Dynamic response of culvert – embankment transitions in high speed railways

The objective of this paper is to present the theoretical and experimental results on the dynamic responses the stress (earth pressure), displacement and acceleration, of the transition part built up by graded crushed stone between a reinforced concrete box culvert and the adjacent embankment in high speed railway. The transition is in a shape of upside-down trapezoid, where the embankment is embanked with granular soil and graded stone. In-situ experiments have been conducted to investigate the dynamic behavior of the transition and to verify the design criteria. A series results have been obtained through the in-situ measurements for the train speed from 180 km/h to 250 km/h, including the maximum stress, displacement and acceleration at the surface of the roadbed (transition), and the relationship between the dynamic responses and the train speeds. Furthermore, a numerical model is proposed to simulate the train running across the box culver - transition embankment system to obtain the dynamic responses of the transition.