IF articles

In order to state the conditions in which

this study will be developed, the first part of this article

starts, after covering some introductory topics, with the definition

of the most relevant technical characteristics of the

five generic types of vehicles that have been considered, as

well as of the properties and dimensions of the initial track

structure. Furthermore, the study determines the track installation

restrictions that must be satisfied in relation to

cant and unbalanced centrifugal acceleration perceived by

passengers.

As concerns to the alignment-layout redesign, the avoidance

of excessive lateral track displacements has been ensured

by comparing the transversal wheelset forces with the

lateral track resistance.

On the other hand, the track structure reinforcement depends

mostly on the vertical wheel loads, which in turn are

influenced, among other factors, by the track stiffness.

These relationships are also studied within this article. This

first part deals finally with the mechanical effects on the

rails, such as bending moment and limiting stresses in

rails’ foot and head.