International Journal of Railway Research

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Zakeri J, Heydari H R, Aghabarati N. Numerical study of sleeper length effect on dynamic behavior of railway ladder track. IJRARE 2023; 10 (1) :69-77
URL: http://ijrare.iust.ac.ir/article-1-325-en.html

In recent years, ladder tracks, which are also described as tracks with ladder sleepers, have been developed as a new generation of railway tracks. The structure of the ladder tracks especially includes a combined sleeper consisting of longitudinal and lateral beam elements, which are considered the main support of the rails. Some of the main advantages of using this type of railway track are increasing the stability of the track against longitudinal and lateral forces, reducing dynamic and vibration effects, reducing the risk of buckling, increasing safe train movement, reducing maintenance costs, etc. In this study, the influence of ladder sleeper length on the dynamic behavior of railway tracks was investigated through numerical modeling. For this purpose, a four-layer model including rails and ladder sleepers was simulated based on the finite element method. According to the results obtained from the sensitivity analyses, the maximum acceleration of the sleeper with 6-9 m units is reduced by about 22-40%, compared to the common railway track with B70 concrete sleepers. Also, the maximum displacements of the ladder sleeper with 6-9 m length show a reduction of about 27% compared to the track with the B70 sleeper. Therefore, it can be concluded that the ladder unit with a 6-9 m length shows more dynamic performance generally.