Durability of reinforced-concrete track sleepers

During the regular track inspection of railway sections in different parts of the Republic of Croatia cracks have been spotted on prestressed reinforced-concrete track sleepers. These track sleepers were built-in between 1990 and 2003 in different parts of Croatia, on different surfaces, on railways of different intensity and used for various types of transport. In order to determine the cause of damage and to estimate the remaining service life of the built-in track sleepers, the concrete track sleepers, both damaged and intact, have to be inspected and analysed. The results have to be compared with the experience of different railway administrations which have similar problems. Based on the results obtained, the service life of concrete track sleepers can be estimated, depending on the conditions during the exploitation. It is also possible to estimated how long the damaged sleepers can function as a part of the railway.