Abstract
A simplified grillage beam analogy was performed to investigate the behaviour of railway turnout sleeper system with a low value of elastic modulus on different support moduli. This study aimed at determining an optimum modulus of elasticity for an emerging technology for railway turnout application - fibre composites sleeper. The finite element simulation suggests that the changes in modulus of elasticity of sleeper, E sleeper and the sleeper support modulus, U s have a significant influence on the behaviour of turnout sleepers. The increase in U s from 10 to 40 MPa resulted in a 15% reduction in the bending moment while the increase in E sleeper from 1 GPa to 10 GPa has resulted in almost 75% increase in the bending moment. The shear forces in turnout sleepers is not sensitive to both the changes of the E sleeper and U s while the sleeper with low E sleeper tend to undergo greater settlement into the ballast. An E sleeper of 4 GPa was found optimal for an alternative fibre composite turnout sleeper provided that the U s is at least 20 MPa from the consideration of sleeper ballast pressure and maximum vertical deflection. It was established that the turnout sleeper has a maximum bending moment of 19 kN-m and a shear force of 158 kN under service conditions.
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