EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE OF RAILROAD TRACKS

Railroad tracks can suffer damages caused by earthquakes over a long section of the track. Some of the problems, such as the so called snake action, are rather specific to railroad tracks and are not encountered in other structures. This study is concerned with the seismic response of railroad tracks, and the significance of the track parameters in resisting the seismic forces. A track model is used in the study that can include the effects of all the components and parameters. The solution is obtained by the finite element method. The response in time is obtained by a step-by step integration procedure using the Newmark beta method. A parametric study is conducted to find the effects of the different components and track irregularities on the response.