The Use of Deconstructed Tires as Elastic Elements in Railway Tracks Sol-Sánchez, Miguel Moreno Navarro, Fernando Manuel Rubio Gámez, María Del Carmen Railway track Elastic elements Deconstructed tire layers Laboratory study Elastic elements such as rail pads, under sleeper pads and under ballast mats are railway components that allow for a reduction in track deterioration and vibrations. And they are furthermore commonly used to obtain an optimal vertical stiffness of the infrastructure. However, the use of elastomeric materials can increase construction costs and the consumption of raw materials. Thus, the utilization of used tire layers offers an alternative to reuse an abundant waste reducing the cost of elastic elements. In addition, an innovator technique allows deconstructing tire layers without grinding up the material, reducing production costs at the same time that tire properties are remained. This research is focused on the study of the viability of developing elastic components from used tire layers by evaluating the influence of thickness, the resistance capacity of the elements and their behavior in a ballast box. Results indicate the ability of tire pads to manufacture elastic elements (rail pads, under sleeper pads and under ballast mats) to be used in railway tracks. 2014-09-25T11:18:42Z 2014-09-25T11:18:42Z 2014 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Sol-Sánchez, M.; Moreno-Navarro, F.; Rubio-Gámez, M.C. The Use of Deconstructed Tires as Elastic Elements in Railway Tracks. Materials, 7(8): 5903-5919 (2014). [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/33204] 1996-1944 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/33204 10.3390/ma7085903 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess MDPI