Numerical Modeling of Railway Track Supporting System using Finite-Infinite and Thin Layer Elements

The present contribution deals with the numerical modeling of railway track-supporting systems-using coupled finite-infinite elements-to represent the near and distant field stress distribution, and also employing a thin layer interface element to account for the interfacial behavior between sleepers and ballast. To simulate the relative debonding, slipping and crushing at the contact area between sleepers and ballast, a modified Mohr-Coulomb criterion was adopted. Further more an attempt was made to consider the elasto plastic materials’ non-linearity of the railway track supporting media by employing different constitutive models to represent steel, concrete and other supporting materials. It is seen that during an incremental-iterative mode of load application, the yielding initially started from the edge of the sleepers and then flowed vertically downwards and spread towards the center of the railway supporting system.

Keywords:

Thin Layer Element , Finite Element , Infinite Element , Railway Track Supporting Media