Viability analysis of deconstructed tires as material for rail pads in high-speed railways

• The use of rail pads obtained from deconstructed used tires in high speed railways was studied.
• Rail pads from used tires are obtained through an innovative process without grinding up tires.
• Tire pads showed adequate resistance characteristics to be used as elastic elements in railways.
• Tire pads performance is comparable to the rail pads commonly used in high speed railways.

Rail pads for high-speed railways are commonly manufactured from elastomeric materials such as rubber, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPE) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). In the search for a more sustainable material, this research analyzes the viability of using rail pads obtained from the outer layer of used tires by applying an innovative deconstruction process that does not grind the material. This process takes advantage of their high quality material capacities, these being environmentally friendlier than other rubber technologies. For this purpose, the research conducted consisted of the following stages: (i) definition of the most appropriate design parameters such as thickness, type of tire and material treatment; (ii) determining the resistance of the material to fatigue and climate deterioration; (iii) laboratory study of the effectiveness of tire pads in ballasted tracks by using a ballast box; (iv) comparative analysis between tire pads and commercial pads for high-speed rail. Results showed that rail pads from used tires are susceptible to being used in high-speed rail, providing an appropriate long-term performance of the ballasted system.