Shakedown stress analysis of insulated rail joint (IRJ)

A finite element numerical simulation is carried out to examine stress distrbutions on railhead in the vicinity of the endpost of a insulated rail joint. The contact patch and pressure distribution are considered using modified Hertzian formulation. A combined elasto-plastic material modelling available in Abaqus is employed in the simulation. A dynamic load factor of 1.21 is considered in modelling for the wheel load based on a previous study as part of this on going research. Shakedown theorem is employed in this study. A peak pressure load whhich is above the shakedown limit is determined as input load. As a result, a progressive damage in the railhead has been captured as depicted in the equivalent plastic strain plot.