Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle Mechanics and Mobility

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Modelling of Railway Track and Vehicle/Track

Interaction at High Frequencies
a b
KL. KNOTHE & S.L. GRASSIE
a
TU Berlin, Inst. f. Luft- u. Raumfahrt, Marchstr. 12, 1, Berlin 10, Germany
b
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College, London, SW7 2BX, UK
Version of record first published: 27 Jul 2007.
To cite this article: KL. KNOTHE & S.L. GRASSIE (1993): Modelling of Railway Track and Vehicle/Track Interaction at High
Frequencies, Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle Mechanics and Mobility, 22:3-4, 209-262
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Vehicle System Dynamics. 22 (1993). pp. 209-262 0042-31 1419312203-0209$25.00
O Swets & Zeitlinger
Modelling of Railway Track and Vehiclenrack Interaction

at High Frequencies
KL. KNOTHE' and S.L. GRASSIE~

Downloaded by [University of Arizona] at 04:36 25 November 2012
SUMMARY
A review is presented of dynamic modelling of railway track and of the interaction of vehicle and
track at frequencies which are sufficiently high for the track's dynamic behaviour to be significant.
Since noise is one of the most important consequences of wheellrail interaction at high frequencies,
the maximum frequency of interest is about SkHz: the limit of human hearing. The topic is reviewed
both historically and in particular with reference to the application of modelling to the solution of
practical problems. Good models of the rail, the sleeper and the wheelset are now available for the
whole frequency range of interest. However, it is at present impossible to predict either the dynamic
behaviour of the railpad and ballast or their long term behaviour. This is regarded as the most
promising area for future research.
1. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
More than a century ago the attention of railway civil engineers was drawn by
Schwedler [109] to the need to model railway track in order to calculate stresses
and thereby avoid damage to track components, particularly fracture of the rail.
The comment which Schwedler made then regarding mathematical models of the
track remains pertinent today: "The theoretical conditions to which the form of
the structure is subjected must first be determined, and then the sufficiency of a
hypothesis tested by observation of actual phenomena." He applied Winkler's
model of a beam on a continuous, uniform, elastic foundation [128,129] to rail-
way track laid on longitudinal sleepers. Primarily as a result of Timoshenko's
\
work [121-1231 it was accepted around 1930 that railway track laid on transverse
sleepers (Fig. I), which is rather more typical today, could also be modelled
satisfactorily for many purposes by a beam on Winkler's foundation.
In the 1920s the propensity of new, continuously welded rail to buckle in hot
summers (and sometimes fracture in winter) became a problem of considerable
concern and led to analyses of track stability. In this case again, mathematical
modelling was instigated by the need to understand and s o h e a practical prob-
lem. However, this problem was in fact solved satisfactorily only some 50 years
later, largely as a result of the work of Prud'homme [89,90] and Kerr [63,64].
' Prof. Dr. KL. Knothe, TU Berlin, Inst. f. Luft- u. Raumfahrt, Marchstr. 12. 1 Berlin 10, Germany.
Dr. Stuart L. Grassie. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK, SW7 2BX.
Fig. 1 . V c h ~ c l cand track
From 1926 onward?. starting wirh Timohcnkn's pnpcr in which he examined

~ h effects
c of wheelflats [122], thcrs was ;I grou8in_cinterest in dynamic Inads (In
rrack. The main dynamic prnhlcn~rwcre produced hy whcclflats, \rlhcclhurns on
[he rail and rail joint5. From ahor~t1943 onwards. Diirr [24,25]and other5 claimed
that the increasing speed of trainc wrould demand far hctter track models. Howcv-
er. tliic prophecy wax lint fulfilled until relatively rcccntly. Indeed. until the
IC)70cthere were rather fcw paper\ in which dynamic model< of track wcrc uscd
ro solve practical prohlcm~.Thurc arc ncverthele~cmany rcfercnccs hcforc then
I ~ thc
I prohlcm of dynamic stability of a lontl moving along a hcarn, with the
conscqut.ntia1 possibility of a "critical speed" a l which tht cpccd of thc moving
load would he equal to that of wave propaption in rhe hcnm. This problem is
primarily one of academic intcrcsr for railway^, nq discussed here i n Section
4.2.2. hccause the "critical speed" ia very much greater ~ h a nrhar of presrnr
trains.
In the last 70 years there has bccn \,cry much grcater interest in applying!
mathematical model? to understand and perhaps evcn solve practical problems,
and it is accordingly appropriate at this stage to revicw the current "state of thc
art" in thix field, draw conctusion~from what has been lcarnt lo date and attenlpt
to foresee thc areas in \ifhich further development i s most needed. It is shown in
Section 2 that this change has arisen largely from a reco~nition~ h a ldynamic
loads cause ~ignificantdamage to the track in particular, but 'also to the vehiclc.
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLmRACK INTERACTION 21 1
They are also the cause of noise and ground-borne vibration, about which there is
growing sensitivity. Consequently there is now an increasing demand for dynam-
ic models of the interaction of vehicle and track which can be used reliably for
frequencies up to about 5kHz. The track models and solution techniques which
have been developed to date are discussed in Sections 3 and 4 respectively, and
recommendations are then made in Section 5 regarding the requirements of a
track model for different purposes. Although modelling of the dynamic response
to vertical forces is the principal concern of the paper, as these are the cause of
most problems, lateral forces are also considered, primarily because of their
importance in causing noise and short wavelength corrugation.
Some general conclusions from the work are drawn in Section 6 and some
outstanding questions are listed which could form the basis for future work in
modelling the dynamic interaction of vehicle and track at high frequencies. Rail-
way engineers are very practical people and it will doubtless remain the case that
many dynamic problems in track will be solved satisfactorily for practical pur-
poses without the need for detailed investigations of this type, but nevertheless
with the general understanding which will continue to be gained from them.
2. PROBLEMS OF VEHICLEITRACK INTERACTION
Most recent research in modelling the dynamic behaviour of vehicle and track
has been stimulated by a need both to understand the cause of practical problems
arising from the interaction of vehicle and track and to develop solutions or
treatments of those problems. It is accordingly appropriate first to discuss the
problems. These are summarised in Table 1, working down from the vehicle
through problems arising at the wheeltrail interface to those associated with
track components. Noise and ground-borne vibration represent one of the great-
est problems of interaction of the vehicle and track, and are considered separate-
ly. The frequency range of particular interest for the different problems is also
given, and the boundary between "high" and "low" frequencies is discussed in
Section 2.1. References are listed in which dynamic models of vehicle and track
have been applied to the particular phenomena.
2.1. Problems of Vehicle Dynamics

The dynamic behaviour of the vehicle itself is important with regard to curving,
stability and, if it is a passenger vehicle, passenger comfort. Vehicle suspensions
are commonly designed to ensure that rigid body modes of a vehicle's bogie and
body occur below about lOHz in order on the one hand to ensure adequate
isolation of passengers from vibration and on the other to reduce the effective
unsprung mass, thereby reducing dynamic loads at the wheeltrail interface. At
these frequencies the track behaves essentially as a relatively stiff spring, as is
apparent from receptances discussed in Section 3. However, at frequencies above
about 20Hz the track's inertia becomes increasingly important while the vehi-
212 KL. KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSIE
Table 1. Problems of vehicleltrack interaction.
I3ogit- a1111IIIIS~)~IIII~
I)I;ISS
(a) \ \ ~ l ~ t . rI)(%arit~gs
l
(I,) fat.igl~cof axlcs, hrnke grar c1.c.
Irr~.g~rIar ~IIIIII~II~ slrrla<.csof w l ~ r ca11(1 l rail

(a) wlltv~lllats
(I)) 0111-of-ro~t~rd wllrcls
( r ) cvlrrrl r o r r t ~ g n l i o ~ ~
( ( I ) " l o t ~ gwarrlcrt~gl.l~" rail r o r r l l g a l , i o ~ ~
(ex) " x l ~ o r tw a v ~ ! l ~ ! ~ ~ gail
l ~ corrtlgaliot~
l~"
( f ) clil>l,r(lw r l ( l ~arid ,ioir~l.s

(g) ~ ) i l , l . i ~s~l ~
g r, l l i n g
'I'rnrk ro~r~poncrrf.s
(a) latiglrr of rail i n hclldir~g
(I)) railpncls
(c) co~~c.rc~trslc.c:l)rvs
((I) I~allaslalltl track g(.oltretry
\Vl~rrl/rail 11oisr
(a) rollilig lloisc
(I,) ilnl)acl. l~oisc
( r ) sqrrral
No1.c: Hclrrcr~cesarc showrr w relrvant t o the gmeral or specific area a.q appropriale rg. [I041 is
rclcvant l o rolling noise whrreas 1931 is rclevanl l o whccl/rail noise generally.
cle's suspension isolates all but the unsprung mass (essentially the wheelset,
bearings and any axle-hung traction motor and gearing) from the remainder of
the vehicle. A practical definition of "high" frequencies for present purposes can
accordingly be taken as those above about 20H2,where track dynamics become
increasingly important and vehicle dynamics less important. With this definition,
curving, stability and passenger comfort are phenomena which occur at relative-
ly low frequencies and are not discussed further here.
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLl3TRACK INTERACTION 2 13
Q
2.2. Problems Involving Components of the Bogie and Unsprung Mass
In practice there are often problems involving components of the bogie and
unsprung mass which arise from dynamic loads at relatively high frequencies,
but there has to date been little investigation of these. There has also been rela-
tively little development of models which describe the vehicle's behaviour at
frequencies of about 10-50Hz, in which the wheelset becomes increasingly well
isolated dynamically from the bogie while at the same time its own deformation
as an elastic body becomes significant.
The type of problems which may be exacerbated if not caused by dynamic
loading are, for example, fatigue of wheel bearings, brake gear, components of
axle-hung traction motors and other parts attached to the bogie. Ahlbeck et al
[2,3,4,47,76] have been concerned in part by the effects of dynamic loading on
wheel bearings, but there is little other published work in this area. Because
forces at frequencies at several hundred Hertz are reacted primarily by the wheel
inertia, low frequency forces arising from longer wavelength irregularities are
particularly harmful to bearings. It is, for example, suggested that "thumpers"
(with a wavelength of a few hundred mm), which give rise to wheeltrail forces of
more than 300kN, could cause a 50% reduction in the life of wheel bearings on a
typical freight car [4]. Fatigue damage to wheels arising from braking has been
studied by Lundtn [71].
2.3. Deterioration of the Running Surfaces of Wheel and Rail
2.3.1. Wheel Problems

