Abstract: Installation of rail vibration dampers (rail dampers for short) onto rails between sleepers is one of the measures to control rail noise generation and roughness growth. Amid the rapid expansion of high-speed and underground railway networks in China, many suppliers are actively marketing and promoting their products, often giving confusing information. In this paper, a parametric study is used to investigate the effect of rail dampers on the dynamical behavior of a Chinese high-speed railway track. The Fourier transform-based method developed for analyzing dynamics of a railway track as an infinitely long periodic structure, with or without rail dampers, is applied in the investigation. It is hoped that results in this paper can help develop the understanding of the working mechanism of rail dampers, and provide useful information for product design and application.

Key words: Rail damper; Track dynamics; Dispersion curves; Vibration decay rate

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