Abstract:
The ballast mechanical behavior is one of most important aspects governing the performance and safety conditions
of railway track lines. Usually comprised of natural crushed rock, the research for alternative ballast
materials becomes interesting both environmentally and economically. This paper presents a comparison between
aggregates of steel slag and granite by means of monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests carried out on scaled
down ballast specimens. The monotonic triaxial tests were conducted at three different confining pressures to
failure and to critical state. The long-term cyclic tests (at least 106 cycles) were conducted in two stress paths
compatible with heavy haul loadings. The results showed that the steel slag aggregate has higher values of
strength parameters compared to the granite aggregate and better long-term deformability behavior, expressed
by lower degradation and particle breakage and a faster tendency for stabilization the permanent deformation.