Abstract
The molecular dynamics method (MD method) is a powerful tool for the investigation of granular materials like the railway ballast. The characteristics of this method are explained in detail. In contrast to a continuum description, each single stone of the ballast is taken into account. Since the ballast settlement is strongly influenced by the shape of the stones, in the two-dimensional model polygonal particles are used. These particles are surrounded by fixed boundary walls. At the top of the ballast particle layer, a single sleeper is positioned which is loaded by forces occurring at the real track. The contact forces are calculated from the overlap area of the particle geometries.
The paper includes information about the sensitivity of the model behavior on initial conditions and contact law parameters. Furthermore, the contact network, the quasi-static stiffness of the ballast layer and its long-term behavior are addressed. Particular emphasis is put on the description of current difficulties and challenges in applying the MD method.