Research on Fatigue Damage Evolution of the Base Plate Structure of China Railway Track System III Type Slab Ballastless Track under Heavy Haul Train Load

Zhiping Zeng,Abdulmumin Ahmed Shuaibu,Weidong Wang,Zhibin Huang,Yu Yuan,Zhonglin Xie,Ji Hu,Xianfeng He,Xudong Huang

doi:10.3390/app12031694

Zhiping Zeng, Abdulmumin Ahmed Shuaibu + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031694

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Abstract

To meet the transportation requirements of heavy-haul trains, it is necessary to consider the use of prestressed reinforced concrete ballastless tracks. Therefore, the CRTSIII SBT (China Railway Track System III-type slab ballastless track) has been considered for its convenient construction and geometric adjustment. Considering the problems existing in the base plate of CRTSIII SBT in heavy-haul applications, an indoor test and simulation were conducted to explore the cracking phenomenon of the base plate concrete under fatigue load. The reliability of the simulation was verified through the experimental results. A fatigue crack development law of the base plate structure was established. Furthermore, the influence of the load position, the thickness of self-compacting concrete and axle loads on the fatigue damage of the base plate structure were investigated. For the CRTSIII SBT subjected to heavier axle loads, it is appropriate to thicken the self-compacting concrete layer and strengthen the concrete and steel reinforcement at the plate end to reduce fatigue damage and cracks. The research results can serve as a basis for the optimization of the CRTSIII SBT base plate structure in heavy-haul railway applications.

Highlights

In the light of international study methods of ballastless track structures, the following methods were adopted to search the mechanical properties of CRTSIII SBT and verify whether it can be utilized by heavy-haul railways
Based on the results of our previous study on the fatigue behavior of the selfcompacting concrete of CRTSIII SBT under heavy haul train loads, finite element simulation was used to check the validity of the base plate structure model by carrying out relevant experiments
The influence of structural fatigue damage of base plate was analyzed, and e changes in the mechanical properties of the base plate structure under different working conditions were obtained as they apply to the operations of the CTRSIII slab and slab ballastless tracks in heavy-haul railways

Summary

Introduction

Japan’s Tokaido Shinkansen is the world’s first high-speed railway, and is a milestone in the history of high-speed railway construction. After Japan, Germany, Britain, China and other countries have carried out research on the slab ballastless track structure [1,2,3,4]. The main structural type of ballastless track used in Japan is a slab ballastless track, which is represented by the Shinkansen slab ballastless track and it is mainly set in tunnel and bridge sections [5]. The slab ballastless track in Japan consists of steel rails, fasteners, track plates, a CA mortar adjustment layer, convex abutment and base [7]

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