Investigation on CWR longitudinal restraint behavior in winter rail break and summer destressing operations.

PDFTech ReportDOT-VNTSC-FRA-97-06DOT/FRA/ORD-97/01RR719/R7011DTRS57-93-D-00028Rail (Railroads)Rail fastenersContinuous welded railStressesTest tracksWinter maintenanceRailroad tracksRailroad carsBenefit cost analysisInspectionUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and DevelopmentSamavedam, G.Gomes, J.Kish, A.Sluz, A.Foster-Miller, Inc.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and DevelopmentAGR-INFRASTRUCTURE-RailroadsNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-RAIL TRANSPORTATIONVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThis report presents the results of investigations on the rail anchor/fastener effects on rail movement and the resulting rail force distribution in continuous welded rail (CWR) track during rail breaks and destressing operations. Two types of tests are used, one for simulating winter rail break and another for destressing operations in summer. The winter rail break test is used to determine the size of the rail gap and the length of the disturbance zone in rail neutral temperature that occur when the rail breaks. The summer rail destressing test is used to determine the deanchored zone length and the rail length to be cut when the rail is destressed. The results are correlated with analyses. The results will be useful to the industry in optimization of their destressing operations