There is an increasing interest in the performance and serviceability of concrete crossties and elastic fastening systems due to the loading demands of increasing freight axle loads and the development of new high-speed passenger rail infrastructure in North America. In the light of these increasing demands, it is essential to examine and improve current design practices of prestressed concrete...

We have developed a simulation program that presents the process of fastening band-shaped cloth objects. These objects are twisted in 3D space to mimic the movements of tying garments such as Kimono sash. Even using extensive collision handling, this simulation is tough. The difficulty lies in the complex object contacts: The movements of different parts of a long contiguous deformable object c...

This paper emphasizes remanufacturing as an end-of-life option and the effects of fastening and joining methods on remanufacture. Three case studies describe examples of fastening and joining that facilitate assembly and recycling but impede remanufacturing. To illustrate the impact of fastening choices on remanufacture relative to other life-cycle concerns, the development of a computer tool t...

A dynamic nonlinear model of rubber absorber in railway fastening is proposed in this paper based on a superposition principal demonstrating that the restoring force of rubber components consists of an elastic force and a damping force. In order to determine model parameters and verify the accuracy of this model, a dynamic experiment is designed. The obtained simulated results show good agreeme...

Increasing axle loads of today’s North American heavy haul freight trains have presented numerous engineering challenges for the design and performance of concrete crossties and fastening systems. Several research studies have been conducted to understand the path of the vertical load from the wheel/rail interface through the fastening system and into the crosstie with successful results. Howev...

A nonlinear coupled dynamic model of a rod fastening rotor under rub-impact and initial permanent deflection was developed in this paper. The governing motion equation was derived by the D’Alembert principle considering the contact characteristic between disks, nonlinear oil-film force, rub-impact force, unbalance mass, etc. The contact effects between disks was modeled as a flexural spring wit...