Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Temperature field and thermal effects of the longitudinal connected slab

track based on the measurement data and thermal-fluid-structure
coupling analysis
Qian Zhang , Xiaopei Cai *, Yanglong Zhong , Zelin Chen , Changchang Wang
School of Civil Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The temperature field and thermal effects are important factors affecting the serviceability of the longitudinal
Longitudinal connected slab track connected slab track and the safety of high-speed trains, which are necessary to deeply understand. To analyze
Thermal-fluid–structure coupling analysis the temperature field and thermal deformation of the longitudinal connected slab track, based on the heat
Temperature distribution
transfer processes between the track and the environment, a three-dimensional thermal-fluid–structure coupling
Slab deformation
Construction temperature
analysis model is established. The meteorological factors are comprehensively considered in the model, and the
temperature field and the thermal effects of the longitudinal connected slab track can be thoroughly investigated.
Good agreement is observed between the calculated temperatures of the model and the measured temperatures
at the testing platform. On this basis, the temperature and deformation of the longitudinal connected slab track in
typical dates in Beijing are analyzed. The results indicate that the maximum temperatures of the track and the
time of their occurrence vary in different seasons. The positive temperature gradient is greater than the negative
temperature gradient. The temperature distribution of the slab track shows significant non-uniformity in the
transverse direction along the track. In summer, the slab track has a U-shaped temperature distribution in
daylight, while in winter, the slab track has an S-shaped temperature distribution. The uneven distribution of the
track temperature causes uneven deformation of the precast slab. The arching deformation of the precast slab is
greatest in summer. Focused observation of the precast slab during the hot season is required to prevent excessive
deformation and instability of the slab. The construction temperature of the slab track has pronounced effects on
track deformations. The construction temperature should be strictly controlled to prevent the track cracking or
instability.

1. Introduction
With the extensive construction of high-speed railways, the slab
track is increasingly used because of its outstanding advantages such as
high smoothness, excellent durability, and low maintenance [1,2]. The
longitudinal connected slab track is one of the major types of the slab
track, which has been constructed more than 4, 000 km in China [3]and
consists of rail, fastener, precast slab, cement asphalt (CA) mortar, broad
joint, narrow joint, and concrete base [4], as shown in Fig. 1. The track
has good integrity and uniform stiffness [5], which can provide smooth
running surfaces for high-speed trains because the precast slab and the
concrete base are both longitudinally connected structures. However, it
is precisely this longitudinally connected system that makes it easy to
accumulate large internal forces in the precast slab, causing damages to
the track under extreme and repeated temperature rises and falls [6].
The damages are mainly manifested as cracks of the concrete caused by
low temperature and the up-arch of the precast slab caused by high
temperature [7]. The cracks and instability of the longitudinal con­
nected slab track caused by thermal effects widely appear on high-speed
railway (HSR) lines in high-temperature areas. Examples include
Ningbo-Hangzhou High-speed Railway, Shanghai-Hangzhou High-
speed Railway, and Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway in southern
China. According to statistics in summer of 2013, up-arch of the longi­
tudinal connected slab track in 49 places were detected on Beijing-
Shanghai HSR, with the maximum up-arch amount of 5 mm. The lon­
gitudinal connected slab track of the Ningbo-Hangzhou HSR has 47
diseases of up-arch, with the maximum up-arch amount reaching 20 mm
[8]. These diseases of the longitudinal connected slab track caused by

