Simultaneous Influence of the Track Axis Curvature and the Support Line Obliquity at Railway Bridge Superstructures with Steel Beams Embedded in Concrete

Abstract

Abstract For new railway bridges with small spans (L ≤ 35.00 m) superstructures with steel beams embedded in concrete are recommended and used, which can ensure the requirements of strength and especially stiffness, regardless of velocity. In all the design prescriptions used so far for superstructures with steel beams embedded in concrete, and even in the technical literature, there is little information and data on the influence of the support line obliquity and the track axis curvature in the design and calculation of these types of structures. In the design code, if certain conditions related to the geometry of the superstructure are met (obliquity, curvature) the calculation is a simplified one, made on a single isolated longitudinal beam of the deck; otherwise, if the conditions are not met, finite element program analysis is recommended. The article aims to study the situations in which the requirements of the design prescriptions are not met.