Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106039

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Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/soildyn

Isolation of ground vibration induced by high speed railway by DXWIB:

Field investigation
M. Gao a, *, S.P. Tian a, Y. Wang a, Q.S. Chen b, G.Y. Gao c
a
Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Civil Engineering & Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (College of Civil Engineering and Architecture), Shandong University of
Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China
b
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, No.21, Lower Kent Ridge Road, 119077, Singapore
c
Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this Technical Note, a new material (i.e., Duxseal) with high damping ratio is introduced to the wave impeding
Vibration isolation block (WIB) as an active vibration isolating barrier in the free field. To evaluate the performance of the Duxseal-
Duxseal-WIB WIB (DXWIB), a set of field tests are performed at three test sites of Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railway of China
Amplitude attenuation ratio
subjected to a moving load at a high speed of 250 km/h. Accelerations in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions are
Field experiment
monitored at multiple distances away from the track. Characteristics of ground vibrations in both time and
frequency domains are analyzed using the test data. The effectiveness of DXWIB in reducing the level of ground
vibration is discussed and demonstrated by comparing with the case with traditional WIB.

1. Introduction
Over most recent years, environmental vibrations caused by traffic
load, machine operation, engineering construction, and other human
activities have become increasingly concerned [1,2]. It was often re­
ported that ground vibrations could cause significant discomfort to
human beings, or severe damages to research instruments that are sen­
sitive to ground vibrations [3].
For further mitigation of such problems, a number of ideas and
theories on isolation technologies have been explored. For example,
Woods [4] conducted the full-scale experiments at the site and suggested
that open trenches could effectively reduce the amplitudes of ground
vibrations. Cai et al. [5] studied the isolation performance of using a row
of piles as a passive wave barrier for the vibrations in elastic soil.
Takemiya et al. [6] introduced an innovative wave impeding barrier
(WIB) to reduce vibration. Base on the work conducted by Takemiya,
Gao et al. [7,8] conducted a series of field experiments and numerical
studies to investigate the active vibration isolation for a surface foun­
dation using wave impeding block in a multilayered ground under
vertical loading. However, it has been often reported that the above
methods are not always be sufficiently effective in isolating the ground
vibrations. For example, the experiential results [7,8] indicated that the
WIB for isolating ground vibrations becomes ineffective when the
structure of interest is relatively distant from the vibration source. There
are two basic physical aspects that one can exploit ideas: (a) energy
absorption of the incident waves and (b) their scattering of them away
from the locality of interest. As one might expect, the achievement of
both might be the best strategy for reducing ground motion vibrations.
Aimed to realize a practical engineering design that embodies the
forgoing observations and ideas, the idea of an absorptive Duxseal-Wave
Impeding Blocks (DXWIB) is examined experimentally in this paper.
Duxseal was firstly found to be effective in reducing the reflection/
refraction of energy and waves from the end walls of the test chamber in
centrifuge scaled model tests by Coe et al. [9]. Abuhajar et al. [10] and
Chakrabortty et al. [11] investigated the characteristics of Duxseal for
absorbing vibration energy through a series of dynamic centrifuge tests.
Their results showed that Duxseal possesses excellent damping proper­
ties. These observations give the authors with the idea that Duxseal
could be a promising material for effectively isolating ground vibrations.
In the Duxseal-Wave Impeding Blocks (DXWIB) design, the basic
WIBs are drilled with multiple cylindrical holes which are then packed
with Duxseal. To investigate the performance of DXWIB, field in­
vestigations are performed at three test sites of Jinan-Qingdao high-
speed railway of China with and without installation of WIB and DXWIB
subjected to high-speed rail load at a speed of 250 km/h. Characteristics
of ground vibrations in both time and frequency domains are analyzed

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ86 532 86057631.

E-mail address: gmxyz@sdust.edu.cn (M. Gao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2020.106039
Received 22 October 2019; Received in revised form 6 December 2019; Accepted 12 January 2020
Available online 16 January 2020
0267-7261/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Gao et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106039

based on the test data. The ground vibrations at the sites with installa­
tion of DXWIB and traditional WIB are also compared and discussed in
detail, as presented in the following Sections:

2. DUXSEAL-WIB (DXWIB) isolation barrier

The 3D diagram of newly designed barrier system, i.e., DXWIB, as

Fig. 1. Diagram and dimensions (in mm) of 3D DXWIB.
used for the field tests is shown in Fig. 1. In the new ground isolation
barrier, the traditional WIB is drilled with multiple cylindrical holes
with diameter of 300 mm, and the holes are then filled with Duxseal. To
form the rectangular DXWIB used in the field test as shown in Fig. 1, this
barrier is made from two dimension types of pre-fabricated blocks. The
cross-section dimension of the above two pre-fabricated DXWIBs are
3200 � 750 (mm � mm) which is shown in Fig. 2, and 4800 � 750 (mm
� mm), respectively. The WIB is made of C25 concrete. The mechanical
parameter of Duxseal is listed in Table 1.

