Keywords: train-turnout interaction, rail geometry, numerical simulation, instrumented turnout, field measurements, model validation.

Train-track interaction at railway turnouts is a main issue in the design and maintenance of railway systems. To study the dynamic behaviour of a turnout, special attention should be paid to both the discontinuity in the rail geometry that contributes the major excitations and the variation of track flexibility, which requires a high computational cost. Recently numerical optimisation methods have been proposed to achieve the optimum dynamic performance of the turnout and have shown significant potential in improving the dynamic properties of a track system. However it introduces plenty of repetitive computations and requires a less time-consuming method. In this paper, a fast simulation model developed using the computer package DARTS_NL has been used in analysing the train-turnout interaction, seeking to achieve a model that could be further used for numerical optimisation of train-turnout interaction.

To assess the accuracy and reliability of the DARTS_NL model, three different turnouts from the Dutch railway network varying in crossing angle, service state and load condition have been used as the validation cases. The train-turnout interaction of trains passing the turnout in the main facing direction has been analysed in the measurements and the simulations. The method of modelling the rail geometry using the visual image of the turnout introduced in [1] has been developed. The use of measured rail geometry combined with the visual image of the turnout in obtaining the simplified rail geometry has been proposed.

The results concentrating on the vertical acceleration of the crossing nose have been compared between the measurements and the simulations. The comparison shows that the simulation results are in good agreement with the measurements. The main behaviour of the turnouts has been correctly grasped of which the shape and the extreme amplitudes of the vertical acceleration at the crossing nose are close to the measurements. The effect of the vertical rail geometry on the dynamic response of the turnout has been effectively accounted for in the model. It can be concluded that the model is able to simulate train-turnout interaction with high accuracy and can be further be used in numerical optimisation of the turnout.

1

V.L. Markine, M.J.M.M. Steenbergen, I.Y. Shevtsov, "Combatting RCF on Switch Points by Tuning Elastic Track Properties", Wear, 271(1-2), 158-167, 2011. doi:10.1016/j.wear.2010.10.031

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