Design of continuous welded rail on a suspension bridge

摘要

This paper describes the callenging job of designing a 1.8 miles long continuous welded rail (CWR) on an existing suspension bridge over the River Tagus in Portugal. It also gives details of one of the world's largest rail expansion joints with a capacity of 60-inch movement, combined with the ability to disperse the angular rotation caused bythe stiffering truss. The 7475 feet long continuous stiffening truss deflects 17 feet at the center of the bridge. The CWR is designed for such flexible support and for the resulting change in grades. In addition, the CWR also has to negotiate, at the bridge ends, significant angular bend caused byt he behavior of the truss under railway loading.