CONTRIBUTION TO THE MODELIZATION, ANALYTICAL AND NUMERICAL, OF GENERATION AND PROPAGATION OF VIBRATIONS ORIGINATED BY RAILWAY TRAFFIC. ANALYSIS OF MITIGATION PROPOSALS

Tesis por compendioReal Herráiz, JI. (2015). CONTRIBUTION TO THE MODELIZATION, ANALYTICAL AND NUMERICAL, OF GENERATION AND PROPAGATION OF VIBRATIONS ORIGINATED BY RAILWAY TRAFFIC. ANALYSIS OF MITIGATION PROPOSALS [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/52247TESISCompendi

Measurement methods and analysis tools for rail irregularities. A case study for urban tram track

Rail irregularities, in particular for urban railway infrastructures, are one of the main causes for the generation of noise and vibrations. In addition, repetitive loading may also lead to decay of the structural elements of the rolling stock. This further causes an increase in maintenance costs and reduction of service life. Monitoring these defects on a periodic basis enables the network rail managers to apply proactive measures to limit further damage. This paper discusses the measurement methods for rail corrugation with particular regard to the analysis tools for evaluating the thresholds of acceptability in relation to the tramway Italian transport system. Furthermore, a method of analysis has been proposed: an application of the methodology used for treating road profiles has been also utilized for the data processing of rail profilometric data

Airborne and Ground-Borne Noise and Vibration from Urban Rail Transit Systems

The environmental effect of ground-borne vibration and noise generated by urban rail transit systems is a growing concern in urban areas. This chapter reviews, synthesizes and benchmarks new understandings related to railway vibration and associated airborne and ground-borne noise. The aim is to provide new thinking on how to predict noise and vibration levels from numerical modelling and from readily available conventional site investigation data. Recent results from some European metropoles (Brussels, Athens, etc.) are used to illustrate the dynamic effect of urban railway vehicles. It is also proved that train type and the contact conditions at the wheel/rail interface can be influential in the generation of vibration. The use of noise-mapping-based results offers an efficient and rapid way to evaluate mitigation measures in a large scale regarding the noise exposure generated to dense urban railway traffic. It is hoped that this information may provide assistance to future researchers attempting to simulate railway vehicle vibration and noise

Railway traffic induced vibrations: comparison of analytical and finite element models

The recent increase in the use of the railway and the establishment of more restrictive policies of harmful environmental effects of railway transport highlights the need to investigate ground vibrations related to trains. Therefore models to evaluate how this phenomenon affects have been performed. This article aims to expose both analytical and 3D-FE models and to compare theoretical formulation and results. Models have been calibrated and validated with real data. Furthermore, a simulation of the acceleration level of different railway infrastructure elements has been achieved

Procedures for estimating environmental impact from railway induced vibration: a review

Railway induced ground-borne vibration is among the most common and widespread sources of perceptible environmental vibration. It can give rise to discomfort and disturbance, adversely impacting on human activity and the operation of sensitive equipment. The rising demand for building new railway lines or upgrading existing lines in order to meet increasing transit flows has furthered the need for adequate vibration assessment tools during the planning and design stages. In recent years many studies in the fields of rail and ground dynamics have encouraged many prediction techniques giving rise to a wide variety of procedures for estimating vibration on buildings. Each method shows potential for application at different levels of complexity and applicability to varying circumstances. From the perspective of railway environmental impact assessment, this paper reviews some relevant prediction techniques, assessing their degree of suitability for practical engineering application by weighting their methodology (i.e. considerations and requirements) against practicality and precision. The review suggests that not all procedures are practicable (e.g. the attainment of representative parameters needed to run the procedures) whilst others predicate on assumptions which revealed to be too relaxed resulting in insufficient accuracy; however, a combination of methods may provide the necessary balance

Railway-induced ground vibrations – a review of vehicle effects

This paper is a review of the effect of vehicle characteristics on ground- and track borne-vibrations from railways. It combines traditional theory with modern thinking and uses a range of numerical analysis and experimental results to provide a broad analysis of the subject area. First, the effect of different train types on vibration propagation is investigated. Then, despite not being the focus of this work, numerical approaches to vibration propagation modelling within the track and soil are briefly touched upon. Next an in-depth discussion is presented related to the evolution of numerical models, with analysis of the suitability of various modelling approaches for analysing vehicle effects. The differences between quasi-static and dynamic characteristics are also discussed with insights into defects such as wheel/rail irregularities. Additionally, as an appendix, a modest database of train types are presented along with detailed information related to their physical attributes. It is hoped that this information may provide assistance to future researchers attempting to simulate railway vehicle vibrations. It is concluded that train type and the contact conditions at the wheel/rail interface can be influential in the generation of vibration. Therefore, where possible, when using numerical approach, the vehicle should be modelled in detail. Additionally, it was found that there are a wide variety of modelling approaches capable of simulating train types effects. If non-linear behaviour needs to be included in the model, then time domain simulations are preferable, however if the system can be assumed linear then frequency domain simulations are suitable due to their reduced computational demand

