Modelling ballast behaviour under dynamic loading. Part 1: A 2D polygonal discrete element method approach

Gilles Saussine (1) , C. Cholet (1) , P.E. Gautier (1) , Frédéric Dubois (2) , Claude Bohatier (2) , Jean Jacques Moreau (2)

1 SNCF : Innovation & Recherche
2 LMGC - Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil

Discrete element simulation provides some insight into the alteration of railway ballast after repeated train passings. The present Part 1 is devoted to a 2D model of this granular layer interposed between the deformable ground and the rail sleeper, to which a large number of loading cycles is applied. Ballast grains are modelled as indeformable polygonal solids. A detailed account of the application to this frictional dynamical problem of the Non-Smooth Contact Dyna- mics numerical method is given. Validation is obtained through comparison with physical experiments performed on assemblies of prismatic mineral grains. Numerical results on the settlement of a track submitted to 20,000 loading cycles or more are presented.

Mots clés: Discrete element; Cyclic loading; Ballasted track; Contact detection

Domaines: Matériaux et structures en mécanique [physics.class-ph]; Matériaux et structures en mécanique [physics.class-ph]; Modélisation et simulation

Gilles Saussine, C. Cholet, P.E. Gautier, Frédéric Dubois, Claude Bohatier, et al.. Modelling ballast behaviour under dynamic loading. Part 1: A 2D polygonal discrete element method approach. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 2006, 195 (19-22), pp.2841-2859. ⟨10.1016/j.cma.2005.07.006⟩. ⟨hal-00580793⟩