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Development of Supported Rail Vibration Models

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Noise and Vibration Mitigation for Rail Transportation Systems

Part of the book series: Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Multidisciplinary Design ((NNFM,volume 139))

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Abstract

A rail model that allows practical track conditions to be taken into account is presented. This model is based on the semi-analytical finite element method which discretises the cross-section of the rail using conventional finite element method while including the vibration along the rail as travelling waves. Three rail support models are considered: one is based on an ad hoc approach which represents the track support as an equivalent layer of springs and the others model the rail support by masses and massless spring-dampers. All of the models are developed to be able to account for multiple layers of rail support, namely, rail pads, sleepers and ballast. The track support parameters, i.e. rail pad stiffness and damping, ballast stiffness and damping are measured in the field via an impact hammer test on a tangent track. The numerical results obtained indicate that the ad hoc approach and the lumped mass based models have equally good performance. The 2-node mass element based model is not able to reflect the correct rail vibration behaviour. The usage of mass elements introduces extra degrees-of-freedom and results in additional computation time compared to the equivalent spring based model. It is therefore recommended to use a combination of the ad hoc approach to model the track support and the semi-analytical finite element method to model the rail to investigate rail vibration response on a site-by-site basis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the CRC Rail Innovation Project R128. It was under the assistance of RailCorp that the field measurements were conducted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    W. Li & R. A. Dwight

Authors
  1. W. Li
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  2. R. A. Dwight
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Li .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Acoustic Studio, Stanmore, New South Wales, Australia

    David Anderson

  2. SYSTRA, Paris, France

    Pierre-Etienne Gautier

  3. Environmental Engineering Division, Railway Technical Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

    Masanobu Iida

  4. Wilson Ihrig & Associates, Emeryville, California, USA

    James T. Nelson

  5. Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

    David J. Thompson

  6. DB Systemtechnik GmbH, Munich, Germany

    Thorsten Tielkes

  7. Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA

    David A. Towers

  8. SATIS, Weesp, The Netherlands

    Paul de Vos

  9. Department of Applied Mechanics/CHARMEC, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jens C. O Nielsen

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Li, W., Dwight, R.A. (2018). Development of Supported Rail Vibration Models. In: Anderson, D., et al. Noise and Vibration Mitigation for Rail Transportation Systems. Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Multidisciplinary Design, vol 139. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73411-8_58

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73411-8_58

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73410-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73411-8

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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