Advanced Properties and Microstructural Assessment of BAFA-based-Concrete for Railway Sleeper Production

Conventional concrete railway sleepers contribute significantly to environmental issues, primarily due to the high carbon footprint associated with cement production, which negatively impacts both the environment and society. This study aims to mitigate the cement consumption in concrete railway sleepers through Bottom Ash and Fly Ash (BAFA), a novel binder product, as a partial cement replacement. An experimental study was conducted to assess the elastic and plastic properties of BAFA-based-concrete railway sleepers by analyzing compressive stress-strain behavior and microstructural examination. The results indicate that incorporating 10% BAFA in the concrete mixture produced railway sleepers with a compressive strength of 60.36 MPa, demonstrating excellent elastic and plastic properties, including modulus of elasticity, yield strength, peak stress and strain, and ductility. Railway sleeper with excellent elastic and plastic properties, create good elasticity and ductility to sustain the cycling load of dynamic train transportation with high safety factor which considered by good performance of yield strength and strain at peak stress. This finding is supported by microstructural analysis, the formation of ettringite and C-S-H gels. This study underscores the potential of utilizing industrial by-products as primary construction materials, promoting a more sustainable approach to railway sleeper production while addressing critical environmental concerns.