3. Field investigation

3.1. Site conditions and vibration monitoring

To investigate the performance of DXWIB for isolating ground vi­

brations, field investigations are performed at three field sites (i.e., Sites
A, B and C) of Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railway with installation of
Fig. 2. Pre-fabricated DXWIB three different isolation systems, as illustrated in Fig. 3. To ensure the
accuracy of the field test, noted that, Sites A, B, and C with the same
geological conditions. Each test site of the sections of the railway line is
Table 1 located approximately 75 m away from its closest neighbors. Measure­
Mechanical parameters of Duxseal. ments of ground vibration are conducted along the ground at 5 different
Density Young’ Poisson’s Damping ratio [12] distances (i.e., 7 m, 12 m, 18 m, 24 m, and 30 m) away from the centre of
(kg/m3) modulus (MPa) ratio vibration source. The isolation systems at the three sites are listed
Duxseal 1650 8 0.46 0.18–0.0003 � herewith: 1) Site A: natural ground without any isolation barrier; 2) Site
(σmean/0.001) B: ground with installation of 10-m-length DXWIB along the track line;
3) Site C: ground with installation of WIB with the same dimension of
Note: σmean is the average effective stress.
DXWIB. To eradicate any discrepancies of the field test results, the

Fig. 3. Profile of isolation system and monitoring point arrangement.

Fig. 4. Picture of field vibration monitoring at three sites: (a) Site A; (b) Site B; (c) Site C.

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M. Gao et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106039

Table 2 3.2. Monitoring instruments

Properties of embankment in three test sites.
Layer Type Thickness Density Young’s Poisson The monitoring instrument adopted in this study is Tromino, as
(m) (kg/m3) modulus ratio shown in Fig. 3. The range of the testing frequency for this instrument is
(MPa) 0.1–200 Hz, and the range of the operating frequency is 0–1024 Hz. The
① Surface layer of 0.4 1900 130 0.32 vibration accelerations along the X- (longitudinal), Y- (transverse), and
subgrade bed Z- (vertical) directions were simultaneously recorded by the instrument
② Bottom layer of 2.3 1940 95 0.35 with a sampling rate of 256 Hz.
subgrade bed
③ The remaining 2.15 1910 48 0.31
part under the 4. Field test results: analyses and interpretations
subgrade bed
To evaluate the vibration isolation at the ground with installation of
DXWIB, the time histories of vibration acceleration for the scenarios
Table 3 with and without DXWIB at the monitoring point 12 m are presented
Properties of foundation in three test sites. herewith. Figs. 5–7 show the time histories of ground vibration accel­
Layer Thickness Density (kg/ Young’s modulus Poisson
eration of monitoring point in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions, respectively,
(m) m3) (MPa) ratio when the ground is subjected to train loads with high speed of 250 km/
h. It is observed that the maximum amplitude of vibration accelerations
1 2.8 1850 20 0.32
2 1.2 1893 28 0.31 in the X-, Y- and Z-directions for the ground with DXWIB are 1.98 �
3 3.5 1958 33 0.29 10 2 g, 2.16 � 10 2 g and 2.15 � 10 2 g, respectively, while its coun­
4 1.2 1894 45 0.31 terpart for the ground without any vibration isolating barrier are 3.32 �
5 6.5 1987 50 0.29 10 2 g, 3.54 � 10 2 g and 4.37 � 10 2 g, respectively. This implies that
6 4.8 2000 60 0.25
the isolation effectiveness for the ground installed with DXWIB in the X-,
Y-, and Z-directions can approximately achieve 40%, 39% and 51%,
ground vibrations induced by the moving loads were monitored a total respectively. When the incident wave induced by the moving loads en­
of three times and taken the mean to be analyzed and discussed in depth. counters the isolation barrier which embedded in the embankment,
Fig. 4 shows the photo of filed vibration monitoring at Sites A, B and C. DXWIB acts as a secondary wave source, resulting in a shorter wave­
The properties of the embankment and soil foundation at different sites length, which increases the attenuation of the wave propagation.
are shown in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. Figs. 8–10 show the corresponding Fourier spectrum curves of
ground vibration acceleration of monitoring point in the X-, Y-, and Z-

Fig. 5. Time history comparison of vibration acceleration in the X-direction caused by a high-speed railway: (a) Without any vibration isolation; (b) In the presence
of DXWIB.

Fig. 6. Time history comparison of vibration acceleration in the Y-direction caused by a high-speed railway: (a) Without any vibration isolation; (b) In the presence
of DXWIB.

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M. Gao et al. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106039

Fig. 7. Time history comparison of vibration acceleration in the Z-direction caused by a high-speed railway: (a) Without any vibration isolation; (b) In the presence
of DXWIB.

