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The Analysis of Degradation Mechanism in Track Transition Zones using 3D

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Conference Paper · April 2014

DOI: 10.4203/ccp.104.227

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 Civil-Comp Press, 2014
Proceedings of the Second International Conference on
Paper 227 Railway Technology: Research, Development and
Maintenance, J. Pombo, (Editor),
Civil-Comp Press, Stirlingshire, Scotland.

The Analysis of Degradation Mechanism in Track

Transition Zones using 3D Finite Element Model
H. Wang1, V.L. Markine1 and I. Shevtsov2
1
Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
2
ProRail, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Abstract

Transition zones in railway tracks are locations with discontinuity in the vertical
support, such as the ones at bridges, culverts and tunnels. In such locations, the
vertical support of structures is varying, which causes discontinuity of stiffness,
different settlement paces and different velocity of wave propagation. These changes
will cause geometry difference in the transition zone, and consequentially increase
of the dynamic forces. This can result in damages, especially in the ballast as this is
one of the most vulnerable components of track structure.

To solve the problems of railway transition zones, the dynamic behaviour of the
ballast in the transition zones and the mechanism of track transition degradation
should be analysed. Therefore, a series of measurements were performed in a
transition area in the Netherlands and a 3D finite element model was developed. The
model consists of one section of ballast track and one section of slab track that is
stiffer in the vertical direction. The model uses solid elements with an exception of
fasteners and rails that are modelled by spring and beam elements respectively. The
vehicle is composed by one body, two bogies and four wheels; connected by
suspensions, which are simulated by spring elements. To get better understanding of
the different phenomena in transition zones, simulations have been performed in
different directions, namely, from the ballast track to the slab track and from the slab
track to the ballast track.

The contact forces of wheel/rail interaction, ballast equivalent stresses and

vertical displacements of ballast are analysed and the results are presented and
discussed.

Keywords: railway track, ballast, track transition zone, video gauge system tests,
finite element methods.

1
1 Introduction
Transition zones in railway tracks are locations with discontinuities in the vertical
supports, such as natural ground connected with bridges, culverts and tunnels. In
such a transition zone, the vertical support structure is varying, which causes
different material property, the discontinuity of vertical stiffness, the different
settlement pace and different velocity of wave propagation. A large number of
transition zones exist in railway networks. When shortage of maintenance, it may
lead to ballast damage, hanging sleepers with an accelerated rate of deterioration [2].
At the same time, this will cause wear and tear of vehicle components, as well as
decreased ride quality for sensitive freight and passengers [1], and increase the
possibility of derailment. Also, extra maintenance would be taken to such areas to
preserve acceptable track geometry. Reports show that intervention frequencies at
transitions are up to 2 to 4 times higher than free track in the Netherlands [3].

Figure 1 (a) Figure 1 (b)

Figure 1: The track transition zone

A number of research papers on transition have been published. Four major

causes of transition discussed here are: (a) discontinuity of track stiffness; (b)
differential settlement; (c) geotechnical issues, such as poor materials, inadequate
compaction and consolidation of the fill and embankment, and poor drainage
conditions [1]; (d) the reflection and superposition of waves. Besides, some
improper transition methods may exacerbate the differential stiffness between free
track and stiff structure [3]. In [7] the train-track interaction in transition zones are
analysed numerically. [4] studies the effects of different track design modifications.
The research results are mainly about the solutions to mitigate the rate of the
stiffness variation, which make the vertical stiffness of transition zones changing
gradually. However, the variation the vertical stiffness cannot be eliminated. To
understand the dynamic behaviour of the ballast in the transition zones and the
mechanism of track transition degradation, a series of field measurements and
numerical studies are performed.

2
2 Field measurements
To get better understanding of transition zone dynamic behaviour, several field
measurements using Video Gauge System were performed in the Netherlands.
Video Gauge system shown in Figure 2 uses pattern recognition and sub-pixel
interpolation to measure the exact displacements of selected points in a recorded
video. Targets are tracked in real time, outputting measurements frame-by-frame.
This technology allows for non-contact multi-point measurements of strain, rotation
and displacement. A resolution better than 1/200,000 of the visible area is
achievable.

