Analytical study of the dynamic response of an embedded railway track to a moving load

Summary In this paper, the steady-state dynamic response of an embedded railway track to a moving train is investigated theoretically. The model for the track consists of a flexible plate performing vertical vibrations, two beams that are connected to the plate by continuous visco-elastic elements and an elastic foundation that supports the plate. Two harmonic loads that move uniformly along the beams describe the train load. The plate, the beams and the elastic foundation are employed to model a concrete slab of an embedded track, the rails and the ground reaction, respectively. The problem is studied by employing the Fourier integral transforms in the following way. Firstly, the dispersion analysis of waves that may propagate along the system is accomplished in the frequency-wavenumber domain. On the basis of this analysis, critical velocities of the loads are found both for the in-phase and anti-phase vibrations of the loads. Secondly, the vertical displacement of the rails and the slab, along with the stresses in the slab, are investigated as functions of the velocity and frequency of the loads. Finally, the response of the two-dimensional model is compared to that of a simplified one-dimensional model.     

Propagation of perturbances generated in classic track, and track with Y-type sleepers

Railway track with classic and Y-shaped sleepers or slab track is composed of two rails that are assumed to be infinitely long and joined with sleepers by viscoelastic pads. Numerous assumptions are used in railway-track modelling, leading to different simplifications. The two-dimensional periodic model of track consists of two parallel infinite Timoshenko beams (rails) coupled with equally spaced sleepers on a viscoelastic foundation. Nowadays the interest of engineers is focused on slab track and track with Y-shaped sleepers. The fundamental qualitative difference between the track with classic and Y-shaped sleepers is related to local longitudinal symmetric or antisymmetric features of the railway track. The sleeper spacing influences the periodicity of the foundation elasticity coefficient, mass density (rotational inertia) and the effective shear rigidity. Track with classic concrete sleepers is affected much more by rotational inertia and shear deflections than track with Y-shaped sleepers. The increase of the elastic-wave velocity in track with Y-shaped sleepers and more uniform load distribution will be proved by analysis and simulation. The analytical and numerical analyses allows us to evaluate the track properties in a range of moderate and high train speeds. However, the correct approach is not simple, since the structure of the track interacts with the wheels, wheelsets and vehicles, which constitute complex inertial loads. We note that the growth of amplitude in selected velocity ranges depends strongly on the track type.     

Interaction of railway vehicles with track in cross-winds

This paper presents a framework for simulating railway vehicle and track interaction in cross-wind. Each 4-axle vehicle in a train is modeled by a 27-degree-of-freedom dynamic system. Two parallel rails of a track are modeled as two continuous beams supported by a discrete-elastic foundation of three layers with sleepers and ballasts included. The vehicle subsystem and the track subsystem are coupled through contacts between wheels and rails based on contact theory. Vertical and lateral rail irregularities simulated using an inverse Fourier transform are also taken into consideration. The simulation of steady and unsteady aerodynamic forces on a moving railway vehicle in cross-wind is then discussed in the time domain. The Hilber–Hughes–Taylor α-method is employed to solve the nonlinear equations of motion of coupled vehicle and track systems in cross-wind. The proposed framework is finally applied to a railway vehicle running on a straight track substructure in cross-wind. The safety and comfort performance of the moving vehicle in cross-wind are discussed. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework and the associated computer program can be used to investigate interaction problems of railway vehicles with track in cross-wind.     

Experimental Investigation on Dynamic Railway Sleeper/Ballast Interaction

In ballasted railway tracks, one of the important components that supports the rails and distributes wheel/rail loading onto the ballast supporting formation is a railway sleeper (sometimes is also called a “railway tie”). This paper presents results of an experimental modal analysis of prestressed concrete sleepers in both free-free and in-situ conditions, incorporating the dynamic influence of sleeper/ballast interaction. Dynamic interaction between concrete sleepers and ballast support is crucial for the development of a dynamic model of railway track capable of predicting its responses to impact loads due to wheel flats, wheel burns, irregularities of the rail, etc. In this study, four types of prestressed concrete sleepers were in-kind provided by the Australian manufacturers. The concrete sleepers were tested using an impact hammer excitation technique over the frequency range of interest, 0–1600 Hz. Frequency response functions (FRFs) were measured using PULSE modal testing system. The FRFs were processed using STAR modal analysis package to identify natural frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes for the sleepers. The conclusions are presented about the effect of the sleeper/ballast interaction on the dynamic properties of prestressed concrete sleepers and their use for predicting railway track dynamic responses.     

