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Study on the influence of seismic intensity on the mechanical properties of ballast bed based on discrete element method

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Abstract

To explore the impact of seismic intensity on the working performance of ballasted track bed, the seismic acceleration corresponding to earthquakes of magnitude 6, 7, 8, and 9 is obtained through the method of artificial synthetic seismic wave, and the ground motion is added to the discrete element model of the ballasted track to realize loading. The synthetic method of seismic wave adopts the spectrum representation method of the simulation of an essentially non-stationary random process, in which the modulation function is the time–frequency modulation function, and the self-power spectrum is the Kanai–Tajimi spectrum. The feasibility of this method is verified by comparing the mean value, standard deviation and autocorrelation of the generated seismic motion with the target value. The discrete element method is used to establish the ballast bed model, and the reliability of the model is verified by lateral resistance and vertical stiffness. Based on the above research results, the seismic waves under four seismic intensities are added to the bottom wall of the discrete element model, and it is concluded that the seismic intensity has a significant impact on the working performance of the ballast bed. With the increase in the seismic intensity, the lateral and vertical displacement of the sleeper, the lateral and vertical stress of the track bed, and the displacement–velocity–acceleration value of the bottom ballast particles all increase; compared with the other three earthquake intensities, the dynamic impact of the magnitude 9 earthquake intensity is more significant; under different seismic intensities, the displacement, stress and dynamic characteristics of ballast increase with the increase in seismic action time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410075, China

    Xianmai Chen, Yunqiang Deng, Nan Chen, Yanping Pan, Xinhai Li, Liangkun Peng & Atolagbe Shakirudeen Olabanji

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  1. Xianmai Chen
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  2. Yunqiang Deng
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Correspondence to Xianmai Chen.

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Chen, X., Deng, Y., Chen, N. et al. Study on the influence of seismic intensity on the mechanical properties of ballast bed based on discrete element method. Comp. Part. Mech. 11, 675–687 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40571-023-00646-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40571-023-00646-2

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