Figure 2: Video Gauge System

During the field measurement, two cameras were utilized to measure the sleeper
displacements and rail displacements simultaneously during train passages. The
cameras were located at the right side of the track and in the front of the bridge,
which shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Video Gauge System in field measurement

3
 The interface between the normal ballast track and the bridge is set as a zero
point. Distances between sleepers and the zero point are indicated in Figure 4.
Camera 1 was focused on the image from 0.6m to 1.8m, as shown as the right blue
dotted box in Figurer 4, to measure the vertical displacements of the three sleepers at
0.6m, 1.2m and 1.8m and the vertical displacements of the rails above these
sleepers. Camera 2 was focused on the image from 4.8m to 6.0m to the bridge (the
zero point) to measure the vertical displacements of the rails and sleepers on 4.8 m,
5.4m and 6.0m which is shown as the left blue dotted box in Figure 4. The trains
were the passenger trains that move from the ballast track to the bridge. The
detailed locations of cameras and measurements are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: The measurement introduction

The vertical displacements of rails that located at 0.6m, 1.8m and 5.4m to the
bridge during train passage were collected and are shown in Figure 5.
0.6m
-2 1.8m
5.4m

0
rail displacement (mm)

10 15 20
time (s)

Figure 5: The vertical displacements of rail

From Figure 5, it shows that there are 14 peaks of all the curves, which are
excited by 14 wheel sets. At the time of 11s, the vehicle approaches to the measured
area, and at 19s, the vehicle leaves the measurement area. The peak values excited
by wheel sets are listed in Table 1.

4
 Distance to the bridge (m) 0.6 1.8 5.4
1st axle 4.1 4.2 2.3
2nd axle 4.6 8.6 1.8
3rd axle 4.2 3.4 1.7
4th axle 4.0 3.9 1.6
5th axle 6.7 9.2 1.5
6th axle 7.0 3.6 1.5
7th axle 7.2 4.1 1.8
the peaks of
8th axle 6.1 4.4 1.8
rail displacements
9th axle 4.0 3.5 1.8
(mm)
10th axle 6.6 4.2 1.4
11th axle 3.9 3.0 1.5
12th axle 6.6 4.1 1.8
13th axle 4.1 2.9 1.4
14th axle 4.0 3.5 1.6
Average value 5.24 4.47 1.67
Standard deviation 1.36 1.94 0.23
Table 1 Measured vertical rail displacements

From the comparison of the three averages of rail vertical displacements in

different locations, it can be observed that the rail closer to the bridge experience
more movement than the rail farther away. The average displacement of the rail at
0.6m is 3 times bigger than the average of the rail at 5.4m. It could also be seen that
there is an upward movement of more than 1mm of the rail displacement at 0.6m,
which demonstrates the wave propagation effect. Because the waves reflect by the
stiffer support and superpose at the interface of the transition zone, the
displacements rails at interface are bigger than other places. On the slab part, the
propagated energy will result in increase of the forces in fasteners since the rails are
constrained to move upwards freely. The maximum displacements of rail at 1.8m are
bigger than the displacement of rail at 0.6m for some wheels. The reason probably is
the existence of hanging sleeper where the loose ballast provides less support
stiffness to sleepers than usual. The vertical displacements of sleepers located at
0.6m, 1.2m, 1.8m, 4.8m, 5.4m and 6.0m to the bridge during the train passage were
collected and are shown in Figure 6.
0.6m
1.2m 4.8m
1.8m 5.4m
6.0m
0 0
Sleeper displacement (mm)

Sleeper displacement (mm)

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4
12 14 16 18 12 14 16 18
time (s) time (s)