The wheel irregularity which has stimulated most interest in modelling the dy-
namic behaviour of vehicle and track is the wheelflat. Although this is caused by
locked brakes, a model of the high frequency behaviour of vehicle and track is
essential to understand the effects of a wheelflat on the track. British Rail (BR)
have undertaken work in this area in an excellent example of well designed
experiments in track being used to validate a mathematical model: early work is
described by Newton and Clark [8 [I while Tunna has made recent developments
[125]. BR's earlier experimental work was undertaken with an ideal cosinusoidal
approximation to a wheelflat which was ground into the rail, thereby avoiding
the difficulties of measuring the effects of an irregularity on a wheel which might
strike any point along the track.
Despite these difficulties, Ahlbeck and his colleagues e.g. [3,4,47,76] and
Grassie [43] have endeavoured to measure the loads caused by actual wheel
irregularities and compare these with calculated values. Both wheelflats and
longer wavelength irregularities have been considered.
Corrugation is often observed on the treads of wheels at wavelengths similiar
to that of typical "short wavelength" corrugation on rails: broadly 30-100mm.
Little work if any has been published regarding the cause of this phenomenon,
but Kalousek and Johnson [59] report having found a successful treatment for
such corrugation on the Vancouver Skytrain system. This involved primarily the
2 14 KL. KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSIE
use of a substance to reduce stick-slip between wheel and rail and modification
of transverse wheel and rail profiles to reduce conformity. This was also success-
ful in reducing rail corrugation.
Rolling contact fatigue (such as pitting, "squats" and shelling) is becoming
increasingly prevalent on both wheels and rails. This has occurred on freight
lines because of the ever higher static wheel loads which are carried, and on both
passenger and freight lines because of poor conformity between wheel and rail
(giving rise to high contact stresses) and wear rates which are insufficient to
remove cracks before they propagate. Accordingly rolling contact fatigue is not
intrinsically a problem of high frequency interaction, but (as with wheelflats) it

is desirable to have a reliable model of the high frequency dynamic behaviour in
order first to calculate the effects of defects once they form and eventually,
perhaps, to predict where and when defects might occur as a result of the impacts
caused by irregularities on wheels and rails.
2.3.2. Rail Problems

A major stimulus for development of reliable models of the interaction of vehicle
and track at high frequency has been the need to understand the cause and effects
of the type of short wavelength (30- IOOmm) corrugation which occurs primarily
on high speed, main line track. Although a well validated and generally accepted
explanation of the cause of this phenomenon remains elusive, several hypotheses
exist and an essential component of all of these is a satisfactory model for high
frequency interaction of vehicle and track [18, 30, 36, 50, 66, 117, 1271.
Despite the elusiveness of a full explanation of this phenomenon, dynamic
modelling has been demonstrably successful in both revealing the cause and
assessing the viability of treatments of other rail corrugation problems. Probably
the first successful work in this area was that of Mair and his colleagues in
Australia e.g. [73,74] who demonstrated that resonance of the unsprung mass of
iron ore wagons on the track stiffness, excited particularly by rail welds and
joints, gave rise to corrugation at wavelengths of about 200mm. This relatively
low frequency dynamic load (at about 20-50Hz) is often known as the "P2 force",
following the terminology introduced by BR e.g. [29]. It was also found to be
responsible for corrugation at wavelengths of 300-1500mm which occurred fol-
lowing bad welds on relatively light rail [41], and is at least partly responsible for
some longer wavelength corrugation which occurs in the RATP in Paris e.g.
'[I 171. Dynamic models of wheellrail interaction can now be incorporated in
design methods to prevent damage by these mechanisms e.g. [44].
Other irregularities on the running surface of the rail, such as wheelburns,
irregular welds and joints, and rolling contact fatigue defects ("squats" and "shells")
are similar to wheelflats in that a dynamic model is not required to understand
their cause, but is required to calculate the resulting loads.
2.4. Deterioration of track components

High frequency dynamic loads give rise to several problems with components of
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLEbTRACK INTERACTION 215
the track. The work of Jenkins and his colleagues at BR in the 1970s [56] arose
from the need to understand why fatigue cracks, propagating from bolt holes at
the rail ends, had become more prevalent after electric locomotives running at
speeds of over 160kmth were introduced on BR's West Coast Main Line. This is
the first comprehensive theoretical and experimental study which the authors
have found of vehiclettrack interaction at high frequencies. The mathematical
model which was developed and the associated experimental work helped not
only to demonstrate that impacts associated with movement of the wheel and rail
on the contact stiffness were responsible, but also that a satisfactory treatment
was to reduce the unsprung mass of the offending locomotives using wheels with
resiliently supported rims [9,56].
The need to guard against fatigue in bending is one of the principal criteria
used in selection of rails. While the rail clearly bends under the quasi-static load
of passing wheels, fatigue is exacerbated by the impacts arising from wheel and
rail irregularities. Cannon and Sharpe 1151 have studied the influence of there
being significant longitudinal stress at some distance from the point of impact as
a result of travelling waves in the rail.
Concrete and steel sleepers are essentially ill-damped beams spanning the two
rails which have several resonant frequencies in the range excited by wheel and
rail irregularities. Cracking of concrete sleepers, particularly in the railseat area,
has been experienced on many railway systems largely because the sleepers'
second symmetrical flexural mode was excited by high frequency dynamic loads.
It is now widely recognised that the problem can be ameliorated in existing track
using resilient railpads e.g. [39,42], while new sleepers should be designed with
adequate attention paid to the moments caused by dynamic loads e.g. [44].
Two problems of high frequency dynamic loading which occur primarily with
concrete sleepers in a few isolated areas are those of sleeper "walking" and
"skewing". The former occurs primarily around rail welds and joints where the
sleepers tend to move along the rail, often actually towards the irregularity.
Skewing occurs when one end of the sleeper moves along the rail relative to the
other. Although no analysis of either phenomenon has been published, "walk-
ing" is ameliorated in practice by reducing the amplitude of the irreglarity and
"skewing" has been reduced in one particularly celebrated case in South Africa
using sleepers with "winged" ends to contain the ballast. Resilient railpads may
also be beneficial.
Deterioration of ballast and the consequential loss of track geometry is an
enduring concern of every railway system. 'This is not a problem entirely of high
frequency dynamic loading, but it is clear from the fact that maintenance is
greatly increased at corrugation sites and around welds and joints that such
loading does exacerbate deterioration of the ballast. To date relatively little has
been published regarding the use of dynamic models in this area. The efforts
reported by Frederick and Round [29], Meinke et a1 [79], Sato et a1 [lo51 and
Shenton [ I l l ] are notable exceptions.
Railpads also deteriorate in service and it is again clear that they deteriorate
more quickly where dynamic loads are exceptionally high. There appear to be no
publications on the prediction of railpad deterioration.
2.5. Noise
Noise is essentially a dynamic phenomenon and much of the early work in
modelling high frequency vibration of the wheel and rail indeed arose from a
concern with noise. In this area the particularly useful contributions have been
made by Remington and his colleagues e.g. [93-961, who adopted a classification
into rolling noise, impact noise and squeal. The first two components are caused
by irregularities on the wheel and rail, while wheel squeal arises from a stick-slip
vibration which occurs primarily during negotiation of tight curves.
Recent work by British Rail has been undertaken by Thompson [118,119]
who has demonstrated a convincing correlation of calculation with measured
noise. The particular advance which he made from the earlier work of Remington
et a1 was in the development and application of better models of the rail and
wheel. Whereas Remington et a1 modelled the rail as a beam for both vertical and
lateral vibration, Thompson took account of its cross-sectional deformation at
high frequencies using a finite element (FE) model. He also used an FE model for
the wheelset, thereby reliably representing its complex resonant behaviour. A
similar approach has been taken by Fingberg [28] to calculate squealing noise.
Ground-borne vibration is of particular concern to railway systems operating
in urban areas. Work done both by British Rail e.g. [22], and by BAM in Germa-
ny e.g. [5,101,102] has been distinguished by a concern to validate mathematical
models of the phenomenon by correlation of calculated and measured data.
A railway must often pass over viaducts, and this is becoming a particularly
common way of bringing mass transit systems into urban areas. While it would
be attractive to have mathematical models which could reliably predict noise
from viaducts, there appears to be no published work in which such models have
been developed and validated using measured noise data. Fryba [34] and Smith
and Wormley [I131 report work on dynamic behaviour of viaducts.
2.6. Frequency Limits of Interest

The highest frequencies of interest are those associated with wheeYrail noise, for
which modelling should be satisfactory up to the limit of human hearing at about
5kHz. Problems with the running surfaces of wheel and rail and with track
components are caused primarily by vertical forces, which are most significant
up to about 1500Hz: higher frequency loads, which arise from relatively short
wavelength irregularities, are severely attenuated by the finite size of the contact
patch between wheel and rail, whose diameter is typically about 15mm. Forces
transmitted on the one hand through the wheel inertia into the axle, bogie and
vehicle, and on the other through the track into the ground and track structure,
are most significant up to frequencies of about 500Hz. Problems of vehicle
dynamics occur largely at frequencies of less than 20Hz.
RAILWAY TRACK A N D VEHICLmRACK INTERACTION 217
3. MODELS OF TRACK AND VEHICLEITRACK INTERACTION
3.1. Survey of Problems of Modelling Track and VehicleITrack Interaction

In modelling the dynamic behaviour of track and of interaction between the
vehicle and track, it is convenient to consider five sub-systems (Fig. 2):
1. the vehicle, including the car body, bogie and wheelset;

2. wheellrail contact and representation of excitation;
3. the rail;
4. the fastening system, including the rail fastening itself and the rail pad;
5. the sleeper;
6. the sleeper support, including the ballast and substrate.
Fig. 2. Components of the vehicleltrack system.

218 KL. KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSlE
Few comments are necessary regarding vehicle modelling in the frequency range
of interest (up to approximately 1500 Hz) for the reasons discussed in Section
2.1. Dynamic behaviour with regard to stability, steering and passenger comfort
is most significant at frequencies of only a few Hertz. This behaviour is under-
stood adequately for most practical purposes, as is apparent from the fact that
several software packages are commercially available to calculate the vehicle's
dynamic response (e.g. MEDYNA, VAMPIRE, NUCARS and VOCO).
At frequencies of more than a few Hertz the vehicle's primary and secondary
suspension isolate the bogie and body from the wheelset. Consequently the vehi-
cle's "unsprung mass" (comprising essentially the wheelset, bearings and any
axle-hung traction motor and gearing) is the only component which significantly
affects vertical dynamic loads between wheelset and track, and accordingly through
the track itself, at high frequencies. The unsprung mass is indeed represented
satisfactorily for vertical excitation as a rigid body. Many railways take advan-
tage of this behaviour in their routine use of axlebox accelerometers to monitor
railhead irregularities at short wavelengths. There are few problems in represent-
ing the wheelset as an elastic body with distributed mass and stiffness.
On the other hand, in order to examine lateral vibration of the wheel, which is
excited by forces in the plane of wheeltrail contact and normal to that plane, a
significantally more complicated model is required because of the wheelset's
lateral flexibility. A satisfactory model must include the wheelset's resonant
behaviour in order to represent phenomena such as noise. For this purpose, a few
relatively simple, semi-analytical models have been developed and validated
[38,93]. However the majority of work recently has concentrated on the develop-
ment of finite element models e.g. [28,49,71,118,119].
Despite the fact that modelling of the track's behaviour has been undertaken
for more than 100 years, its behaviour, particularly at high frequencies, is less
well understood than that of the vehicle. This relative ignorance may simply
reflect the greater importance attached traditionally to problems of vehicle dy-
namics than to those of track dynamics and vehiclettrack interaction (Section 2),
and also the continuing and understandable use in track of materials such as
ballast whose dynamic behaviour is at present an area of almost absolute igno-
rance. While the cheapness and practical advantages of ballast make it unlikely
that ballasted track will be replaced by non-ballasted track, this situation may
only continue for new high speed track if a fundamental physical understanding
of ballast behaviour is available.
Some work of a more comprehensive nature has appeared on modelling of
track in Fryba's book [32], a recent monograph [27], a literature survey [19], and
a review paper [45]. This Section attempts to provide the foundations of an
understanding of the requirements for a track model, discussing first models of
the track components (Section 3.2), then aspects of modelling the complete track
system (Section 3.3), and finally modelling of wheeltrail contact and of the
excitation (Sections 3.4 and 3.5).
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLWRACK INTERACTION 219
3.2. Physical Track Components

3.2.1. Rail Modelling
For static and stability analyses which were undertaken before about 1960 the
rail was considered to be a Bernoulli-beam, e.g. [5 1,63,90,91,109,121- 123,128,1291,
and it does indeed appear that this model is adequate for representation of the
rail's response to vertical dynamic excitation excitation for frequencies of less
than about 500 Hz [45,118]. However, such a model is no longer adequate for the
response to vertical forces at higher frequencies as shear deformation of the rail
becomes increasingly important. This is even more true for the rail's lateral
response as the web is a relatively flexible component laterally which ties togeth-
er the more robust railhead and foot.

