Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS PART F-JOURNAL OF RAIL AND RAPID TRANSIT
Volume 235, Issue 4, Pages 478-493Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/0954409720945420
Keywords
Track loading; vehicle track interaction; track modeling; wheel-rail contact; track geometry
Funding
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) [PD/BD/128138/2016]
- LusoAmerican Development Foundation (Fundacao LusoAmericana para o Desenvolvimento) [140/2019]
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/96695/2013]
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, through IDMEC, under LAETA [UIDB/50022/2020]
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/96695/2013, PD/BD/128138/2016] Funding Source: FCT
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This study proposes a method to automatically generate finite element models of railway tracks, accurately describing their geometry and flexible components. A case study with a complex geometry compared two different loading methods, showing that prescribed loading underestimates the forces resulting from vehicle dynamics.
The interaction between the rolling stock and the infrastructure plays a crucial role in railway vehicle dynamics. The standard approach consists of using a multibody formulation to model the railway vehicles running on simplified tracks. The track model can be rigid, if it comprises only a geometric description of the rail; semi-rigid, if it considers an elastic foundation underneath the rail; or a moving track model, if it comprises a track section underneath each wheelset traveling with the same speed of the vehicle. Despite their computational inexpensiveness, these approaches do not provide a complete representation of track flexibility and disregard coupling effects with the vehicle and among the track components. This work proposes a methodology to automatically generate finite element models of railway tracks comprising its relevant flexible components, i.e., rails, pads, fastening systems, sleepers, and ballast or slab. The finite element mesh is generated based on a parametric description of the track that allows an accurate description of its geometry, including curvature, cross-level, grade, and irregularities. The methodology is demonstrated with a case study in which a track with a complex geometry is loaded with two different approaches. The first approach prescribes moving loads, which is a typical approach used to design or analyze the infrastructure. The second approach applies loads retrieved from the dynamic analysis of a complete vehicle. The results show the benefits of this method and reveal that prescribed loading underestimates the forces resulting from the vehicle dynamics, which is an important issue on curved sections.
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