Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast
The nonlinear mechanical properties of ballasted tracks along railways result in complex dynamics of the vehicle–track systems. Employing localized characterization of ballast and a simplified model might underestimate the vehicle–track system’s dynamical responses and safety. This paper presents a...
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2024-12-01
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| author | Xia Hua Wael Zatar Xiangle Cheng Gang S. Chen Yini She Xiaotian Xu Zhicheng Liao |
| author_facet | Xia Hua Wael Zatar Xiangle Cheng Gang S. Chen Yini She Xiaotian Xu Zhicheng Liao |
| author_sort | Xia Hua |
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| description | The nonlinear mechanical properties of ballasted tracks along railways result in complex dynamics of the vehicle–track systems. Employing localized characterization of ballast and a simplified model might underestimate the vehicle–track system’s dynamical responses and safety. This paper presents a new dynamical stiffness model of railway ballast by incorporating the ballast’s time-varying, nonlinear viscoelastic, and elastoplastic properties. The new nonlinear stiffness model is a versatile tool that comprehensively characterizes the ballast characteristics of displacement-dependent stiffness, frequency-dependent stiffness, hysteresis, and time/space-varying features. These features, widely reported in previous experimental research, can now be effectively understood. Conventionally, to characterize time/space-varying characteristics of ballast along the track, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been used as the most efficient approach to survey railway networks quickly and to infer track dynamical properties. Aiming to improve the present technique for characterizing time/space-varying properties of ballast stiffness by using a GPR signal, the adaptive optimal kernel time–frequency representation (AOKTFR) method is used to process a typical GPR signal from a railway ballast scanning. It is found that the results of AOKTFR exhibit a clear time-varying pattern and precise frequency modulation. In contrast, the conventional time–frequency methods failed to give a clear time-varying pattern. The results illustrate that AOKTFR is a practical approach for processing the time-varying nonlinear signal of GPR and correlating it with the time-varying nonlinear stiffness of ballast. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0f8a16d1b1494a1b8cf28145dea062b7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-0f8a16d1b1494a1b8cf28145dea062b72024-12-13T16:23:12ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-12-0114231122410.3390/app142311224Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway BallastXia Hua0Wael Zatar1Xiangle Cheng2Gang S. Chen3Yini She4Xiaotian Xu5Zhicheng Liao6College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaCollege of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USACollege of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaCollege of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USACollege of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USACollege of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, ChinaThe nonlinear mechanical properties of ballasted tracks along railways result in complex dynamics of the vehicle–track systems. Employing localized characterization of ballast and a simplified model might underestimate the vehicle–track system’s dynamical responses and safety. This paper presents a new dynamical stiffness model of railway ballast by incorporating the ballast’s time-varying, nonlinear viscoelastic, and elastoplastic properties. The new nonlinear stiffness model is a versatile tool that comprehensively characterizes the ballast characteristics of displacement-dependent stiffness, frequency-dependent stiffness, hysteresis, and time/space-varying features. These features, widely reported in previous experimental research, can now be effectively understood. Conventionally, to characterize time/space-varying characteristics of ballast along the track, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been used as the most efficient approach to survey railway networks quickly and to infer track dynamical properties. Aiming to improve the present technique for characterizing time/space-varying properties of ballast stiffness by using a GPR signal, the adaptive optimal kernel time–frequency representation (AOKTFR) method is used to process a typical GPR signal from a railway ballast scanning. It is found that the results of AOKTFR exhibit a clear time-varying pattern and precise frequency modulation. In contrast, the conventional time–frequency methods failed to give a clear time-varying pattern. The results illustrate that AOKTFR is a practical approach for processing the time-varying nonlinear signal of GPR and correlating it with the time-varying nonlinear stiffness of ballast.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11224vehicle–track systemrailway ballast stiffnessballast mechanical propertiesGPRsignal processing |
| spellingShingle | Xia Hua Wael Zatar Xiangle Cheng Gang S. Chen Yini She Xiaotian Xu Zhicheng Liao Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast Applied Sciences vehicle–track system railway ballast stiffness ballast mechanical properties GPR signal processing |
| title | Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast |
| title_full | Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast |
| title_fullStr | Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast |
| title_short | Modeling and Characterization of Complex Dynamical Properties of Railway Ballast |
| title_sort | modeling and characterization of complex dynamical properties of railway ballast |
| topic | vehicle–track system railway ballast stiffness ballast mechanical properties GPR signal processing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/23/11224 |
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