Attempts have been to establish the frequency ranges in which different mod-
els adequately represent the rail's behaviour [68,107]. In this work, the rail was
modelled as a series of interconnected plates (Fig. 3a) and the calculated re-
sponse compared to that measured for a UtC 60 rail [107]. For the frequency and
wavelength ranges of interest, five different wave propagation modes occur, four
of which are shown in Fig. 4: lateral bending (A), vertical bending (B) and two
torsional modes (C,D). The easiest way to compare the plate model with simpler
beam models (Fig. 3b) is to use the dispersion relations, showing frequency f as
a function of wavelength L, which is done in Fig. 5 for the four modes of Fig. 5
plus the longitudinal mode (F). It appears from this that if only vertical and
longitudinal vibration are of interest, the rail can be modelled as a single Timosh-
enko-Rayleigh beam up to 2.5 kHz and for wavelengths greater than 0.4 m. For
lateral and torsional modes, however, railhead and foot have to be modelled at
least as independent Timoshenko beams interconnected by continuous rotational
springs. Data for the cross section of such a double-beam model can readily be
obtained.
3.2.2. Models of the Rail Fastening System

The rail fastening system commonly used on concrete sleepers comprises a resil-
ient spring fastening, many designs of which are available, acting essentially in
parallel with a much stiffer railpad (Fig 6a). Typically the railpad is made of
rubber, plastic or a composite material such as rubber-bonded cork. The load/
deflection behaviour of the fastening system is non-linear, but since its behav-
iour when a loaded wheel is near the sleeper is of greatest interest, some lineari-
sation of the loadldeflection behaviour is justified.
For vertical vibration a pad is usually modelled as a spring and viscous dash-
pot in parallel (Fig. 6b). A model of the pad damping as structural with a constant
loss factor has also been used [60] and is actually more consistent with the
known behaviour of materials such as rubber. The pad is represented similarly in
models of the lateral dynamic behaviour of track. For rail and track models
which are essentially three dimensional it is convenient to represent the pad as a
visco-elastic layer distributed across the railfoot (Fig 6c). In two dimensional
models it can be represented as acting at a point on the railfoot. No predictive
KL. KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSIE
(b)
-Timoshenko
beam + to1
_- Plate
one
Timoshenko
beam
Timoshenko
beam + torsion
plate beam ;late (Mindlin's lheory)
Fig. 3. Modelling of the rail using (a) plate elements (b) beam elements.
1al.eral bending mode ( A )
wibvelength : 1.05 ITI
0 . 7 kHz
t l . c q ~ ~ e ~ r: c y
ver,t.ical b e r ~ d i r ~mode
g (B)
wavelenglh 1.05 m
ft.eqltency: 1.1 kHz
l i n t I.orsiona1 mode (C)
wavelength : 1.05 m
frequency : 1.0 Icllz
higher t.orsiona1 a n d l a t e r a l
bentling mode ( D )
wavelength : 1.05 m
l r ~ e q u e n c y: 1.8 kHz
Fig. 4. Wave propagation modes of a UIC 60 rail (A,C,D) lateral-torsional (B) vertical (from 11071).
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLDTRACK INTERACTION 22 1
,max. error 15
- ---- max. error

L
+
c
a
W
.tn
-
1000
0 w
0 5 10 15 20
W a v e n u m b e r k, = 2 n / w a v e l e n g t h o f the m o d e
complex plate model
-s i m p l e beam model
Fig. 5. Dispersion relations for a free UIC 60 rail (from [68]).
2 Shoulders. 2 Rail Clips.

2 Insulators. 1 Rail Pad.
Fig. 6. Rail fastening system: (a) physical system. (b) spring-damper-model, (c) foundation model;
(d) 2 parameter and 3 parameter-models.
model is yet available to design a railpad of prescribed stiffness and damping.

A great difficulty in practice is to find appropriate values for the railpad
parameters, whether it is for a model with viscous or structural damping. Al-
though tests can be undertaken in the laboratory [42,60,132], it is best to extract
parameters from tests in which a vehicle runs over the track containing the
railpads of interest. A compromise is to obtain parameters from tests in track
with an impulse hammer or electromagnetic exciter. All of the railpad parame-
ters which are at present available to the authors are listed in Appendix A.
Sato 11041 has proposed that a high polymer rubber pad should be represented
by three parameters rather than the conventional two (Fig. 6d) in order to repre-
sent the increase in pad stiffness with frequency. Such an improved model evi-
dently has some advantages but it is also more difficult to obtain the necessary
parameters.
Within the next few years means should be developed readily to measure
effective pad parameters as the railpad is the one track component which can
most readily be changed to influence the track's dynamic behaviour and rate of
degradation.
3.2.3. Sleeper Models

The most complete sleeper model is a Timoskenko beam of variable thickness,
which can readily be analysed using finite elements. If the effective Young's
modulus is found from correlation of the calculated and measured fundamental
lirnl scconrl I.ltird fourth fiflh

ci~rnfrrrlttrttcinn nytt~tricl'ri(. ~nt.irnc11.ir: ~ytnrnctric antimetric sgmmctrlc
n~cnsctrrd 1.10 395 705 1212 1695
cnlc~llnt.cd 140.1 090.1 759.7 1208 1719

(12 l'irnosltrttko
beem c l e m e t ~ t s )
Fig. 7. Measured and calculated natural frequencies o f a B58-sleeper (Deutsche Bundesbahn).

flexural resonant frequency of a freely supported sleeper, the first 5 calculated

natural frequencies are within I% of those measured (see, for example, the work
by Dahlberg and Nielsen [20,82] and the data tabulated in Fig. 7). Considerable
success in correlating the calculated response of rail and sleepers in track to that
measured at frequencies below about 700Hz has been obtained by representing
the sleeper as a uniform beam [18,39]. Indeed it is shown in Section 4.1 that the
dynamic response to forces at the railhead is well represented up to lkHz by
modelling the sleeper simply as a rigid body.
3.2.4. Sleeper Support by Ballast and Substrate

The ballast deflects in a highly non-linear manner under load. In particular, there
may be voids between sleeper and ballast, and the ballast itself deflects non-
linearly [27]. Energy dissipation occurs due to dry friction and from wave radia-
• tlisc:rt:t.a s l c c l ~ c ~s t. ~ l > p o t ' l . 4 d i s c r c t e s l c c p c r sctpport

b;cilast: s p r i n g a n d dalriper 6 cont.i~luousballas(. l a y e r
itlt.erc:orl~~c:ct.cd Ilallast. r ~ i a s s ~ s 4 halfspace substrate rnotlel
sl11,sl.ral.c: s p r i l ~ g :rritl tlarnpcr
Fig. 8. Sleeper support models (discrete support).

224 KL. KNOTHE A N D S.L. GRASSIE
tion through the substrate. Despite this, most of analyses use a simple 2-parame-
ter model in the vertical direction (Fig. 8, type A). This again is justified if only
the high-frequency dynamic behaviour is of interest when the axle is close to the
sleeper of interest. Loading and unloading when a bogie passes over a particular
sleeper can be analysed approximately by such a linear model. As with the
railpads, the stiffness and damping coefficients for existing models have to date
been obtained from correlation of calculated and measured results. Ballast pa-
rameters and corresponding references again are given in Appendix A.
Another possible model is shown in Fig. 8 as type B. The ballast and substrate
are considered together as an elastic or visco-elastic half-space. For a single

sleeper, precalculated diagrams can be used [I301 to obtain stiffness and damp-
ing parameters which are found from the resonance at which the track moves on
the ballast. It appears from these diagrams that internal damping is insignificant
compared to that due to wave radiation. Railway track is supported by more than
a single sleeper, and it has been shown that at least 5 sleepers should be consid-
ered when modelling ground-borne vibration [ I 01,102,1031. In this case a com-
plex, frequency dependent stiffness matrix of dimension 5*5 is developed for
vertical vibration alone.
A third possible sleeper support model, which has been used by Sato [105]
and by Zhai [133], is shown as Type C in Fig. 8. This model includes additional
ballast masses below each sleeper which are interconnected by springs and dash-
pots in shear. The attraction of such a model is that it offers the possibility of
obtaining better correlation between the calculated and measured response. In
practice the insensitivity of the response to the five additional parameters (stiff-
ness and damping values for the shear connection and for the substrate, plus the
additional ballast mass) may make it difficult to obtain satisfactory parameter
values from experimental data. Zhai has accordingly tried to estimate the five
parameters theoretically.
A few observations suggest that it may be desirable to introduce an independ-
ent ballast mass. For example, until about 1980 the lowest vertical natural fre-
quency of a loaded track was reported to be at about 25-40Hz [8,90,58,79].
However, measurements made subsequently on BR track showed a first reso-
nance peak for the track without wheelset to be at about 130 Hz [37]. This
decreased under a vehicle to 50-80 Hz depending on the unsprung mass. As these
measurements (and most of the subsequent measurements using an impulse ham-
mer technique) are reliable only for frequencies greater than about 5 0 Hz, there
may in fact be resonances both at 25-40Hz and around 100Hz: the former would
arise from movement of both the ballast and the track above it on elasticity of the
substrate, while the latter would arise from movement of the rail and sleepers on
the ballast's own resilience.
A general support model is shown as type D in Fig 8, with a layer of ballast on
a three-dimensional half-space. From work undertaken by Rucker et al [101,102]
it is clear that theoretical investigation of such a model is extremely difficult.
It may be surprising that the apparently simple question of whether a ballast
mass has to be introduced below the sleepers cannot yet be answered clearly.
However, even less work has been done to establish a mathematical model of
ballast as a continuum whose behaviour can be predicted when excited by the
combination of quasi-static and dynamic loading experienced under loaded wheels.
3.3. Modelling of the Track System