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: xpcai@bjtu.edu.cn (X. Cai).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.128121
Received 17 March 2022; Received in revised form 10 May 2022; Accepted 10 June 2022
Available online 18 June 2022
0950-0618/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Q. Zhang et al.
the thermal effects have seriously threatened the serviceability of tracks
and the safe operation of high-speed trains.
The direct source of the thermal effects of slab track is its tempera­
ture field, the distribution of which varies considerably from season to
season and from region to region [9]. In hot seasons, the slab track ex­
pands thermally as a result of the increased temperature. The ends of the
longitudinally connected track are constrained and therefore the pres­
sure accumulates internally. In this condition, there is a tendency for the
precast slab to become unstable due to the excessive pressure. As a
result, when the bond between the precast slab and the CA mortar is
weakened [10], which is very common in the operation of HSR [11] and
shown in Fig. 2 (a), it is likely to cause the track arching due to high
temperatures [12]. In cold seasons, the temperature of the slab track
decreases, which will make the slab track contract and great internal
tension accumulate. The interface between the precast slab and the
joints will crack under great tension, as shown in Fig. 2 (b), which will
destroy the longitudinal connection of the slab and contribute to further
instability of the track. In addition to the temperature rise and fall of the
track, the uneven distribution of the precast slab temperature will form a
temperature gradient perpendicular to the track surfaces, which will
cause undesirable deformation of the track [13,14]. Therefore, the
temperature field can have significant effects on the serviceability of the
longitudinal connected slab track.
At present, the studies on the temperature field of the slab track were
mainly conducted from two aspects, one was the field monitoring of the
track temperature, the other was the theoretical analysis based on
meteorology and heat transfer.
Research into the field monitoring of the track temperature field has
been fruitful and provided theoretical support for analyzing the thermal
effects on the slab track. Dai et al. [15–17], Liang et al. [18], Wu et al.
[19], and Zhao et al. [20,21] used the regression analysis method and
time series difference method to fit the measured temperatures of the
slab track. Based on the fitting results, expressions for the temperature
gradient of the slab track were proposed, leading to temperature pre­
diction models. As the temperature of the slab track is closely related to
the ambient temperature, Liu et al. [22], Zhao et al. [23] and Gao et al.
[24] conducted long-term measurements of the ambient temperature of
the slab track. Based on the measured data, the correlation between the
slab track temperature and the air temperature was revealed. These
studies were able to analyze the temperature field of the slab track from
changes in the air temperature. Considering that the change of the slab
track temperature is not only dependent on the air temperature, but is
related to solar radiation, wind speed and so on, more and more mete­
orological factors were gradually taken into account in the analysis of
the slab track temperature. Yan et al. [25], Ou et al. [26] and Wan et al.
[27] combined meteorological data and the measured temperature of
Fig. 1. The longitudinal connected slab track.
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Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
Fig. 2. The diseases of the longitudinal connected slab track.
the slab track to establish the relationship between the track tempera­
ture and air temperature, solar radiation intensity, wind speed, and
other meteorological factors, so as to predict and analyze the tempera­
ture field of the track more comprehensively.
In the theoretical analysis of the temperature field of the slab track,
many studies have been carried out such as the simulation modeling and
the analytical expression derivation. Li et al. [28], Guo et al. [29], Yan
et al. [30] established thermodynamic analysis models of the slab track
based on the finite element method. The thermodynamic models
allowed a comprehensive analysis of the influence of the track temper­
ature field on longitude and latitude, local meteorological conditions
and other factors. In the modeling process, the three main factors
affecting the temperature field of the slab track: solar radiation, heat
convection, and heat conduction, were simplified and regarded as the
boundary condition of the heat convection or heat flux density. Ou et al.
[31–34], Kang et al. [35] derived formulas for calculating the temper­
ature field based on the heat exchange between the slab track and the
environment, considering factors such as air temperature, solar radia­
tion and wind speed. The effects of complex meteorological conditions
have also been simplified in the modeling process. Liu et al. [36]and
Yang et al. [37] constructed a test platform for the slab track, measured
track temperature and several meteorological factors such as solar ra­
diation, wind speed and air temperature. The thermal boundaries of the
slab track were calculated from the measured data and assigned to the
finite element model, thus establishing a more comprehensive model for
analyzing the temperature field taking into account the complex mete­
orological conditions.
The temperature analysis of the slab track played an important role
in guiding the design of the track, as the temperature is a key factor
affecting the slab track forces [38]. In analyzing the effect of the tem­
perature on the slab track, the current focus is on damage to the track
under extreme temperatures, such as Zhong et al. [6], Liu et al. [8,39]
and Chen et al. [40].
It is clear from the above analysis that the temperature field and
thermal effects of the slab track have been studied a lot, however not
Q. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121

sufficiently. The shortcomings of these studies include incomplete occurs between the sides of the concrete base and the air. Heat radiation
measured data and too much neglect of thermal boundaries in theoret­ includes direct solar radiation, scattered radiation, and reflected radia­
ical analysis. The temperature distributions of the slab track obtained tion from the longitudinal connected slab track. Solar-induced radiation
through experiments were often limited by the location of the mea­ is quite crucial for determining the temperature field of the longitudinal
surement points and the number of sensors, and only the results within connected slab track. Hence, the contribution of the solar radiation in
small sections can be obtained. Such test results were unable to reflect heat transfer must be considered [41].
the regional variability and did not allow for track temperature data to Taking into account the above heat transfer modes between the
be obtained beyond the sensor locations. Theoretical analysis can obtain longitudinal connected slab track and the environment, the following
more comprehensive characteristics of the temperature distribution, and assumptions had been made in developing the governing equations for
the influencing factors considered in the theoretical analysis were more transient heat transfer.
and more comprehensive. Complex meteorological conditions had
increasingly become factors that must be taken into account when (1) The materials of the longitudinal connected slab track and
studying the temperature field of the slab tracks. However, the theo­ foundations were isotropic.
retical models usually simplified the heat loads, and the simplified (2) The air was a turbulent, incompressible ideal gas.
models cannot reflect the important influence of some key factors, such (3) The deformation of the longitudinal connected slab track was
as the wind and solar radiation, on the temperature field of the slab very small and did not affect the heat transfer.
track. This is clearly imperfect in the analysis of the slab track temper­ (4) The slab track is a thin plate structure, so the impact of ground
ature fields. When analyzing the thermal effects of the slab track, usually reflection radiation on it was ignored.
only the overall temperature rose or fell was considered, ignoring the
inhomogeneity of the temperature field. It is inconsistent with the actual 2.2. Governing equations of the track temperature field
situation, thus making it difficult to accurately analyze the force and
deformation of the slab track. The heat transfer between the precast slab, CA mortar, concrete base,
To this end, to make up for the above deficiencies, this paper pro­ and foundation is mainly carried out in the way of heat conduction. Heat
posed an innovative thermal-fluid–structure coupling analysis model transfer between structures obeys Fourier’s law:
based on the thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. By taking full ac­
count of changing meteorological conditions rather than using assumed Qλ = − λA
∂T
(1)
thermal boundaries, actual temperature changes can be calculated more ∂x
accurately. After experimental verification, the model can comprehen­ where Qλ is the amount of heat passing through a specified surface
sively consider the meteorological factors, accurately obtain the tem­ per unit time; A is the area of the specified surface; λ is the heat transfer
perature field and thoroughly investigate the thermal effects of the rate; T is the temperature; x is the coordinate on the heat conduction
longitudinal connected slab track. surface; ∂∂Tx is the temperature gradient perpendicular to the conducting
surface.
2. Mathematical model The temperature field of the longitudinal connected slab track con­
sists of a set of temperatures at different points. The temperature func­
2.1. Fundamental assumptions tion in a three-dimensional cartesian coordinate system can be
expressed as:
The temperature field of the longitudinal connected slab track is
dominated by the constant heat exchange between it and the environ­ T = f (x, y, z, t) (2)
ment. According to the theory of heat transfer, heat exchange is Based on the preceding analysis of the heat transfer processes be­
accomplished through conduction, convection, and radiation. Fig. 3 il­ tween the longitudinal connected slab track and the environment, the
lustrates the heat exchange processes between the track and the governing equation of the temperature field can be described as:
environment. ( ) ( ) ( )
The heat conduction between the longitudinal connected slab track ∂T
ρC S =
∂
λs
∂T
+
∂
λs
∂T
+
∂
λs
∂T
(3)
and the environment occurs mainly between the concrete base and the ∂t ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂z ∂z
foundation. Heat convection occurs between the surface of the precast where CS, λS are specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of
track plate and the airflow, and a small amount of heat convection
the longitudinal connected slab track, respectively.

