Running safety evaluation of high-speed train subject to the impact of floating ice collision on bridge piers

Abstract

In Northeast China and the areas along Sichuan-Tibet railway, collision between floating ice and piers of railway bridges seriously threatens the train operation safety. The safety of high-speed train running on the bridge subject to the impact of floating ice collision is rarely assessed considering the spatial interaction of the train-track-bridge-ice system. To evaluate the running safety and ride comfort of trains and the structural stability of railway bridges under the collision between floating ices and piers, a train-track-bridge (TTB) dynamic interaction model considering the impact of floating ice is established. Using the refined finite element model, the collision process of floating ice on bridge pier is simulated, and the impact loads are employed as the excitation input of the TTB dynamics model. Taking a 5 × 32 m simply-supported bridges as a case study, the influence of bridge structural parameters on the floating ice collision system is investigated, and then the dynamic responses of the TTB system induced by the floating ice impact loads are analyzed in detail. Finally, the effect of the ice impact loads on the running safety of the high-speed train is revealed. Results show that under the floating ice impact loads, the angle of the pier sharp-nose (APSN) and lateral stiffness of foundations are the key parameters that influence the dynamic responses of the bridge, and an improperly small lateral stiffness of foundation would lead to an instability of bridge structure. The influence of ice impact loads on the dynamic responses of the train is remarkable. The lateral vibration acceleration, derailment factor and lateral wheel rail force caused by the ice impact loads are all greater than those caused by the track irregularity, while the wheel unloading rate is slightly smaller. In addition, the running speed of train is also closely related to the running safety and ride comfort when the collision occurs. When the train speed exceeds 400 km/h, the train passing through the bridge would have the possibility of derailment.

A comprehensive review on coupling vibrations of train–bridge systems under external excitations

“…Generally, two approaches, i.e., field experiment [87,102] and numerical simulation [103], are commonly adopted to acquire the dynamic ice collision load. The major parameters affecting the impact due to ice floe include the magnitude, duration time and frequency component of the collision force.…”

“…Direct measurement for all these factors is quite difficult, but the major parameters can be directly identified from the time history curves of the collision force. The ice pier interaction could be grouped into three different phases, including the loading phase, extrusion phase and separation phase [103]. The ice impact loads increase continuously in the loading stage and may reach a peak in the extrusion stage.…”

Railway Bridge Runability Safety Analysis in a Vessel Collision Event

“…In this respect, Xia et al considered a simple supported high-speed railway bridge with a reinforced concrete (RC) box girder, investigating the effect of drifting-floe pier impact on the dynamics of a China-star high-speed train [24]. The authors of [25] investigated train running safety and ride comfort in the case of floating ice collisions with bridge piers; the effect of ice collisions on train dynamics was found to be significant, especially in case of the foundation stiffness of low lateral piers. Bridges built over the seabed are also subject to sea wave action; Kalajahi et al performed a dynamic analysis of a coupled high-speed train and continuous bridge with box girders, where the latter was subject to sea wave hydrodynamic loads [26].…”