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Experimental Validation of a New Antivibration Elastomeric Material Fabricated from End-of-Life Tires for Slab Track Systems with Embedded Rail

This article is focused on the experimental characterization and validation of a novel elastomeric material fabricated from the grinded end-of-life tires blended with polyurethane resin. This material will be used as a vibration and noise attenuator in railway slab track systems with embedded rail, commonly used in urban areas. Cylinders with different combinations of grain sizes (coarse, medium, and fine) of end-of-life tires and contents of resin were mechanically tested to obtain the Young’s modulus. The most versatile combination consisting in 50 % coarse + 50 % medium size grains was selected. Two real-scale prototypes consisting of a rail surrounded by the rubber mixture and the concrete slab were designed and fabricated to be applied under normal conditions (low attenuation system) and under situations where vibrations could be fatal (high attenuation system). These prototypes were subjected to static, dynamic, and fatigue loading conditions, applying vertical and angular loads, to validate their mechanical performance. In addition, a vibroacustical experimental study was carried out to obtain the frequency response and the receptance functions. A one-degree-of-freedom analytical model was developed to obtain a loss factor η = 0.287 and a vibration attenuation capacity of the system for the human ear peak sensitivity of ∼40 dB. This study proves the validation of this new eco-friendly material to be used as a vibration attenuator for railway traffic.