Abstract: The paper investigates the causes of high-rate rail/weld failure on a heavy haul track using real life rail weld fracture data. The results show that despite the significant progress in rail manufacturing, and rail welding ...

Abstract: The allowable bending fatigue stress in a rail will determine the maximum allowable speed, which is then checked against the current operating speed. Therefore, some sensible value of allowable bending fatigue stress must ...

Abstract: This paper investigates the status of lateral stability of a ballasted curved track, which is carried out under four loading scenarios in terms of the factor of safety against displacement as the indicator. Then, the ...

Abstract: In an earlier paper, allowable bending fatigue stress was expressed in terms of ultimate tensile strength. For many reasons, it is useful to express allowable bending fatigue stress in terms of hardness. Hardness is ...

Abstract: Full equilibrium superelevations are rarely installed on tracks. Consequently, trains run on unbalanced superelevations. Currently, the maximum curving speed is modeled with blanket unbalanced superelevations. Blanket ...

Abstract: In the literature, the length of a clothoid spiral usually is determined by three equations. These equations do not lead to the same length. As a result, all equations are applied and the maximum length is chosen. Of these ...

Abstract: Different codes and railways specify different maximum curvatures for their track systems. The curve-negotiating capability of the vehicle dictates the absolute minimum radius used on a track system; other factors may also ...

Abstract: Twist is a track defect that affects comfort by inducing jerk and rolling and endangers the derailment safety of a vehicle by wheel off-loading. Currently, there is no formula in the literature that relates speed and jerk ...

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to design rail pad stiffness in terms of a general desirability range and to suggest a classification system. The design is based on an analysis of the effect of rail pad stiffness on key track ...