Prediction Models of Free-Field Vibrations from Railway Traffic

Many cities experience an increasing population leading to a need for urban densification. In these cities, unused land close to railways will have to be developed with new residential and office buildings. The infrastructural demand will also increase, resulting in heavily trafficked roads and railways close to where people work and live. Annoyance from traffic-induced vibrations and noise is expected to be a growing issue. To predict the level of vibration and noise in buildings caused by railway and road traffic, calculation models are needed.

In the present paper, a simplified prediction model is briefly described. This prediction model is based on the assumption that the ground and railway embankment can be described in an axisymmetric model, to provide the transfer functions between the track and the free-field. In the paper, the error that arise by assuming axisymmetric response is studied by comparing the response in a three-dimensional finite-element model. Transfer functions at several positions in the free-field are compared.