Study on the influence of lateral and local rail deformation on the train–track interaction dynamics

Abstract

This paper studies the influence of lateral and local rail deformation on the train–track interaction dynamics in high-speed railways. While the traditional method ignores the curvature of a laterally and locally deformed rail and treats it as a straight rail with an additional displacement, this paper considers the laterally and locally deformed rail as a curved rail and models the train–track interaction with lateral and local rail deformation using a reduced beam model with necessary changes to fit the curved rail. Thus, the presented model is more realistic and can accurately and efficiently analyses the influence of lateral and local rail deformation on the train–track interaction dynamics. After calculation of dynamic responses of train–track interaction with lateral and local rail deformation with and without rail irregularities, the influence of the amplitude of lateral and local rail deformation and vehicle velocity on transient derailment criteria is analysed, and the derailment boundary is finally obtained. It is found that the traditional method underestimates dynamic responses of train–track interaction with lateral and local rail deformation and overestimates the derailment boundary of the vehicle, and the risk of derailment and rail damage increases with the increasing amplitude of the lateral and local rail deformation.

KEYWORDS:

• Lateral and local rail deformation
• reduced beam model
• train–track interaction dynamics
• derailment safety

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 12072293, 11802188 and 11772100], Project of the State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University [grant numbers 2016TPL_Z01 and 2015TPL_T03], Applied Basic Research Programs of Sichuan Province [grant number 2018JY0557], and Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities [grant numbers 2682018CX70 and YJ201827].