THEORETICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE DYNAMICAL PROPERTIES OF RAILWAY TRACKS USING A CONTINUOUS BEAM MODEL ON ELASTIC FOUNDATION

Abstract

The development in railway vehicle technology requires adequate dynamical analyses to ensure accurate and reliable information on the expected loading conditions of the vehicle components in the period of design. This paper takes an attempt to formulate an exact mechanical and mathematical description of the wheel track system. The wheel is considered as a rigid disk, while the track is modelled by an Euler-Bernoulli beam on damped elastic foundation. The connection of the wheel and the track is realized by the linear Hertzian spring and damper. Stability considerations, critical speed determina-tion and solution of the boundary value problem will be carried out. Also the complex eigenfrequencies will be pointed out.