Experimental Investigation on Dynamic Behaviour of Heavy-Haul Railway Track Induced by Heavy Axle Load

Abstract

The damage to the track structure and the influence to the line deformation have greatly deteriorated with the increase of the axle load compared with that of the ordinary trains. However, there is a paucity of experimental research on the dynamic influence of the heavier haul freight trains on the railway tracks. The objective of this study is to investigate the dynamic behaviour of heavy-haul railway track induced by heavy axle load by field experimental tests. The wheel–rail dynamic force, the track structure dynamic deformation and the track vibration behaviour are measured and analysed when the train operates in the speed range from 10 to 75 km/h and the axle load of vehicles varies from 21 to 30 t. Comparisons between the results for the axle conditions of 25 and 30 t are made in this paper to reveal the axle load effects. It is demonstrated that part of the indicators reflecting the dynamic behaviour of the railway track increases approximately linearly with the train running speed and axle load, while others are influenced negligibly

Evaluation of Critical Dynamic Stress and Accumulative Plastic Strain of an Unbound Granular Material Based on Cyclic Triaxial Tests

“…Specifically, the range of σ d for the tested saturation specimens and optimal moisture content specimens are 50-250 kPa and 100-400 kPa, respectively. Moreover, the operation speed of heavy-haul freight trains is much less than the normal and high-speed passenger trains; for instance, the operation speed of heavy-haul freight trains in China is mainly in the range of 20-80 km/h [52][53][54], and the freight train speed in Australia is generally within 40-80 km/h [55,56]. The wagon length of freight trains in China is 12-14 m [57].…”