This paper presents a big data-based analysis of the rail wear of the whole Belgian railway network measured in 2012 and 2019. Wear rates are reported, discussed, and quantitatively formulated as functions of critical factors in terms of curve radius, annual tonnage (rail age), high rail in curves, an average from both rails in straight tracks at rail top (vertical wear) and gauge corner (45° wear) and for steel grade R200 and R260. The influence of preventive grinding is also analysed. The wear rates are derived in an aggregated manner for the whole network. The wear rates do not show significant change with changes in rolling stock over the years, implying that the wear rates could also hold for other networks. It is found that R200 shows, on average, a 34% higher wear rate than R260. Also, the wear rate per tonnage is lower for high-loaded tracks. Thus, time is a relevant factor in explaining the wear evolution of low-loaded tracks; for instance, the effect of corrosion may have an important role. The paper provides statistically significant information that can be used for wear modelling, understanding and treating rolling contact fatigue based on the wear rate and developing tailored rail maintenance strategies.@en

To investigate the train-induced ground vibration, an explicit time-domain, three dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model is developed. The train, track, embankment, pile-board structure and nearby ground soils are all fully coupled in this model. The complex geometries involving the track components and pile-board structure are all modelled in detail, which makes the simulation of wave propagation more realistic from the train to the ground. The model is validated with in situ tests data collected in the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway line. Good agreements have been achieved between the numerical results and experimental results both in time domain and frequency domain. The proposed model is thus capable of reproducing the dynamic ground response induced by a typical high speed train. Soil responses induced by different number of vehicles are compared. With more vehicles, the spectral peaks of soil responses are more prominent at the integral multiples of the vehicle passing frequency. Too few vehicles will not bring about such phenomenon, thus sufficient number of vehicles should be included in a train to properly model train-induced ground vibration. With the proposed model, the influence of the pile-board foundation on the ground vibration is investigated. It is found that the pile-board foundation can significantly attenuate the low frequency ground vibration. The attenuation of the ground vibration as a function of distance from the track is simulated and the influential factors to the local vibration amplification are investigated. It is found that soil Young's modulus and soil impedance contrast are the two main factors influential to the local vibration amplification. The softer the natural soil, the larger the amplification. The larger soil impedance contrast makes the amplification more obvious. The soil stratification and geometric discontinuity at ground surface are not the main cause of the local vibration amplification in this work.@en

This study presents a measuring framework for railway transition zones using a case study on the Swedish line between Boden and Murjek. The final goal is to better understand the vertical dynamics of transition zones using hammer tests, falling weight measurements, and axle box acceleration (ABA) measurements. Frequency response functions (FRFs) from hammer tests indicate two track resonances, for which the FRF magnitudes on the plain track are at least 30% lower than those at the abutment. The falling weight measurements indicate that the track on the bridge has a much higher deflection than the track on the embankment. Two features from ABA signals, the dominant spatial frequency and the scale average wavelet power, show variation along the transition zone. These variations indicate differences in track conditions per location. Finally, the ABA features in the range of 1.05–2.86 m−1 are found to be related to the track resonance in the range of 30–60 Hz. The findings in this paper provide additional support for physically interpreting train-borne measurements for monitoring transition zones.@en

Railway transition zones connecting conventional embankments and rigid struc-tures, such as bridges and tunnels, usually degrade much faster than other railway sections. Efficient health condition monitoring of transition zones is important for preventative track maintenance. In this paper, a methodology for monitoring rail-way transition zones using acceleration measurements on multiple axle boxes (multi-ABA) of a passing train is presented. To showcase its capability, the measurements in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway are analyzed and dis-cussed. It is found that different bridges and transition zones exhibit unique char-acteristics including dominant wavelengths and energy distribution. Based on these unique characteristics, the geometry and support conditions at different lo-cations of a transition zone can be evaluated. Higher train speed makes the char-acteristics more pronounced. The results demonstrate that the multi-ABA meas-urement has the potential to evaluate and thus monitor the health conditions of various transition zones.@en

Railway transition zones connecting conventional embankments and rigid struc-tures, such as bridges and tunnels, usually degrade much faster than other railway sections. Efficient health condition monitoring of transition zones is important for preventative track maintenance. In this paper, a methodology for monitoring rail-way transition zones using acceleration measurements on multiple axle boxes (multi-ABA) of a passing train is presented. To showcase its capability, the measurements in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway are analyzed and dis-cussed. It is found that different bridges and transition zones exhibit unique char-acteristics including dominant wavelengths and energy distribution. Based on these unique characteristics, the geometry and support conditions at different lo-cations of a transition zone can be evaluated. Higher train speed makes the char-acteristics more pronounced. The results demonstrate that the multi-ABA meas-urement has the potential to evaluate and thus monitor the health conditions of various transition zones.@en

