Thermal Analysis and Prediction Methods for Temperature Distribution of Slab Track Using Meteorological Data.

Area of Science:

• Civil Engineering
• Materials Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Structural temperature distribution in concrete slab tracks significantly affects high-speed railway performance.
• Previous research primarily focused on temperature prediction, neglecting environmental influences on temperature distribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an analytical method for determining and decomposing concrete slab track temperature distribution.
• To investigate the impact of solar radiation and atmospheric temperature on structural temperature.
• To establish a relationship between structural temperature and meteorological parameters.

Main Methods:

• Integral transformation method for analytical temperature determination.
• Decomposition of temperature distribution into initial and boundary components.
• Field temperature test on a half-scaled concrete slab track specimen for validation.

Main Results:

• Solar radiation is a major driver of nonlinear temperature distribution in slab tracks.
• Atmospheric temperature has a minimal effect on the overall temperature distribution.
• Atmospheric temperature contributes only about 5% to slab surface temperature changes under hot weather conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed analytical method accurately predicts concrete slab track temperature distribution.
• Meteorological parameters, particularly solar radiation, are key predictors of structural temperature.
• This research provides a foundation for understanding and mitigating temperature-induced deformations in high-speed railway infrastructure.