A review of research on design theory and engineering practice of high-speed railway turnout

This paper systematically reviews the research progress, problems, specific countermeasures and development trends of the dynamic design theory as applied to high-speed railway turnouts. This includes wheel-rail contact solving, high-speed vehicle -turnout dynamic interaction simulation, analysis of long-term turnout performance deterioration, safety assessment of train passing through the turnout, and the maintenance and management of turnout serviceability. High-speed turnouts still face severe technical challenges with regard to their acclimation to the future development of rail transit technology. Some of these challenges include the suitability of next-generation higher-speed turnouts to a complex environment, life-cycle design, optimization of wheel-rail matching and vehicle-turnout dynamic performance, real-time status capture and performance assessment, health management and damage prediction. It is now necessary to deepen the basic theoretical study of high-speed railway turnouts, and integrate cutting-edge techniques, such as advanced materials and manufacturing, intelligence and automation, big data and cloud computing, in an effort to enhance China’s capabilities for original innovation in high-speed railway turnout technology. By analysing the present situation in a problem-orientated manner, this paper aims to provide a new perspective, as well as some basic data for academic research into technological innovations for railway engineering.