Dynamic Characteristics of Infinite and Finite Railways to Moving Loads

Some fundamental dynamic characteristics of a railway subjected to a harmonic or constant moving load are established and presented in this paper. The railway is modeled as an infinite or finite Timoshenko beam on viscoelastic foundation. The dynamic-stiffness matrices characterized by the complex wave numbers are employed to deal with this problem. The relationship between the forced frequency and the resonant velocity of the moving load, and the resonant frequency of the railway are especially emphasized and intensively discussed. The fundamental dynamic characteristics of a railway modeled as a Bernoulli-Euler Beam on viscoelastic foundation are also included for comparison.