Design of ballasted railway track foundations using numerical modelling with special reference to high speed trains

A new design method for ballasted railway track foundations was developed based on improved empirical models and sophisticated three-dimensional finite element numerical analyses. The method was developed in the form of simple design charts for use by practitioners. The results obtained from the method were found to be in an excellent agreement with the field observations, and the method is expected to provide a significant contribution to the current railway tack design code of practice

Data-driven vibration prognosis using multiple-input finite impulse response filters and application to railway-induced vibration of timber buildings

With this paper, we present a vibration prognosis method based on finite impulse responses. The impulse responses are identified using measurement data from an existing building and consider a multiple-input/multiple-output topology. Vibration prognosis in urban buildings is becoming increasingly important, since more and more buildings are being constructed close to urban infrastructure. Combined with modern and ecological choices of building materials and the low vibration levels required by current standards, serviceability in terms of structural dynamics becomes an issue. Sources of vibration in urban settings include railway and metro lines as well as road traffic. This work focuses on a method especially suited to the three- dimensional vibration state encountered in modern timber buildings. Under the assumption of linear time-invariant structural dynamic behaviour, we develop a time- domain identification approach. The novelties of this contribution lie in the formulation of a numerically efficient method to identify multiple-input finite impulse response filters and its application to measurement data of a timber building. We validate this data-driven prognosis method using measurement data from a building constructed from cross-laminated timber, considering the three-dimensional vibration behaviour. The accuracy and limitations are assessed using railway-induced vibrations as a typical source of disturbance by infrastructure. We show that vibration data from the foundation can be used for effective prognosis of the top floor slabs considering train types not included in the identification data set. Based on the prognosis method, a virtual sensor concept for long-term monitoring is presented

Application of dynamic vibration absorbers on double-deck circular railway tunnels to mitigate railway-induced ground-borne vibration

This dissertation is concerned with investigating the efficiency of dynamic vibration absorbers (DVAs) as measures to mitigate ground-borne vibrations induced by railway traffic in double-deck tunnels. The main topics of the dissertation are the coupling of a set of longitudinal distributions of DVAs to the interior floor of a double-deck tunnel dynamic model, the computation of the response of this coupled system due to train traffic and obtaining the optimum design parameters of the DVAs to minimize this response. To address the first concern, a methodology for coupling a set of longitudinal distributions of DVAs to any railway subsystem in the context of a theoretical dynamic model of railway infrastructure is developed. The optimum design parameters of the DVAs are obtained using an optimization process based on a genetic algorithm. The effectiveness of the DVAs is assessed by two response parameters, which are used as objective functions to be minimized in the optimization process: the energy flow radiated upwards by the tunnel and the maximum transient vibration value (MTVV) in the building near the tunnel. The model used to compute the former is a two-and-a-half dimensional (2.5D) semi-analytical model of a train-track-tunnel-soil system that considers a full-space soil model, and the one used to compute the latter is a hybrid experimental-numerical model of a train-track-tunnel-soil-building system. In the hybrid model, a numerical model of the track-tunnel system based on 2.5D coupled finite element-boundary element formulation along with a dynamic rigid multi-body model of the vehicle is used to compute the response in the tunnel wall, and then, the response in the building is computed using experimentally obtained transfer functions between the tunnel wall and the building. The triaxial response in the building is used to compute the MTVV. An alternative option to evaluate the MTVV in a building is to use a fully theoretical model of the train-track-tunnel-soil-building system. In the context of this modeling strategy, a computationally efficient method to calculate the 2.5D Green's functions of a layered soil is also presented. The results show that the DVAs would be an effective mitigation measure for railway-induced vibrations in double-deck tunnels as reductions up to 6.6 dB in total radiated energy flow and up to 3.3 dB in the vibration inside a nearby building are achieved in the simulations presented in this work.En esta tesis se estudia la eficiencia de los absorbedores de vibraciones dinámicos (DVAs) como medidas de mitigación de las vibraciones inducidas por infraestructuras ferroviarias aplicados a túneles ferroviarios de dos niveles. Los principales desarrollos de la tesis son el acoplamiento de un conjunto de distribuciones longitudinales de DVAs a la losa intermedia de un modelo dinámico de túnel de dos niveles, el cálculo de la respuesta de este sistema acoplado debido al paso del tren y la obtención de los parámetros óptimos de los DVAs para minimizar esta respuesta. Para abordar la primer punto, se ha desarrollado una metodología con el fin de acoplar un conjunto de distribuciones longitudinales de DVAs a cualquier subsistema ferroviario en el contexto de modelos teóricos de la dinámica de infraestructura ferroviarias. Los parámetros óptimos de los DVAs han sido obtenidos mediante un proceso de optimización basado en un algoritmo genético. La eficiencia de los DVAs se evalúa mediante dos quantificadores de la respuesta dinámica del sistema, los cuales se utilizan como funciones objetivo a minimizar en el proceso de optimización: el flujo de energía total radiado hacia arriba desde el túnel y el valor máximo de vibración transitoria (MTVV) en el forjada de un edificio cercano al túnel. El modelo utilizado para calcular el primero es un modelo semi-analítico del sistema vehículo-vía-túnel-terreno que considera un modelo de terreno de espacio completo, y el que se utiliza para calcular el segundo es un modelo híbrido experimental-numérico del sistema vehículo-vía-túnel-terreno-edificio. En el modelo híbrido, se utiliza un modelo numérico del sistema vía-túnel basado en la formulación acoplada de elementos finitos-elementos de contorno acoplados, formulada en el dominio del número de onda y la frecuencia, junto con un modelo dinámico multicuerpo del vehículo con el objetivo de calcular la respuesta en la pared del túnel. Luego, la respuesta en el edificio se calcula utilizando funciones de transferencia obtenidas experimentalmente entre la pared del túnel y el edificio. Para calcular el MTVV, se utiliza la respuesta triaxial en el edificio. Una opción alternativa para evaluar el MTVV en un edificio es utilizar un modelo totalmente teórico del sistema vehículo-vía-túnel-terreno-edificio. En el contexto de esta estrategia de modelado, también se presenta un método computacionalmente eficiente para calcular las funciones de Green de un terreno en capas en el dominio 2.5D. Los resultados muestran que los DVAs pueden ser una medida de mitigación efectiva para las vibraciones inducidas por infraestructuras ferroviarias en el marco de un túnel ferroviario de dos niveles, ya que en las simulaciones presentadas en esta tesis se alcanzan reducciones de hasta 6.6 dB en el flujo de energía total radiado y hasta 3.3 dB en la vibración dentro de un edificio cercano.Postprint (published version

