Influence of Temperature on Vibration Reduction Performances of Elastic Track Materials

Elastic rubber materials such as rail pads are used on railway tracks in order to absorb vibrations and impact forces generated by passing trains. For example, rail pads reduce vibrations transmitted through the rails to structural track components such as rail fasteners and track slabs. The performance of rubber materials changes with temperature. Thus, there is a concern that the vibration reduction performance of elastic track materials may decrease at low temperatures because of the higher resulting stiffness. Field tests were conducted at the same point on a concrete viaduct in summer and winter to evaluate the influence of ambient temperature on the vibration and noise reduction performance of elastic track materials. The results showed that vibrations in some structural components under the rail pad increased at low temperature, which agrees with the track theory of the track vibration.