Optimisation of slab track design considering dynamic train–track interaction and environmental impact
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022

Modern railway tracks for high-speed traffic are often built based on a slab track design. A major disadvantage of slab track compared to conventional ballasted track is that the environmental impact of the construction is higher due to the significant amount of concrete required. In this paper, the dimensions of the rectangular cross-sections and the types of concrete used in slab tracks are optimised with the objective to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, while considering the constraint that the design must pass the static dimensioning analysis described in the European standard 16432-2. The optimised track design is also analysed using a three-dimensional (3D) model of vertical dynamic vehicle–track interaction, where the rails are modelled as Rayleigh–Timoshenko beams and the concrete parts are represented by quadratic shell elements. Wheel–rail contact forces and the time-variant stress field of the concrete parts are calculated using a complex-valued modal superposition for the finite element model of the track. For the studied traffic scenario, it is concluded that the thickness of the panel can be reduced compared to the optimised design from the standard without the
risk of crack initiation due to the dynamic vehicle load. In parallel, a model of reinforced concrete is developed to predict crack widths, the bending stiffness of a cracked panel section and to assess in which situations the amount of steel reinforcement can be reduced. To reduce the environmental impact even further, there is potential for an extended geometry optimisation by excluding much of the concrete between the rails.

Ballastless track

Environmental impact

Simulation

Dynamic vehicle–track interaction

Optimisation

Slab track

Concrete structures

Författare

Emil Aggestam

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Dynamik

Jens Nielsen

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Dynamik

Karin Lundgren

Chalmers, Arkitektur och samhällsbyggnadsteknik, Konstruktionsteknik

Kamyab Zandi

Chalmers, Arkitektur och samhällsbyggnadsteknik, Konstruktionsteknik

Anders Ekberg

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Dynamik

Engineering Structures

01410296 (ISSN) 18737323 (eISSN)

Vol. 254 113749

Designkriterier för ballastfria spår (CHARMEC TS19)

Chalmers järnvägsmekanik (CHARMEC) (CHARMEC TS19), 2019-01-01 -- 2021-06-30.

Trafikverket, 2016-07-01 -- 2018-12-31.

In2Track-2 (CHARMEC EU19)

Trafikverket, 2018-11-01 -- 2021-10-31.

Europeiska kommissionen (EU) (EC/H2020/826255), 2018-11-01 -- 2021-10-31.

Ämneskategorier

Maskinteknik

Samhällsbyggnadsteknik

Styrkeområden

Transport

Infrastruktur

C3SE (Chalmers Centre for Computational Science and Engineering)

DOI

10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.113749

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2022-02-03