Stress and Deflection Parametric Study of High-Speed Railway CRTS-II Ballastless Track Slab on Elevated Bridge Foundations

Abstract

Ballastless track slab system (BTS) of China Rail Transit Summit type-II (CRTS-II) is primarily used in China’s Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. As a new structural form, CRTS-II has not been extensively tested, and the design and manufacturing processes of CRTS-II BTS systems is not optimized and mature for its load-carrying capacity, structural integrity, deflection, and durability. This study carried out a numerical analysis of stress and deflection responses of the CRTS-II BTS system using SAP 2000. Design parameters include stiffness of the rail fastening, thickness and stiffness of the track slab, the cement emulsified asphalt (CA) mortar cushion, and the concrete supporting layer. Deflection, maximum bending stress, and maximum shear stress of different structural components of the CRTS-II BTS system are investigated under varying design parameters, with the aim to explore an improved set of design parameters. The rail defection is only significantly impacted by the rail fastening stiffness. To reduce the high-speed rail deflection so as to mitigate riding discomfort, higher stiffness of the rail fastening is suggested. To reduce the track slab bending stresses to prevent the high-speed rail from structural failure, the following parameter design strategy can be used: higher track slab thickness, lower track slab stiffness, lower rail fastening stiffness, higher CA mortar, and concrete supporting layer stiffness. All design parameters of the BTS system have negligible influence on the maximum bending stress and shear stress of the elevated bridges. The maximum shear stress of the BTS system is relative low compared with the maximum bending stress of the BTS system, suggesting that the BTS system behaves more like a beam rather than a plate.