The sleeper group influences on lateral resistance and stability of ballast bed

The sleeper group, composed of a certain number of rail sleepers, influences the characterization of lateral resistance and the stability of continuous welded rail (CWR). According to full-scale model tests and discrete element model simulation tests of ballast bed, we established a new lateral stability analysis model of CWR considering the effect of sleeper group and resistance sharing characteristics, and compared it with the traditional model. The case analysis shows that the lateral stability analysis result of CWR is safer when considering the effect of sleeper group. When the curve radius is 300 m, the safety margin of the sleeper group model is about 20.8% larger than that of the traditional model. For CWR with potential large lateral displacement in special sections (such as small-radius and large temperature difference), it is advisable to consider the effect of sleeper group for the lateral stability analysis.