Computational Model for Predicting Buckling in Rail Structures

Abstract

A model is developed herein for predicting the onset of thermally induced buckling in the horizontal and vertical planes for rail structures. As described below, the model may be considered to be an extension of previous efforts spanning most of the twentieth century, and particularly should be considered as an extension of the three degrees of freedom model presented in the CRR Report No. 2017-01 by D. H. Allen and G. Fry. Building on both previous analytic and computational solutions, a finite element model is developed for the purpose of predicting the thermal buckling temperature as a function of the track and support structure material properties, the track and support system geometries, the applied track loading, and the initial lateral displacement within the track. Particular emphasis is placed on nonlinearity and history dependence of the lateral track resistance to deformation. The resulting model is deployed herein to solve problems demonstrating usefulness of the model.