2.3. Governing equations of the air temperature field

Reflection by
the atmosphere
Radiation of the track The governing equations of the air to be considered are the conti­
nuity, momentum, and energy equations [42] which are as follows:
Solar Reflection
radiation by clouds (1) Continuity equation.
Air
Clouds Downward ∇⋅→
v =0 (4)
atmospheric
radiation where →
v is the velocity of the airflow.
Direct and scattering
solar radiation (2) Momentum equation.

Momentum equation adopts Navier-Stokes equation:

The longitudinal connected
slab track and foundation ∂→v
Heat conduction ρ + ∇⋅(ρ→
v→v ) = − ∇p + ∇⋅→
τ + ρ→
g (5)
∂t

Fig. 3. Heat exchange processes between the longitudinal connected slab track where p represents the static pressure, ρ represents the density of the
and the environment. fluid, ρ→
g represents the gravitational body force, → g represents

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Q. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121

acceleration due to gravity, and →

τ represents the stress tensor. (3) Opaque walls.

(3) Energy equation. The surfaces of the longitudinal connected slab track and the foun­
dation exposed to the air can be considered as Opaque walls. No-slip
∂T ( )
ρ + ρ∇⋅(→
v T) = ∇⋅ keff ∇T + Sh (6) boundaries were specified on the opaque walls. In this study, heat
∂t transfer between the track and air is a typical coupled heat transfer
where T represents the temperature, keff represents the effective problem. Therefore, the walls were defined as a coupled heat transfer
thermal conductivity, and Sh represents the radiation heat source. condition. It was applicable to walls that form the interfaces between the
solid and air domains.
(4) Turbulence model.
(4) Solar load.
In order to ensure sufficient computational accuracy and computa­
tional efficiency at the same time, the selection of the turbulence model The solar load on the calculated zone was calculated using the solar
should be appropriate. Considering that the turbulence situation in this ray tracing algorithm. The ray tracing algorithm of the solar load model
study was not complicated, to solve the governing equations, a standard can be used to predict the direct illumination energy source that results
k-ε two-equation turbulence model was introduced. The turbulence ki­ from incident solar radiation. It takes a beam that is modeled using the
netic energy k and its rate of dissipation ε are governed by the following sun position vector and illumination parameters, applies it to any or all
transport equations: wall and inlet/outlet boundary zones, performs a face-by-face shading
[( ) ] analysis to determine well-defined shadows on all boundary faces and
∂(ρk) ∂(ρku) ∂ μ ∂k
+ = μ+ t + Gk − ρε (7) interior walls, and computes the heat flux on the boundary faces that
∂t ∂xi ∂xj σ 1 ∂xi
result from the incident radiation. By determining longitude, latitude,
[( ) ] time zone, and date, the direct solar radiation intensity, scattered radi­
∂(ρε) ∂(ρεu) ∂ μt ∂ε ε ε2
+ = μ+ + C1 Gk − C2 ρ (8) ation intensity, the solar elevation angle, and azimuth will be deter­
∂t ∂xi ∂xj σ2 ∂xi k k
mined by the solar ray tracing algorithm.
where xj is the displacement of the outflow field in y-direction; μ is In reference [37], the solar radiation intensity in Chengdu, China
the dynamic viscosity of the air; μt is turbulence viscosity coefficient; Gk (104◦ 1′ E, 30◦ 5′ N) in 2016 was measured. Entering the corresponding
is one of the turbulent kinetic energy generation terms, caused by the date, geography and weather conditions in the solar load model, the
average velocity gradient; σ 1, σ2 are Prandtl numbers corresponding to same solar radiation intensity as reference [37] was calculated. It indi­
turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate, respectively, σ 1 = 1.00, σ 2 cated that as long as geographic information was accurate, the solar load
= 1.30; C1, C2 are empirical constants, C1 = 1.44, C2 = 1.92 [43]. model can calculate the accurate solar radiation intensity.

