Numerical Simulation of Track Settlement Using a Multibody Dynamic Software—A Holistic Approach

A novel and numerical methodology to analyse the train/track dynamic interaction and its influence on the overall track settlement mechanism is presented. This will be achieved by creating an iterative loop that makes possible to assess the condition of the track based on the vehicle forces. The main contribution of this work rests on performing a track degradation analysis considering a regular stretch of railway track. In the first phase, a train/track interaction analysis is developed and assessed by evaluating the contact forces between the wheel and the rail. In a second phase, the forces at each particular support, beneath the rail, are extracted and transformed, by applying a degradation law at the ballast layer, into vertical displacements that in turn are applied as longitudinal level irregularities in the rail. The process is completed by including the updated geometry that enables the further calculations, in a loop mode, considering as many cycles as required.