ABSTRACT
In many European cities there are a considerable number of railway bridges with a minimum height above road overpasses. The number of impacts increases on these road overpasses, which automatically results in the closure of the railway operation. A procedure supported by non-linear finite element analysis (NLFEA) and monitoring systems has been developed which, through a detailed analysis of the impact energy, the impact effects, and the structural resistance behaviour, identifies the actual impact value that has occurred and determines the impact limit value that triggers the closure of the railway operation. Finally, guidelines can be proposed for calculating the impact limit values and the arrangement of intelligent monitoring systems to prevent interruptions to operations.
