Natural Frequencies of a Railroad Track

The natural frequency of an infinite railroad track was first determined by Timoshenko as ωR = √k/m, where k is the constant for the massless Winkler foundation and m is the mass per unit length of the rail. The natural frequencies of the track are determined here by modeling the track as a beam resting on a 3-D inertial elastic layer. It is shown that the mass of the supporting foundation has a significant effect on the natural frequencies of a railroad track. Finally, the concept of “added mass” is introduced in order to determine the natural frequency in a desired mode of vibration, by modeling the track as a beam on the massless Winkler foundation and adding the mass of the foundation to the beam.