Effect of Increasing Lateral Resistance of Ballastless Bridge Sliding Track Panel System by Installation of Reinforcement Plate

Abstract

Recently, train speeds have been increased in Korea owing to the expansion of Korea Train eXpress (KTX) operations and development of next-generation high-speed trains. Hence, continuous welded rails (CWRs) that affect the running stability and ride comfort of trains have become essential elements. However, it is difficult to install CWRs on most of the non-ballast bridges constructed since the 1900s owing to the rail additional stress that occurs during installation. As a solution to this problem, the sliding track panel (STP) system that allows longitudinal sliding is proposed. In the application of STP systems, securing the lateral buckling strength is an essential condition. Hence, a finite element analysis model considering the STP system is presented, and the necessity for reinforcement plates is investigated through a pure skeleton-track analysis. The minimum requirements and effects of increasing the stiffness of the reinforcement plates are derived by analyzing the lateral reinforcement plates.