TRACK or PERMANENT WAY

TRACK

Contents

• Track and Track Section

• Components of track and functions

• Forces acting on the track

• Stresses in Railway track

• Track Modulus

• Coning of Wheels

• Tilting of Rails
 TRACK AND TRACK SECTION

 The track or permanent way is the railroad on which trains run.

 Consists two parallel rails fastened to sleepers with a specified
distance between them.
 The sleepers are embedded in a layer of ballast of specified
thickness spread over level ground known as formation.
 The track consists of the rails, sleepers, fittings and fastenings,
the ballast, and the formation.
 Rails

Sleepers

Ballast Fittings

VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF TRACK

VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF TRACK

Sleepers

Rail

Fittings

Fish Plate

Ballast

Bolts
COMPONENTS OF TRACK AND FUNCTIONS

act as girders to transmit the

RAILS
wheel load to the sleepers

FISH PLATES AND BOLTS Joins rails in series

FITTINGS Fastens the rails to sleepers

hold the rails in their proper

SLEEPERS positions, provide a correct, and
transfer the load to the ballast

Ballast hold sleepers in position

BALLAST at specified distance, provides a
uniform level surface and
drainage, and transfers the load
to a larger area of the formation

takes the total load of the track

FORMATION
and the trains moving on it
 FORCES ACTING ON THE TRACK

A rail is subjected to heavy stresses due to the following types of

forces.
 Vertical loads consisting of dead loads, dynamic augment of
loads including the effect of speed, the hammer blow effect, the
inertia of reciprocating masses, etc.
 Lateral forces due to the movement of live loads, eccentric
vertical loading, shunting of locomotives, etc.
 Longitudinal forces due to tractive effort and braking forces,
thermal forces, etc.
 Contact stresses due to wheel and rail contact.
 Stresses due to surface defects such as flat spots on wheels, etc
FORCES ACTING ON THE TRACK
 LATERAL FORCES

 The lateral force applied to the rail head produces a lateral deflection

 Lateral force causes the rail to bend horizontally and the resultant
torque causes a huge twist in the rail as well as the bending of the
head and foot of the rail.

 Lateral deflection of the rail is resisted by the friction between the rail
and the sleeper, the resistance offered by the rubber pad and
fastenings, as well as the ballast coming in contact with the rail.

 The combined effect of lateral forces resulting in the bending and

twisting of a rail can be measured by strain gauges.

 Field trials indicate that the loading wheels of a locomotive may

exert a lateral force of up to 2 t on a straight track particularly at high
speeds
 LONGITUDINAL FORCES

 Due to the tractive effort of the locomotive and its braking force,
longitudinal stresses are developed in the rail.

 Temperature variations, particularly in welded rails, result in

thermal forces, which also lead to the development of stresses.

 The exact magnitude of longitudinal forces depends on many

variable factors.

 However, a rough idea of these values is as follows:

(a) Longitudinal forces on account of 30–40% weight of locomotive

of tractive effort for alternating current (ac).

(b) Longitudinal forces on account of 15–20% of weight of braking

force of the locomotive and 10–15% weight of trailing load
 STRESSES IN RAILWAY TRACK

A rail is subjected to heavy stresses due to the various types of

forces.

 Bending stress on the head and foot of rail

 Contact stresses between rail and wheel

 Fish plate and bolt stresses

 Stresses on a sleeper

 Stresses on ballast

 Pressure on formation or subgrade

 TRACK AS AN ELASTIC STRUCTURE
 In the year 1888, Zimmerman propounded the theory that the
track is an elastic structure.

 Rails are continuous beams carried on sleepers, which provide

elastic support.

 The elastic nature of the rail supports affects the distribution of

the wheel load over a number of sleepers in a rather complicated
manner.

