Mitigation of Temperature-Induced Curling of Concrete Roadbed along High-Speed Railway: In situ Experiment and Numerical Simulation

The concrete roadbed in the Beijing-Shenyang high-speed railway (HSR) is being serviced for the first time in HSR construction history. Rail inspections have shown that the extreme temperature conditions in seasonally freezing regions can significantly influence the curling behavior of concrete roadbeds. This paper presents an in situ experiment to fundamentally evaluate the impact of seasonal temperature variations on the curling behavior of concrete roadbeds. Herein, a thermomechanical coupled finite element (FE) model is built and calibrated with experimental data. Then, specific consideration is given to the curling mitigation measures, including adjusting the thickness, length, and construction form of the concrete roadbed. Mitigating upward-curling behavior by increasing the thickness of the concrete roadbed will result in severe downward-curling behavior during one year of service. Finally, an active groove-setting construction form is suggested to prevent curling from the temperature variations in the concrete roadbed. In general, this study further enhances the common understanding of the temperature curling behavior of concrete roadbeds serviced in an HSR.