Free vibrations of interspersed railway track systems in three-dimensional space

Statistically, the actual loading conditions for railway tracks are rather dynamic and transient. The dynamic loadings due to train and track interactions redistribute from the rails to the rail pad, from the rail pad to the railway sleeper, and from the railway sleeper to the underlying ground. Commonly, railway sleeper in track systems is modeled as a beam on elastic foundation. This study makes use of a calibrated finite element model of railway sleepers in a track system, in order to investigate the resonant frequencies and associated mode shapes of railway components in interspersed track systems. The numerical model takes into account the tensionless characteristic of the elastic support as well as the more realistic partial support condition. Using a finite element package STRAND7, the dynamic finite element model of the railway concrete sleeper was precisely established. The dynamic model has then been extended to demonstrate free vibration behaviours of the railway tracks. The effect of interspersed patterns (1 in 2; 1 in 3; and 1 in 4) on railway track dynamics has been firstly investigated and presented herein.

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