轨下支承失效对直线轨道动态响应的影响

建立了基于Timoshenko梁模型的车辆/轨道耦合动力学模型,分析轨下支承失效对直线轨道动态响应的影响. 钢轨被视为连续弹性离散点支承上的无限长Timoshenko梁,通过假设轨道系统刚度沿纵向分布发生突变来模拟轨下支承失效状态. 推导了考虑钢轨横向、垂向和扭转运动的轮轨滚动接触蠕滑率计算公式. 利用Hertz法向接触理论和沈氏蠕滑理论计算轮轨法向力及轮轨滚动接触蠕滑力. 采用移动轨下支承模型的车辆/轨道耦合系统激振模式,考虑轨枕离散支承对系统动力响应的影响. 通过新型显式积分法求解车辆/轨道耦合动力学系统运动方程,由数值分析计算得到不同轨下支承失效状态下直线轨道的动态响应. 结果表明,轨下支承失效对直线轨道变形及加速度有显著的影响,随着失效轨下支承个数的增加,轮轨相互作用力和轨道部件的位移、加速度将会急剧增大,将加速失效区段线路状况的恶化.      

Interaction of subway LIM vehicle with ballasted track in polygonal wheel wear development

This paper develops a coupled dynamics model for a linear induction motor (LIM) vehicle and a subway track to investigate the influence of polygonal wheels of the vehicle on the dynamic behavior of the system. In the model, the vehicle is modeled as a multi-body system with 35 degrees of freedom. A Timoshenko beam is used to model the rails which are discretely supported by sleepers. The sleepers are modeled as rigid bodies with their vertical, lateral, and rolling motions being considered. In order to simulate the vehicle running along the track, a moving sleeper support model is introduced to simulate the excitation by the discrete sleeper supporters, in which the sleepers are assumed to move backward at a constant speed that is the same as the train speed. The Hertzian contact theory and the Shen- Hedrick-Elkins’ model are utilized to deal with the normal dynamic forces and the tangential forces between wheels and rails, respectively. In order to better characterize the linear metro system (LMS), Euler beam theory based on modal superposition method is used to model LIM and RP. The vertical electric magnetic force and the lateral restoring force between the LIM and RP are also taken into consideration. The former has gap-varying nonlinear characteristics, whilst the latter is considered as a constant restoring force of 1 kN. The numerical analysis considers the effect of the excitation due to polygonal wheels on the dynamic behavior of the system at different wear stages, in which the used data regarding the polygonal wear on the wheel tread are directly measured at the subway site.     

Track dynamic behavior at rail welds at high speed

As a vehicle passing through a track with different weld irregularities, the dynamic performance of track com- ponents is investigated in detail by using a coupled vehi- cle-track model. In the model, the vehicle is modeled as a multi-body system with 35 degrees of freedom, and a Timoshenko beam is used to model the rails which are dis- cretely supported by sleepers. In the track model, the sleepers are modeled as rigid bodies accounting for their vertical, lat- eral and rolling motions and assumed to move backward at a constant speed to simulate the vehicle running along the track at the same speed. In the study of the coupled vehicle and track dynamics, the Hertizian contact theory and the theory proposed by Shen-Hedrick-Elkins are, respectively, used to calculate normal and creep forces between the wheel and the rails. In the calculation of the normal forces, the coefficient of the normal contact stiffness is determined by transient contact condition of the wheel and rail surface. In the calcu- lation of the creepages, the lateral, roll-over motions of the rail and the fact that the relative velocity between the wheel and rail in their common normal direction is equal to zero are simultaneously taken into account. The motion equations of the vehicle and track are solved by means of an explicit integration method, in which the rail weld irregularities are modeled as local track vertical deviations described by some ideal cosine functions. The effects of the train speed, the axle load, the wavelength and depth of the irregularities, and the weld center position in a sleeper span on the wheel-rail impact loading are analyzed. The numerical results obtained are greatly useful in the tolerance design of welded rail pro- file irregularity caused by hand-grinding after rail welding and track maintenances.     

高速铁路碎石道砟振动的离散元模拟

道砟振动对其磨损、破碎和道床累积变形有显著影响,为揭示高速车辆移动荷载作用下道砟动态响应特性,建立有砟道床离散元模型,开展车辆-轨道耦合动力学计算得到离散元模型输入荷载,模拟分析高速车辆以不同速度通过时有砟道床的振动响应,并与车辆-轨道耦合动力学计算结果进行对比分析。结果表明,轨枕、道砟和道床块振动位移波形相似,位移幅值沿道床深度方向减小,道床块振动位移与轨枕底面以下0.3m处道砟的振动位移相当;轨枕、道床块振动速度与加速度随行车速度提高而增大;受道砟颗粒间复杂相互作用的影响,道砟振动加速度会出现突变。道床离散元模型能合理反映道砟颗粒的振动响应特性,道床块模型体现了道床层在有砟轨道结构中的动力传递与减振特性,两种道床模型的计算结果具有一定的相似性。     