2.5. Initial conditions

2.4. Boundary conditions
The solution of the heat transfer differential equations must satisfy
The boundary conditions for the model are as follows: the initial and boundary conditions in order to obtain the temperature of
a point at any time. A pre-analysis of one or several consecutive days can
(1) Inlet. reduce the negative effects of the unknown initial condition [44]. In the
pre-analysis, the initial temperature of the longitudinal connected slab
Inlet is set to velocity-inlet, which is used to provide constant or track and the foundation can take the air temperature. In this study, the
varying speed and temperature of the air. Turbulence parameters need temperature analysis of three consecutive days was performed, and the
to be set for the airflow entering the computing domain. Intensity and results of the last day were used for investigation.
Hydraulic Diameter are chosen as the specification method to define the
turbulence parameters. The turbulent intensity I and the hydraulic 3. Numerical methodology
diameter Dh are calculated as:
ρvd Simulations were conducted using ANSYS Workbench 2020R1. The
Re = (9) process of establishing the thermal-fluid–structure coupling analysis
η
model is shown in Fig. 4. The modeling process included four steps. 1)
I = 0.16Re− 1/8
(10) Geometric modeling: Establish the geometric model of the longitudinal
connected slab track, the foundation, and the air. 2) Generate grids:
Dh = 4S/L (11) Mesh the solid domain (the longitudinal connected slab track and the
foundation) and the fluid domain (the air) separately. 3) The estab­
where Re is the Reynolds number; ρ is the density of air at the inlet lishment of fluid–structure coupling heat transfer model: Import the
vents; v is the velocity of air at the inlet vents; η is the kinematic vis­ generated mesh into CFD software FLUENT for fluid–structure coupling
cosity; d is the hydraulic diameter of the inlet vents; S is the area of the heat transfer analysis. 4) The establishment of the thermal effects
inlet vents; L is the perimeter of the inlet vents. analysis model for the slab track: Based on the finite element method,
the thermal effects model for the longitudinal connected slab track was
(2) Outlet. established. The temperature field of the slab track was imported into
the model to calculate the thermal effects of the longitudinal connected
The outlet was set to pressure-outlet and the pressure was set to slab track.
101.325 kPa. The temperature of air needed to be set, but the temper­ It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the heat-fluid–structure coupled model
ature was not equal to the given value and was obtained according to the included two calculation models, one was the fluid–structure coupling
calculation. The gradient of the velocity component with respect to the heat transfer model and the other was the thermal effects analysis
normal line of the exit plane was fixed at zero, given by ∂( u ) = 0, ∂( v ) =
→ →
model. The relationship of the above models and calculation process
∂y ∂y
were as follows: In the fluid–structure coupling heat transfer model, the
∂( v )
→
0 and = 0. Turbulence parameters needed to be set, which were
∂w temperature fields of the longitudinal connected slab track were calcu­
calculated according to equation (9) ~ (11). lated. In the thermal effects analysis model, by importing the calculated

4
Q. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121

Fig. 4. The process of establishing the thermal-fluid–structure coupling analysis model.

temperature fields, the force and deformation of the slab track in the
1
temperature field were calculated, so as to realize the coupling of heat- τω = Cf ⋅ ρv2 (13)
2
fluid–structure of the slab track.
√̅̅̅̅̅
τω
u* = (14)
3.1. Geometric modeling ρ

In the process of thermal-fluid–structure coupling analysis, the y+ υ

y= (15)
computational domains included the solid domain and the fluid domain, ρu*
each of which needed to establish a geometric model first.
Where Cf is the friction coefficient of the wall; τω is the shear stress of
In order to obtain the accuracy in the simulation, the model needed
the wall; u* is the friction velocity of the wall; y is the thickness of the
to be long enough to ensure sufficient boundary conditions. Through
first layer grid.
trial calculations, the dimensions of the model that can guarantee the
y+ is determined according to the properties of the flow field. In low
sufficient accuracy were determined. The total length of the model was
Reynolds number models, y+≤ 1, preferably close to 1. In high Reynolds
19.5 m, which was three slabs long. The middle slab was selected to
number models, 30 ≤ y+≤ 300, preferably close to 30. Re = 1.8e6 was
analyze the temperature field of the longitudinal connected slab track.
calculated in this paper, which belongs to the high Reynolds number
The environmental influence on the temperature distribution in the di­
model, so the value of y+ was 30.
rection of the depth of the slab track and its foundation is limited, which
By calculating formulas (12) ~ (15), the thickness of the first layer
was roughly 0.85 m [37]. In other words, the temperature of the foun­
grid y was about 0.9 mm and extended to the tenth layer at a multiplier
dation, which was more than 0.85 m from the top surface of the track,
of 1.1. The size of grids at the solid domain was about 0.05 m. The total
was almost constant. Therefore, deducting the thickness of the slab track
number of grids in the fluid and the solid domains was 1, 920, 000,
of 0.43 m, the thickness of the foundation should be greater than 0.42 m.
which can guarantee the convergence of the model and high computa­
In this study, the depth of the foundation was 0.6 m, which can ensure
tional efficiency after grid independence check.
that the slab track temperature field analysis was accurate. During the
modeling of the air, after trial calculations, the calculated results of the
3.3. The establishment of the fluid–structure coupling heat transfer model
temperature field were almost not influenced by the size of the air model
when the width of the air was greater than 5 m and the height is greater
Import the generated grids into CFD software Fluent, in which the
than 3 m. Therefore, the air model was 5 m wide and 3 m high.
material parameters as shown in Table 1 were given to different do­
mains. Set the boundary and initial conditions of the model in Fluent.
3.2. Generate grids The air was modeled as an ideal incompressible gas. In this study, the