Figure 6: The vertical displacements of sleepers

5
 The averages of peak values of sleepers’ vertical displacements are listed in the
Table 2.
Distance to the bridge (m) 0.6 1.2 1.8 4.8 5.4 6.0
1st axle 2.4 2.5 3.4 2.3 1.4 2.4
nd
2 axle 2.4 2.7 3.8 2.1 1.3 2.4
3rd axle 2.5 2.5 3.4 2.0 1.1 2.5
4th axle 2.4 2.4 3.4 2.0 1.1 2.4
5th axle 2.6 2.5 3.5 1.9 1.2 2.6
th
6 axle 2.3 2.3 3.2 2.0 1.2 2.3
th
7 axle 2.5 2.7 3.7 2.2 1.4 2.5
The peaks of sleeper 8th axle 2.5 2.9 4.0 2.2 1.5 2.5
th
displacements (mm) 9 axle 2.4 2.5 3.7 2.4 1.5 2.4
10th axle 2.2 2.6 3.5 1.9 1.2 2.2
11th axle 2.4 2.3 3.4 2.0 1.2 2.4
12th axle 2.3 2.6 3.5 2.0 1.3 2.3
th
13 axle 2.6 2.2 3.5 2.0 1.2 2.6
th
14 axle 2.2 2.3 3.4 1.9 1.1 2.2
Average value 2.41 2.51 3.54 2.07 1.25 2.41
Standard deviation 0.14 0.18 0.20 0.14 0.15 0.14
Table 2 the maximum sleeper vertical displacement of each wheelsets and averages

From the comparison of the averages values of the sleeper displacements in

different location, it can be seen that the averages values of 0.6m, 1.2m and 1.8m are
bigger than the average values of 4.8m, 5.4m and 6.0m, which means the sleepers
close to the bridge have bigger vertical displacement than the sleepers far from the
bridge. However, displacement of sleeper at 1.8m is bigger than the sleeper at 0.6
m. The reason is also because of the hanging sleeper.

In conclusion, The Video Gauge System is capable to monitor the track

conditions. The displacements of rails and sleepers near the interface of transition
are much bigger than the rails and sleepers, which are farther from the interface.

3 Numerical simulation

To study the behaviour of transition zone, a 3D finite element model of transition

zone was developed, as shown in Figure 7. In the model, the transition is modelled
by one section of ballast track and one section of slab traction, which represent
structures of low vertical stiffness and high vertical stiffness, respectively. To fully
understand the dynamic characteristic of transition zones, the model includes the
vehicle, which is composed by 1 body, 2 bogies and 4 wheels. The total length of
the transition model is 96m, including a 48-meter ballast track structure and a 48-
meter slab track structure. The length of vehicle is 19m, located at one end of the
track. During the dynamic simulation, the gravity is applied to the model at the
beginning of the simulation. The model takes 2s to reach the equilibrium state. Then,

6
the vehicle starts to move from one end of transition to the other, with a constant
velocity and the moving distance is 77m. In this simulation, the velocity of the
vehicle is 300km/h (83.3m/s). From 0s to 2s the model reaches equilibrium state and
from 2s to 2.9s the vehicle moves from one end to the other. The simulation
completes at 2.9s.

The ballast track is 48m and composed by two rails, fasteners, sleepers, ballast
and soil, which is shown in Figure 7 (b). The space between two sleepers is 0.6m.
The thickness of ballast is 0.3m and the thickness of soil is 2m. The width of ballast
is 3.6m.The width of soil is 7.2m. Because the study focus only on the vertical
direction and the longitudinal direction of the subgrade structure, the slope of ballast
and soil is not concerned. Also for the same reason, rails are simulated by beam
elements, which can reduce the calculation time dramatically. Sleepers are simulated
by solid element and simplified into a cuboid. Ballast is simulated by solid elements
as well as subgrade. Springs are used to contact rails and sleepers, which simulates
fasteners and railpads. The contact between sleeper, ballast and subgrade is GLUE,
which means they share the same nodes and areas at interfaces.