车-轨-桥耦合动力系统影响参数分析

为了考虑高速列车、板式无砟轨道和桥梁相互作用的特点,需将列车模拟为质量-弹簧-阻尼多刚体相互约束的系统,通过列车车轮与钢轨的接触关系,建立车-轨-桥耦合系统的运动方程。重点分析了双线列车以不同工况通过高速铁路桥梁时,列车行驶状态(速度和加速度)、列车悬挂系数和钢轨-轨道-桥梁连接参数分别对车-轨-桥耦合系统的动力学性能影响。结果表明,(1)列车的加速度和速度的变化对耦合系统有不同程度的影响,随着列车行驶速度与加速度在一定范围内增加,车体自身结构的位移振动响应逐渐减小,而钢轨和桥梁结构的位移振动响应则不断增加;(2)列车悬挂参数的改变对列车自身结构影响较大,而对钢轨和桥梁结构影响很小;(3)车体一系刚度系数增大会引起列车系统结构振动响应变大,但车体二系刚度系数的增加却抑制了车体结构的振动响应;(4)除了钢轨的最大加速度随着连续刚度系数增加呈线性递减外,列车、钢轨和桥梁的振动响应不易受钢轨与桥梁间连接参数的影响。     

Medium frequency dynamic investigation of the railway wheelset-track system using a discrete-continuous model

Summary In the paper, dynamic interaction between elastic high-speed-train car wheelset and track is studied using a discrete-continuous mechanical model. The model enables to investigate the influence of the parametric excitation from the track as well as static and dynamic unbalances of wheels and brake disks on the dynamic response of the wheelset running at various speeds on the track of various average vertical stiffness. From the results of numerical simulation it follows that particularly severe periodic resonances occur for the track of large stiffness, yielding high vertical dynamic contact forces between the wheels and rails. The maximum dynamic response has been obtained for parameters corresponding to the conditions at which the phenomenon of grumbling noise generation is usually observed in reality. Received 21 January 1997; accepted for publication 29 February 1997     

Identification of effective properties of the railway substructure in the low-frequency range using a heavy oscillating unit on the track

As the demand for predictions of train-induced vibrations is increasing, it is essential that adequate parameters of the railway structure are given as input in the predictions. Gathering this information can be quite time-consuming and costly, especially when predictions are required for the low-frequency emission. This article presents a procedure for deriving the effective properties of the foundation under the sleepers of a railway track from measurements taken with a heavy oscillating unit on the track. The unit consists of two masses inside a modified freight car that exert a dynamic force in the range 3–30 Hz on one of the two axles. The ratio of force applied on the axle over the resulting response measured with an accelerometer is studied. The foundation of the sleepers is modelled using a frequency-dependent complex-valued dynamic stiffness.     

Dynamic response of tank trains to random track irregularities

This paper presents a dynamic analytical model for tank train vibrations. The train is considered as a system of 27 degrees of freedom consisting of lateral, roll, yaw, vertical, and pitch motions for the vehicle body and its two bogies and lateral, roll and vertical motions for the four wheel-sets. Liquid sloshing in the tank is modeled using an equivalent mechanical mass-spring model. Coupling between the vehicle system and the railway track is realized through the interaction forces between the train and the rail, where the vertical and lateral irregularity profiles of the track are regarded as stationary ergodic Gaussian random processes and simulated by polynomial functions. Random vibration theory is used to obtain the response power spectral densities. Finally, numerical results for a typical test case including natural frequencies of a coupled system, frequency response functions, and output power spectral densities are presented.     

Effect of rail corrugation on vertical dynamics of railway vehicle coupled with a track

The effect of rail corrugation on the vertical dynamics of railway vehicle coupled with a curved track is investigated in detail with a numerical method when a wheelset is steadily curving. In the calculation of rail corrugation we consider the combination of Kalker‘s rolling contact theory modified, a model of material loss on rail running surface, and a dynamics model of railway vehicle coupled with a curved track. In the establishment of the dynamic model, for simplicity, one fourth of the freight car without lateral motions,namely a wheelset and the equivalent one fourth freight car body above it, is considered. The Euler beam is used to model the rails and the track structure under the rails is replaced with equivalent springs, dampers and mass bodies. The numerical results show the great influence of the rail corrugation on the vibration of the parts of the vehicle and the track, and the some characters of rail corrugation in development.     

列车荷载作用下轨道和地基的动响应分析

分析了列车运动荷载引起的应力波在轨道结构和周围地基中的传播,用动力子结构方法求解了铁路轨道和多层地基的相互作用问题,特别是在模型中考虑了轨枕离散支撑的作用.研究的对象结构包括列车运动荷载和受轨枕支撑的钢轨,以及下面的无限分层黏弹性地基.通过傅里叶变换求解微分形式的支配方程,得到了在频域和波数领域中的钢轨以及周围地基的振动准解析解,而响应时程则通过傅里叶逆变换得到.利用结果可以评估高速铁路列车运行时产生的轨道与周围地基的振动强度;同时提出了一种直观的方法来确定轨道与地基中产生共振时列车运行的临界速度.     