After completing the geometric modeling of the fluid and solid do­ Table 1
mains, import the geometry into ICEM to generate grids. The size of Material parameters of the longitudinal connected slab track.
grids at the junction between the fluid and solid domains had a large
Parameters Precast slab CA mortar Concrete base
influence on the results, so it needed to be encrypted. The thickness of
the first layer of the air mesh was calculated according to the following Heat conductivity /(W⋅m-2⋅℃-1) 3.0 1.3 3.0
Specific heat capacity /(J⋅kg-1⋅℃-1) 973 925 973
formulas: Thermal expansion coefficient /℃-1 1.0 × 10-5 1.3 × 10-5 1.0 × 10-5
Density /(kg⋅m-3) 2,500 2,400 2,500
(12)
1
Cf = 0.0576Re− 5
Elastic Modulus /MPa 35,500 7,000 32,500
Poisson’s ratio 0.18 0.34 0.18

5
Q. Zhang et al.
time-dependent speed and temperature of the air at Inlet vents were set
via the FLUENT user subroutine (UDF). The model was solved using the
COUPLE algorithm. The coupled pressure–velocity equations were dis­
cretized in a second-order upwind format. The convergence criterion for
solving all the governing equations was less than 1 × 10-6.
3.4. The establishment of the thermal effects analysis model
After obtaining the temperature field, a thermal effects analysis
model was developed to investigate the stress and deformation of the
longitudinal connected slab track in the temperature field. To establish
the model, the geometry model of the longitudinal connected slab track
and the foundation created in Step 1 was first imported into the finite
element software ANSYS, where the geometric model was meshed. It
was important to note that when mesh the model, the geometric model
needed to be meshed into the same grids as Step 2 so that the results of
the temperature field can be accurately transferred to the model.
The thermal effects analysis model for the slab track consisted of the
precast slab, CA mortar, concrete base, broad joint, narrow joint, and
foundation, which was simulated by element Solid185. The size of grids
in the model was 0.1 m. In the operation of HSR, damage often occurred
between the precast slab and CA mortar, which could lead to the failure
of the interfaces between them [45]. The failure of interfaces was one of
Fig. 5. The testing platform and positions of temperature sensors.
6
Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
the most important reasons for the occurrence of the arch on the lon­
gitudinal connected slab track. In order to consider the unfavorable state
of the track, the contact relationship between the precast slab and CA
mortar was defined as frictional contact, which meant that there was
friction between them in the tangent direction and can be separated in
the normal direction. The friction coefficient was taken as 0.5. Interfaces
failure usually did not occur between CA mortar and the concrete base,
so it was considered that there was no separation between them and the
bonded relationship was adopted. The base plate was laid directly on the
foundation, so that frictional contact was used between them. The dis­
placements of the foundation bottom and both ends of the slab track
were constrained.
The key of the thermal effect analysis model was to apply the tem­
perature field as the load to the longitudinal connected slab track.
ANSYS workbench provided connectors to enable the transfer of data
between Fluent and ANSYS. Through the connectors, the temperature
field of the slab track calculated by the fluid–structure coupling heat
transfer model can be imported into the thermal effects analysis model.
After the data had been imported, each element in the model was
assigned a temperature value, which was calculated by Fluent. In this
way, the temperature field will be loaded, and the thermal effects of the
slab track can be investigated.
Q. Zhang et al.
3.5. Model validation
To verify the model, a testing platform for the longitudinal connected
slab track shown in Fig. 5 was constructed, located in Beijing (116.35 ◦ E,
39.96 ◦ N). The orientation of the platform was basically east–west. 5
groups of temperature sensors were embedded the precast slab to
measure the temperatures at different depths. The sensors were buried
in 5 different positions of the precast slab, as shown in Fig. 5(a), and
distributed at four different depths, 5 mm,50 mm,100 mm, and 200 mm
from the top surface of the precast slab, as shown in Fig. 5(b). DS18B20
digital temperature sensors were utilized to measure the temperatures of
the track. The temperature range of the sensor was − 55 ℃ to 125 ℃, the
measurement accuracy was ± 0.5 ℃ and the measured interval was 2.5
min.
In order to verify the accuracy of the model, compare the measured
and calculated results of the test points at the center of the precast slab.
The temperatures of the precast slab on four consecutive days were
measured and calculated and the values are shown in Fig. 6. It can be
seen from Fig. 6 that the temperatures at different depths of the precast
slab changed periodically. During the daytime, the temperatures of the
top surface of the precast slab were higher than those of the bottom
surface, while at night, the bottom surface temperatures of the precast
slab were higher than those of the top surface. The temperature range of
the top surface of the precast slab was large while that of the bottom
surface was small. The above phenomena were observed in both
measured and calculated results and the calculated values were in good
