Deformation and stress distribution of discontinuous precast concrete track slab: I. Initial and temperature deformation

This study looked into the behavior of precast concrete track due to temperature variation and initial track deformation and examined the effect of initial deformation and deformation caused by temperature gradient on the stress distribution of slab under train load. In this paper, one of two papers in a series, a finite element analysis model for calculating deformation and stress of precast concrete track was proposed; the temperature distribution and displacements measured at the precast concrete track in the field were compared with the analytical results. The results show that the slab always curled up due to initial deformation; by comparing the measured displacements with the displacements calculated by taking measured temperatures at each depth as input, the effective built-in temperature (EBITD), the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the slab corresponding to the initial deformation, can be estimated. If EBITD is relevantly assumed, the calculated displacements correlate well with the measured ones.