Discrete model for the stability of continuous welded rail

Abstract

In this paper a discrete model is developed for the buckling analysis of continuous welded rail subjected to temperature load. The model is based on a nonlinear analysis in total lagrangean formulation. The structure consists of beam elements and lateral, longitudinal and torsional spring elements. The source of nonlinearity is due to the geometric nonlinearity of the rail high axial forces and also to the nonlinearity of material type for the lateral and longitudinal resistance of the ballast and the torsional resistance of the fasteners. The use of a displacement control algorithm leads the analysis beyond the critical point and permits a more realistic computation of the structural safety. The track model is encoded into a
special purpose program which allows a parametric study of the influence of vehicle loading, the stiffness properties of the structure and of the geometric imperfections on the track stability.
The validity of the present model is verified through a series of comparative analyses with other author’s results.