agreement with the measured values. In Fig. 6, the maximum difference
between the calculated and tested results occurred at 14: 00 on the third
day, the measured result was 43.99 ℃, and the calculated result was
43.05 ℃. The maximum difference between the calculation and tested
results was only 0.94 ℃, which indicated that the numerical model had
high accuracy in analyzing the temperature field of the longitudinal
connected slab track. The reason that the measured results were slightly
larger the calculated results may be that the weather conditions were
better, so the amount of solar radiation was slightly larger, resulting in a
slightly higher surface temperature of the precast slab.
4. Results and discussion
The temperature field of the longitudinal connected slab track was
analyzed and in order to make it representative, four typical dates, 20
March, 21 June, 22 September, and 21 December, were chosen to
Fig. 6. Measured and calculated values of the longitudinal connected slab track temperatures.
7
Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
represent spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. It is
assumed that the calculation model was located in Beijing (116.35 ◦ E,
39.96 ◦ N) and the orientation of the track was east–west. The temper­
ature of the air and the initial temperature of the track were taken as the
daily average temperature in above four days in 2021, which were 6.5
℃, 25.5 ℃, 19.0 ℃ and − 2.0 ℃, respectively. Referring to the annual
meteorological data in Beijing, it can be seen that the wind was slight in
most of the year, so the wind speed was 3 m/s.
4.1. Vertical temperature distribution of the track
The temperatures at the center of the longitudinal connected slab
track at different times are shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the
temperature field of the longitudinal connected slab track changed
significantly with time. In different seasons, the highest temperature of
the track and its occurrence time were different. On March 20 and
December 21, the highest temperature of the track appeared at 14: 00.
On June 21 and September 22, the highest temperature of the track
appeared at 16: 00. This difference was due to that in June and
September, the average air temperatures were higher and the solar ra­
diation was stronger, so the track was in high temperature for a longer
time.
In different seasons, the temperature range of the top surface of the
track also varied greatly. On June 21, the highest temperature on the top
surface was 49.46 ℃, and the lowest temperature was 27.85 ℃, with a
difference of 21.61 ℃. On December 21, the highest temperature on the
top surface was 5.87 ℃, and the lowest temperature was − 0.66 ℃, with
a difference of 6.53 ℃. It can be seen that in the two days, the tem­
perature variation range of the top surface was significantly different.
The reason for the phenomenon was that the temperature change of the
track was mainly affected by the solar radiation, which varied consid­
erably in different seasons and was mainly reflected in the maximum
solar radiation in the daytime. The solar radiation was much higher in
summer than in winter, resulting in a faster temperature rise of the track
in summer.
The range of temperature on the top surface of the precast slab was
greater than it on the bottom surface. The temperature ranges of the top
surface were 11.87 ℃, 21.61 ℃, 11.14 ℃ and 6.53 ℃, respectively, and
the temperature ranges of the bottom surface were 1.88 ℃, 3.08 ℃, 1.69
℃ and 1.22 ℃, respectively. It indicated that the temperature was
gradually less influenced by the environment as the depth increased.
The temperature difference between the top and bottom surface
Q. Zhang et al. Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121

Fig. 7. Vertical temperature distribution of the track.

caused the temperature gradient, which was the main reason for the
uneven deformation of the precast slab. Taking the temperature fields of
the precast slab at 14: 00 on June 21 and December 21 as examples, the
contours of the temperature are shown in Fig. 8. As can be seen from
Fig. 8, at 14: 00 on June 21, the temperature of the top surface was
higher, about 50.31 ℃, while the temperature of the bottom surface was
lower, about 32.36 ℃. Within the depth of the track, the temperature
difference was about 17.95 ℃, which was mainly distributed on the
precast slab and the temperature of the concrete base was more stable.
At 14: 00 on December 21, the temperature difference between the top
surface and the bottom surface of the track was small, only 10.91 ℃.
This indicated that there was a large temperature difference between the
top surface and the bottom surface in different seasons. The difference
was approximately 61.78 % in winter compared to summer, which
resulted in different temperature gradients of the track.
In order to analyze the vertical temperature gradient of the track in
different seasons, it was calculated and as shown in Fig. 9. As can be seen
from the figure, the vertical temperature gradient of the precast slab was
higher in summer, with a maximum value of 59.51 ℃/m, while were
lower in the other seasons. The form of the temperature gradient varied
at different times. Positive temperature gradient occurred from 10: 00 to
18: 00 and negative temperature gradient occurred from 2: 00 to 8: 00
and 20: 00 to 24: 00. There were also obvious differences between the
positive and negative temperature gradient maximums, with a

Fig. 8. Contours of the track temperature.

