Experimental monitoring and numerical modeling of the thermal regime of selected track substructures

The initial part of the paper characterizes major research activities at the Department of Railway Engineering and Track Management (DRETM), Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Žilina. Subsequently, it outlines the state of art in the field of track substructure dimensioning for the non-traffic load in Slovakia and abroad. The second part of the paper deals with the method of collecting input parameters for numerical modeling of the track substructure freezing using SoilVision software. The following part of the paper compares the results of the track substructure freezing obtained by experimental measurements and numerical modeling in the winter of 2016/2017. The final part of the paper focuses on the results of numerical modeling of the track substructure freezing in terms of the climatic conditions typical of railway infrastructure in the Slovak territory. Moreover, it presents a design of a modified nomogram for determination of the necessary thickness of the frost-susceptible subgrade surface layer and characterizes further related research activities planned to be implemented at the Department in the near future.