Dynamic Responses of Vehicles on Curved Railway Bridges: Focusing on Wind Direction

The Wind–Vehicle–Bridge (WVB) coupling method is extensively applied in engineering practices for the dynamic analysis of railway bridges. However, research on the dynamic behaviors of the vehicle on curved bridges in wind conditions remains limited due to the complexities of interactions involved. In this study, the railway alignment and an actual curved bridge were chosen and modeled. The framework of the WVB system was detailed, and four excitation cases were investigated, considering mean wind, fluctuating wind and track irregularities. Three distinct scenarios, including vehicle on a curved bridge subjected to Inward Blowing Wind (IBW), Outward Blowing Wind (OBW) and vehicle on a straight bridge subjected to wind, were explored. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) wind direction significantly affects wheel unloading rate, lateral force, and derailment coefficient; (2) under mean wind condition, critical wind speed increases with the vehicle speed increasing under IBW, while it decreases with the vehicle speed increasing under OBW; (3) Combined wind and track irregularities reveal that wind direction significantly influences dynamic responses, and lower speeds are not necessarily equal to safer conditions for vehicles on curved bridges.