Dynamic model of vertical vehicle-subgrade coupled system under secondary suspension

As it is known, track transportation can be divided into track system above and track system below. While the train is moving, the parts above and below are interacted and influenced. Therefore, in fact, the problem of track transportation is the match between the vehicle and the railway line system. In this paper, on a basis of dynamic analysis of the vehicle-subgrade model of vertical coupled system under primary suspension, utilizing track maintenance standard and simulating track irregularity excitation, the dynamic interaction of vehicle-track-subgrade system is researched in theory and dynamic model of the vertical vehicle-track-subgrade coupled system under secondary suspension is established by compatibility condition of deformation. Even this model considers the actual structure of a vehicle, also considers vibration characteristic of the substructure of track including subgrade and foundation. All these work want to be benefit for understanding and design about the dynamic characters of subgrade in high speed railway.     

On permanent long-wave distortions of a railway track due to the moving vehicle load

Summary  The paper presents a simple mathematical model which describes the evolution of the vertical profile of a railway track caused by the load arising from moving vehicles. Owing to the fact that the track ballast is not perfectly elastic, each passage of a train is accompanied by a residual deformation of the ballast. Being very small, these deformations, however, accumulate with time. It is shown that an initial imperfection in the vertical profile of the track will either grow or diminish after each passage. For given track and vehicle, the rate of growth is determined by the characteristic length of the imperfection and by the velocity of the vehicle. Received 3 February 2000; accepted for publication 19 July 2000     

Remote detection of derailment of a wagon of a freight train: theory and experiment

Summary The paper discusses the possibility to detect derailment of a train's wagon by measuring vibrations of the rails under the locomotive. Both theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out, followed by a comparison of their results. For the theoretical modelling of the railway track, a Timoshenko beam resting on discrete, equidistantly spaced supports is used. The steady-state response of the beam to a load that either uniformly moves along the beam or uniformly `jumps' from support to next support is investigated at a point, which remains at a fixed distance from the moving load. The load that moves along the beam is used to model the `normal motion' of a train's wheelset, whereas the `jumping' load is employed to model the action of a derailed wheelset. It is shown that the effect of the derailed wheel-set consists of an amplification of the rail's response in the frequency band that surrounds the natural frequency of the sleeper's vibrations. This theoretical prediction is confirmed experimentally. A method of processing the measured data is proposed that allows for stable detection of the derailment. A maximum distance between the locomotive and the derailed wagon is estimated, at which the detection is possible.     

秦沈客运专线高速列车构架蛇行波标准差的试验研究

国内外大多采用轨道横向不平顺作为列车—桥梁(轨道)时变系统横向振动的激振源。实际上，引起此系统横向振动的因素很多，诸如轨道横向不平顺、车轮踏面锥度、轮轨缺陷、车轮与钢轨的制造误差、车辆质量及其载重的偏心等。仅仅考虑轨道横向不平顺，会忽略其他很多因素的影响。相反，机车车辆构架蛇行波反映了引起此系统横向振动所有因素的影响，同时还反映了轮轨实际接触状态。研究证明，构架蛇行波标准差是输入此系统横向振动的能量，因此，有关它的研究十分重要。本文根据秦沈客运专线高速列车(中华之星)构架蛇行波现场测试结果，采用工程概率数值分析方法，对高速列车构架蛇行波标准差进行了统计分析，得出具有99％概率水平的高速列车构架蛇行波标准差与车速的关系曲线，为高速列车—桥梁(轨道)时变系统横向振动随机分析激振源的确定提供了基础资料；同时还列出了具有代表性的高速列车构架蛇行波实测波形图。     

Effect of a scratch on curved rail on initiation and evolution of plastic deformation induced rail corrugation

A calculation model is put forward to analyze the effect of a scratch on the running surface of a curved rail on initiation and growth of plastic deformation induced rail corrugation when a wheelset is steadily and repeatedly curving. The numerical method considers a combination of Carter’s two-dimensional contact theory, a two-dimensional elastic–plastic finite element model and a vertical dynamics model of railway vehicle coupled with a curved track. A concept of feedback between the corrugation development and the vertical coupling dynamics of the wheelset and track is involved. The cyclic ratchetting effect of the rail material under repeated contact loadings is taken into account. The numerical results indicate that when a vehicle runs on rails with a scratch the contact vibration between the wheel and rail occurs at large amplitude, and rail corrugation due to plastic deformation initiates and develops. The corrugation has a tendency to move along the running direction and its evolution rate decays as wheelset passages increase. The passing frequencies of the plastic deformation induced corrugation depend on the natural frequencies of the track. The residual stresses stabilize after a limited number of wheelset passages. The residual strains increase at a reduced rate with increasing wheelset passages.