A theoretical investigation on influences of slab tracks on vertical dynamic responses of railway viaducts

• Influences of the slab track on the railway viaduct are theoretically investigated.
• Resonance frequency of slabs on cushion layers is identified as a key frequency.
• Parametric excitations due to the wheel periodically passing slabs are observed.

A railway viaduct model consisting of infinite spans of elastically-supported girders carrying a slab track of infinite length is established to investigate the influence of the slabs on the vertical dynamic response of the viaduct, when a moving harmonic point load or a moving sprung wheel is applied. The infinite rail, the discontinuous slabs and girders of identical span lengths are idealized as Euler–Bernoulli beams. The rail fasteners, the cushion layer beneath the slab and the elastic bearings at the girder supports are represented by discretely distributed springs of hysteretic damping. Due to the repetitive nature of the girders, the model can be divided into periodic three-beam units by the span length of the girder, and then solved analytically in the frequency domain using the property of periodic structure. Besides the first natural frequency of the girder with elastic bearings, it is found that the resonance frequency of the slab on the cushion layer has a significant influence on the dynamic response of the track and the girder. Parametric excitations due to the moving wheel periodically passing the discontinuous slabs contribute significantly to the wheel/rail interactions.