Non Destructive Testing of Low Profile Light Weight Track System

The paper presents the results of the responses of a concrete trough of a new lightweight rail track system (LR55) to full scale non destructive tasting. The system which is made from three main components; low profile steel rail, elastomeric pad and prestressed concrete trough is developed for light rail transits in cities streets, which can significantly help in improving the traffic flow, reducing the traffic congestion and thus providing opportunities for minimising serious environmental problems such as level of noise, vibration and air pollutions and in this regards it can be considered as environmentally friendly means of transport. A mathematical model was developed where the LR55 track system was treated as multilayer beams on elastic foundations, and the model was then validate experimentally through a series of non-destructive tests on full scale model subjected to a full scale service load specified by the current BS codes of practises.