Analysis of Railway Ballasted Track Stiffness and Behavior with a Hybrid Discrete–Continuum Approach
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21, Issue 3
Abstract
Railway ballasted track stiffness is an important indicator to identify supporting condition that ensures that the facility is well designed and functioned. Although many studies have been performed on track stiffness based on experimental tests and finite-element methods, the factors influencing the track stiffness have not been completely confirmed yet, especially the influences from ballast and subgrade layers at the mesoscopic level. To address this research gap, a combination of the discrete element method and the finite difference method model was utilized to study the factors influencing the track stiffness from the particle level. Factors (related to ballast layer properties) are bulk density, thickness, and stiffness, and another factor (related to subgrade properties) is elastic modulus. Additionally, the relationship between the track stiffness and the mechanical behavior of ballast was analyzed. This study quantified the influences of track components on the track stiffness and accordingly proposed how to improve it from the ballast and subgrade layers at the mesoscopic level, which can provide guidance for railway ballasted track design and maintenance.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51578469 and U1234209) and the project of State Key Laboratory of Traction Power (Grant Nos. 2015TPL-T12 and TPL2009).
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21 • Issue 3 • March 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 11, 2020
Accepted: Oct 10, 2020
Published online: Dec 29, 2020
Published in print: Mar 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 29, 2021
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