis of coal ash sample
3.2 Atterberg limit test
The plasticity characteristics of pond ash and soil were carried out as per IS:
2720(Part 5) – 1985. It is observed that pond ash is a non-plastic material. The liquid
limit and plastic limit of soil were observed to be 45% and 23% respectively. The
value of Plasticity Index (P.I.) was estimated as 22 % which indicates medium plastic
nature of local soil. According to BIS-1498, pond ash is classified as SM i.e. silty
sand mixture and local soil was classified as CI i.e. inorganic clay and silts of
medium plasticity.
3.3. Specific gravity test (G)
Specific gravity test was carried out as per IS 2720(part 3). The value of specific
gravity was obtained as 2.29 and 2.67 for pond ash and soil respectively. Pond ash
has low specific gravity as compared to soil.

2
3.4 Proctor compaction test
Modified Proctor test was carried out as per IS: 2720 (Part 8) -1983. The compaction
curves for pond ash and local soil are shown in Fig.2. The value of Maximum Dry
Density (MDD) for pond ash is observed to be 13.5 kN/m3 while the Optimum
Moisture Content (OMC) is 18%. Compaction curve of pond ash was found to be flat
indicating that variation in moisture content does not predominantly affect the dry
density. The value of Maximum Dry Density for soil is obtained as 19.5 kN/m3 and
Optimum Moisture Content is 10%.
25
Soil
Pond ash
Dry density, kN/m3

Zero air void lies


20

15

10
5 15 25
Moisture content, %

Fig.2 Proctor compaction curves for Pond ash and soil

3.5 Direct shear test


Direct shear test was carried out on compacted sample of size 6 cm x 6 cm x 2.5
cm as per IS: 2720 (Part 13)-1986. The test was carried out on samples compacted
at 95% of its modified Proctor dry density. All the samples were tested under the
saturated condition. The normal stress varied in the range of 50 to 150 kN/m 2. The
sample was sheared at a rate of 0.25 mm/min to simulate the drained condition. All
the samples bulged before failure. The cohesion(c) and angle of internal friction (ɸ)
are obtained as 0 kN/m2 and 310 for pond ash and 51 kN/m2 and 160 for soil
respectively. The value of angle of internal friction for pond ash as 31 0 indicates its
usefulness in embankment fill applications.
3.6 Permeability test
Permeability test was carried out on compacted pond ash as per IS: 2720 (Part 17) -
1986. Remolded samples were prepared at modified dry density. The coefficient of
permeability is determined as 2.6x10-6 m/sec for pond ash and 2.4x10-8 m/sec for soil
respectively. This value of the permeability of pond ash indicates that it is a free
draining material and has the potential for its utilization as an embankment fill. The
value of the permeability for soil indicates that it has poor drainage property.
Summary of geotechnical properties of coal ash and soil are given in Table 1.

3
Table 1. Geotechnical properties of pond ash and soil

Parameter Pond ash Soil


Specific gravity test 2.29 2.67
Gravel, % 0 3
Sand, % 67 26
Silt, % 33 31
Particle size analysis Clay, % 0 40
D10,mm 0.02 -NA-
D60,mm 0.20 0.01
Cu 12.5 -NA-
Cc 0.72 -NA-
Atterberg limits test Liquid limit, % - 45
Plastic limit, % NP 23
Plasticity Index, % - 22

Soil classification SM CI
3
Proctor Compaction test MDD,kN/m 13.5 19.5
OMC, % 18 10
Permeability test Coefficient of 2.6 x10-6 2.4x10-
8
Permeability, m/s
Direct shear test Cohesion, kN/m2 0 51
Friction angle, 31 16
degrees

4.0 DESIGN OF POND ASH RAILWAY EMBANKMENT


Railway embankment is different from highway embankment especially for drainage
and loading condition on the embankment. The cross section of railway
embankment have to be designed in such a way that differential settlement of the
embankment shall be minimum. This would ensure proper level of sleepers/rails
which is very much needed for smooth movement of train traffic. Pond ash
embankment of different heights 3m, 5m, 7m and 11m were designed considering
different material specifications and sub soil characteristics as discussed below in
section 4.1 to 4.9.
4.1 Fill material: Pond ash was used as an embankment fill material.
4.2 Cover/Intermediate soil layer/Sub grade layer: Local soil having a PI value of
22 % was proposed as cover/intermediate soil layer for the proposed pond ash
embankment as per IRC: SP: 58-200. Considering its poor drainage characteristics
and high PI value, extra provisions were made for proper drainage of railway
embankment. Cover soil thickness and slope was adopted as 2.24m (horizontal)
and 1V:2H respectively. Pond ash embankments having height more than 3m,
intermediate layers of thickness 0.4m are provided for better confinement and
compaction.