8
Q. Zhang et al.
Fig. 9. Vertical temperature gradient of the precast slab.
maximum positive temperature gradient of 59.51 ℃/m and a maximum
negative temperature gradient of only 19.56 ℃/m.
4.2. Transverse temperature distribution of the track
According to Fig. 8, it can be seen that the transverse temperature
distribution of the prefabricated slab was different at different depths,
but the overall distribution was roughly the same. In order to make the
temperature distribution law of slab track more typical, the middle of
the prefabricated slab was selected to analyze the transverse tempera­
ture distribution and variation law. The temperatures at the depth of 0.1
m of the precast slab at different times are shown in Fig. 10. The highest
temperature of the precast slab appeared at 14: 00, and the lowest
temperature appeared at 6: 00 ~ 8: 00. Most notably, at the same depth,
the temperature of the precast slab showed a distinctly uneven distri­
bution along the track transversely. Due to the east–west orientation of
the track, the southern side of the slab received more solar radiation,
while the northern side received less, resulting in different amounts of
solar radiation in the transverse direction of the slab. The influence of
the phenomenon on the temperature field showed that the temperature
of the sunny side of the precast slab located in the south was significantly
higher than that of the shady side located in the north. Due to the low
heat conduction of the concrete, the influence of the sunny and shady
sides on the transverse temperature distribution was limited, so the
temperature in the middle of the precast slab was uniform.
In different seasons, the transverse distribution of the precast slab
temperature had great differences. In summer, due to sufficient solar
radiation, the temperatures of the track were higher on both sides and
lower in the middle in daylight, and the temperature presented a U-
shaped distribution. In winter, due to the low solar elevation, on the side
facing the sun, the precast slab received more solar radiation, while on
the side facing away from the sun, it received less. The precast slab had
high temperatures on the sunny side and low temperatures on the shady
side, shaping an S-shaped distribution to the temperature.
The temperature variation of the precast slab was greater at the sides
and less in the middle. This was because, at the edges of the track, both
the top and sides of the precast slab exchange heat with the environment
and therefore have high capacities for both heat absorption and release.
In the middle of the precast slab, heat exchange took place only on the
top surface, so the ability of heat absorption and release was weak. This
resulted in rapid temperature changes on both sides of the precast slab.
4.3. Thermal effects of the longitudinal connected slab track
The longitudinal connected slab track will have thermal effects and
9
Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
uneven deformations under temperature fields. It was assumed that the
initial temperature of the track, that was, the temperature of the con­
struction stage of the track, was 20 ℃. The deformation of the precast
slab caused by temperatures at different times is shown in Fig. 11.
It can be clearly seen from Fig. 11 that in different temperature fields,
there were two deformation forms of the precast slab, which were
arching at the center and sinking at the corners, respectively. Combined
with the analysis of the temperature field of the track, it can be seen that
the uneven deformation of the precast slab was mainly caused by the
uneven distribution of the temperature field. When the temperature of
the precast slab rose and the temperature of the top surface was higher
than that of the bottom surface, the top surface elongated more while the
bottom surface elongated less, causing the slab to arch. When the tem­
perature of the precast slab decreased and the top surface temperature
was lower than that of the bottom surface, the top surface shrank more
while the bottom surface shrank less, resulting in the sinking of the slab.
Therefore, during periods of the positive temperature gradient in the
precast slab, an upward at the middle of the slab occurred, and during
periods of the negative temperature gradient in the precast slab, a
concave at the middle of the slab occurred.
On the sunny and the shady sides of the track, there were obvious
differences in track deformation, which was caused by the uneven
transverse distribution of temperatures. The unevenness of the trans­
verse distribution of the slab temperature was most evident on
December 21, with the deformation of the precast slab on the sunny side
being significantly smaller than on the shady side. At 14: 00, the vertical
displacement of the precast slab on the sunny side was 0.06 mm, and
that on the shady side was 0.11 mm. The deformation on the shady side
of the slab was 83.33 % greater than on the sunny side, which was
caused by different temperature fields. In winter, the track’s going to
cool and therefore shrunk to form vertical deformations. On the sunny
side, the slab had a higher temperature, so the cooling range was low,
resulting in small deformations. The uneven vertical deformations of the
precast slab brought danger to high-speed trains. The difference of
vertical deformation on the sides of the track will make the height of the
left and right rails different. When high-speed trains ran on such track,
the trains will tilt to one side, which increases the risk of overturning,
seriously affect the safety of vehicles and may cause trains to derail.
Therefore, sufficient attention should be paid to the uneven deformation
of the track caused by the uneven transverse distribution of the
temperature.
In different seasons, the deformation amounts of the precast slab in
one day were quite different. Fig. 12 demonstrates the changes in the
maximum deformation of the precast slab at different times. The arch of
the precast slab reached the maximum value at 14: 00, and the concave
Q. Zhang et al.
Fig. 10. Transverse temperature distribution of the track.
was most significant at 6: 00. In a whole day, the vertical deformation of
the precast slab decreased first, then increased, and finally decreased.
The deformation of the precast slab was obviously affected by the sea­
son. The amount of upward was greatest in summer, reaching 0.48 mm,
and the amount of downward was greatest in winter, reaching 0.13 mm.
The application showed that the damages of the longitudinal connected