3.3.1. Hierarchy of Track Models
The track component models of Section 3.2 can be combined to form track
models, a hierarchy of which is shown in Fig. 9, with references in the literature
to the different models. The principal difference is between models with a com-
pletely continuous support of the rail and those with a discrete support (columns
I and 111 and columns I1 and IV respectively). A discrete support appears more
representative of reality for the majority of track, which is laid on discrete sleep-
ers. The corresponding continuous support is obtained by "smearing out" the
discrete support along the track, thus giving a continuous viscoelastic foundation
and a continuous layer representing the sleepers. This continuous layer can mod-
el the sleepers as rigid bodies or as beams with distributed mass and stiffness
(Fig. 9, Ic). It is shown in Section 4.1.2 that continuous support models are
strictly valid only for calculation of the track's dynamic response at frequencies
lower than about 500 Hz for vertical excitation and 400 Hz for lateral excitation.
3.3.2. Finite and Infinite Track Structures

The track structure can be modelled as being either finite or infinite in length.
The type of structure is closely connected to the solution technique. Track struc-
tures of infinite length are commonly used for frequency-domain solutions whereas
finite track structures are more appropriate for time-domain solutions, particular-
ly if there exist significant non-linearities. The main problem with a finite track
model is that boundaries may introduce undesirable effects in studying the re-
sponse to a moving load: this is discussed in Section 4.3.2.
3.4. Excitation Modelling

The most realistic model of vertical excitation arising in wheeltrail contact is that
of a wheel rolling over irregularities on the track (or on the wheel tread): this is
shown in Fig. 10d, e.g. [112]. However, this model is also the most difficult to
use, and simpler models have many attractions in particular circumstances.
The model of Fig. 10a is appropriate for comparing the calculated and meas-
ured response of the track excited by a stationary periodic or transient force (a
vibrator or impulse hammer respectively). The moving-load excitation of Fig.
lob is used in most theoretical investigations since Dorr's paper of 1944 e.g.
[1,11,12,24,25,54,61,62,65,75,124].
The moving irregularity model of Fig. 1Oc can be regarded physically as a
model in which the wheelset remains in a fixed position on the rail, and a strip
containing the irregularities on the railhead and wheel tread is effectively pulled
at a steady speed between wheel and rail. With this model it is possible to study
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLmRACK INTERACTION 227
~(LI - re r(rl - re- ~-
I
1 l I model 1I model I
moving
irregularity
model model
Fig. 10. Excitation modelling.
the dynamic response of a wheelset on discretely supported track relatively eas-

ily as frequency-domain calculations are straightforward. The model has been
much used to investigate problems of wheellrail interaction e.g. [2,28,33,37-
40,43,44,47,66,67,79,87,105,115-119,126,1271.
The principal question of interest regarding modelling of the excitation is
when the more correct moving mass model is necessary instead of the much
simpler moving irregularity model. The most significant difference between these
models arises in practice when the support is discrete rather than continuous.
Accordingly a more general question which has been answered only partially to
date is in what circumstances it is essential to model the support as discrete
rather than continuous.
3.5. Contact Modelling

The last component which it is necessary to model in the dynamic system of
vehicle and track is the wheellrail contact. Elkins has recently surveyed work in
this area [26]. For the normal contact problem the assumptions of Hertzian con-
tact theory are valid in most circumstances, so that a nonlinear or linearised
contact spring can be introduced (Fig 1la). This model is slightly inadequate for
consideration of the response to irregularities (such as short wavelength corruga-
tion) whose wavelength is similar to the contact dimensions.
The tangential contact problem (Fig. 1lb) is more difficult. For both linear
and nonlinear, steady-state tangential contact, Kalker's programs CONTACT or
FASTSIM can be used, but for most cases the modifications made by Shen,
Hedrick and Elkins to the Vermeulen-Johnson approximation are sufficiently
KL.KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSIE
),I
l i ~ ~ e a ~ . i s nol.isteady
ed, state [ I G ]
(sprillg a n d daniperh i r l series)
Fig. 1 1 . Contact modelling.
accurate [110]. Special modifications are necessary to study roll-slip phenomena

[28,59]. If the variations in lateral load are small, the response can be linearised
using the equivalent of creep coefficients for dynamic loads, even if the problem
is not steady state [46]. These coefficients can be interpreted as pertaining to
physical elements which are viscous dashpots or Maxwell elements, for the steady
and nonsteady-state cases respectively (Fig. 1lb). There are several theoretical
investigations of tangential contact mechanics at high frequencies [28, 30, 67,
117, 126, 1271.
For the nonlinear, nonsteady-state case (i.e. for short wavelength irregulari-
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLEITRACK INTERACTION 229
ties of large amplitude), CONTACT should be used, but the computational effort
is enormous.
4. SOLUTION TECHNIQUES AND HISTORICAL SURVEY
The response of the dynamic system of vehicle and track can be found in either
the frequency or the time domain. The first step in a frequency-domain technique
is to find the appropriate transfer function for the system when excited by a
stationary point load, which is examined in Sections 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 for track
with continuous and discrete supports respectively. Receptance methods in par-

ticular are discussed, thereby reflecting the emphasis in the literature. When the
transfer function is known it is relatively easy to calculate the response of the
vehicleltrack system to a moving irregularity: this is considered in Section 4.1.3.
Frequency-domain techniques to solve the moving load and moving mass prob-
lems (Section 3.4) are discussed in Section 4.2. Time-domain solution tech-
niques are discussed in Section 4.3, and a brief note regarding usage of the
different techniques in the literature is given in Section 4.4.
4.1. Frequency-Domain Techniques for a Stationary Point Load

4.1.1. Receptances for Continuously Supported Track
The first dynamic analysis of track was undertaken by Timoshenko [I221 who
modelled the track as a continuously supported Bernoulli beam excited by a
harmonically varying stationary load or a moving irregularity. The response of
the system (displacement at the point of excitation of the oscillating load) is the
track's direct receptance. Receptances for some other types of support can be
inferred from ref [5 1 1.
Track models with a separate layer representing the sleepers are shown in Fig
9b and c. Sato was the first to use such a model with the sleepers represented as
a layer of independent rigid bodies and with the rail as a continuously supported
Bernoulli beam [104]. A model in which the rail was represented as a Timosh-
enko beam on a continuous layer of rigid or elastic sleepers was developed by
Grassie et a1 e.g. [37,39] and used later by Tassilly and Vincent amongst others
[117]. The track's lateral and longitudinal dynamic behaviour has been treated
similarly [35,36]. These authors essentially used the integral transformation so-
lution technique mentioned in Section 4.2.
The measured and calculated vertical direct receptances found in [37] are
shown in Fig. 12. This model gives results which are acceptable for most of the
frequency range shown. Two resonances are calculated: one at just over lOOHz at
which the sleepers and rail move on the ballast, and a second at about 400-500Hz
where the rail moves relative to the sleepers on the railpads. The model's princi-
pal deficiency is its inability to show the track's behaviour around the frequency
of the so-called "pinned-pinned" resonance. In this frequency range (around
750Hz for the data in Fig. 12) there is a resonance of the track when it is excited
t -
z Between
-E
Q)
U
sleepers a sleeper\,
o 15/11/79 A 17/11/79 -&'$I
.C A 16/II/79 y, 18/11/
2 lo-g *17/11/79 7 \+
5 - - - Theory-Timoshenko beam C X\
U
0
X\
10- '01 , I I
10' lo2 10.' lo4
Frequency (Hz)
The vertical direct receptance of track laid on concrete

sleepers
Fig. 12. Vertical direct receptance of track laid on concrete sleepers (from [35.37]).
Parameters for theory
m, = 56 kgme' El = 4.86 M N ~ ~ K = 0.34 (shear factor)
kp = 280 MN-I cp = 63 kNm-' 1 = 0.698 m
kb = 70 MNm-' cb = 82 kNm-' M S =l l O k g
between sleepers and an anti-resonance when it is excited at a sleeper. This

occurs because the wavelength of flexural waves is equal to the sleeper spacing.
To predict this behaviour satisfactorily, a track model with a discrete support
must be used.
4.1.2. Discretely Supported Track

To give the capacity to compare the measured and calculated track response over
the whole frequency range of interest, it is necessary to analyse track with a
discrete support. An algorithm for the calculation of receptances for such a
model is illustrated in Fig. 13.
RAILWAY TRACK AM) VEHICLEn'RACK INTERACTION
harmonicnlly oscillating
resting load p e Z i "
finite-element
formulation for a
track section
into transfer eq. infinite system

for a track section of algebraic eqs.
considering
Floquet's theorem
consideration
of boundary condit.ions
m response direct receptance G / $
Fig. 13. Algorithm for calculation of track receptances.

The first step in this analysis is that finite-element (FE) matrices, or their
equivalent, for a characteristic track section must be formulated either analyti-
cally or numerically. Except for the track section where the load is applied the
dynamic solution for each state variable, e.g. the vertical displacement w(x,t)
obeys Floquet's theorem
rv(x+U,t) = w(x,t) .sk,
where E is an unknown eigenvalue and L is the sleeper spacing. Floquet's theo-

rem can be introduced either into a transfer matrix equation or directly into the
-
infinite system of algebraic equations which can be formulated for the track
system. By satisfying the boundary conditions at x = + and at x = 0, the

harmonic displacement
is calculated at the point of excitation x=O (i.e. the direct receptance) or indeed at
any other point (the cross receptance). This concept has been used by several
authors, e.g. Munjal and Heckl [go], Grassie et al [37], Nordborg [85], Nielsen
[82], and by Ripke et al. [98] for vertical as well as lateral receptances.
Two typical examples for the vertical and lateral direct receptances for track
with rigid sleepers and with the rail modelled as in Fig. 3b are shown in Figs. 14
and 15 respectively [98]. In both cases the mode of vibration at each resonant
frequency is also shown. The vertical receptances for excitation at a sleeper and
between sleepers are similar up to about 500Hz (Fig. 14). Around the frequency
of the "pinned-pinned" resonance the receptance depends significantly on the
position of excitation: this resonant frequency is about 1070 Hz in Fig 14, and is
significantly greater than in Fig. 12 because the rail is stiffer and the sleeper
spacing closer.
For lateral excitation (Fig. 15) the first pinned-pinned mode is at 560 Hz.
Accordingly, in order satisfactorily to predict all aspects of the track's behaviour
laterally it would be necessary to use a track model with a discrete support for
frequencies above 400-500Hz. However, the effect of the discrete support later-
ally is in fact less pronounced than it is vertically, largely because the greater
lateral flexibility of the web and the railpads decouples the railhead from the
discrete sleepers. The relatively small effect of the lateral pinned-pinned reso-
nance in particular is consistent with the reasonable correlation obtained by
Thompson [I181 between measurements of rolling noise and calculations de-
rived from a model with a continuous support.
A typical use of such models is to find parameters for the stiffness and damp-
ing of railpad and ballast by fitting calculated values of the receptance to those
measured. Parameters found from such measurements are presented in Appendix
A. An example of such curve fitting is shown in Fig. 16 where the track has been
preloaded by a vehicle whose closest wheel is at the distance shown. The calcu-
lated and measured receptances display essentially the same characteristics as
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLEITRACKINTERACTION 233
e x c i La Lion
Fig. 14. Vertical direct receptance of a discretely supported UIC 60-rail (excitation at a sleeper and
between sleepers) from [98].Sleeper spacing 0.60 m.
those shown in Figs. 12 and 14: a resonance on the ballast at about 1lOHz, a reso-
nance of the sleeper and rail on the railpad at 450-500Hz and the pinned-pinned
resonance at 870Hz.In such tests, the preload should be applied as close as possible
to the measuring position and the vehicle may have to be included in the model.
4.1.3. Dynamic Response to a Moving Irregulariry

