Investigation of the Improved B07-Type Prestressed Concrete Sleeper with Emphasis on Sustainability and Cost Efficiency

Prestressed concrete sleepers are critical components of railway superstructures, designed to transfer wheel loads safely to the ballast layer. The strength of sleepers generally exceeds the minimum requirements defined by international standards. Given the large number of sleepers produced annually, improving their design offers substantial potential for cost savings and reductions in associated carbon dioxide emissions. This study presents a cost- and sustainability-oriented improvement of the B07-type prestressed concrete sleeper, supported by detailed numerical modeling and experimental validation. A three-dimensional finite-element model was developed and verified against full-scale test results. A computationally efficient quarter model was employed by leveraging the geometric symmetry of the sleeper. A comprehensive parametric study was conducted by varying key design parameters, including the concrete compressive strength, prestressing bar diameter and location, and prestress level. Based on the parametric analysis results, an improved design configuration is proposed that achieves comparable structural performance while reducing material usage. The resulting design offers an estimated 5% reduction in material costs and almost 10% reduction in carbon emissions, contributing to both economic and environmental sustainability in sleeper production. This study once again demonstrates that sustainability begins in the design phase, and decisions made early in the process can yield significant savings in both emissions and costs.