An Enhanced Moving Window Method: Applications to High-Speed Tracks

In this contribution new techniques for solving induced vibrations by moving loads by finite element software are proposed. These techniques allows for significant computation time reduction. The Enhanced Moving Window Method functions on relatively small model, from which by an iteration procedure either quasi-stationary solution that would be developed on an infinite structure, or a response of the structure encompassing transitions, can be obtained. The second method is based on the previous one, extended by time-dependent boundary conditions to account for an influence of irreversible nonlinearities and consecutive loads. By these methods small models provide time dependent and quasi-stationary results for large models; in the linear case, multiple loads can be studied by superposition; in the nonlinear case, repeated loads can be modelled with time-dependent boundaries. Methods are implemented in commercial finite element software ANSYS. Several case studies and the influence of various parameters are investigated, comparing results with analytical solutions and long simulations on large models.