Analysis of vibrations generated by the presence of corrugation in a modeled tram track

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the development of the railway system. Despite the huge benefits of railways, one of the main drawbacks of this mode of transport is vibrations caused by vehicles in service, especially in the case of trams circulating in urban areas. Moreover, this undesirable phenomenon may be exacerbated by the presence of irregularities in the rail-wheel contact. Thus, an analytical model able to reproduce the vibrational behavior of a real stretch of tram track was implemented. Besides, a simulation of different types of corrugation was carried out by calculating in an auxiliary model the dynamic overloads generated by corrugation. These dynamic overloads fed the main model to obtain the vibrations generated and then transmitted to the track.