Prediction of turnout support deterioration through dynamic train-track interactions integrated with artificial intelligence

Due to the increase of rolling stocks' speed and limited area for railway project construction which result in sharper curves, vibration perceived by passengers tends to be higher. The higher vibrations negatively affect passenger comfort. In addition, there are different parameters affecting passenger comfort. In this study, track stiffness deterioration is studied to explore the effect on passenger comfort. Track stiffness deterioration can be occurred by different causes such as the exceeded load applying to rail infrastructure, regular application, or extreme events such as flooding. These causes all make the track deterioration and the track stiffness will decrease. Besides the rail infrastructure deteriorates and maintenance needs to be performed which results in cost, it also results in worse passenger comfort because the track infrastructure is less stable. The finite element method is applied to develop rolling stock models and study the effects of track stiffness deterioration on rail passenger comfort. Finite element models are verified with field data to ensure that the results from simulations are reliable. Passenger comfort is evaluated based on accelerations which are the main parameters in many standards.