Investigation into the effect of lateral and longitudinal loads on railroad spike stress magnitude and location using finite element analysis

Dersch, Marcus S.; Roadcap, Tom; Edwards, J. Riley; Qian, Yu; Kim, Jae Yoon; Trizotto, Matheus

doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2019.06.009

Cited by 13 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This example is illustrated in Figure 14 with the effect of an increased number of locomotives (also increasing TTE). The threshold for spike fatigue under equal lateral and longitudinal forces, as documented in prior research (9), is also presented.…”

Section: Fastener Loading: Numerical Examplementioning

confidence: 90%

“…Timber crossties are orthotropic, having varying properties in different directions because of the orientation of the timber grains (7). Prior research (8)(9)(10) identified that longitudinal loads resulted in higher spike stresses than an equivalent lateral load, determining that longitudinal loads as low as 2,000 lbs (8.9 kN) or simultaneous application of longitudinal and lateral loads of 1,500 lbs (6.7 kN) on a spike can generate stresses above 35 kips per square inch (240 MPa) on the spike, which has been identified as a limit for standard AREMA 0.625" (15.88 mm) square spike (11) fatigue failures.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Analytical Elastic Modeling of Rail and Fastener Longitudinal Response

Trizotto

Dersch

Edwards

et al. 2021

Transportation Research Record

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The rail fastening system plays a critical role in maintaining proper railroad track geometry by transferring vertical, lateral, and longitudinal forces from the rails to crossties. Broken spikes in elastic fastening systems have been linked to inadequate transfer of longitudinal loads, posing a safety risk for timber crosstie ballasted track. Longitudinal track demand caused by passing trains has been investigated in previous research, but the magnitude and distribution of longitudinal fastener loads is not well understood or documented. To address these track component failures and improve fastener design, this paper presents a validated analytical model that estimates longitudinal rail seat loads, advancing current formulations to focus specifically on the rail seat. The validated method was used to quantify the distribution and magnitude of longitudinal loads in both the rail and fastening system caused by passing trains. Further, this paper quantifies the effect of track stiffness, number of powered locomotives, and wheel spacing on these distributions and magnitudes. This information provides valuable insight into the specific type of spike failures that have led to at least ten derailments and the requirement of manual walking inspections on multiple North American heavy axle load railroads as detailed in this paper. Further, this method can be used to quantify the longitudinal fastener loads for different track conditions to advance the mechanistic-empirical track design philosophy for elastic fastening systems.

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Section: Fastener Loading: Numerical Examplementioning

confidence: 90%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Analytical Elastic Modeling of Rail and Fastener Longitudinal Response

Trizotto

Dersch

Edwards

et al. 2021

Transportation Research Record

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“…Improving safety within the rail industry is of first importance (1), with the industry having the goal of zero derailments. It has been found that at least ten derailments have occurred since the year 2000 because of wide track gauge resulting from broken spikes, many of which occurred within premium fastening systems (2)(3)(4). Railroad spikes are an element of track fastening systems that typically either hold the rail to a timber or composite crosstie, hold a steel load-distributing tie plate to the crosstie, or both.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research thus far has indicated that excessive lateral (forces perpendicular to the length of the rail), longitudinal loads (forces parallel to the length of the rail), or both, have led to spike fatigue failures (2,5). Research is needed to both understand the mechanics of these failures (4,6,7) and to develop tools which will provide a means to understand how various design solutions could mitigate the failures.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple approaches could be pursued to quantify the magnitude and distribution of stress within the spikes when driven into a timber crosstie. Common methods within the rail industry to analyze and quantify the spike stress state or test new fastening system components consist of finite element models (FEMs) (4,(8)(9)(10)(11), laboratory testing (12), or field-experimental programs (13)(14)(15)(16)(17).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Analytical Method to Estimate Railroad Spike Fastener Stress

Dersch

Silva

Edwards

et al. 2020

Transportation Research Record

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Previous research indicates that spike fastener fatigue failures have led to at least ten derailments since 2000. Given that railroads continue to install fastening systems that have experienced spike failures, methods to quantify the stress state of the spike must be developed. Common approaches to quantify the effect of key variables include laboratory experimentation, field instrumentation, or finite element model development. However, these approaches may be both time and cost prohibitive. An analytical method based on beam on elastic foundation mechanics, similar to the analysis of laterally loaded piles in deep foundation design, was developed to estimate the spike stresses. The outcome is a laboratory-validated analytical approach that generates estimates of spike stress. This analytical model was used to investigate key design criteria (timber modulus, spike cross-sectional area, and load applied) that could be changed to improve the resiliency of the fastening system to increase railroad safety. Another outcome of this study is the development of an instrumented spike that quantifies the spike demands when installed and loaded within a crosstie.

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