Abstract
The aim of the research is the design of prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab track to be applied in urban express rail transit systems. Using a developed vehicle-track dynamic-coupling equation for steel-spring floating-slab track, the effects of length, thickness, vertical damping, and use of side-mounted isolators on the floating-slab track were investigated experimentally using full-scale model and under different working conditions. The finding of the study revealed the following: (1) The prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab track can be applied to urban express rail transit, because it meets the requirements of high-speed transit while efficiently reducing noise. (2) The floating-slab track’s stability slightly increases with the increase of its length and thickness. As thickness increases, vertical displacement of the rail increases slightly, and lateral stability increases, thereby slightly improving the vehicle’s running stability. (3) When the intercity electric multiple-unit train travels along the prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab-track bed at different speeds, the wheel-axle lateral force, wheel-rail vertical force, the derailment coefficient, the wheel-weight reduction rate, and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle body are all less than the specified limits of Chinese code, thus fully meeting the safety requirements of train operation. (4) Appropriately increasing the vertical-support damping of the floating slab can improve the vehicle’s vertical dynamic performance, reduce the vertical displacement of the rail, and lower the vibration response of the floating slab. (5) Adding side-mounted vibration isolators at the joint of the floating slab could greatly improve the stability of the floating slab itself and appropriately reduce the vehicle’s vertical vibration response. Due to the optimization and establishment of relevant factors influencing the performance of prefabricated steel-string floating-slab track achieved in the study, the results obtained are particularly useful for setting safety, comfort, and stability requirements of the floating slab.
Highlights
In recent years, the rapid development of urban express rail transit has brought great convenience to people’s travel and transportation [1]
Results of the analysis revealed the following: (i) For the 3.6 m and 4.8 m long prefabricated steelspring floating-slab-track beds, whether or not the side-mounted isolators are installed, the runningsafety index and the ride-comfort index are basically similar during the intercity electric multiple-unit (EMU) train operation; it can be concluded that the impact of the sidemounted isolator on vehicle dynamic performance is not significant when the device is installed
Research shows that prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab track, which is traditionally used for low-speed lines, can be used for higher-speed lines and can achieve significant results for the vibration and noise reduction function under conditions of driving safety and operational stability. e study is an exploratory study of the application of the new prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab track in the field of high-speed rail transportation
Summary
The rapid development of urban express rail transit has brought great convenience to people’s travel and transportation [1]. Liang et al investigated the vibration characteristics of the damping-pad floating slab on the long-span steel-truss cable-stayed bridge in urban rail transit by developing a theoretical model of the train-track-bridge coupling interaction in the frequency domain [16]. There is still limited experience in applying steel-spring floating-slab track in urban express rail transit for higher speed worldwide. Erefore, this study focuses on the use of prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab track in urban express rail transit for higher speed. The study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of using prefabricated steel-spring floating-slab track for urban express rail transit at very high running speed. Optimization of the key structural parameters of the floating-slab track was performed to provide the theoretical basis and technical support for its engineering design and application to urban express rail transit
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