4
4.3 Blanket: A blanket of sand layer of thickness 1m may be provided on the top of
soil cover. The gradation and other properties of blanket material as per
specification as per Guideline No. GE: G-1(2003).
4.4 Ballast: A 0.3 m thickness of stone aggregate (ballast) is provided on the
blanket layer at a distance of 1m from the slope of the embankment. Properties of
the ballast are as per Guideline No. GE: G-1(2003).
4.5 Berm: Berm is provided when the height of the embankment more than 6m. A
2m top thickness having slope 2H: 1V is provided of local soil in addition to cover
soil on the slope. An intermediate berm may be also provided for 11m height
embankment. Berm soil may be used as same as cover soil. This would increase
the stability of higher height pond ash embankments.
4.6 Toe wall: A toe wall made of fly ash bricks is provided at the toe of the pond ash
embankment of different heights. This will be helpful to reduce the possible scour of
embankment at the toe. The height of wall proposed is 1m and having a weep hole
covered with geotextile. Weep hole drains the accumulated water in the sand layer
provided at the bottom of the embankment.
4.7 Drainage measures: There is every possibility of heavy inflow of water into the
railway pond ash embankment. The ingresses water should be able to drain out from
the embankment to avoid development of pore water pressure. Geotextile wrapped
0.4m thick sand layer is provided over each intermediate soil layers. This starts from
slope of the embankment and end at 2m inside the pond ash embankment. This
would ensure proper drainage of each confined cell of pond ash embankment,
compensating for the poor drainage characteristics of local cover soil. A 0.3 m layer
of sand is provided at the bottom of pond ash embankment on the virgin in situ
compacted soil. This layer would further facilitate the dissipation of pore water
pressure due to infiltration of water from the top of the embankment.
4.8 Load on the embankment: The safe load due to traffic on the railway
embankment was considered as 250 kPa on the top of blanket surface of railway
embankment.
4.9 Design cross sections: A typical design cross sections of railway embankment
proposed for construction are shown in Fig.3.

Fig. 3 Cross-section of 7 m height5of pond ash railway embankment


5.0 STABILITY ANALYSIS OF EMBANKMENT
Stability analysis was carried out by a computer software considering the pond ash
embankment to be under (a) Partially saturated (b) Fully saturated and (c) and
sudden draw down conditions. Analysis was carried out with and without seismic
factors for above conditions. Analysis was carried out considering the seismic forces
in the horizontal and vertical direction. The basic seismic coefficients considered in
the analysis are h= 0.05 (horizontal) and v=0.025 (vertical) as per BIS code. Factor
of safety values for different heights of embankments are shown in Table 2 and 3.
Typical stability analysis typical 7m height coal ash embankments is shown in Fig. 4.
Table 2 Factor of safety values for 3m and 5m railway embankment
Compacted Embankment height
condition of 3m 5m
embankment Without With Without With seismic
seismic seismic seismic
Partially saturated 1.26 1.19 1.31 1.22
Fully saturated 1.09 1.02 1.14 1.04
Sudden draw down 1.11 1.05 1.11 1.02

Table 3 Factor of safety values for 7m and 11m railway embankment


Compacted Embankment height
condition of 7m 11m
embankment
Without With Without With
seismic seismic seismic seismic
Partially saturated 1.50 1.40 1.72 1.57
Fully saturated 1.35 1.23 1.69 1.46
Sudden draw down 1.20 1.11 1.36 1.24

Fig. 4 Stability analysis for 7m height pond ash railway embankment


6
Factor of safety values from the stability analysis indicated that different heights of
railway embankments are safe under specified loading, saturated and seismic
conditions. From the analysis, it is observed that the effect of load is significant on
lower height embankments as compared to higher height embankments. The factor
of safety values for 3m and 5m height embankments are lower and observed to be in
the range of 1.03-1.31 whereas these values ranged between 1.11-1.72 for 7m and
11m height embankments for different conditions. The saturation condition of the
pond ash railway embankment also had an effect on stability values. The sudden
draw down conditions resulted in least factor of safety values.

