Archive | 2019
Flexural Response of Rails on Visco-Elastic Foundations Under Moving Loads
Abstract
A simple mathematical model has been proposed for the flexural analysis of rails resting on visco-elastic foundations under moving loads. The rail has been modeled as an infinite beam, and the foundation soil has been represented by a series of Burger model interconnected by a tension membrane depicting the time-dependent behavior of clayey soils. The load has been assumed to move with constant velocity from left to right, and only gravitational effect of the load has been considered. The formulation involves the attainment of a quasi-stationary state in which rail is at rest relative to the moving coordinate system. Governing differential equations have been derived and solved with the help of appropriate boundary conditions. Influence of magnitude and velocity of the applied load, parameters of Burger model, tension in the membrane, and viscous damping on the response of rail has been studied. Nondimensional charts have been developed for normalized deflection of the rail. These charts will be useful while analyzing and designing the rails under moving loads.