Acceleration-dependent lateral track resistance for the condition assessment of railway bridges with ballasted track

Andreas Stollwitzer; Lara Bettinelli; Samuel Loidl; Josef Fink

doi:10.7409/rabdim.025.002

Published: 2025-03-05

Vol. 24 No. 1 (2025)

Acceleration-dependent lateral track resistance for the condition assessment of railway bridges with ballasted track

Andreas Stollwitzer

, Lara Bettinelli

, Samuel Loidl

, Josef Fink

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.7409/rabdim.025.002

Abstract

Lateral track resistance is essential for assessing rail track stability and the operational safety of railway lines. This contribution addresses the experimental investigation of lateral track resistance on railway bridges subjected to dynamic loads. The experiments are carried out using a large-scale test facility, replicating a representative section of a railway bridge at a scale of 1:1, thus enabling a targeted and isolated observation of the ballast superstructure's behaviour. The investigations aim to identify the influence of vertical vibrations on lateral track resistance, both for unloaded and vertically loaded track. Based on the experiments, load-dependent acceleration limits are identified, above which a significant reduction in lateral track resistance occurs. Furthermore, experimental lateral load-displacement curves depending on the vertical load and acceleration level are generated for determining lateral track stiffness. The results comprise the identified limit values for vertical accelerations and the acceleration-dependent lateral track resistances, which can be applied for condition assessment of railway bridges in the context of dynamic assessment.

Keywords:

ballasted track, condition assessment, experiments, lateral track-bridge interaction, railway bridges

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Stollwitzer, A., Bettinelli, L., Loidl, S., & Fink, J. (2025). Acceleration-dependent lateral track resistance for the condition assessment of railway bridges with ballasted track. Roads and Bridges – Drogi I Mosty, 24(1), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.7409/rabdim.025.002

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Andreas Stollwitzer

andreas.stollwitzer@tuwien.ac.at
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4509-7267

Affiliation:

TU Wien, Institute of Structural Engineering, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna Austria

Lara Bettinelli

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2886-310X

Affiliation:

TU Wien, Institute of Structural Engineering, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna Austria

Samuel Loidl

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3361-889X

Affiliation:

TU Wien, Institute of Structural Engineering, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna Austria

Josef Fink

Affiliation:

TU Wien, Institute of Structural Engineering, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Vienna Austria

Acceleration-dependent lateral track resistance for the condition assessment of railway bridges with ballasted track

Abstract

Keywords:

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Andreas Stollwitzer

Lara Bettinelli

Samuel Loidl

Josef Fink