Railway track switch simulation: a new dynamic model for studying actuator and switch blade dynamics

This paper proposes a new approach to the dynamic modelling of railway track switches. The approach results in a model which faithfully reproduces the dynamic bending of the switch blades, allows simulated actuators (forces) to be applied along the length of the rails and can be simulated in times that are an order of magnitude faster than similar models in multi-body dynamics software (such as Simpack). These are the main contributions that should be of use to researchers and engineers concerned with the design of switches and their actuation mechanisms. First, an actuator model is developed; then the switch blade FEA (Finite Element Analysis) model is developed and validated against static bending predictions; the two are then combined and validated against the dynamic and steady-state predictions from a validated Simpack model.