This project aims to study the fundamental mechanics of ballast interacting with recycled rubber energy absorbing grids (REAG). In particular, Bernoulli–Euler beam equations with viscoelastic foundation will be used to capture the dynamic response of the REAG. The force on the rail is assumed to be in the form of a moving platoon with harmonic loads and uniform distributions. Solution techniques to be considered include the double Fourier’s transform and/or a combination of Fourier’s and Laplace’s transforms.
The University of Newcastle
Josiah Murray is an applied mathematics student at the University of Newcastle. His work in mathematics has primarily centered around the deformation of beams, especially in the context of railway systems. He has also diversified his studies, however, by taking on science projects. Josiah has recently seen success working as part of a small team for an industry client, conducting case studies on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the Hunter Region. Always looking for places to apply mathematics, he developed a heuristic model to evaluate the scoring criteria used in the case studies.