Abstract
An estimation of a rail tilting under the design load is an important factor in a rational design of rail fastening systems. A rail tilting has been estimated by the practical solution based on the torsion theory. However, the recent study has reported that the rail tilting estimated by the conventional solution does not agree well with the experimental values.
The purpose of this study is to establish a practical and high-accuracy solution for a rail tilting. First, a FEM model for a rail tilting was proposed and the validity of the model was examined by comparing the analytical values with the experimental values. As a result, a rail tilting estimated by the model was in good agreement with the experimental values. Therefore, it is found out that the model is available for predicting the response of a rail and its fastenings. Secondly, the model was applied to determining the loading condition of the performance test of rail fastening systems. Thereby, it is made possible to evaluate the performance of rail fastenings with high accuracy as compared with the conventional evaluation.
