Vector form Intrinsic Finite Element Analysis of Vibration Characteristics of Slab Track

A numerical model is established by the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) method and the vehicle-track coupling dynamics theory. The model is used to calculate the effect of a slab structure on the wheel/rail normal contact force, and the vertical displacement and the stress distribution of the slab. In the model, the influence of rail weld short wave irregularity is considered, and the vehicle and each rail of the track are modeled as a multi-body system and a Timoshenko beam resting on discrete rail fastener system, respectively. The slab structure is simulated by three dimension solid VFIFE method. In calculating the coupled vehicle and track dynamics, the Hertzian contact theory and the nonlinear creep theory by Shen et al. are used to calculate the normal force and the creep forces between the wheels and the rails, respectively. The road bed is treated as rigid. The motion equations of the vehicle and rails are solved by means of an explicit integration method. The central difference approach is adopted to solve the slab motion equations. The numerical results obtained indicate that the irregularity of rail weld have a great influence on the wheel/rail normal load and stress distribution of slab structure.