Additional forces on continuously welded rails of a long-span high-speed railway suspension bridge under single effect and multiple effects: A case study

Abstract

This paper investigates the track–bridge interactions of the Wufengshan Yangtze Bridge, the longest high-speed railway suspension bridge in China. A finite element model of the track and bridge is built using the commercial software ANSYS. The longitudinal additional forces of the track under a single effect and combination effects of temperature rising load, bending load, and braking load are calculated. The numerical results show that strong additional forces appear in the continuously welded rail of the Wufengshan Yangtze Bridge. Temperature effect is the dominant factor for the residual internal forces. The maximum tensile stress is 115.5 MPa and the extreme compressive stress reaches 329.9 MPa. Rail expansion joints are needed for this long-span suspension bridge.