(b)
(a)

(c) (d)
Figure 7: The track transition zone model

The slab track is 48m and composed by two rails, fasteners, slab, mortar layer,
concert support and soil, which is shown in Figure 7 (c). The space between two
fasteners is 0.6m. The thickness of slab is 0.19m, the thickness of mortar layer is

7
0.05m, the thickness of support layer is 0.3m and the thickness of soil is 2m. The
width of slab, mortar layer and support layer is 2.4m. The width of soil is the same
as ballast track. For the same reason, the slope soil is not concerned and rails and
fasteners are simulated by beam elements and spring elements respectively. Slab is
divided into 3 layers. The upper layer is concrete slab, the middle layer is mortar
layer and the third layer is support layer. All the three layers are simulated by solid
element with rectangular section. The subgrade is also simulated by solid element.
Concrete slab, mortar layer, support layer and subgrade are connected in the same
way as ballast track.

The vehicle is shown in Figure 7 (d). All the 7 parts are modelled as rigid bodies.
The first suspension and the second suspension are simulated by springs. The
detailed parameters are shown in Table 3.

Component Value
Section UIC 60
Rail Density(kg/m3) 7830
Elastic Modulus (Pa) 2.1E11
Passion’s ratio 0.3
Horizontal (N/m) 1E4
Fastener Vertical (N/m) 5E4
Longitudinal (N/m) 1E4
Axial load (t)  14 
Component Elastic Modulus (Pa) Passion’s ratio
Sleeper 3.65E10 0.167
Ballast 1.2E8 0.25
Concrete slab 3.5E10 0.167
Mortar layer 2E8 0.167
Support layer 3.3E8 0.25
Subgrade 1.8E8 0.25
Table 3: Parameters of track model

4 Model validation
To validate the model, a series of measurements using Video Gauge System and
ESAH-M system were performed on a ballast track. And a section of the ballast
track of the transition model was used to run the numerical simulation. The
displacements collected by Video Gauge System and by numerical simulations were
compared. The accelerations collected by ESAH-M system and by numerical
simulation were compared to test the capability of the finite element model. The
ESAH-M system is introduced in [8]. The vertical displacements and accelerations
of rail in time domain are compared in Figure 8.

8
 measurment measurment
simulation simualtion

-1.0

Rail vertical acceleration (mm/s )

Rail vertical Displacement (mm)

40

2
-0.5 20

0
0.0

-20

0.5
-40

1.0
-60

1 2 3 2.0 2.5 3.0

time (s) time (s)

(a) (b)
Figure 8: (a) Rail vertical displacement comparison; (b) Rail vertical acceleration
comparison.

The comparison shows that the peaks of rail vertical displacements of simulation
are 0.96mm, 1.07mm, 0.94mm and 1.06mm. In addition, the peaks of measurement
results are ranged from 0.55mm to 1.11mm, which concludes the peaks of
simulation. However, acceleration is too noisy to collect every peak, we could only
get the peaks of simulation range from 40m/s2 to 53.4m/ s2, and peaks of
measurement results range from 40m/ s2 to 70m/ s2, which also concludes the range
of simulation results. Therefore, the 3D finite element model is capable to study the
dynamic behaviours of the track structure.

5 Analysis of transition dynamic behaviour

The dynamic behaviour of transition zones is different for two moving directions of
the vehicle, which are from low stiffness structures to high stiffness structures and
from high stiffness structures to low stiffness structures, shown in Figure 9.

(a) (b)
Figure 9: The moving directions of train (a) from high stiffness structure to low
stiffness structure; (b) from low stiffness structure to high stiffness
structure.

When trains move from the high stiffness structures to the low stiffness
structures, the problem comes from two sources: one is the discontinuity of vertical
stiffness and the other one is the differential settlement. The differential settlement is
the results of the material property of ballast and subgrades are different from

9
concrete structure, which will not be considered in this paper. The geometry of the
transition is assumed to be in good condition.

When trains move from low stiffness structures to high stiffness structures, the
problem of discontinuity will also exist. However, the effect of the discontinuity
causes more damage to the high stiffness structures instead of the low stiffness
structures, which is not considered in this paper. Another problem is the reflection
and superposition of waves at the interface of transition zone in ballast.

