Structural Performance of Typical Viaduct for Thai-China Highspeed Railway

Abstract

Nowadays, the state railway of Thailand has initiated the first high-speed railway project. The first phase is a design and construction of a route from Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasrima. A full-scaled test of one viaduct span is specified to evaluate its structural performance. Based on Chinese code TB 2092-2003, the static and dynamic load tests on a typical span of 32.70 m shall be conducted. In this paper, the viaduct behavior under both loading conditions shall be investigated and compared with the performance requirements on safety, serviceability and durability according to Chinese code TB 10621-2014. The static load test shall be conducted under load levels of 1.0, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 of design load which are equivalent to the applied loadings of 700, 1000 1500 and 2000 tons, respectively. During the test, the responses of the viaduct, including deflections, rotations and strains, shall be monitored. The dynamic load test shall be conducted by an impact of a 1-ton sandbag dropping at midspan. The acceleration responses of the viaduct at L/3, L/2 and 2L/3 shall be obtained and analyzed for its fundamental natural frequency. All obtained test results shall be compared with those from Chinese code and the structural performance of the test viaduct shall be realistically evaluated and reported.