Dr Louis Le Pen M.Eng, PGCE, Ph.D, C.Eng, MICE
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Louis Le Pen is Senior Research Fellow within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton.
Current position
Dr Louis Le Pen has a broad interest in geotechnical engineering research and application. His current research activities are primarily focused on geotechnical aspects of railway track performance. Examples of investigative research include:
- performance of novel track forms - e.g. use of asphalt underlay, ladder tracks and slab track systems.
- performance of transitions and switches and crossings
- performance of composite sleepers
- development of alternate ballast gradations and reinforced ballast
- improvement in performance through the use of undersleeper pads
- relative performance of current ballast and sleeper combinations
- interaction between earthworks and bridges on railways
- mechanical properties of railway ballast (Triaxial testing, Distinct Element Modelling, Particle shape analysis, Contact Mechanics)
- effects of high speed curving forces due to tilting trains on ballasted track
Louis also co-supervises a number of PhD and undergraduate project students and has given guest lectures and supervised laboratory classes.
Recent career history
Dr Louis Le Pen is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton UK and specialises in laboratory testing and field research into the performance of railway track systems. Over the past 15 years he has worked on research projects funded mainly by the UK's EPSRC, Network Rail and the European Union. He has authored over 40 publications and his work has been recognised most notably by an honourable mention for the Quigley award (Canadian Geotechnical Journal) and the BGA medal (Geotechnique). He is also co-editor of the Cross-Industry Track Stiffness Working Group's "A Guide to Track Stiffness".