Evaluating the Impact of Mudstone Swelling on Railway Heave of Ballastless Tracks in the Transition Section Using the DEM-FDM Coupling Method
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 11
Abstract
Mudstone is widely distributed in various regions of northwest China. Due to its high susceptibility to swelling when exposed to water, constructing high-speed railways in shale-prone areas often leads to track heave issues. Among these, the culvert transition section is a high-risk segment for the occurrence of such track deformations. This study employed a coupled numerical simulation method integrating the discrete-element method (DEM) and finite difference method (FDM) to model and analyze this problem. Swelling soil tests were conducted using a self-developed soil expansion testing apparatus. The study analyzed the deformation patterns of double-block ballastless track rails induced by foundation swelling in the transition section of a culvert. It investigated the movement trend of the subgrade fillers and the heave response of the rails when the foundation soil near the culvert is subject to varying swelling rates, with the distance between the swelling zone and the culvert being 0 (Case 1), 5 (Case 2), and 10 m (Case 3). The numerical simulation results indicate that the culvert restricts the transmission of rail displacement, resulting in a relatively small displacement at the top of the culvert but causing larger displacements on both sides of the culvert. If foundation swelling occurs in the transition section, the active earth pressure on the culvert's side wall increases due to the extrusion of the fillers, and the culvert body tilts. When a portion of the swelling zone is located below the culvert while another part is situated behind the culvert, the resulting deformation response of the railway track and the maximum stress concentration are observed.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the NNSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) under Grant Nos. 51778633 and 52278470; the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province under Grant No. 2022JJ30741; the China Scholarship Council (CSC) under Grant No. 202306370268; 2022 Scientific Research Projects of Guangzhou Metro Design and Research Institute Corporation Ltd. under Grant No. KY-2022-014; the 2022 Annual Science and Technology Research and Development Plan and Funded Topics of China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. under Grant No. 2022-C1; the Science and Technology Research and Development Plan Topics of China Railway Second Bureau Group Corporation Ltd. under Grant No. 2022-B-4; and the Science and Technology Development Project of China Railway Second Bureau Group Ltd. under Grant No. J2019-ZD04.
Author contributions: Rui Wang: Data curation, Writing—original draft, Software, Visualization; Bin Yan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Investigation, Writing—review and editing. Bosong Ding: Resources, Writing—review and editing, Investigation, Project administration; You Wang: Resources, Writing—review and editing, Investigation, Project administration; Jianjun Cheng: Complete site monitoring, Editing, Investigation, Project administration.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 11 • November 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 3, 2023
Accepted: Jun 12, 2024
Published online: Sep 13, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 13, 2025
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Continuum mechanics
- Culverts
- Degrees of freedom
- Discrete element method
- Displacement (mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Foundations
- Geotechnical engineering
- Heave
- Infrastructure
- Methodology (by type)
- Models (by type)
- Numerical methods
- Numerical models
- Pipeline systems
- Pipes
- Rail transportation
- Railroad tracks
- Solid mechanics
- Structural mechanics
- Transportation engineering
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