 The mode of distribution of load depends on the stiffness of the

rails as well as the elasticity of the bed (sleepers and the ballast
and formation taken together) on which the rail rests.
 BENDING STRESSES ON THE HEAD AND FOOT OF
RAIL

 The rail is a long bar continuously supported by an elastic

foundation.
 Due to vertical loads, the rail is subjected to bending or flexural
stresses.
 The theory of stresses in rails takes into account the elastic
nature of the supports.
 The wheels are uniformly loaded, the path of wheels will be
horizontal, and the track will be depressed on the approach of the
wheel and recover after the wheel has passed.
 Rail under such condition bends in continuous curve between
wheels.
 There will be both downward and upward bending due to
continuity of track.
BENDING STRESSES ON THE HEAD AND FOOT OF
RAIL

Bending Moment Distribution Under a Single Wheel Load

BENDING STRESSES ON THE HEAD AND FOOT OF
RAIL
 BENDING STRESSES ON THE HEAD AND FOOT OF
RAIL

 RELIEF OF STRESSES
 A train load consists of a number of wheel loads close to each
other which act simultaneously on the rail.

 A single isolated wheel load creates much more bending moment

in the rail as compared to a group of wheel loads, which on
account of the negative bending moment under adjacent wheels
provide what known as a ‘relief of stresses’.

 The value of relief of stresses depends upon the distance of the

point of contra-flexure of the rail and the spacing between the
wheels, but its value can be as high as 50%.
 TRACK MODULUS

 An index of measurement of resistance to deformation

 It is defined as the load in kilograms per unit rail length required
to produce one unit depression in the rail bottom.
 The unit of track modulus is kg/cm2
 The track modulus varies with the type of gauge, the type of rails,
sleepers, sleeper density, and ballast cushion
 CONTACT STRESSES BETWEEN RAIL AND WHEEL

 As per the theory by Hertz, the rail and wheel contact is similar to
that of two cylinders with their axes at right angles to each other.
 The area of contact between the two surfaces is bound by an
ellipse.
 With the increase in axle loads and reduction in wheel diameters,
the rail wheel stresses have assumed importance
 Very High Contact stresses develop in the immediate vicinity of
the rail wheel contact zone which leads to plastic flow of metal in
the rail head.
 CONTACT STRESSES BETWEEN RAIL AND WHEEL

 The contact stress for the WDM2 locomotive as such is 18.7

kg/mm2.
 The maximum value is, however, limited to 21.6 kg/mm2, which is
30% of the UTS value (72 kg/mm2) of the rail.
 FISH PLATE AND BOLT STRESSES

Computation of fish plate stresses for BG track

FISH PLATE AND BOLT STRESSES

Computation of Bolt
stresses for BG track
 STRESSES ON A SLEEPER

 The sleepers are subjected to a large number of forces such as

 dead and live loads,

 dynamic components of tracks such as rails and sleeper

fastenings,

 maintenance standards,

 and other such allied factors

 The maximum load on the rail seat is 30%–50% of the dynamic

wheel load, depending on various factors and particularly the
packing under the sleeper.
 STRESSES ON A SLEEPER (Contd …)

 The distribution of load under the sleeper is not easy to

determine.

 The pattern of distribution depends on the sleeper as well as on

the firmness of the packing under the sleeper.

 As the ballast yields under the load, the pressure under the
sleeper is not uniform and varies depending on the standard of
maintenance
 STRESSES ON BALLAST

 The load passed onto the sleeper from the rail is in turn
transferred to the ballast.

 The efficiency of this load transmission depends

 on the elasticity of the sleeper

 on the size of the sleeper,

 shape of the sleeper,

 depth of the ballast

 the degree of compaction under the sleeper.

 STRESSES ON BALLAST (Contd…)

 Professor A.N. Talbot reveals that the pressure distribution curve

under the sleeper would be shaped like bulbs.

 The following are the important conclusions drawn

• The pressure on the sleeper is maximum at the centre of its

width. This pressure decreases from the centre towards the
ends.

• The vertical pressure under the sleeper is uniform at a depth

approximately equal to the spacing between the sleepers
 STRESSES ON BALLAST

Pressure distribution curve under the sleeper

 PRESSURE ON FORMATION OR SUBGRADE

 The pressure on the subgrade depends not only on the total

quantum of the load but also on the manner in which it is
transferred to the subgrade.