slab track were mainly caused by the deformation of the arch at high
temperatures. Therefore, it was necessary to focus on the observation of
the precast slab in the high-temperature season to prevent excessive
deformation of the track.
10
Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
4.4. Effects of construction temperature of the track
The thermal effects of the track depended on the initial temperature
of the longitudinal connected slab track, which was the temperature in
the construction stage [6]. Due to the different construction seasons, the
temperatures of the slab track ware differences after the longitudinal
connection completion. If the temperature when the longitudinal
connection of the slab track was completed was T1 and the current
temperature of the slab track was T2 (T2＞T1), the temperature variation
range of the slab track was ΔT = T2-T1. The larger the amount ΔT, the
more obvious the thermal effect of the track and the more significant the
track deformation. Therefore, the initial temperature T1 of the track
played a decisive role in its thermal effects. In the construction process,
Q. Zhang et al.
Fig. 11. Vertical deformation of the precast slab.
the temperature T1 of the track often had a great change, due to con­
struction season, geographical location, weather changes, and other
factors.
The initial temperatures of the track of 15.0 ℃, 17.5 ℃, 20.0 ℃, 22.5
℃, and 25 ℃ were taken to analyze the effects of construction tem­
perature on the deformation of the slab. From the aforementioned
analysis, it can be seen that the track temperature was high on June 21
and the deformation of the slab was most obvious at 14: 00. Fig. 13(a)
plots the deformations of the slab at 14: 00. When the construction
temperature of the track decreased from 25.0 ℃ to 15.0 ℃, the arch
amount of the precast slab increased from 0.42 mm to 0.51 mm, with an
increase of 21.43 %. On December 21, the temperature of the slab track
was low, and the deformation on both sides of the precast slab was most
obvious at 6: 00. Fig. 13(b) plots the deformations of the slab at 6: 00.
When the construction temperature of the track increased from 15.0 ℃
to 25.0 ℃, the warpage of the precast slab edge increased from 0.09 mm
to 0.16 mm, with an increase of 77.78 %. This indicated that the con­
struction temperature had a significant effect on the deformation of the
11
Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
track. When the construction temperature of the track was low, the
precast slab was prone to arch in high temperature, while when the
construction temperature of the track was high, the precast slab was
prone to sunken in low temperature. Therefore, the construction tem­
perature of the track should be strictly controlled so that the construc­
tion temperature was not too low or too high. In the process of
construction, it was necessary to perform the local annual average
temperature statistics and an appropriate intermediate temperature
shall be taken as the construction temperature.
5. Conclusions
A three-dimensional numerical model, which took into account the
complex heat transfer processes between the track and the environment,
was established to simulate the temperature field and thermal effects of
the longitudinal connected slab track. The numerical model was vali­
dated by the measured data. The temperature fields and vertical de­
formations of the longitudinal connected slab track located in Beijing on
Q. Zhang et al.
Fig. 12. Maximum vertical deformation of precast slab.
Fig. 13. Vertical deformation of the track at different construction temperatures.
typical dates were analyzed. Based on this study, the following conclu­
sions can be obtained:
(1) In different seasons, the extreme temperatures of the slab track
and the occurrence time were different. In spring and winter, the
highest temperature of the slab track appeared at 14: 00. In
summer and autumn, the highest temperature of the slab track
appeared at 16: 00. The positive temperature gradient was from
10: 00 to 18: 00, the negative temperature gradient was from 2:
00 to 8: 00, and from 20: 00 to 24: 00. The positive temperature
gradient was greater than the negative temperature gradient.
(2) The temperature distribution of the slab track presents an obvious
unevenness along the transverse track. In summer, when the solar
radiation was strong, the temperature of the track was higher on
both sides and lower in the middle, and the temperature pre­
sented a U-shaped distribution. In winter, due to the low solar
elevation, the track had a high temperature on the sunny side and
12
Construction and Building Materials 343 (2022) 128121
a low temperature on the shady side, giving an S-shaped distri­
bution to the temperature.
(3) The uneven temperature distribution of the track resulted in
uneven deformation of the precast slab. The deformation of the
precast slab was 83.33 % different between the shady side and the
sunny side. The arch of the slab was the largest in summer,
reaching 0.48 mm. Track performance under high temperature
requires being focused on, avoiding serious slab instability that
threatens railway operation and promoting more efficient track
inspection.
(4) The construction temperature of the slab track had significant
effects on slab deformations. When the construction temperature
of the slab track was reduced from 25.0 ℃ to 15.0 ℃, the amount
of arch on the precast slab increased by 21.41 %. When the
construction temperature of the slab track increased from 15.0 ℃
to 25.0 ℃, the warpage of the slab edge increased by 83.72 %.
The construction temperature of the slab track should be strictly
controlled and not be too low or too high.
Q. Zhang et al.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Qian Zhang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Soft­
ware, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. Xiaopei Cai: Concep­
tualization, Project administration, Supervision, Funding acquisition,
Writing – review & editing. Yanglong Zhong: Investigation, Visuali­
zation, Writing – review & editing. Zelin Chen: Software, Data curation,
Visualization, Writing – review & editing. Changchang Wang: Data
curation, Validation, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support to this
study from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.
52178405) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Uni­
versities of China (No. 2018JBZ003, 2020JBZD013).
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