Experimental and Numerical Investigations into Torsional-Flexural Behaviours of Railway Composite Sleepers and Bearers

Fiber-reinforced foamed urethane (FFU) composite sleepers and bearers are safety-critical components installed in complex railway switches and crossings. Not only does they need to provide vertical track support, the composite sleepers and bearers must also endure longitudinal and lateral actions stemming from complex wheel and rail interactions. In reality, the railway bearers at crossing noses are susceptible to coupling torsional-flexural loading. Never have such the complex nonlinear behaviours been investigated numerically nor experimentally. It is thus necessary to comprehend torsional-flexural behaviours of FFU composite sleepers and bearers through finite element and experimental approaches. 3D finite element modelling of FFU composite beams have been established to predict the nonlinear coupling behaviours. Three specimens of FFU beams have been prepared for robust experiments under each load case. Our studies exhibit excellent agreement between numerical and experimental results. The ductile failure behaviours (post yield point) have been observed from the experiments. Considerable effects of load eccentricity on the flexure–torsion behaviours of the composite members can also be noted. In addition, the load-eccentricity curves have been identified to portray the nonlinear behaviour of the railway components under coupling flexural and torsional loadings. The new insights considering their load-displacement relationships, modes of failure and damage, flexural and torsional interactions are the precursors for railway engineers to design and adopt FFU composite sleepers and bearers in practice where complex wheel/rail interface generally causes coupling torsional and vertical loading conditions.