Influence of alignments of guide curves on the passing performance of railway turnout diverging route

Abstract

In order to improve the passing performance of the diverging route of a turnout, a tentative idea of applying a superelevation transition on the guide curve is proposed. Based on the parameters of 1:42 turnout, the guide curve is modified with different combinations of horizontal alignment and superelevation. Superelevation is implemented by the way of decreasing the elevation of the inner rail. A multi-body dynamics model is devised to calculate the wheel-rail force, derailment coefficient and lateral stability coefficient under different velocities and curve conditions. By comparing the simulation results, it is concluded that the modification of guide curve, especially the application of superelevation, can optimise safety indices apparently.

KEYWORDS:

• Railway turnout
• guide curve
• superelevation
• alignment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 51678446, 51708422].