Rail Pad Corrosion Effects on the Dynamic Behavior of Direct Fixation Track Systems in Marine Environments

Abstract

This study experimentally investigated the effects of rail pad corrosion on the performance of the direct fixation track on a long-span railway bridge in marine conditions. In this study, the dynamic behavior of a direct fixation track on a railway bridge in the presence of corroded rail pads, was determined. Field measurements in this study show that the replacement of corroded rail pads does not affect the track support stiffness. The hard rail pads used in direct fixation tracks are intended to provide electrical insulation rather than flexural track behavior, and so their influence on track support stiffness was found to be insignificant given their high spring stiffness. Additionally, samples of new and corroded rail pads were collected and the spring stiffness of rail pads were analyzed using static, dynamic, and aging tests. The spring stiffnesses of new and corroded rail pads were found to be similar. This means that spring stiffness is not significantly affected by corrosion, a finding that could be explained by the fact that the deformation due to passing train loads was extremely small. Therefore, even though the rail pads on the study bridge exhibited some surface corrosion, their function was not impaired, and they did not need replacement.

Keywords

• direct fixation track
• corroded
• rail pad
• track support stiffness
• spring stiffness