The effect of soil improvement and auxiliary rails at railway track transition zones

The effect of soil improvement and auxiliary rails at railway track transition zones

Chumyen, P. (University of Leeds)
Connolly, D.P. (University of Leeds)
Woodward, P.K. (University of Leeds)
Markine, V.L. (TU Delft Railway Engineering)

2022

Railway track transition zones are areas where there is a sudden change in the track-ground structure. They include changes between ballasted and slab track, bridge approaches, and tunnel entry/exits. They are often the location of rapid track deterioration, and therefore this paper investigates the use of auxiliary rails and soil improvement to minimise train-track-ground dynamic effects. To do so, a 3D finite element model is developed using eight-node solid elements and a perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition. A moving train load is simulated using a sprung mass model to represent train-track interaction. After presenting the model, it is validated against field data collected on both a plain line and at a transition zone. Once validated, a sensitivity study is performed into auxiliary rails and soil improvement. It is found that auxiliary rails can improve the dynamic characteristics of the track across the transition, and that more widely spaced auxiliary rails provide greater benefit compared to closely spaced ones. Regarding soil improvement, a large benefit is found, and for the material properties under investigation, the effect of soil stiffening is greater than using auxiliary rails.

3D numerical railway model
Ballast-slab track
Railroad auxiliary rail
Railway transition zones
Trackbed soil stiffness

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:944cdf59-380a-46b5-b265-97ca8468babb

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2022.107200

2023-07-01

0267-7261

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 155, 1-9

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2022 P. Chumyen, D.P. Connolly, P.K. Woodward, V.L. Markine