Abstract
In the abundant rain or poor drainage areas, there will be serious water damage existing in the interlayer of ballastless track. The essence of water damage of ballastless track is a dynamic development process of damage shape under the combined action of train load, hydrodynamic pressure, and flow velocity. In view of the distribution characteristics of hydrodynamic pressure and flow velocity in the interlayer crack of ballastless track under the high-speed train load, the simplified mechanics model for water and composite slab with interfacial crack is proposed in accordance with the water damage characteristics of ballastless track. Based on the conservation of mass and momentum theorem, the analytical expressions of water pressure and velocity in the saturated water crack were deduced. Similarly, the analytical expressions of water pressure and velocity in the unsaturated water crack were deduced by adding the state equation of ideal air. Considering that the water does not flow back timely, the analytical expressions of water pressure and velocity in another kind of unsaturated water crack were deduced. The results show that the hydrodynamic pressure and flow velocity in the interlayer crack are synthetically determined by multiple influencing factors such as fluid viscosity, load characteristic, crack shape, absolute pressure at the crack mouth, and initial volume of the air in the crack, and there is an intersecting phenomenon between influencing factors. When there is a small amount of air at the crack tip, the pressure and velocity distribution in the crack can be divided into three parts in terms of air-water interface and stagnation point. When the crack is filled with water, the hydrodynamic pressure tends to decrease along the direction of the crack mouth, and the distribution along the whole crack approximates to a cubic polynomial curve. Similarly, the flow velocity increases along the direction of crack mouth, and the distribution along the whole crack approximates to a quadratic polynomial curve.
Highlights
Ballastless track has become the main track structure of rapid transit railway because of its advantages of high comfort, high stability, and less maintenance
The results show that the hydrodynamic pressure and flow velocity in the interlayer crack are synthetically determined by multiple influencing factors such as fluid viscosity, load characteristic, crack shape, absolute pressure at the crack mouth, and initial volume of the air in the crack, and there is an intersecting phenomenon between influencing factors
When the rain falls onto the surface of ballastless track, most of water will drain through drainage facilities, and the remaining small amount of water will not affect the track structure
Summary
Ballastless track has become the main track structure of rapid transit railway because of its advantages of high comfort, high stability, and less maintenance It has been developed rapidly and used widely. The ballastless track, as the driving foundation, is exposed in the complex natural environment and bears the repeated action of train load, temperature load, rain erosion, and so on These influencing factors make the component materials of the ballastless track in a continuous deterioration process, and the damage of ballastless track is inevitable [3,4,5]. Because of the vast territory and large differences in geological and environmental conditions in China, there are many diseases on operational lines These diseases include obvious damage caused by foundation deformation or extreme climate and the water damage. The research results can provide hydrodynamic pressure and flow velocity boundary conditions for the further research on the dynamic evolution process of water damage shape of ballastless track
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
