Numerical Investigation of Geo-Naturals Effectiveness in Railway Embankments Against Mud Pumping

Railway infrastructure holds a crucial role in a nation's economic development as an affordable mode of transportation and promotes social integration. Mud pumping is one of the major challenges the railway network has faced recently in the soft and mountainous terrain within the ballast layer due to high-speed rail loads. Many researchers found that reinforcement of the ballast and sub-ballast interfaces with geosynthetics is a feasible solution to reduce mud pumping. Still, the demand for sustainable geotechnic solutions is continuously increasing, particularly in countries with abundant natural plant resources. However, studies on the natural soil reinforcement in rail embankment are scarce. In this current study, a numerical investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of geotextiles and geogrids made from natural plants (Geo-Naturals) in railway embankments. The results showed vertical settlements drastically decreased when Geo-Naturals were included in the poor subgrade. Further, the estimated axial forces, in the lateral direction to the rail length, in single-layer geogrids were found to be the maximum in poor subgrade due to higher compressibility. Geogrids placed close to ballast and sub-ballast were effective in the reinforcement function. Geotextile placed at the subgrade and sub-ballast interface accelerated in-plane drainage and reduced excess pore water pressure, thus preventing mud pumping potential. The outcome of the current study showed the effectiveness of geo-naturals in sustainability, eco-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness in railway embankments.