Effect of temperature gradient on track-bridge interaction

Abstract

Considerable longitudinal rail forces and displacements may develop in continuous welded rail (CWR) track on long-span bridges due to temperature variations. The track stability may be disturbed due to excessive relative displacements between the sleepers and ballast bed and the accompanied reduction in frictional resistance. For high-speed tracks, however, solving these problems by installing rail expansion devices in the track is not an attractive solution as these devices may cause a local disturbance of the vertical track stiffness and track geometry which will require intensive maintenance. With reference to temperature, two actions are considered by the bridge loading standards, the uniform variation in the rail and deck temperature and the temperature gradient in deck. Generally, the effect of temperature gradient has been disregarded in the interaction analysis. This paper mainly deals with the effect of temperature gradient on the track-bridge interaction with respect to the support reaction, rail stresses and stability. The study presented in this paper was not mentioned in the related codes so far.