It is relatively easy to use receptances for either continuously or discretely sup-
ported track in a moving irregularity model to calculate the response of the
vehicleltrack system in the frequency domain, as shown in Fig. 17 for the general
excitation
7
9
l../i
\\'\\.\'\\\'\\\\
YA
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
YA
recept,arlce
...-- fool rut -- root \ cut
10' 10 10
frequency [Hz]
-heed
-foot
Fig. 15. Lateral direct receptance of a discretely supported UIC 60-rail (excitation between sleepers)
from [98].
case in which noise is to be calculated. If the irregularity is sinusoidal, the

response is found directly from the transfer functions of Sections 4.1.1 or 4.1.2.
To calculate the response to non-sinusoidal irregularities (such as a wheelflat) or
random wheel and rail roughness, their Fourier transform (or, in practice, the
Fast Fourier Transform) must first be found. This is effectively filtered by the
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLEARACK INTERACTION
preload excitation a n d
measurement
1
frequency [Hz]
Fig. 16. Measured and calculated vertical direct receptance, from [99].
rn, = 49.3 kgm-, El = 3.91 MNm2 GAS= 153 N
k, = 300 MN-'
kb = 100 MN-' <
c = 45 kNm-IS
= 72 kNm-Is
I= 0.64 m
MS= 305 kg
236 KL.KNOTHE AND S.L.GRASSIE
Wl~eel roughness Rail roughness

- - -4
J
Contact Roughness input

Forces
Wheel vibration Rail vibration
~ Wheel r ; d i a t ~ d
r
Noise from wheel
9 Rail radiation
Noise from rail
Noisc measured a t wayside
Fig. 17. Analytical model of wheevrail noise generation (from [118]).
finite dimensions of the contact patch [50,96,118]. The track and wheelset re-
ceptances and the contact stiffness are combined to form the appropriate transfer
function: the contact force per unit irregularity on the railhead or wheel tread.
This is multiplied by the Fourier transform of the irregularity to give the Fourier
transform of the response. The inverse transform is the response as a function of
RAILWAY TRACK A N D VEHICLEITRACK INTERACTION 237
time. Dynamic loads at other points in the track (such as bending moments in
concrete sleepers) can also be calculated as functions of time simply by using the
appropriate transfer function of load per unit irregularity. The noise field is
calculated from the amplitudes of vibration of the wheel and rail and the radia-
tion efficiencies.
Remington et al [7,93-961, Sato [104], Tassilly [I 161, and Thompson [ I l 8 , l 191
have used the harmonic response to investigate wheellrail noise generation. Fry-
ba [31], Ahlbeck et al [2,3,47,76], and Grassie et al [39,40,43,44], amongst
others, have used similar means to calculate dynamic loads caused by vehicle1
track interaction.
The response of the vehicle and track for different positions of the wheelset
between sleepers can be calculated relatively simply for the moving irregularity
model of Section 3.4 using the receptance for discretely supported track. In this
way the development of a pattern of short wavelength corrugation in a sleeper
bay has been analysed by Frederick [30], Valdivia [I 26,1271, Knothe et al[50,66,67]
and Tassilly and Vincent [117]. The proposed mechanism of corrugation forma-
tion, which involves lateral and vertical vibrations and contact mechanics, is
illustrated in Fig. 18. Kalousek and Johnson [59] have recently proposed an
alternative roll-slip mechanism for the formation of such corrugations which it
may be more appropriate to study in the time domain (Section 4.3).
The moving irregularity model has also been used to show that the discrete
support of track at sleepers has relatively little effect on the loads caused by non-
sinusoidal irregularities [88].
I eference-state
frequency-range f < 20 Hz
C I I I I I I I I . . I I . I I I I I I I I I I I .
, highfrequency
: dynamics
I frequency-range f > 50 tlz
! !
frlcllonol
dsvaloprnenl wear f e e d b a c k power
global &or loco1 wear

corr~~gollon algenvoluaa A
pollern
Fig. 18. Analytical model of rail corrugation initiation, from [66,67].

periodically varying steady-state

~ r l o v i r ~load
g solution w(s.t)
I'o~.rnl.~lat.ion of t h e
s o l u t i o ~ li n a
trlovirrg c o o r d i n a t e
----
ot-clirl~ry
t l i r f c r c t~i ~
al
ecl~~aliol~s
eq~.tatio~ls
algebraic solution
ill tlre F o u r i e r d o r r l a i l ~
Fig. 19. Solution algorithm for the moving load problem (frequency domain).
4.1.4. Frequency Domain Solutions for Half-Space Track Models

There appears to date to have been only one analysis of the vertical dynamic
interaction of vehicle and track using a model of discretely supported track on a
half-space [5,101,102]. The vehicle model (representing a German ICE-coach)
consists of 4 masses: two wheelsets, one bogie and one half of the car body. A
RAILWAY TRACK AND V E H I C L m C K INTERACTION 239
track section comprising 7 discretely supported sleepers was modelled below

each wheelset and the response was calculated using the moving irregularity
model of Fig. 1Oc. A kind of parametric excitation results from the discrete
sleeper spacing. The analysis was undertaken in the frequency domain as the pre-
calculated results of the half-space behaviour (Section 3.2.4) were available in
the form of receptances. The calculations of ground-borne vibration correlate
well with measurements taken using an ICE test vehicle [5].
4.2. Frequency-Domain Techniques for a Moving Point Load

4.2.1. Moving Load on Continuously Supported Rails

Fourier transform or similar integral transform techniques (such as the Laplace-
Carson transform) are widely used to find the response of the systems with a
continuous support shown in the left column of Fig. 9. In Fig. 19 an algorithm for
such a Fourier transform solution is represented schematically. The system is
excited by a harmonically varying moving load.-It is assumed that in a moving
coordinate system a steady state solution exists of the form
where s and t are the space and time variables respectively. The resulting system
of ordinary differential equations is Fourier transformed, resulting in a system of
algebraic equations. The solution is found from inversion of these algebraic
equations, which is best done by contour integration and the method of residues.
This type of solution, sometimes in a slightly different form, has been used in
many papers to solve the "moving load problem" (Fig. 20b). The first in this field
may have been Hovey [53]. His dissertation, published in 1933 and evidently
forgotten for more than 30 years, dealt with a moving load on a continuously
supported Bernoulli beam. The problem was solved again by Dorr in 1944 and
1948 [24,25] and by Kenney in 1954 [61.]. Mathews [75] was the first who
investigated an oscillating load moving on a Bernoulli beam. The next problem
to be considered was that of a constant load moving on a Timoshenko beam [I].
The influence of an additional axial force was investigated by Kerr [62]. Torby
[I241 took account of the fact that the ballast reacts in compression only. The
solution to the problem of an oscillating load moving on a Timoshenko beam is
contained in ref. [37], and was later solved in detail also by Bogacz et a1 [11,12].
An excellent survey of all work on the moving-load-problem before 1970 is
contained in Fryba's book [32]. In the majority of references there is little explic-
it consideration of the relevance of the moving load problem to the practical case
of wheeltrail interaction.
Models of track with a continuous support have also been used to study
problems of stability. In the book by Fryba [32] and in some of the papers by
Bogacz [10,1:L]the word "stability" is used to indicate a situation where the
amplitude of a steady state solution increases with increasing speed and becomes
infinite at a certain critical speed, a phenomenon which is similar to resonance.
240 KL.KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSIE
The formula for the critical speed of a Bernoulli beam on elastic foundation is
[321
vcri, = 2(k/4EJ)0.25(~~Ip)0.S
where EI is the flexural rigidity of the rail; k is the support stiffness per unit
length; and p is the total track mass (including both the rail and the sleepers) per
unit length. With parameters for a UIC 60 rail ( E I = 6 . 4 1 ~ ~ m on~a) continuous
elastic foundation of stiffness k=300MPa and an effective track mass of 3 10kg/
m, the critical speed is more than 500mIs which is substantially greater than the
speed of any train in passenger service. Timoshenko [122] showed that the criti-
cal speed decreased with increasing compressive load in the rail. More recently
this has also been investigated by Labra [69] who showed that the critical veloc-
ity for a beam on a half space decreased with increasing axial compressive load
at a rate which is considerably less than that for a beam on a Winkler foundation.
Brommundt [14] has investigated lateral vibration of a flexible wheelset roll-
ing on a rail with a continuous support. He found that for some parameter combi-
nations which are marginally realistic, self-excited lateral vibrations of the wheelset
can occur at a particular "critical speed".
4.2.2. Moving Loads on Discretely Supported Track

Inglis [55] undertook an early, essentially static, analysis of the effect of a load
moving over track supported at discrete sleepers. He concluded that the variation
in rail deflection as a wheel moves slowly through a span of rail between sleepers
is less the more flexible is the ballast. He also demonstrated that the rail deflec-
tion becomes very large as the sleeper-passing frequency approaches the reso-
nant frequency of the unsprung mass on the ballast.
To include the effects of the pinned-pinned resonance discussed in Section
4.1.2 in a solution to the problem of a moving load it is necessary to use a model
of track with a discretely supported rail. The literature contains primarily two
general techniques to calculate the loads in periodic structures in the frequency
domain. One of these is a wave-type solution which utilizes Floquet's theorem
(Section 4.1.2). Mead's papers [77,78] appear to be the first in this field, fol-
lowed by Smith and Wormley [I 131 and then Bogacz et a1 [13]. While the papers
of Mead and Bogacz et a1 are entirely theoretical, the work of Smith and Worm-
ley is applied to a periodically supported guideway.
A second approach which appears more promising for the track problem was
proposed first by Jezequel [57] and used later by Kisilowski [65], llias [54] and
Sibaei [I 121. This approach is a slight modification of the solution technique of
Fig. 19. The differential equation of the rail is again formulated in a coordinate
system which moves with the load. The combined reaction forces acting on the
rail through the pad are developed into Fourier series and thus are transformed
into continuous (but non-uniform) distributed forces. The response, e.g. the rail
displacement for a harmonically varying force of amplitude P moving at a con-
stant speed v, is given by the following infinite series
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLWRACK INTERACTION 24 1
The first part of this expression is the amplitude as a function of the space
variable s. The second and third parts represent periodicity of the response with
sleeper spacing L and frequency of excitationf. It has been shown [112,54], that
for frequencies up to 2000 Hz only 3 Fourier terms (k = -1,O.l) are required to
study vertical excitation of discretely supported railway track. The component k
= 0 represents the response of continuously supported track in a coordinate
system which moves with the load while the components k = - I and k = 1
correspond to a sinusoidal variation sin(2~slL+(p)where (p is the phase lead of
the response relative to a sleeper.
The amplitude of the response at the driving point s=O is
which can be considered as a direct receptance whose value varies not only with
frequency f but also with the position of excitation between sleepers i.e. with vtl
L. 'This is used to calculate the response to a wheelset moving over a sinusoidal
irregularity by combining the track's direct receptance with that of the wheelset.
This technique has been used by Kisilowski et al [65] and by Sibaei [112]. The
response to transient excitation can be found by Fourier transformation of the
irregularity or load. Sibaei also considered the problem of excitation by two
wheelsets in a bogie, which requires enormous computational effort.
For this reason and more generally, it is reasonable to ask when a moving
mass solution is really necessary and when the much simpler moving irregularity
problem is sufficiently accurate. This can be answered in part by reference to
Fig. 20, which shows the receptance as a function of both frequency and speed of
the load for a moving, harmonic load midway between sleepers. The thick line
showing the receptance for v = 0 is identical to that in Fig. 14.
Consider first the case of a static load f=O moving over the track at a steadily
increasing speed. A large amplitude of response, or a type of resonance, is found
at a speed vresof slightly more than 400 d s ; this corresponds to the first resonant
frequency f, = 130 Hz. At about 2000 m/s, which is the propagation speed of
shear waves in a Timoshenko beam, there is a second maximum in the response.
In the speed range of practical interest (up to about 100 d s ) , the moving load
influences the response significantly only around the frequency of the pinned-
pinned resonance. The pinned-pinned-resonance in fact splits into two peaks as
the speed increases, which is similar to the splitting of natural frequencies of
rotating discs due to gyroscopic effects. The increment of frequency between the
two maxima is Af = vL.
242 KI.. KNOTHE AND 5.1. GRASSlIi
I
........... ..
............... . . . . .. '...... . . . . ......
.
..( ..
.. .". .I. .. .;..
. .. .
.
. ..... ..:. ..:. ..............:.
..... . . .:..
.
. . . ... .. .. . . . . . . . .. .. . .. ..........
. . . . < , . .
C
. .
, .
... . . . . ..._.
. . ..
Fig. 20. Venical direct receplancc of a discretely supported rail for a moving load (erci!;nrinn frc-
qucncy f, speed v. load applied midway hctvcen sleepers). from 1541.
It can be concluded from this that the effects of a moving load or moving mncc
are significant only in the frequency range near the pinned-pinned resonance.
which is consistent with the findings of ref. [37]. It har also heen shown [ 3 6 ] that
the variation in load through a sleeper span caused hy the discrete support ic
reduced with more resilient railpads.
A third method of calculating the response of discretely supported track l o a
moving wheelset (represented 3s a rigid body) has heen used hy Grnscic et nl.
[37]. In this the response is assumed to comprise a steady state component whow
amplitude varies symmetrically about the sleeper (which is ecsentially the re-
sponse to a moving irregularity), plus a transient component which varies with

