Determination of Rail Dilatation Movements at Tunnel Gates for Ballasted Railway Tracks

Where railway tracks pass through tunnels, the temperature conditions on the railway superstructure are different from those on the connecting track sections. Due to the temperature difference at the tunnel, dilatation movements occur even in cases of construction of continuously welded rail (CWR) tracks. The aim of this research is to determine the magnitude of the movements resulting from heat expansion and the normal force in the rail in the region of the tunnel gates, both in the tunnel and in the sections of track on the connecting earthworks. Ballasted and straight tracks with rail section of 54E1 are assumed in this paper.