• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.261-274
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• 2021

In a railway bridge, the CRTS II slab ballastless track is subjected to interlayer connection failures, such as void under slab, mortar debonding, and fastener fracture. This study investigates the influences of interlayer connection failure on the safe operation of high-speed trains. First, a train-track-bridge coupled vibration model and a bridge-track deformation model are established to study the running safety of a train passing a deformed bridge with interlayer connection failure. For each type of the interlayer connection failure, the effects of the failure locations and ranges on the track irregularity are studied using the deformation model. Under additional bridge deformation, the effects of interlayer connection failure on the dynamic responses of the train are investigated by using the track irregularity as the excitation to the vibration model. Finally, parametric studies are conducted to determine the thresholds of additional bridge deformations considering interlayer connection failure. Results show that the interlayer connection failure significantly affects the running safety of high-speed train and must be considered in determining the safety thresholds of additional bridge deformation in the asset management of high-speed railway bridges.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.481-492
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• 2020

To study the rail mapped deformation caused by the pier settlement of simply - supported bridges with China Railway Track System III (CRTS III) slab ballastless track (SBT) system under the mode of non-longitudinal connection ballastless track slab, this study derived an analytical solution to the mapped relationships between pier settlement and rail deformation based on the interlayer interaction mechanism of rail-pier and principle of stationary potential energy. The analytical calculation results were compared with the numerical results obtained by ANSYS finite element calculation, thus verifying the accuracy of analytical method. A parameter analysis was conducted on the key factors in rail mapped deformation such as pier settlement, fastener stiffness, and self-compacting concrete (SCC) stiffness of filling layer. The results indicate that rail deformation is approximately proportional to pier settlement. The smaller the fastener stiffness, the smoother the rail deformation curve and the longer the rail deformation area is. With the increase in the stiffness of SCC filling layer, the maximum positive deformation of rail gradually decreases, and the maximum negative deformation gradually increases. The deformation of rail caused by the pier settlement of common-span bridge structures will generate low-frequency excitation on high-speed trains.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.80 no.5
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• pp.491-501
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• 2021

A difference in subgrade settlement between two rails of a track manifests as lateral differential subgrade settlement. This settlement causes unsteadiness in the motion of trains passing through the corresponding area. To illustrate the effect of lateral differential subgrade settlement on the dynamic response of a vehicle-track coupling system, a three-dimensional vehicle-track-subgrade coupling model was formulated by combining the vehicle-track dynamics theory and the finite element method. The wheel/rail force, car body acceleration, and derailment factor are chosen as evaluation indices of the system dynamic response. The effects of the amplitude and wavelength of lateral differential subgrade settlement as well as the driving speed of the vehicle are analyzed. The study reveals the following: The dynamic responses of the vehicle-track system generally increase linearly with the driving speed when the train passes through a lateral subgrade settlement area. The wheel/rail force acting on a rail with a large settlement exceeds that on a rail with a small settlement. The dynamic responses of the vehicle-track system increase with the amplitude of the lateral differential subgrade settlement. For a 250-km/h train speed, the proposed maximum amplitude for a lateral differential settlement with a wavelength of 20 m is 10 mm. The dynamic responses of the vehicle-track system decrease with an increase in the wavelength of the lateral differential subgrade settlement. To achieve a good operation quality of a train at a 250-km/h driving speed, the wavelength of a lateral differential subgrade settlement with an amplitude of 20 mm should not be less than 15 m. Monitoring lateral differential settlements should be given more emphasis in routine high-speed railway maintenance and repairs.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.209-224
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• 2019

This paper describes a study of the mapping relationship between the vertical deformation of bridge structures and rail deformation of high-speed railway, taking the interlayer interactions of the bridge subgrade CRTS II ballastless slab track system (HSRBST) into account. The differential equations and natural boundary conditions of the mapping relationship between the vertical deformation of bridge structures and rail deformation were deduced according to the principle of stationary potential energy. Then an analytical model for such relationship was proposed. Both the analytical method proposed in this paper and the finite element numerical method were used to calculate the rail deformations under three typical deformations of bridge structures and the evolution of rail geometry under these circumstances was analyzed. It was shown that numerical and analytical calculation results are well agreed with each other, demonstrating the effectiveness of the analytical model proposed in this paper. The mapping coefficient between bridge structure deformation and rail deformation showed a nonlinear increase with increasing amplitude of the bridge structure deformation. The rail deformation showed an obvious "following feature"; with the increase of bridge span and fastener stiffness, the curve of rail deformation became gentler, the track irregularity wavelength became longer, and the performance of the rail at following the bridge structure deformation was stronger.