Longitudinal Seismic Response of Continuously Welded Track on Railway Arch Bridges

Abstract

The seismic response of continuously welded track on bridges is seeing increased interest. Taking the railway deck arch bridge as an example, a track–bridge spatial coupling finite element model was established, and the effects of arch rib temperature difference and bridge span layout on rail seismic force were analyzed. The results show that the peak rail seismic force is larger than the maximum expansion force, and thus track constraints should be taken into consideration in railway arch bridge seismic design. The area enclosed by the hysteresis curve of track resistance increases gradually with an increase in dynamic displacement, and under seismic loading the track constraints can be considered to be in a relatively stable state of energy dissipation. The rail seismic forces under different waves varied greatly, so a wave whose spectrum characteristics fit the bridge site well should be used. The beam temperature difference can affect the structural seismic response, but this effect can be ignored when only considering the maximum rail seismic force. With the application of a series of three continuous beams on the arch and the reasonable arrangement of fixed bearings and speed locks, the track longitudinal stress deformation during an earthquake outperforms that of supported beams.