Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (Dec 2022)
Performance of thermal management for ballastless track plate of high-speed railway in hot regions
Abstract
High-speed railways play an important role in transportation electrification and transportation efficiency. Affected by the high air temperature and strong solar radiation in hot regions, the upper surface of the ballastless track plate on the high-speed railway suffers from high temperatures. The large temperature difference between the upper and lower surfaces of the ballastless track plates will cause engineering damages such as seams and fractures, and further threatens the durability, driving comfort, and safety of high-speed railways. To address this risk, a thermal management technology using cooling tubes is proposed to control the temperature and minimize the temperature maldistribution of ballastless track plates. A multiphysics model is built to characterize the temperature distribution of a high-speed railway in Guangzhou (hot region). The influences of typical factors (ambient temperature, solar radiation, and geological conditions) on the performance of thermal management of the track plates are analyzed. The results show that the maximum temperature difference between the upper and lower surfaces of an ordinary ballastless track plate can reach 18.78 °C. The maximum temperature gradient along the depth direction occurs at the center of the track plate, which is 0.94 °C/cm, and the uniformity coefficient in the track plate domain is 8.53. By integrating the thermal management tubes, the temperature difference is effectively reduced to 5 °C, lower by 70%, and the temperature gradient along the depth at the center of the track plate is reduced to 0.25 °C/cm. The uniformity coefficient is reduced to 3.60. The research is expected to eliminate the deformation problem caused by the temperature maldistribution of ballastless track plates and ensure the smooth and effective operation of high-speed railways in hot weather.
