Thermal arching and interfacial damage evolution of CRTS-II slab track under solar radiation in alpine and plateau regions

Abstract

Arch deformation and interface failure of CRTS-II slab track have become crucial issues for the operation safety of high-speed railways. However, few researchers investigated the mechanics and deformation behaviour on CRTS-II slab track exposed to high-altitude plateau climatic environments. This study proposes an analysis approach for thermal arching and interface damage evolution of the slab track structure under solar radiation in alpine and plateau environments. The time-dependent solar temperature distribution is loaded on the refined finite element model (FEM) of the slab track structure’s thermal deformation in high-altitude plateau climatic environments. The analysis approach is validated by comparing the calculated and experimental data. The track slab's maximum and minimum vertical temperature gradient (VTG) are 94.49 °C/m and −45.02 °C/m, respectively. The narrow joint damage is an incentive for the inverted V-shaped thermal arching and interface separation of the slab track structure under solar radiation. The interfacial gap of slab track structure in alpine and plateau regions reaches more than 14 mm during summer. The proposed analysis approach is a valuable reference to the construction temperature, maintenance, and damage monitoring of slab track structure in alpine and plateau regions.