Bridge Insight
Rail Structure Interaction
UIC 774-3
1. Introduction
With the recent development of high-speed trains globally, structural interaction plays an important role in estimating the impact of rail on the bridge and the optimum design of the bridge system for the safe passage of trains without disturbing the passengers' riding comfort. The UIC 774-3, Eurocode in 1991-2, RDSO, Korean code, ACI, and various codes and standards provide methodologies for considering rail-bridge interaction problems in the design and analysis of railway bridges. These guidelines take into account the dynamic interactions between trains and bridges, which can affect the stress, displacement, and stability of the rail during train passage. Based on experimental and numerical studies, these guidelines provide limiting values for stress, displacement, and stability of the rail to ensure railway bridges' safe and reliable performance. These limiting values are derived to prevent excessive deformations and stress in the rail that could lead to failure of the rail or other bridge components.