Instrument for investigating the rail of a ballastless track under longitudinal temperature force

Abstract

A longitudinal force loading instrument for rails was developed to simulate the longitudinal temperature force of the rail of a ballastless track under different rail temperatures. The instrument comprised the rail, an end-fixing device, a temperature force application device, and concrete foundation. This instrument could simulate the longitudinal stress distribution of the rail under different rail temperature changes and analyze the correlation between the natural frequencies of the rail and the longitudinal stress generated by temperature variation. The result of the longitudinal stress distribution exhibits good agreement with the simulation results. In addition, the result of the dynamic characteristics of the rail demonstrates good agreement with the former conclusions. This experimental instrument can be potentially developed into a powerful tool for researching the rail features of a ballastless track under different temperature forces.