Experimental investigation into the effect of steel sleeper vertical stiffeners on railway track lateral resistance

Abstract

Continuously welded rails are a common remedy to prevent rail defects, including railhead batter, rail cracking or breakage, and lateral displacement of track, among others. However, at curves with a radius of less than 400 m, rail welding is practically impossible due to the lack of track lateral resistance. Therefore, finding a new method to increase the track lateral resistance is necessary to facilitate rail welding, especially on tracks with steel sleepers. This study proposes a new method of increasing the lateral resistance of a ballasted track with steel sleepers by using web stiffeners. The effect of such stiffeners is investigated through a comparison with tracks having regular steel sleepers. The single tie (sleeper) push test is used in this research. The results of the experimental investigations show that the lateral resistance increases by 24, 140, and 203 percent, respectively, with the use of one, two, and three web stiffeners under the steel sleeper compared with a steel sleeper without stiffeners. Thus, the use of two stiffeners is concluded to provide enough lateral resistance in the case of older tracks. Therefore, the welding of rails at tight curves becomes conceivable.

Keywords

Rail track/permanent way railway technology/engineering materials testing applied mechanics engineering design

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