Keywords: railway, switches & crossings, turnout, multibody simulation, 3D finite element model, Vlasov torsion, bending stress, dynamic vehicle–track interaction.

The effect of eccentric loading on the structural response of the crossing rail that occurs when a vehicle passes in the trailing direction (move) through a crossing panel, i.e. when the wheel transitions from the crossing nose to the wing rail, is studied utilising two models that employ different representations of the crossing rail. One model is based on beam finite elements with step-wise varying properties to capture the variation in geometry, while the other uses 3D solid elements representing the complete rail geometry. The results show that the stress state is predominantly uniaxial. While the Euler-Bernoulli bending stress provides an accurate description of the bending stress caused by the impact in the facing move, it significantly underestimates the bending stress that occurs in the trailing move due to the eccentric position of the impact load on the wing rail. By including the contribution due to Vlasov torsion in the bending stress evaluation, the bending stress in the crossing rail can be accurately represented for both facing and trailing moves using beam elements.

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