Pressure Distribution under Steel and Timber Crossties in Railway Tracks
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
The pressure distribution under the crossties plays a key role in railroad performance. This study conducts laboratory testing to investigate the pressure distributions under two different types of crossties, steel and timber. For each type, this study employs only a single tie. Five pressure cells are placed equidistantly under the rail crosstie between the two rails to measure the pressure distribution. Both static and cyclic loadings are applied during the test. The pressure distributions are compared between the steel and timber crossties. The effect of the cyclic loading on the pressure distribution also is explored. It is found that pressure distribution is different for steel and timber crossties. Cyclic loading could change the pressure distribution under both steel and timber crossties, but the effect of cyclic loading is more obvious on the steel crosstie than on the timber crosstie. Differences exist in pressure distribution between loading and unloading processes.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the financial sponsorship provided by the U.S. DOT through the National University Rail Center (NURail). The authors would also like to thank Dr. Xiaoyang Jia, Mr. Yongjie Ding, Mr. Wei Hu, Mr. Bingye Han, and Mr. Pawel Andrzej for their assistance in this project. The contents of this study reflect the views of the authors only. The first author would also appreciate the financial support provided by the China Scholarship Council (CSC).
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Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 7, 2016
Accepted: Apr 10, 2017
Published online: Jul 7, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Dec 7, 2017
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