 The distribution of pressure on the subgrade depends on

 The spacing between the sleepers;

 the size, depth, compaction of the ballast under the sleeper;

 the type of subgrade

PRESSURE ON FORMATION OR SUBGRADE (Contd…)

 The values of maximum formation pressure permitted on Indian

Railways are the following:

 For motive power 3.5 kg/cm2 for BG

2.5 kg/cm2 for MG

 For goods wagons 3.0 kg/cm2 for BG

2.3 kg/cm2 for MG

 LIMITING VALUES OF STRESSES

 The stresses on a rail are measured by any of the following

methods depending upon the facilities available
 Photo-elastic method
 Electric resistance strain gauge method
 Method employed using special test frame
 At present, Indian Railways mostly uses the electric resistance
strain gauges for measuring rail stresses.
 CONING OF WHEELS

 The tread of the wheels of a railway vehicle is not made flat, but

sloped like a cone in order to enable the vehicle to move smoothly on

curves as well as on straight tracks.

 The wheels are generally centrally aligned on a straight and level

surface with uniform gauge, and the circumference of the treads of

the inner and outer wheels are equal.

 CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)

 The problem, however, arises in the case of a curve, when the outer
wheel has to negotiate more distance on the curve as compared to
the inner wheel.

 Due to the action of centrifugal force on a curve, the vehicle tends to

move out.

 To avoid this the circumference of the tread of the outer wheel is

made greater due to outward movement of wheel than that of the
inner wheel.

 This helps the outer wheel to travel longer distance than the inner
wheel.
CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)
 CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)

• The coning of wheels helps to keep the vehicle centrally aligned

on a straight and level track also.
 CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)

 The wheels of a railway vehicle are connected by an axle, which

in turn is fixed on a rigid frame.

 Due to the rigidity of the frame, the rear axle has a tendency to
move inward, which does not permit the leading axle to take full
advantage of the coning.

 The rigidity of the frame, however, helps to bring the vehicle back
into central alignment and thus works as a balancing factor.
 CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)

Resistance to Sway Movement due to track irregularities

 Slight irregularities in the track do occur as a result of moving
loads.
 The wheels, therefore, move from side to side and therefore the
vehicles sway.
 Due to the coning of wheels, this side movement results in the
tread circumference of one wheel increasing over the other.
 As both the wheels have to traverse the same distance, this
causes one wheel to slide.
 Due to the resistance caused by the sliding, any further side
movement is prevented.
 If there was no coning, the side movement would have continued
and the flange of the wheel would have come in contact with the
side of the rail, causing jerks and making the ride uncomfortable
 CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)

 As far as the slip is concerned, it can be mathematically

calculated as follows

 Slip =2πθG/360

 where θ is the angle at the centre of the curve fixed by the rigid
wheel box and G is the gauge in metres.

 The approximate value of the slip for broad gauge is 0.029 metre
per degree of the curve
 CONING OF WHEELS (Contd..)

 Coning of wheels causes wear and tear due to the slipping action.

 It is, however, useful as

• it helps the vehicle to negotiate a curve smoothly,

• it provides a smooth ride, and

• it reduces the wear and tear of the wheel flanges.

 TILTING OF RAILS

 Rails are tilted inward at an angle of 1 in 20 to reduce wear and

tear on the rails as well as on the tread of the wheels.

 Rail are tilted because of following reasons

 As the pressure of the wheel acts near the inner edge of the
rail, there is heavy wear and tear of the rail.

 Lateral bending stresses are also created due to eccentric

loading of rails.

 Uneven loading on the sleepers is also likely to cause them

damage.
 TILTING OF RAILS (Contd..)

 To reduce wear and tear as well as lateral stresses, rails are titled
at a slope of 1 in 20, which is also the slope of the wheel cone.

 The rail is tilted by ‘adzing’ the wooden sleeper or by providing

canted bearing plates
 ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1. What is the Uni-gauge policy of Indian Railways? Describe the

benefits of the Uni-gauge system
2. Describe in brief the basic requirements of a good alignment. What
are the factors that control the alignment of a railway line? Explain.
3. List the various surveys that need to be undertaken for the
construction of a new railway line and outline their essential
objectives.
4. Draw a typical cross section of a BG double track in embankment
and show therein all the components of the track. Explain briefly the
functions of the various components of the railway track
5. Explain the following terms.

 Track modulus

 Coning of wheels

 Tilting of rails

 Relief of Stresses