Abstract
Motivated by the huge practical engineering demand for the fundamental understanding of mechanical characteristics of high-speed railway infrastructure, a full-scale multi-functional test platform for high-speed railway track–subgrade system is developed in this paper, and its main functions for investigating the mechanical performance of track–subgrade systems are elaborated with three typical experimental examples. Comprising the full-scale subgrade structure and all the five types of track structures adopted in Chinese high-speed railways, namely the CRTS I, the CRTS II and the CRTS III ballastless tracks, the double-block ballastless track and the ballasted track, the test platform is established strictly according to the construction standard of Chinese high-speed railways. Three kinds of effective loading methods are employed, including the real bogie loading, multi-point loading and the impact loading. Various types of sensors are adopted in different components of the five types of track–subgrade systems to measure the displacement, acceleration, pressure, structural strain and deformation, etc. Utilizing this test platform, both dynamic characteristics and long-term performance evolution of high-speed railway track–subgrade systems can be investigated, being able to satisfy the actual demand for large-scale operation of Chinese high-speed railways. As examples, three typical experimental studies are presented to elucidate the comprehensive functionalities of the full-scale multi-functional test platform for exploring the dynamic performance and its long-term evolution of ballastless track systems and for studying the long-term accumulative settlement of the ballasted track–subgrade system in high-speed railways. Some interesting phenomena and meaningful results are captured by the developed test platform, which provide a useful guidance for the scientific operation and maintenance of high-speed railway infrastructure.
Highlights
Since the operation of Beijing–Tianjin inter-city highspeed railway in 2008, Chinese high-speed railway has made a rapid development and remarkable achievement [1]
Motivated by the huge practical engineering demand for the fundamental understanding of mechanical characteristics of high-speed railway infrastructure, a fullscale multi-functional test platform for high-speed railway track–subgrade system is developed in this paper, and its main functions for investigating the mechanical performance of track–subgrade systems are elaborated with three typical experimental examples
Comprising the full-scale subgrade structure and all the five types of track structures adopted in Chinese high-speed railways, namely the CRTS I, the CRTS II and the CRTS III ballastless tracks, the double-block ballastless track and the ballasted track, the test platform is established strictly according to the construction standard of Chinese high-speed railways
Summary
Since the operation of Beijing–Tianjin inter-city highspeed railway in 2008, Chinese high-speed railway has made a rapid development and remarkable achievement [1]. Field tests are the most reliable technique to achieve the target; it cannot be generalized due to the difficulty of laying sensors, the high cost of long-term tests, the potential threat to running trains and so on [2]. Numerical analysis is another efficient method to estimate the mechanical performance of the track–subgrade system, which has already been widely used in railway engineering [3,4,5]. Laboratory test is an alternative method to investigate the mechanical behaviors of the track–subgrade system, especially for high-speed railways where field experiments are more difficult to carry out
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
