Buy article PDF
The purchased file will be sent to you
via email after the payment is completed.
US$ 35
|
Structural Engineering and Mechanics Volume 52, Number 5, December10 2014 , pages 1019-1032 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/sem.2014.52.5.1019 |
|
|
|
Experimental modal analysis of transverse-cracked rails- influence of the cracks on the real track behavior |
||
Laura Montalban Domingo, Beatriz Baydal Giner, Clara Zamorano Martín and Julia I. Real Herraiz
|
||
| Abstract | ||
| Rails are key elements in railway superstructure since these elements receive directly the train load transmitted by the wheels. Simultaneously, rails must provide effective stress transference to the rest of the track elements. This track element often deteriorates as a consequence of the vehicle passing or manufacturing imperfections that cause in rail several defects. Among these rail defects, transverse cracks highlights and are considered a severe pathology because they can suddenly trigger the rail failure. This study is focused on UIC-60 rails with transverse cracks. A 3-D FEM model is developed in ANSYS for the flawless rail in which conditions simulating the crack presence are implemented. To account for the inertia loss of the rail as a consequence of the cracking, a reduction of the bending stiffness of the rail is considered. The numerical models have been calibrated using the first four bending vibration modes in terms of frequencies. These vibration frequencies have been obtained using the Experimental Modal Analysis technique, studying the changes in the modal parameters of the rails induced by the crack and comparing the results obtained by the model with experimental results. Finally, the calibrated and validated models for the single rail have been implemented in a complete railway ballasted track FEM model in order to study the static influence of the cracks on the rail deflection caused by a load passing. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA); rail; transverse crack; finite element model (FEM) | ||
| Address | ||
| Laura Montalban Domingo, Beatriz Baydal Giner and Julia I. Real Herraiz: Department of Transportation Engineering and Infrastructures, School of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain Clara Zamorano Martín: Foundation for the Research and Engineering in Railways, 160 Serrano, 28002 Madrid, Spain | ||