Principles

What is the effect of dynamic track stabilisation?

What happens in the ballast bed during the stabilising process

After maintaining the track by tamping, the ballast bed shows zones with varying degrees of compaction. After ballast bed cleaning or renewal, the ballast structure is not yet consolidated, and the ballast stones are not in optimal position to one another. That is why the ballast bed lacks density and stability that are necessary for firmly anchoring the track panel into the ballast bed.

After tamping, the ballast bed has zones with varying degrees of compaction.

After placing the ballast, the ballast structure is not yet consolidated.

Via the track panel, the DGS introduces horizontal vibrations into the ballast bed. This causes the individual ballast stones to rearrange themselves closer to one another. The precisely controlled vibration in the natural frequency range of the ballast ensures that this happens with virtually no force (the ballast pressure is only about 8 N/cm²).

This has the following effect:

The ballast’s compactness increases. This consolidation results in a settlement of the track.

The ballast structure becomes more homogeneous: If there were zones with varying degrees of compaction in the ballast bed before, the degree of compaction is now unified.

The ballast stones settle closer to one another and interlock. The number of contact points and surfaces between the ballast stones and the inner resistance of the ballast bed increase.

The contact surface between sleeper and ballast increases. As a result, friction and the LTR increase.

The larger effective sleeper bed surface reduces the ballast pressure under operational load.