5.1 Contact force

The contact force of wheel- rail interaction is one of the main sources of track
degradation. Assuming that the vertical support of track structure on both sides of
the transition zone is of the same property (which means no transition), the contact
force will not change much. As a result, the track on both sides will deteriorate at the
same rate. However, in transition zone the contact force increases due to
discontinuity of vertical stiffness. The variation of dynamic force causes the increase
of energy at the interaction area of wheel and rail, which disperse to the
substructures to damage the vulnerable components of track like fasteners and
ballast. The contact force varies from the moving directions of the vehicle. The
contact force in time domain is shown in Figure 9, when vehicle moves from slab
track to ballast track. The contact force in time domain is shown in Figure 10 when
vehicle moves from ballast track to slab track.
st
1 wheelset
nd
2 wheelset
rd
100000 3 wheelset
th
4 wheelset
contact force (N)

80000

60000

2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8

tims (s)

Figure 9: The wheel- rail contact force of four wheel sets when train moves from
slab track to ballast track.

Figure 9 shows that the contact forces are relatively stable and fluctuate in the
range of 61kN and 82kN before 2.37s. As soon as the first wheel set arrives at the
interface of transition, which is at 2.37s, the contact force of the first wheel set

10
decreases from 72.6kN to 54.6kN, reduced by 18%. The same phenomenon happens
on the second wheel set, which reduces from 71kN to 54kN. On the contrary, the
contact force of the third wheel set increases by 20% from 75.9kN to 91.1kN. The
fourth wheel set increases from 77.4kN to 91.6kN, the even reach 101.5kN, which
increased by 31%.

th
1 wheelset
nd
2 wheelset
100000 rd
3 wheelset
th
4 wheelset
contac force (N)

80000

60000

2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8

Time (s)

Figure 10: The wheel- rail contact force of four wheel sets when train moves from
ballast track to slab track

Figure 10 shows that the contact forces are relatively stable in the range of 59kN
and 84kN before 2.37s, when the vehicle moves from the ballast track to the slab
track. As soon as the first wheel set of the vehicle arrives at the interface of the
transition zone, which is at 2.37s, the contact force of the first wheel set increased
from 72.5kN to 93.4kN, by 28% and the second wheel set increased from 72.6kN to
88kN, by 21%. However, the contact force of third wheel set decreased from 68.0kN
to 54.7kN by 20%. In addition, the fourth wheel set decreased from 67.9kN to
53.0kN, by 22%.

The change of contact force is excited by the variation of vertical stiffness. When
the vehicle moves over the interface, one bogie is on the low stiffness structure and
the other is on the high stiffness structure. It will cause the bogie on high stiffness
bear more force than the low stiffness. After the vehicle passing over the interface,
the contact force is back to normal. The variation is about 20% in average.

This phenomenon will damage the track components of the moving direction. For
example, when train moves from slab track to ballast track, wheels will apply higher
force on the ballast track and vice versa.

11
5.2 Ballast equivalent stress
The force generated by wheel- rail interaction transfers from rails to fasteners, to
sleepers, to ballast and finally to subgrade, which are gradually reduced by increased
distributing areas. Figure 11 shows the stress distributions during the vehicle moving
from the slab track to the ballast track.

Time Ballast stress distribution

0.0

2.37

2.47

2.57

2.67

2.77

Figure 11: The stress distribution of ballast when vehicle moved from slab track to
ballast track.

Figure 11 shows the distribution of stresses in ballast. At the time of 0s, there is
almost no stress on the ballast. At 2.37s the first wheel set starts to pass the interface
of transition zone. At 2.47s, the vehicle has one bogie on the ballast track and the
other bogie on the slab track. At 2.57s the vehicle completely moves on the ballast
track. At 2.67s and 2.77s the vehicle continues moving on the ballast track and stops
at 2.9s. To know the changes of the ballast, the maximum stresses of the ballast
under loaded sleepers at each time step are collected and shown in Figure 12.

