Experimental investigation on the characteristics of the dynamic rail pad force and its stress distribution in the time and frequency domain

Abstract

The rail pad force and its stress distribution have critical influences on the performance and fatigue life of the rail, fasteners, and sleepers. The characteristics of the rail pad force and its stress distribution in the time and frequency domain obtained from field tests carried out using matrix-based tactile surface sensor are presented in this paper. The field testing involved rail pads under various axle-loads of running trains at different speeds. The influences that the train axle-load, the operational speed, and the rail pad stiffness have on the rail pad force and its stress distribution are analyzed. The test results indicate that the rail pad stiffness has a remarkable influence on the amplitude of the rail pad force but has little influence on its dominant frequencies. The first dominant frequency of the rail pad force is quite close to the passing frequency of the vehicle length. The stress distribution on the rail pad has a parabolic shape along the longitudinal and the lateral directions with the large stress appearing near the center of the rail pad, and is remarkably affected by the service condition of the rail pad. The maximum stress is about 2.5 to 3 times of the average stress, which is significantly greater than the nominal stress resulting from the assumption of uniform stress distribution.

Keywords

Railway track rail pad force stress distribution field test matrix-based tactile surface sensor frequency spectrum

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Kreiser

Jia

Han

, et al. A nonlinear damage accumulation model for shakedown failure. Int J Fatigue 2007; 29: 1523–1530.

Zhu

Cai

Luo

, et al. A frequency and amplitude dependent model of rail pads for the dynamic analysis of train-track interaction. Sci China-Technol Sci 2015; 58: 191–201.

Wei

Wang

, et al. Effect of temperature- and frequency-dependent dynamic properties of rail pads on high-speed vehicle-track coupled vibrations. Veh Syst Dyn 2017; 55: 351–370.

Stith JC. Railroad track pressure measurements at the rail/tie plate interface using tekscan sensors. Master’s Thesis, University of Kentucky, USA, 2004.

Rapp

Dersch

Edwards

, et al. Measuring rail seat pressure distribution in concrete crossties. Transport Res Rec 2013; 2374: 190–200.

Greve MJ. Quantification of rail seat load distributions on concrete crossties. Master’s Thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, 2015.

Greve MJ, Dersch MS, Edwards JR, et al. Evaluation of laboratory and field experimentation characterizing concrete crosstie rail seat load distributions. In: Proceedings of the 2015 joint rail conference, San Jose, CA, USA, 2015.

Greve

Dersch

Edwards

, et al. Effect of particle intrusion on rail seat load distributions on heavy haul freight railroads. Int J Rail Transport 2016; 4: 98–112.

Ghosh A, Greve MJ, Dersch MS, et al. Analyzing rail seat load distributions on concrete sleepers using matrix based tactile surface sensors. In: 11th world congress on railway research, Milan, Italy, 2016.

10.

Greve

Dersch

Edwards

, et al. Examination of the effect of concrete crosstie rail seat deterioration on rail seat load distribution. Transport Res Rec 2016; 2476: 1–7.

11.

Zahra

Dhanasekar

. Characterisation and strategies for mitigation of the contact surface unevenness in dry-stack masonry. Constr Build Mater 2018; 169: 612–628.

12.

Zhai

Wang

Gao

, et al. High-speed train-track-bridge dynamic interactions – Part II: experimental validation and engineering application. Int J Rail Transport 2013; 1: 25–41.

13.

Askarinejad

Dhanasekar

Cole

. Assessing the effects of track input on the response of insulated rail joints using field experiments. Proc I MechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2013; 227: 176–187.

14.

Askarinejad

Barati

Dhanasekar

, et al. Field studies on sleeper deflection and ballast pressure in heavy haul track. Aust J Struct Eng 2018; 1: 1–9.

15.

Dhanasekar

Bayissa

. Performance of square and inclined insulated rail joints based on field strain measurements. Proc I MechE, Part F: J Rail and Rapid Transit 2012; 226: 140–154.

16.

Mchenry

Brown

Lopresti

, et al. Use of matrix-based tactile surface sensors to assess fine-scale ballast–tie interface pressure distribution in railroad track. Transport Res Rec 2015; 2476: 23–31.