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Transportation Department Transportation Department

André Marques Paixão

André Marques Paixão
Phone: 218 443 974

Professional Situation

Assistant Researcher at Transport Infrastructures Unit (NIT) of the Transportation Department (DT), LNEC

Academic and Scientific Degrees

  • 2014 – PhD in Civil Engineering, University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering of (FEUP) on the topic "Transition zones in railway tracks: an experimental and numerical study on the structural behaviour”
  • 2006 – Graduate Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering (5 year-course), University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) (IST/UTL)

Functions and Relevant Public Offices

  • Since 2019 – Assistant Researcher at LNEC’s Transportation Department
  • Since 2015 – External Researcher at CONSTRUCT R&D Unit, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
  • 2015-2019 – Postdoctoral Research Fellow at LNEC’s  Transportation Department
  • 2011-2014 – Doctoral Research Fellow at LNEC’s  Transportation Department
  • 2007-2011 - Junior Research grant-holder at Railway Infrastructures Division, DT, LNEC.
  • 2006-2007 – Junior Bridge/Structural Engineer at BETAR Consultores, Lda.

Areas of Research / Interest

  • Railway track - superstructure and substructure (from design to M&O)
  • Dynamic characterization, instrumentation and monitoring of transport infrastructures
  • Numerical modelling of railway tracks – structural optimization, dynamic train-track interaction and long-term behaviour of materials and structures
  • Innovative railway track components and solutions
  • Advanced morphologic characterisation of aggregates

Research and Professional Activity

Technological development activities under contracts established between LNEC and several entities, essentially with the Rede Ferroviária Nacional, EP (REFER), Infraestruturas de Portugal, SA (IP), the o Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes Terrestres, IP (IMT) and the company Mota-Engil.
Scientific research activities of LNEC's research plans, in projects financed by different entities (FCT, European Union, public companies and private companies) and in collaboration protocols and contracts between LNEC and several institutions:
  • Since 2020 Ferrovia 4.0 – Projeto Mobilizador (POCI 01-0247-FEDER-024525) Portuguese Railway Platform Cluster
  • 2016-2019 GroutRail – Reabilitação de Plataformas Ferroviárias com Tratamento de Solos, P2020, LNEC, Mota-Engil Ferrovias;
  • 2016-2018 COURSE - Continuous evaluation of railway tracks for efficient asset management, P2020, LNEC, Mota-Engil Ferrovias;
  • 2015-2019 "Métodos de análise estrutural e modelos de comportamento da via-férrea para aumento da eficiência do transporte ferroviário”, Programa de Investigação de Pós-Doutoramento, financiado por uma Bolsa individual de Pós-Doutoramento (SFRH/BPD/107737/2015);
  • 2015-2019 TIRAMS - Gestão de Ativos de Infraestruturas de Transportes numa Ótica RAMS, inserido no projeto Europeu ISABELA no âmbito do CEDR, P2I LNEC;
  • 2015-2019 ReTRACK - Reabilitação de plataformas ferroviárias em operação. P2I LNEC;
  • Since 2013 MODERB2 - MODElling Railway Ballast Behaviour. P2I LNEC;
  • 2011-2013 "Assessing the behaviour of track transition zones in Alcácer railway line”, joint R&D by LNEC, FEUP and REFER.
  • 2008-2011 "Optimization of High-Speed Railway Track Using. Bituminous Sub-Ballast” (FCT PTDC/ECM/70571/2006), joint R&D by IST and LNEC.
  • LNEC’s Programmed Research Projects on railway infrastructures and characterization of geomaterials.

Scientific Orientation

Supervisor of 1 PhD dissertation and more than 10 master dissertations in collaboration with FEUP and UNL.

Relevant Publications

  • Paixão, A. & Fortunato, E. (2020) Abrasion evolution of steel furnace slag aggregate for railway ballast: 3D morphology analysis of scanned particles by close-range photogrammetry. Construction and Building Materials; 266; doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.121225
  • Varandas, J., Paixão, A., Fortunato, E., Coelho, B. & Hölscher, P. (2020) Long-term deformation of railway tracks considering train-track interaction and non-linear resilient behaviour of aggregates – a 3D FEM implementation. Computers and Geotechnics; 126; doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103712
  • Paixão, A., Fortunato, E. & Calçada, R. (2019) Smartphone’s Sensing Capabilities for On-Board Railway Track Monitoring: Structural Performance and Geometrical Degradation Assessment. Advances in Civil Engineering; 2019, Article ID 1729153, 13 pp.; doi:10.1155/2018/1011729153 
  • Paixão, A., Resende, R. & Fortunato, E. (2018) Photogrammetry for digital reconstruction of railway ballast particles – a cost-efficient method. Construction and Building Materials; 191C, 963-976; doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.10.048
  • Paixão, A., Varandas, J.N., Fortunato, E. & Calçada, R. (2018) Numerical simulations to improve the use of under sleeper pads at transition zones to railway bridges. Engineering Structures; 164, 168-182; doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.03.005
  • Francisco, A., Paixão, A., Fortunato, E. & Varandas, J.N. (2018) Short soil–binder columns in railway track reinforcement: three–dimensional numerical studies considering the train–track interaction. Computers and Geotechnics; 98, 8-16; doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2018.02.001
  • Varandas, J.N., Paixão, A. & Fortunato, E. (2017) A study on the dynamic train-track interaction over cut-fill transitions on buried culverts. Computers and Structures; 189, 49-61; doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2017.04.017
  • Paixão, A., Fortunato, E., Calçada, R. (2016) A contribution for integrated analysis of railway track performance at transition zones and discontinuities. Construction and Building Materials; 111, 699-709; doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.126;
  • Paixão, A., Fortunato, E., Calçada, R. (2015) Design and construction of backfills for railway track transition zones. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, 229(1), 58-70; doi: 10.1177/0954409713499016
  • Paixão, A., Fortunato, E., Calçada, R. (2014) Transition zones to railway bridges: track measurements and numerical modelling. Engineering Structures, 80, 435–443, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2014.09.024;
  • Paixão, A. (2014) Transition zones in railway tracks: An experimental and numerical study on the structural behaviour; Tese de Doutoramento; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
  • Paixão, A. & Fortunato, E. (2009) Novas soluções de superstrutura de via para a Alta Velocidade Ferroviária - Comparação com a via balastrada tradicional; INCVC 5 - NIF/DT; Lisboa: Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil; ISBN: 9789724921730.

Other scientific and technical Activities

  • Member of organizing committees for scientific meetings
  • Core Member of the international network "Young Transportations Geotechnics Engineers” (2015-2017)
  • Member of the TC202 national committee of the Portuguese Geotechnical Society (SPG) in "Transportation Geotechnics”, in association with the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) (since 2013)
  • Member of juries of academic examinations: 1 PhD, >8 MSc
  • Referee of communications to technical and scientific meetings and of articles in international scientific journals: Transportation Geotechnics, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, Engineering Structures, Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, Construction & Building Materials, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
  • Representation of LNEC at the Portuguese Railway Cluster, the "Plataforma Ferroviária Portuguesa” (substitute representative)

Other Information

"Prémio Professor Doutor Joaquim Sarmento 2014”: PhD Thesis awarded by Fundação Eng.º António de Almeida, University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering

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