At horizontal railway curves, the track is frequently subject to coinciding vertical and lateral wheel loads, which in some cases could be of high intensity. Currently, the influence of such loading pattern on the centre negative flexural response of prestressed monoblock concrete sleepers (PMCS) is not clearly analysed. As a result, the current codes of practice provide limited guidance pertinent to the design of PMCS under this loading condition. To address these issues, finite element models were accomplished and rigorously verified against analytical and experimental studies existing in the literature. The noteworthiness of the numerical findings, based on the considered loading scenarios, is that the presence of lateral load could increase the flexural stress at the top fibre of midspan sections by 223% compared to the influence of vertical load alone. Based on the numerical outputs, an equation has been proposed to quantify the increased flexural stress of PMCS due to lateral load, and further studies are recommended to complement the results expressed in this research.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Influence of coupling vertical and lateral loads on the centre negative flexural behaviour of prestressed monoblock concrete sleepers


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2024-07-01




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English