The vertical vibration and transmission characteristics of ballast are key factors that affect the dynamic stability of railway track structures and control the settlement of ballasted beds. Therefore, the following study was conducted to explore this topic. Firstly, through an impact hammer test on a ballast sensor with embedding chip, the vertical vibration data of the ballast was accurately measured. Therefore, the vertical vibration characteristics of a single ballast can be studied. Then, the vertical vibration characteristics at different positions in the stack were obtained by embedding ballast sensors into a ballasted stack. Finally, combined with field tests, a discrete element numerical model was established, then the vibration transmission speed and diffusion angle in a ballasted stack were calculated. The results of this study show that the damping ratio of ballast particles is less than 0.1, and the natural frequency is above 1000 Hz. The damping ratio and natural frequency of ballasts are greatly affected by their shape. The damping ratio of a ballasted stack is greater than that of ballast particles, and its natural frequency is lower. This indicates that the ballasted stack has the attributes of a soft material. The vertical acceleration transmission rate of ballasts is lower at frequencies below 257.94 Hz. This shows that the vibration suppression ability of the ballasted bed is better in the lower frequency range. As the depth increases, the vertical vibration transmission speed of the ballast gradually decreases, as does the accumulated external force. In the impact hammer test of a ballasted box, the average vertical vibration transmission speed was calculated to be 0.88 mm/μs, and the ballast vibration was transmitted downward at a diffusion angle of 35.32°–54.51° from the direction of gravity.@en

Based on ordinary state-based peridynamic theory, a 2D peridynamic model has been established to investigate fatigue crack propagation in railheads. The proposed model is verified in terms of rail deformation under a quasi-static load and the ductile material-related fatigue failure model. Good agreements have been achieved between a finite element model and the experimental results. With the proposed model, the effects of the initial crack angle, initial crack length and wheel-rail friction coefficient on crack propagation in railheads are studied. This research provides a new method for studying crack propagation in railheads.@en

The continuous homogeneous rail constraint of embedded rail system (ERS) is realized by the encapsulation of rails with the elastic poured compound (EPC) which is a composite material. Previous treatment of EPC as linear elastic material was insufficient in the failure analysis of ERS. In this work, a hyperelastic model is developed to describe the mechanical properties of the EPC with engineering strain up to 150%. Physical tests of uniaxial tension, planar tension and quadruple shear are conducted. A 4-parameter Ogden model is determined by curve fitting and validated with a progressive validation strategy, and then is applied to the failure analysis of ERS. It is found that the material nonlinearity of EPC contributes noticeably to the decrease of the longitudinal stiffness of ERS. The 2nd debonding is more probably caused by the failure of adhesive at the interface between EPC and rail rather than EPC itself.@en

With dynamic behaviour different from that of traditional discretely supported tracks, continuously supported embedded rail systems (ERSs) have been increasingly used in railway bridges, level crossings, trams, and high-speed lines. However, studies on ERSs have been limited, and none of them have addressed the wheel-rail impact-induced dynamic response, although wheel-rail impact is a main cause of ERS degradation. This paper studies, numerically and experimentally, the wheel-rail impact at an insulated rail joint (IRJ) used in the ERS. As a weak spot of the track, the IRJ results in discontinuities in the track support stiffness and wheel-rail contact geometry. This study first develops an explicit finite element model to simulate the vibration responses of the IRJ in the ERS when excited by a hammer and passing wheel loads. The simulated dynamic behaviours (represented by the hammer-excitation frequency response function) at a frequency up to 5 kHz and a wheel-rail impact vibration frequency up to 10 kHz are then validated with a field hammer test and a train pass-by measurement, respectively. Both the experimental study and numerical modelling reveals that the major frequencies of the impact vibration at the IRJ in the ERS depend mainly on geometric irregularities in the IRJ region and the train speed, rather than on the resonances of the track structure, as in the case of the discretely supported IRJ. This finding is meaningful to the engineering practice because it indicates a continuously supported IRJ in the ERS is more impact resistant, especially when the IRJ geometry is adequately maintained, e.g. by timely grinding.@en

Embedded rail system (ERS) is a new type of track structure with many advantages due to its continuous rail support. The rapid development of urban rail transit all over the world renders its application prospect broad. However, the cracks and debonds in ERS present a threat to the traffic safety and a possibility for high maintenance costs. In this work, a longitudinal pushing experiment was designed to explore the damage development process in ERS in order to help structural optimization and performance maintenance. The first order derivative of displacement-longitudinal force curve indicates that the damage process of ERS could be divided into three stages: linear elasticity, damage initiation and damage acceleration stages. The surface deformation of the elastic poured compound (EPC) was analyzed with the particle velocimetry and it is shown that the damage is possibly localized in a small EPC part. Statistics of the absolute displacements of a large number of interrogation areas show that their percentage distribution changes in agreement with the increment of rail displacement, which could be the basis for monitoring of EPC deformation in the breathing zone of continuous welded rail. The analysis of the deformation of EPC from side views, together with the qualitative analysis with finite element method, reveals that the large shear strain of rubber strip and the intense shear strain of EPC at rail foot are the main causes of damage initiation and growth in ERS under longitudinal force.@en

This paper presents a methodology for monitoring transition zones using responses of multiple-axle box acceleration (multi-ABA) measurements. The time–frequency characteristics of the vertical ABA signals from four wheelsets are analyzed. The major contributions are as follows. (1) We propose four key performance indicators (KPIs) to quantify local multi-ABA energy differences at different abutments, tracks, entrance and exit sides, and inner and outer rails. (2) The same dominant spatial frequencies are obtained with different measurement speeds, so the proposed method is suitable for multi-ABA systems mounted on operational trains. Transition zones at nine double-track railway bridges are selected as the case study. The KPIs indicate that (1) the energy differences between abutments are above 80% in three bridges; (2) two abutments show that the energy differences between tracks are higher than 100%; (3) three tracks have energy differences above 100% between the entrance and exit sides; and (4) the energy differences between rails are above 80% on three sides. Finally, using measurement with 7 years of difference, the KPIs and track quality index are discussed. These findings suggest that multi-ABA measurement can be used as a health condition monitoring method for railway transition zones to support condition-based maintenance.@en