position in the span of track between sleepers. The latter is found by a root-locus
technique.
Over the last 50-60 years the "moving load problem" has attracted much
attention. However, relatively few effects of practical importance are reported
with regard to the dynamic behaviour of a railway vehicle on track. Those exam-
ples which exist pertain to the problem of short wavelength corrugation. It was
demonstrated in ref. [37] that the periodicity of corrugation amplitude at sleeper
pitch which used to be common on British Rail arose because of excitation of the
pinned-pinned resonance by the moving wheelset, while Sibaei [ I 121 has used
the moving irregularity and moving mass models to compare both models with
respect to corrugation initiation.
4.2.3. Moving Loads on Non-Uniformly Supported Truck

In the' continuous and discrete support track models shown in Fig. 10 it is as-
sumed that the track structure is regular, which is typically not the case in prac-
tice. 'There are many examples of irregularities such as voids under the sleepers
and loose or missing fastenings. Grassie and Cox [40] have used a receptance
technique to investigate the problem of track with unsupported sleepers, com-
bined with the root locus technique of ref. [37] to calculate the transient response
to the unsprung mass moving over the poorly supported section. Where an FE
model of the track such as that described in Section 4.3 already exists, this could
be used relatively easily to examine the effects of irregularities in the track
support.
4.2.4. Unresolved Problems of Frequency Domain Solutions

There are three questions regarding frequency domain techniques which are at
best answered only partially.:
I. It is always assumed that a steady state solution exists. Is this indeed true or
does there exist, for some models at least, [147], something like a stability
limit similar to the critical speed for wheelset hunting?
2. All calculations using frequency domain methods tacitly assume that the mod-
el is completely linear. However, there are several non-linearities in the sys-
tem. The most significant of these is probably unloading of the wheeltrail
contact (i.e. "take-off' of the wheel). 'The contact stiffness itself is non-linear,
and other phenomena such as periodic rolling and slipping are inherently non-
linear. Can these non-linearities readily be integrated into the models?
3. In practice there are many irregularities in the structure of railway track, such
as poorly supported sleepers, missing or defective railpads and fastenings,
non-uniform sleeper spacing and the like. Although a start has been made on
studying the influence of such structural irregularities, as discussed in Section
4.2.3, much remains to be done. At least one consequence of irregularities in

the structure is likely to be that the track's "pinned-pinned" resonance (Sec-
tions 4.1.2 and 4.2.2), and corresponding anti-resonance when excited at a
sleeper, which arise from the idealised regularity in present models of dis-
cretely supported track will become less influential, while other areas of high-
ly resonant and anti-resonant activity will be revealed, as is suggested in the
preliminary work of ref. [40]. A finite element model is probably the best way
routinely to investigate these effects.
4.3. Time Domain Techniques

Dynamic loads between the wheel and rail have been calculated using both time-
and frequency-domain approaches. The principal techniques which are used for
the former are modal analysis and time-stepping integration, and sometimes a
combination of the two. Semi-analytical techniques, which are essentially based
on modal analysis, are considered in Section 4.3.1 while techniques which are
entirely numerical are considered in Section 4.3.2.
4.3.1. Semi-Analylical Techniques
At one extreme of these solution techniques is the work of Cai et al [16], who
undertook an exact modal analysis of an infinite Bernoulli beam on rigid rollers.
Although the elegance of this work is undoubtedly appealing it is difficult to see
how it could be generalized for more complex models of the beam and the
supports, let alone for railway track with structural irregularities.
Investigations of vehicleltrack interaction using time-domain solutions which
are of great practical interest have been performed by Clark, Newton et a1 of
British Rail Research [18,81] for a wheel with a wheelflat rolling over a beam on
an elastic foundation and for a wheel rolling over uniformly corrugated rail. This
work was later continued by Tunna [125]. A modal analysis of the system of
vehicle and track was undertaken in which the latter was represented by 20 spans
of rail between discrete supports at rigid sleepers with railpads and ballast. A
nonlinear contact stiffness was used and the response was found by time-step
integration. Damping was included in the model by assuming a constant damping
factor for each mode, which tends to suppress the pinned-pinned anti-resonance
rather more than is suggested by other analyses. British Rail's work is distin-
guished by their concern with correlation of calculation and measurements made
in track.
Modal analysis was also used by Fingberg [28] to investigate wheel-rail squealing
noise. Fingberg took receptances found from Ripke's track model [98-1001, to
which he fitted an appropriate number of modal degrees of freedom:
In this way the track was represented by a set of differential equations which
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLmRACK INTERACTION 245
could be solved, together with nonlinear contact conditions, i n the time domain.
Fingberg considered both the vertical and lateral dynamic behaviour. It may be
possible to use a similar approach to investigate the lateral stability of high
frequency vibrations of a wheel rolling on a rail (Sect. 4.2.4) or nonlinear stick-
slip of wheels running on corrugated rails [59].
Ahlbeck et a1 [2,3,47,76]have also used essentially a time-domain approach
to calculate dynamic loads. They have tended to use simplified mass-spring-
dashpot models of the track in which the parameters have been selected by fitting
calculated data to those measured in order to study particular high or low fre-
quency problems of interest.

A significant disadvantage of semi-analytical methods is that it is relatively
difficult to study structural irregularities such as variations in sleeper spacing
and voids between the sleeper and ballast.
4.3.2. Time-step Integration

Numerical algorithms consisting of finite-element procedures to model the track
structure and time-step integration to calculate the response have been much
used. Modal decomposition and reduction techniques are sometimes used as part
of the solution procedure. Methods of this type have been used not only for the
problem of wheellrail interaction but also for other railway problems involving
the interaction of a vehicle with a structure which exhibits considerable regular-
ity. Examples of this are interaction of the pantograph and catenary e.g. Link and
Nowak [70], and of trains running on bridges e.g. Diana et al [23]. British Rail's
program for the dynamic behaviour of track on discrete sleepers also arose from
earlier work on interaction of the pantograph and catenary. Their earliest work
[56] used a time-domain approach with a track model on continuous supports.
One solution algorithm for the time-domain technique is illustrated in Fig. 21.
An algorithm of this type is used by Link and Nowak [70], Diana et a1 [23] and
Ripke [loo]. Similar algorithms have been used by Clark, Newton et al [18,81],
Nielsen et a1 [20,21,83,84], Olsson [86], Schwab et a1 [I081 and Zhai [133].
Using finite elements the equations of motions of both vehicle and track can be
formulated routinely.
A considerable length of track must be used to reduce the effects of unrealistic
boundary constraints on the moving load. It is advisable to use at 15 sleeper
spans in such a model [84], and preferably 20-30 [18,100]. The effects of lightly
damped wheelset modes have been examined successfully using a "closed ring"
model [loo]. In this the displacements are assumed to be equal at the first and
last nodes (Fig. 21): this can be regarded physically as a vehicle going round and
round the closed ring. Because the contact force within each time step is not
known in advance, an iterative procedure is fequired to find the solution.
Time domain techniques have been used to study the dynamic effects of
vehicles running on rail joints [56], on wheelflats and other irregularities on the
wheel tread [3,47,76,81,125], on corrugated rails [18,84,100] and on randomly
profiled track [21]; the dynamic loads in sleepers [18,22];and the degradation of
KL.KNOTHE AND S.L.GRASSIE
vehicle
w
moving on
-
trnck with irregularities
r-c-formulntion f-c-formolat.ion
o l (.he vehicle
~nodnl
decomposition decomposition
contnct forcr3
(aaaumcd or
calci~lated)
time-atcp iteration
int.egrnf.lon
contact condiLion
fullfillcd ?
st~perpoaition sr~perposition
vehicle solution b a c k solutlon
displacement end dynamic loads of wheelseL and track
Fig. 21. Algorithm for finite-element time domain solution.

RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLIXRACK INTERACTION 247
ballast due to dynamic loads [108]. To date it appears that only vertical dynamic
behaviour has been considered.
Solution of the problem of vehiclettrack interaction has considerable attrac-
tions for systems with non-linear behaviour and with a variety of irregularities.
'This is particularly so if the non-linearities and irregularities are restricted to the
contact point and to one or two sleepers. Structural irregularities such as non-
uniform sleeper spacing, and different support parameters can readily be exam-
ined.
Two examples of the response calculated by a time-domain method are shown
in Figs. 22 and 23. In Fig. 22 the sleeper end displacement is shown for a vehicle
running over a uniformly corrugated rail. The response comprises a quasi-static
component and a superimposed high-frequency component. The vehicle speed in
this case was chosen so that the first flexural resonance of the sleeper was excit-
ed. In Fig. 23 the nonlinear, quasi-steady-state vibration is shown for a wheelset
running on track with corrugations of 0.025mm depth peak-to-peak. The speed
has been chosen so that the frequency of excitation is close to that of the pinned-
pinned anti resonance (Sections 4.1.2 and 4.2.2). On the run over and just beyond
the sleeper, the variations in normal force are extremely high, and there would be
loss of wheeltrail contact for irregularities of a modest amplitude: for the 0.025mm
Time (s)
1 S O LWheel velocity 12.0 m/s
Fig. 22. Calculated sleeper end displacement for a wheelset running on corrugated rails (from [ I 81)
corrugation wavelength = 6 0 mm, corrugation amplitude = 0.115 mm, v = 12 mls).
m, = 56.3 kgm-' El, = 4.86 MNmZ Els = 3.75 M N ~ ~
k = 250 MNm" 1 = 0.63 m M, = 292.6 kg
k: = 46.6 MNm-' I, = 1.25 m
I linear confact mechanics (
time [ s ]
Fig. 23. Calculated wheellrail contact force through two sleeper spans; corrugation wavelength = 33
mm, depth = 0.025 mm, v = 40 mls (from [IOO]).
RAILWAY T R A C K A N D VEHICLWTRACK INTERACTION 249
T a b l e 2. S u r v e y o f frequency-domain solutions.
--- -
Fll.E&UENCY-DOMAIN SOLU'I'IONS
- ----
C a l r : t t l n t , i o ~ iof R.ec:cl)t,iuic:cs Al)l)li(:atioli of R(:~rl)t.n.~i(:cs ~ I O V ~ LI oI a~d p r o l ~ l c r r i s
(Fig. 4.2) ( F i g s . 4.6, 4.7) (Fig. 4.8)
-
rontint~ot~sl!~
.~t~pportcd
rails cnlrulalion nJ dyttnn~ic1ond.q c n n l i n a o ~ c .s~tl~~p~p o r f drnils
(111r.or.rlicnl)
among ol.l~rra:
T i n ~ o s l ~ c n k[122],
o In26 F r y l ~ a(31, a?], 1960 IT. l lnvry [XI], 1 !l:l:I
116t.cny (511, I946 Al1ll)crkc.a.(2,3,47,76],t969IT. I)nrr['LR,24],I9~1RR.
Sa1.o [104], 1977 (:raysic 137, 39, 10, 41, 43, 441, K ~ . t ~ n c1611,
y 195.1 IT.
G r ~ s s i e(35, 37, 391, I980 IT. 1!182 IT. hlalhcwa 1751, I!l59 1.
Taqaily [ I 171, 1988 Acl~r:nlach [ I ] , I965
rollit~gnoi.sr Ksrr 1621, 1972
dirrrrlcly .sapported rnib Fryha (321, 1!172
(theory) l o t ~[7,93-96],l974 IT. . 'Ibrlty [124]. 1975
I f c ~ r ~ i t ~ gc.a.
Ilogacz el. al. [ I 1, 121, 1983 R.
l11glis[55], 1938 Salo (1041, 1977
Ml~njalnnrl Ilcckl [80], 1982 'rassily [I 161, 1989 disrr.cle-rotrtiesos.qly st~ppnrtcd
(:rnnaic c.a. [37], 1982 'I'l~ornpson [ I 18, 1191, 1989 IT. rnib (thcnrcticnl)
Nielaen 1821, 1990
IUpkc 1981, 1991 m i l conugnliond klcacl 177, 781, 1970 R.
Norrlborg 1851, 1992 S~nit,h,Wormley [ I 131, 1975
Mair [74]. 1977 Kr~yzy113kic.a. [IR], 1989
hal/-;epacc (fhent.y) Crasaic e.a. (37, 111 1982, 1989 .Irzcrl~~nl1571. 1981
Frc.(lerick [:IO], I986 Kisilowski e.a. [65], 1988
Riicker el. al. [101, 1021, I982 IT. Valrlivia 1126, 1271, 1987 1. Sihaci 11121, I992
Knothe r.a. (!ill, 66, 671, I990 IT. Iliaa 1541, I992
validation nJ lhcory Tnssily (1171, 1991
stnbility problctr~.q(fhcnrcticnl)
Crassie (35, 37, 391, 1980 IT. gtasnd-borne vibraliona
Ripkc [99], I992 Fryha 1321, 1972
RCC also Table A2 A~tcrsch[5], I990 Ilogacz e.a. 110, 111, 1981 R.
Rilckcr c.a. [101,102], I982 IT. I I r o ~ n t n ~ ~ 1141,
n d t lg9l
npplicalion3
Snlill~,Wortnlcy [ I I R ] , 1975
Grassie e.a. 1x7, 39, 401 1982,
1984, 1985
Sihaei [112], 1992
corrugation assumed the peak contact force is a factor of 2.8 times the quasi-
static force. This type of finite-element, time-domain solution takes a long time
on present computers. Their imminent use for parametric and optimization stud-
ies is accordingly unlikely.
4.4. Historical Survey

Implementation of the different solution technique's has been discussed in Sec-
tions 4.1-4.3. The historical development of work in the field may most appropri-
ately be shown by tabulation of the references in chronological order, as is done
Table 3. Survey of tinx-domain solutions.
TIME-DOMAIN SOLUTIONS
S(:~~~i-A~iaIyl.i(:d
So111t,io11s Fi~lit~c-Ele~llcnt
Str11ct~11ra.lAnalysis and
'I'itnc-St,el) I~itegrat~ion
(Fig. 4.10)
t ~ ~ o d niralyrir
nl o j ir$ttile panlogtnph/cnlctra,y
pcriodic ~lrarltirr.9
Link ['lo], I986
( h i , Chel~rtg,(:I~nn[lfi], 1908
uchicles on bridgcs
rcrrplntlrc-bnard
little-doinnin solutions I)iana 12.71, 1988
Fryha 13.11, 1992
Fingherg 1281, 1990
itark .sltuctirrcd
(it~cltrdirlgapplications)
Jcnkins a.n. 1561, 1974

Clark, Nnwtor~c.a. 118, 811, 1979 fT.
OIs~on[86], 1985
Schwah c.a. 11081, 1989
Niclscr~o.a. 120, 21, 83, 841, 1991 C.
Xhai (1331, 1992
Ripke [1U(Ij, 1993
for frequency-domain solutions (Sections 4.1 and 4.2) in Table 2, and for timl-
domain solutions (Section 4.3) in Table 3. Two things are apparent from this
tabulation:
1. Until about 20 years ago work in this field was almost entirely theoretical. The
need for satisfactory models of wheeltrail interaction at high frequencieshas
grown in parallel with a recognition of the importance of high frequency
dynamic loads to noise, corrugation formation and other types of damage to
the vehicle and track.
2. Whereas there is a long history of frequency-domain solutions, time-domain

solutions have also become common only in the last 20 years. This has arisen
largely because of the availability of sufficient computational power, and has
been stimulated only recently by the need to analyse problems (such as those
of irregular track structure and non-linearities) for which frequency-domain
solutions are inappropriate.
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLEYlTUCK INTERACTION 25 1
5. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE USE OF TRACK MODELS AND

SOLUTION TECHNIQUES
The most sophisticated track and vehicle model which could be constructed from
the components discussed here would be the following:
I. a vehicle comprising a body, bogies, primary and secondary suspension, and
an elastic wheelset;
2. wheel/rail contact for which the full non-linear, non-steady-state analysis had
to be undertaken both normally and tangentially;
3. a rail modelled as an infinite, discretely-supported combination of individual
plates or beams representing the head, web and foot, with shear deformation
and rotatory inertia included;
4. railpads modelled as a spring in series with a spring and dashpot in parallel;
5. sleepers represented as 3 dimensional bodies with varying cross sectional
dimensions;
6. ballast represented as a layer with mass and with elements of stiffness and
damping between the massive layer, the sleepers and the substrate;
7. a substrate represented as a 3 dimensional half space;
8. irregularities in the track support, both from spacing of the sleepers and from
there being voids under the sleepers and missing railpads .
Excitation would arise from a non-sinusoidal irregularity between wheel and
rail; creep would be sufficiently high for there to be stick-slip or roll-slip phe-
nomena; and it would be necessary to calculate not only the load between wheel
and rail, but also noise, wear of wheel and rail, loads in components of the track,
ground-borne vibration and rates of deterioration of the railpads and ballast.
Many problems which arise from the dynamic interaction of vehicle and track
at high frequencies are now well understood and have been successfully treated.
It is accordingly clear that a model of this sophistication is not required in
practice, nor would it be possible with present computational power satisfactori-
ly to examine its behaviour. The components which are in fact necessary in a
mathematical model are discussed here by referring to what is required in order
satisfactorily to examine the problems discussed in Section 2.
A general recommendation is that models and solution techniques do not need
to be more sophisticated than is necessary to represent the major behaviour of
interest. Accordingly for those problems which involve deterioration of the track
or components of the vehicle due to vertical dynamic loads, it should be suffi-
cient to represent the vehicle as a single unsprung mass and the track as an
infinite beam on a continuous support. Particular components need to be mod-
elled in greater detail depending on the problem e.g. a vehicle model with at least
two rigid bodies and the primary suspension would be required to study loads on
wheel bearings, and a track model with flexible sleepers would be required to
study damage to sleepers. In principle, none of this presents any difficulty and
only slight modifications at most would be required to existing vehicle and track
models.
252 KL.KNOTHE AND S.L. GRASSIE
To predict noise satisfactorily it has been demonstrated both that a model of

the rail as a simple beam is inadequate and that the resonant behaviour of the
wheelset must be satisfactorily modelled. Finite element models of the wheelset
and of the rail are convenient for this purpose. To model rolling noise it is
sufficient to model vertical forces and to represent the contact as an elastic
spring. However, to represent impact noise it would be necessary to include the
non-linearity of unloa23 of the wheeltrail contact. To model wheel squeal, both
normal and tangential forces must be considered, and a model of non-steady state
tangential contact mechanics is required. For rolling noise a frequency-domain
solution appears to be possible; for both squeal and impact noise it may be
necessary to solve the problem in the time domain.