12
 95000

maximum equivalent ballast stress (pa)

90000

85000

80000

75000

70000

65000

2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8

time

Figure 12: The maximum equivalent stress of ballast

Figure 12 shows that before 2.37s, the stress is relatively low which is under
65kPa. In addition, the stress dramatically increases at the same time the first wheel
set moves above the interface of the transition zone at 2.37, when the equivalent
stress reaches 70kPa. From 2.37s to 2.57s, the equivalent stress increases rapidly to
89.5kPa at 2.57s, when the rest wheel sets move on the ballast track. After 2.57s, the
equivalent stress reduces to 85kPa and maintains relatively constant since then.
During the passage, the equivalent stress of the ballast at 2.57s when the beginning
of all wheel sets move on the ballast track is higher than the equivalent stress after
2.57s when the vehicle passes the interface of transition and moves stably. This
extra equivalent stress, around 4kPa in the simulation, happens only near the
interface of transition zone. It is one of the main reasons of the ballast deterioration
in transition zone.

5.3 Ballast vertical displacement

When vehicle moves from ballast track to slab track, the Rayleigh wave excited by
wheel- rail interaction propagates on the surface of the ballast. The wave arrives at
the interface of the transition zone will reflect and superpose. This phenomenon
increases the movement of the ballast near the interface; however has little effect to
the ballast far from the interface. The extra movement introduces more vibration of
the ballast and more relative movements among ballast grains, which cause more
crack and pauperization of the ballast.

To verify this phenomenon, 6 nodes on the surface of the ballast were selected to
compare the vertical displacements during the vehicle moving from the ballast track
to the slab track. The 6 nodes are located at 0.6m, 1.2m, 1.8m, 2.4m, 3.0m and 3.6m
to the interface of the transition. The vertical displacements of the ballast at the
different distances to the interface are compared in Figure 13. The maximum value
of each location is listed in Table 5.

13
 0.6m
1.2m
0.0001 1.8m
2.4m
Ballast vertical displacement (m) 3.0m
0.0000
3.6m

-0.0001

-0.0002

-0.0003

-0.0004

-0.0005

2.2 2.3 2.4

Time (s)

Figure 13: The vertical displacement of ballast at different distance to the interface

Distance to the interface

0.6 1.2 1.8 2.4 3.0 3.6
(m)
Max vertical displacement
0.51 0.40 0.41 0.43 0.41 0.40
(mm)
Table 4: The maximum vertical displacement of ballast at different locations

From the Figure 13 and Table 4, it could be seen that the maximums of the
vertical displacements vary depending on the distances to the interface and the
ballast. The maximum displacement of the ballast at 0.6m is 0.51 mm, which is
bigger than the average of all nodes selected, which is 0.41 mm. This could prove
that the ballast near interface has more vertical displacement.

6 Conclusion

Video Gauge System is capable to monitor the displacements of track components

and to observe the phenomena of track structures like transition zones. In the field
measurement of transition zones, the vertical displacements of rails and sleepers
vary according to the distances to the interface of the transition zones. The vertical
displacements of rails and sleepers near the interface of transition zones are much
bigger, due to accelerated degradation of the ballast near the interface of transition
zones.

The degradation mechanisms vary according to the moving directions of trains.

To study the degradation mechanisms, a 3D transition zone model is developed
using finite element method and validated by field measurement data collected by
Video Gauge System and ESAH-M system. When trains move from the high

14
 stiffness structures to the low stiffness structures, the variation of wheel- rail
interaction forces lead to more stress to the ballast near the interface. In the
numerical simulation, the dynamic wheel forces vary around 20% due to the
discontinuity of vertical support and the maximum equivalent stress of the ballast
near the interface is around 5% higher than the ballast far from the interface, when
velocity of the train is 300km/s and the transition is in perfect geometry. When
trains move from the low stiffness structures to the high stiffness structures, the
reflection and superposition of waves in the ballast near the interface causes extra
movements, which will cause more frictions, pulverization and compaction. In the
numerical simulation, the displacement of ballast near the interface of the transition
zone is around 18% higher than ballast far from the interface, when velocity of the
train is 300km/s and the transition is in perfect geometry.

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