The effect of end bearings on the dynamic behaviour of floating-slab tracks with discrete slab units

This article builds on previous work in the literature to investigate the dynamic effect of end bearings between consecutive slab units of floating-slab tracks. The work considers a floating-slab track with discrete units under the action of a harmonic moving load. A special periodic-structure model is developed for this purpose. The model performs calculations in the frequency domain and makes use of the periodicity condition resulting from the use of unit slabs as well as that due to the nature of applied loading. The article demonstrates the influence of vertical stiffness of end bearings and its effect on the dynamic responses of the tracks.