6.0 CONCLUSIONS
Pond ash and local soil were collected from Kahelgaon, Bihar, India, the place of
proposed construction of railway embankment and were investigated for their
geotechnical characteristics. Different cross sections of railway embankment of
heights 3m, 5m, 7m and 11m were designed considering the requirements of
drainage and based on results of stability analysis. Some of the conclusions drawn
from the study are as follows:
The pond ash which is used as a fill material is classified as SM i.e. silty sand
mixtures. Proctor compaction curves were found to be flat indicating that variation in
moisture content does not predominantly affect the dry density.
Pond ash was found to have angle of internal friction (ɸ‟) of 310 and coefficient of
permeability of 2.6x10-6 m/sec. These values indicate its usefulness in railway
embankment fill applications.
The local soil is classified as CI type of soil, which indicates inorganic clay and silts
of medium plasticity. The permeability value is observed to be 2.4x10 -8 m/sec.
Minimum thickness of 1m (perpendicular) local soil is proposed as cover soil for
different heights of pond ash embankment. Considering the poor drainage
characteristics of local soil, geotextile wrapped sand layers are proposed for proper
drainage of water from the embankment.
For pond ash embankments having height more than 3m, intermediate soil layers of
thickness 0.4m are provided for better confinement and compaction. Provision of
Berms for embankments exceeding 5m, improves the stability of the embankment.
A toe wall made of fly ash bricks is provided at the toe of the pond ash embankment
of different heights. This will be helpful to reduce the possible scour of embankment
at the toe. The height of wall proposed is 1m and having a weep hole covered with
geotextile.
Stability analysis of pond ash railway embankment carried out under specified
loading, saturation and seismic conditions indicated safe factor of safety values.
Effect of rail load is significant on lower height embankments as compared to higher
height embankments. The factor of safety values for 3m and 5m height
embankments are observed to be less as compared to 7m and 11m height
embankments, the most critical being the 3m height embankment.

7
7.0 NEED FOR FURTHER STUDY

Construction of pilot experimental test section of limited length (10 km) using pond
ash is likely to progress at Kahalgaon, Bihar, India. The performance of the
constructed railway embankment will be monitored over a period of at least two
monsoon seasons before recommending for large scale field applications.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to the Director, Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi,
India for giving permission to publish this paper. We are thankful to Sh. V K Mathur,
AGM, NTPC, India for sponsoring this research project. The support provided by Sh.
R.K.Swami, Sh. P S Prasad, Mrs. Uma Arun and other laboratory staffs of the GTE
division is also acknowledged.
REFERENCES
IS 2720(Part3). Methods of test for soils: Determination of specific gravity of soils. Published
by Bureau of Indian standard, New Delhi, India; 1980.
IS 2720(Part4). Methods of test for soils: Grain size analysis of soils. Published by
Bureau of Indian standard, New Delhi, India; 1980.
IS 2720(Part5). Methods of test for soils: Determination of Liquid limit and Plastic
limit. Published by Bureau of Indian standard, New Delhi, India; 1985.
IS 1498. Classification and identification of soils for general engineering purposes.
Published by Bureau of Indian standard, New Delhi, India; 1970.
IS 2720(Part8). Methods of test for soils: Determination of water content dry density
relation using heavy compaction. Published by Bureau of Indian standard, New
Delhi, India; 1980.
IS 2720(Part 39). Methods of test for soils: Direct shear test for soils. Published by
Bureau of Indian standard, New Delhi, India; 1977.
IRC: SP: 58. Guidelines for use of fly ash in road embankments. Published by Indian
Road Congress, New Delhi, India; 2001.
Guideline No. GE: G – 1(2003), “Guidelines for earthwork in railway projects” Geo-
technical engineering directorate. Published by RDSO, Manak Nagar Lucknow –
11.

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