Modelling traffic action in high speed railway bridges

Abstract

There are a significant variety of approaches taken by researchers when considering the response due to traffic in high speed railway (HSR) bridges. This paper will focus on the comparison between methods employed by different authors for the structural models developed for the bridge, the load models for the high-speed trains, and the interaction between the train vehicles and the bridge. The structural bridge models range from simple beam models to complex 3D solid models, with important implications interms of the ability of the models to predict realistic responses, as well as in terms of the appropriateness for design purposes considering the computational requirements. The load models vary from simple moving loads to a full vehicle moving system (with its own masses, stiffness, dampers, and contacts). For the latter approach, the interaction between the vehicle and the bridge becomes important. The major models in literature are identified and compared herein. The aim of this paper is to compile these different approaches and compare the different available methods, in order to enable a clearer judgement when setting the corresponding models for design purposes, as well as to provide a deeper understanding about some of the key definitions within the HSR bridge models.