Guidelines for Provision of Sub-ballast

Guidelines for Provision of Sub-ballast

The sub-ballast is normally made of granular material and is provided between the formation and the ballast in order to distribute the load evenly over the formation. The following points should be kept in mind while selecting a material for sub-ballasts.

(a)  The material should consist of coarse granular substance such as river gravel, stone chips, quarry grit, and predominantly coarse sand. Ash, cinder, and slag containing predominantly fine and medium sand should not be used.

(b) The material should be non-cohesive and graded. The uniformity coefficient should be more than 4 to ensure that the sub-ballast is well graded.

(c)  The material should not contain more than 15% of fines that measure less than 75 microns.

(d) The thickness of the sub-ballast should not be less than 150 mm.