Structural Analysis of Railway Pavements Considering Track Modulus and Rail Effects

Resumo

One of the main parameters that needs to be understood for the structural behavior of railways is the track modulus (pavement stiffness), to understand how it influences the forces. Estimating vertical displacements is essential in the design and maintenance stages of the permanent way since the track elements are dimensioned based on the expectation of a global response. In this sense, this research carried out numerical-analytical analyses for a TR – 68 rail profile based on experimental data for different track conditions of the Carajás Railway. The results showed the sensitivity of this parameter to evaluate the quality of the track, where minimum and maximum limits were considered to maintain good elasticity of the system and operational safety compared to what is proposed by the AREMA standard.