José Nuno Varandas , André Paixão , Ángel Tijera , Inés Crespo-Chacón , José Estaire , Eduardo Fortunato
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
High-Speed Railways provide efficient transportation but impose significant dynamic forces on ballasted tracks, accelerating ballast degradation and increasing maintenance demands. This study aims to understand and mitigate these effects by investigating the dynamic behavior of ballasted tracks under high-speed train passages. A field campaign conducted on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line involved comprehensive instrumentation of the Brihuega railway segment to capture dynamic responses. These data were used to calibrate and validate an advanced three-dimensional numerical model incorporating nonlinear material properties and Coulomb friction interfaces in an innovative approach. The validated model accurately replicated vertical displacements and revealed that elastic deformations are primarily confined to the railpads and ballast layer, with minimal impact on deeper layers. Non-linear Coulomb friction modeling introduced in the ballast/sub-ballast interface enhanced stress transfer simulations, confirming negligible sliding between these two layers. Decreasing railpad stiffness from 100 to 60 kN/mm reduced ballast stresses by 10 % and improved load distribution, promoting longer track service life, while increasing rail displacements and reducing overall track stiffness by 20 %. This study concludes that railpad stiffness optimization can balance track resilience and degradation mitigation, providing a sustainable approach to infrastructure management. The validated numerical model offers a versatile tool for simulating complex track behaviors, enabling predictions of unmeasurable parameters like stress paths in the track bed. Future work should address long-term loading effects and non-uniform track conditions, advancing track design and maintenance strategies for high-speed rail networks.
期刊介绍:
Transportation Geotechnics is a journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, theoretical, and applied papers that cover all facets of geotechnics for transportation infrastructure such as roads, highways, railways, underground railways, airfields, and waterways. The journal places a special emphasis on case studies that present original work relevant to the sustainable construction of transportation infrastructure. The scope of topics it addresses includes the geotechnical properties of geomaterials for sustainable and rational design and construction, the behavior of compacted and stabilized geomaterials, the use of geosynthetics and reinforcement in constructed layers and interlayers, ground improvement and slope stability for transportation infrastructures, compaction technology and management, maintenance technology, the impact of climate, embankments for highways and high-speed trains, transition zones, dredging, underwater geotechnics for infrastructure purposes, and the modeling of multi-layered structures and supporting ground under dynamic and repeated loads.