New hybrid model of dynamic rail track response in the vertical direction

Abstract: This article presents a new hybrid model for analysing the dynamics of a railway track subjected to excitations generated by a rail vehicle, taking into account the dynamic forces at the wheel-rail interface. It is demonstrated that combining a multi-body force generator with a continuous multi-layer analytical model of the railway track is feasible and enables the analysis of both time-varying forces generated by the vehicle and the response of the track surface depending on the values of the mechanical parameters of the structure. The model of mechanical vibrations of the track in the vertical direction is solved using a semi- analytical approximation method using wavelet filters. Combined with a force description obtained by modelling the mass system corresponding to the vehicle, this represents a novel approach to the parametric analysis of track response. Keywords: rail track; rail vehicle; wheel-rail contact forces; hybrid model