Analysis on Railway Sleepers using ABAQUS

Abstract

The Railway sleeper play important role in the complex railway system when subjected to repeated stresses due to the movement of locomotive. Also the increased speed and different axle loads from the train causes stress variation in the Sleeper. So it is necessary to assess the fatigue life of the sleeper. The Pre-stressed concrete sleepers being the common application is considered for study using Finite element software to assess its fatigue life. The Sleepers are subjected to static and dynamic loads. The axle load in the locomotive WAM-4 in Indian railway is chosen for the fatigue analysis. The analysis showed stress range after application of load cycles was reduced leading to fatigue failure. So, the cycle which caused this low stress range is taken as fatigue life of sleeper.