Calculation of Braking Force of Continuous Welded Rail on Large-Span Steel Truss Cable-Stayed Bridge

In order to probe into the transmission mechanism of braking force on continuous welded rail (CWR) on a large-span steel truss cable-stayed bridge, a plane model for bridge-rail interaction was established based on the finite element method and the bridge-rail interaction theory. In this model, all structural characteristics, such as steel truss, stay cables, main towers, and viscous dampers, are involved. The influences of stay cable stiffness, main tower stiffness and viscous dampers on the braking force were analyzed, and a simplified algorithm for the braking force was proposed. The results show that braking force can meet the demands of paving CWR on cable-stayed bridges, and its distribution regularity is the same as that on conventional bridges; viscous dampers improve the bridge-rail interaction in train braking situation by reducing bridge-rail relative displacement and braking force; compared with the stiffness of main towers, the stiffness of stay cables has a great influence on the braking force, so it should be taken into account in CWR design of a cable-stayed bridge.