For predictions of ground-borne vibration it is necessary to represent both the
discrete nature of the track support and more than a single wheelset as the perio-
dicity of both gives rise to the transmission of vibration at characteristic frequen-
cies through the ground. However, it should be unnecessary (but may be conven-
ient) to model the vehicle's dynamic behaviour as this is significant at frequen-
cies lower than that of interest for ground-borne vibration. Because attenuation
of vibration by the ground is greater the shorter the wavelength and higher the
frequency, it is more important that the lower frequency behaviour is modelled
satisfactorily. It should accordingly be unnecessary to include the resilience of
railpads in a model, but may be important to include the resilience of the sleeper
support e.g. to compare the effects of different types of non-ballasted trackforms.
It is satisfactory to represent only a finite length of track as the travelling wave
behaviour in the rail is not yet significant. Frequency-domain solutions are also
possible.
To examine the effects of parameter variations it is desirable to use a model
which is simple and computationally fast. A model of track with a continuous
support is ideal for this purpose. On the other hand, where there are irregularities
in the track structure, such as uneven sleeper spacing and the absence of railpads
or ballast, these are most conveniently considered using a finite element model.
In this case it is necessary to undertake solutions in the time domain.
Time-domain solutions also appear to be necessary where there are signifi-
cant non-linearities such as unloading of the wheeltrail contact and stick-slip.
A major issue which is not yet resolved is when in general it is necessary to
model the rail support as discrete rather than continuous. Apart from the unusual
case of ground-borne vibration, in which parametric excitation at the relatively
low sleeper-passing and axle-pasing frequencies is important, the principal prob-
lem for which the need for a discrete support has to date been demonstrated is in
modelling the development of short wavelength corrugation by a mechanism
involving excitation of the pinned-pinned resonance. An associated question
which is not yet resolved is when it is satisfactory to represent the excitation as
arising from an irregularity moving between a stationary wheel and the rail
rather than from the wheel itself moving along the track. Because these questions
are as yet unresolved, in many circumstances it would be prudent to use the most
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLWTRACK INTERACTION 253
general model as possible of the track support and of the excitation, which leads
to the adoption of a general purpose finite element model of the vehicleltrack
system, and a solution technique in the time domain.
Although there has to date been little consideration of the detailed behaviour
of the railpad and ballast, it would be surprising if existing models did not give
reasonable estimates of deflections of these components in view of their success
in predicting sleeper movement. At present, however, there are not models for
the behaviour of the components themselves.
To study structure-borne noise, such as that from viaducts, existing models of
track and vehicles should be adequate. Good mathematical models of the vibrat-
ing structure itself are necessary. In many cases, particularly with highly reso-
nant structures, periodicity of both the track support and of the viaduct itself
should be included in a model.
6. CONCLUSIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
It is now well understood how rails, concrete sleepers and wheelsets can be
modelled dynamically at "high" frequencies, with more sophisticated models
being necessary the higher the frequency. To predict noise it is particularly
important to represent the detailed cross-sectional deformation of the rail satis-
factorily.
The dynamic behaviour of the vehicle is well understood at frequencies of a
few Hertz, and the wheelset can be modelled well for frequencies up to several
thousand Hertz. However, in the frequency range up to about lOOHz relatively
little work has appeared on the dynamic behaviour of the wheelset in the bogie.
Development and validation of such a model should not be difficult.
Considerable success has been obtained in using simple, lumped parameter
models of railpads and ballast as damped elastic springs, and several values of
these parameters have been found from a variety of experiments in track and in
the laboratory. However, relatively few sets of parameters have been found from
experiments with test trains, and no comparison has yet been reported of param-
eter values found with a test train and those found using the much simpler
technique of exciting the rail with an impact from a hammer. It is accordingly
unsurprising that no models are available either to predict the stiffness and damping
values of railpads and of ballast let alone predict how these components deterio-
rate in service. It will become increasingly attractive to have the ability to make
such predictions in order both reliably to plan maintenance (see, for example,
Hehenberger [48])and also to account satisfactorily for the damage caused by
different vehicles on railway systems carrying freight internationally, as in Eu-
rope, or from one private railway system to another, as in North America. The
development of such models presents a formidable challenge.
The principal unresolved questions regarding modelling of the dynamic be-
haviour of vehicle and track at high frequencies are correspondingly concerned
with modelling of the behaviour of the railpads and ballast. There is, for exam-
ple, the question of whether it is necessary to associate some mass with the
ballast. This can really be resolved only by further experiments in track, prefera-
bly using test trains. It would be desirable to develop models from which values
for the stiffness, damping and possibly also mass of these components could be
predicted. Modelling of the long term behaviour of railpads and ballast would
also be desirable in order, for example, to predict where and when maintenance
is required. The increasing pressure to account for maintenance costs may assist
the development of such models.
An important question which can be examined using existing models is how

sensitive the behaviour of vehicle and track is to sophistications of modelling
and physical non-uniformities. In practice no railway, except perhaps a new non-
ballasted track in pristine condition, has a support which is as uniform as is
assumed even in the most sophisticated of present track models. How significant
are the effects of slightly different supports at different sleepers, or of different
sleeper spacings? For what purposes is it necessary to model the track support as
discrete rather than continuous and the excitation as arising from the wheelset
moving over the track? If the support can indeed be regarded as continuous,
substantial simplifications are possible in modelling the track itself and in the
solution procedure.
No validated analysis has appeared in the literature of structure-borne vibra-
tion and noise of railway viaducts. This should be a fruitful area for research in
view of its particular importance for railways in built-up areas.
The goal of this research must be to develop models of the vehicle and of the
track, and to adopt solution procedures which are appropriate to the problem of
interest and as simple to use as is reasonably possible. It is also essential, follow-
ing the advice which Schwedler gave a century ago, to ensure that the models
which are developed are tested satisfactorily by comparison of the predicted
behaviour with that observed.
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Dipl.-Math. M. Gotz for his invaluable assistance in producing the paper.
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Table A l . Ballast and railpad parameters: measurements with test train (All data are for hallasled
track with concrete sleepers unless staled otherwise, and are for a single railseat).
I)alla.st, railpacln
a11t.11ora rc:lt:rc:l~cc. st.ilTllc*sn r l a t ~ ~ ~ R~.~ITIIPPR
~ i ~ ~ g dalr~pir~gllol,cn
(MN/III) ( ~ N S / I I I )( b l N / ~ ~ (kNs/111)
~)
Grastlie, Cox (391 50 5I 250 26 I

Newl.011,(:lark (811 31.6 21 .R 200 1
Clark c.a. (181 46.6 250 1
Jettkir~se.8. (561 64.6 40.8
Crwsic 4 35 35 70 7 2
<:ramie [43,44] 35 35 850 70 8
Not.cs
I 51111111,llirk railpa.cls
2 10111tn bl~ickrailpads
3 I1I)I'E railpatls
4 1inll)cr sleepers
APPENDIX A: PAD AND BALLAST PARAMETERS
In any dynamic model of the vehicle and the track it is necessary to assume
values of the parameters which describe the different components. For most
purposes the rail, the wheelset and the sleepers behave similarly to other engi-
neering structures made from materials which are assumed to be homogeneous
and isotropic. However, there are not yet satisfactory models which can be used
to predict the behaviour of the railpads and ballast, which are usually represented
simply as lumped parameter models with stiffness and damping. Values for these
parameters are at present found primarily from experiments in track.
A variety of experiments have been used for this purpose, as discussed in ref
[45]. They are basically of two types: those which are undertaken with a test
train, and those in which the track is excited with an impact hammer or a vibra-
tor, which is usually electromagnetic in order to obtain the frequencies of inter-
est. For both types of test the parameters are usually found by fitting a calculated
RAILWAY TRACK AND VEHICLWIRACK INTERACTION 26 1
Table A2. Ballast and railpad parameters: measurements on unloaded or preloaded tracks and labo-
ratory measurements. (All data are for ballasted track with concrete sleepers unless stated
otherwise, and are for a single railset).
Notes
1 Imm thlck railpads 5mm thick railpads, preloaded track (SBB)
2 lorn* thick rnilpada 5mm thick railpada, preloaded track (DB)
3 timber sleepers 9mm rubber pad (SNCF),laboratory measurernenta
4 frorm ballast Smm rollpad (DB), laboratory meaaurementa
5 post-tamping lhnm rallpad (DB), laborstory meaaurcmente
6 ~n-tmph cork-rubber railpad (NS), laboratory m e ~ u r e m c n t s
7 light rail; preloaded rubber pad 180~140x10mm, laboratory meaaurernents
8 sleepers with rmilient calculated with dynamic half-space theory from rnessu-
on concrete slab red shear-wave propagation speed (ssndy mil)
transfer function of some type to measured data. An example of this curve-fitting

for the response of the track alone is shown in Fig. 16, while ref [39] contains
several examples in which a calculated response of the vehicleltrack system is
fitted to excellent data obtained by British Rail Research in an experiment in
which a uniform sinusoidal irregularity (an "ideal" corrugation) was ground into
both rails.
Values of ballast and railpad stiffness and damping found from experiments
with test trains have been taken from ref. [45] and are shown in Table Al. These
values are expressed for a single railseat. Values reported for unit length of track
have been converted by assuming a sleeper spacing of 0.7 m.
All available data for ballast and railpad stiffnesses and damping found from
experiments with an instrumented hammer or vibrator are listed in Table A2.
Most of the values are again taken from ref [45]. The results of a few laboratory
tests have been added for completeness. The stiffness and damping data for
ballast and substrate which have been obtained from correlation of dynamic half-
space calculations and measurements of wave propagation speed are also given.

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On: 25 November 2012, At: 04:36

Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of

Modelling of Railway Track and Vehicle/Track

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Modelling of Railway Track and Vehiclenrack Interaction

KL. KNOTHE' and S.L. GRASSIE~

1. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Fig. 1 . V c h ~ c l cand track

From 1926 onward?. starting wirh Timohcnkn's pnpcr in which he examined

2. PROBLEMS OF VEHICLEITRACK INTERACTION

2.1. Problems of Vehicle Dynamics

Table 1. Problems of vehicleltrack interaction.

(I,) fat.igl~cof axlcs, hrnke grar c1.c.

Irr~.g~rIar ~IIIIII~II~ slrrla<.csof w l ~ r ca11(1 l rail

( f ) clil>l,r(lw r l ( l ~arid ,ioir~l.s

2.3. Deterioration of the Running Surfaces of Wheel and Rail

2.3.1. Wheel Problems

intrinsically a problem of high frequency interaction, but (as with wheelflats) it

2.3.2. Rail Problems

2.4. Deterioration of track components

2.6. Frequency Limits of Interest

3. MODELS OF TRACK AND VEHICLEITRACK INTERACTION

3.1. Survey of Problems of Modelling Track and VehicleITrack Interaction

1. the vehicle, including the car body, bogie and wheelset;

Fig. 2. Components of the vehicleltrack system.

3.2. Physical Track Components

er the more robust railhead and foot.

3.2.2. Models of the Rail Fastening System

1al.eral bending mode ( A )

wibvelength : 1.05 ITI

ft.eqltency: 1.1 kHz

l i n t I.orsiona1 mode (C)

- ---- max. error

complex plate model

2 Shoulders. 2 Rail Clips.

model is yet available to design a railpad of prescribed stiffness and damping.

3.2.3. Sleeper Models

lirnl scconrl I.ltird fourth fiflh

n~cnsctrrd 1.10 395 705 1212 1695

cnlc~llnt.cd 140.1 090.1 759.7 1208 1719

Fig. 7. Measured and calculated natural frequencies o f a B58-sleeper (Deutsche Bundesbahn).

flexural resonant frequency of a freely supported sleeper, the first 5 calculated

3.2.4. Sleeper Support by Ballast and Substrate

• tlisc:rt:t.a s l c c l ~ c ~s t. ~ l > p o t ' l . 4 d i s c r c t e s l c c p c r sctpport

Fig. 8. Sleeper support models (discrete support).

are considered together as an elastic or visco-elastic half-space. For a single

3.3. Modelling of the Track System

3.3.2. Finite and Infinite Track Structures

3.4. Excitation Modelling

~(LI - re r(rl - re- ~-

Fig. 10. Excitation modelling.

the dynamic response of a wheelset on discretely supported track relatively eas-

3.5. Contact Modelling

Fig. 1 1 . Contact modelling.

accurate [110]. Special modifications are necessary to study roll-slip phenomena

4. SOLUTION TECHNIQUES AND HISTORICAL SURVEY

with continuous and discrete supports respectively. Receptance methods in par-

4.1. Frequency-Domain Techniques for a Stationary Point Load

The vertical direct receptance of track laid on concrete