Experimental Investigation Into the Condition of Insulated Rail Joints by Impact Excitation

This paper presents a feasibility study to determine if the health condition of Insulated Rail Joints (IRJs) can be assessed by examining their dynamic response to impact excitation. First, a reference dynamic behavior is defined in the frequency domain of 50-1200 Hz based on field hammer test measurements performed on a IRJ baseline (i.e., a...

A 3D finite element modeling of hammer test for track parameter identification

In railway tracks, short wave rail surface defects give rise to high wheel-rail dynamic forces and noise. Having a better insight into short wave defect occurrence could lead to development of adapted maintenance methods or track design to delay or avoid defect, so that the high short wave defect related maintenance costs may be reduced. As part...