Routine procedure for the assessment of rail-induced vibration

Railway induced ground-borne vibration is among the most common and widespread sources of perceptible environmental vibration, adversely impacting on human activity and the operation of sensitive equipment. The rising demand for building new railway lines or upgrading existing lines in order to meet increasing traffic flows has furthered the need for adequate vibration assessment tools during scheme planning and design. In recent years many studies of rail and ground dynamics have produced many vibration prediction techniques which have given rise to a variety of procedures for estimating rail-induced vibration on adjacent buildings. Each method shows potential for application at different levels of complexity and at different stages of a scheme. However, for the majority of the procedures significant challenges arise in obtaining the required input data, which can compromise their routine use in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Moreover, as the majority of prediction procedures do not provide levels of uncertainty (i.e. expected spread of data), little is available on their effectiveness. Additionally, some procedures are restricted in that they require specific modelling approaches or proprietary software. Therefore, from an industrial point of view there is a need for a robust and flexible rail-induced vibration EIA procedure that can be routinely used with a degree of confidence. Based on an existing framework for assessing rail-induced vibration offered by the USA department of transportation (FTA) this project investigates, revises and establishes an empirical procedure capable of predicting rail-induced vibration in nearby buildings that can be routinely applied by the sponsoring company. Special attention is given to the degree of variability inherent to rail-induced vibration prediction, bringing forward the degrees of uncertainty, at all levels (i.e. measuring, analysis and scenario characterisation) that may impact on the procedure performance. The research shows a diminishing confidence when predicting rail-induced absolute vibration levels. It was found that ground-to-transducer coupling method, which is a critical step for acquiring data for characterising the ground, can impact on the results by as much as 10 dB. The ground decay rate, when derived through transfer functions, also showed to vary significantly in accordance to the assessment approach. Here it is shown the extent to which track conditions, which are difficult to account for, can affect predictions; variability in vibration levels of up to 10 dB, at some frequency bands, was found to occur simply due to track issues. The thesis offers general curves that represent modern UK buildings; however, a 15 dB variation should be expected. For urban areas, where the ground structure is significantly heterogeneous, the thesis proposes an empirical modelling technique capable of shortening the FTA procedure, whilst maintain the uncertainty levels within limits. Based on the finding and acknowledging the inherent degree of variability mentioned above, this study proposes a resilient empirical vibration analysis model, where its flexibility is established by balancing the significance of each modelling component with the uncertainty levels likely to arise due to randomness in the system