Fig. 8. Spectrum curve comparison of vibration acceleration in the X-direction caused by a high-speed railway: (a) Without any vibration isolation; (b) In the
presence of DXWIB.

Fig. 9. Spectrum curve comparison of vibration acceleration in the Y-direction caused by a high-speed railway: (a) Without any vibration isolation; (b) In the
presence of DXWIB.

directions, respectively. Multiple dominant frequencies occurred at the
X-direction for the ground with DXWIB are 33–48 Hz, 100–120 Hz, and
194–210 Hz, all lowered than their counterparts for the ground without
any vibration isolating barrier are 37–53 Hz, 117–140 Hz, and 223–242
Hz. The dominant frequency occurred at the Y-direction for the ground
with DXWIB is 33–47 Hz, while its counterpart for the ground without
any vibration isolating barrier is 38–53 Hz. Two dominant frequencies
occurred at the Z-direction for the ground with DXWIB are 37–46 Hz and
182–209 Hz, while its counterpart for the ground without any vibration
isolating barrier are 44–55 Hz and 231–254 Hz. Clearly, the components
all of low-frequency, middle-frequency and high-frequency are greatly
reduced in the whole observed frequency range for the ground with
installation of DXWIB. In addition, the acceleration amplitude for the
ground installed with DXWIB in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions are atten­
uated greatly, which consistent with the above findings in time domain.
In this work, the amplitude attenuation ratio AR as proposed by
Woods [5] is employed to evaluate the performance of DXWIB for
isolating ground vibrations. This ratio AR is defined as the ratio of the
peak acceleration amplitude of time history of the ground vibration at
the ground surface location with installation of DXWIB to its counterpart
without DXWIB, which can be expressed as follows:
Acceleration amplitude of ground surface with DXWIB
AR ¼ (1)
Acceleration amplitude of ground surface without DXWIB

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M. Gao et al.
Fig. 10. Spectrum curve comparison of vibration acceleration in the Z-direction caused by a high-speed railway: (a) Without any vibration isolation; (b) In the
presence of DXWIB.
Fig. 11. Variation curve of amplitude attenuation ratio of ground acceleration with distance: (a) DXWIB isolation; (b) WIB isolation.
In the same manner, in this note, this terminology is extended to
describe the efficiency of WIB in reducing acceleration. AR represents
de-amplification if it is < 1 and amplification if it is > 1.
Fig. 11 shows the variation of AR of the ground acceleration along the
X-, Y-, and Z-directions with the increasing distance away from vibration
source at the test sites with DXWIB and WIB subjected to the train load
with high speed of 250 km/h. It is observed that DXWIB could achieve
much better performance for isolating ground vibrations under high-
speed train loads, in contrast to the traditional WIB, especially in the
Z-direction. For instance, at the given distance of 12 m away from the
vibration source, the ground with DXWIB yields the AR ¼ 0.49, while the
ground with WIB produces AR ¼ 0.83, for the ground vibration in Z-
direction. That is, the DXWIB is much more effective than the traditional
WIB for isolating ground vibration. In addition, it is also found that AR
can even go above 1 when the distance away from the vibration source
increases for the ground with WIB isolation system. In contrast, the
performance of DXWIB in isolating ground vibration remains approxi­
mately at the comparable level along the distance away from the vi­
bration source.
5. Conclusions
A newly designed active barrier system, i.e., WIB with incorporation
of the new material (Duxseal), is proposed to be used for vibration
screening in the free field. In the newly designed barrier system, the
basic WIB are drilled with multiple cylindrical holes which are then
filled with Duxseal. To investigate the isolation performance of DXWIB,
field investigations are performed at three test sites of Jinan-Qingdao
high-speed railway with and without installation of WIB and DXWIB.
On the basis of upon present work, the principal conclusions are
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Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 131 (2020) 106039
summarized as follows:
(a) DXWIB performed exceedingly well in mitigating ground vibra­
tions as an active isolation barrier. Compared to the traditional
WIB, DXWIB is much more effective for isolating ground vibra­
tions, especially in the Z-direction. In addition, AR bounces up­
ward when the distance away from the vibration source increases
for the ground with WIB barrier. In contrast, the performance of
DXWIB in isolating ground vibration is relatively stable along the
distance away from the vibration source.
(b) Considering a distance of 12 m away from the vibration source as
the representative monitoring point, the vibration screenings of
DXWIB along the X-, Y-, and Z-directions could approximately get
40%, 39%, and 51%, respectively, when subjected to a moving
load with a high speed of 250 km/h.
(c) The components all of low-frequency, middle frequency and
high-frequency are greatly reduced in the whole observed fre­
quency range for the ground with installation of DXWIB. A
reduction of this magnitude is difficult by conventional coun­
termeasures. In addition, the acceleration amplitude for the
ground with DXWIB in the X-, Y-, and Z-directions are attenuated
greatly, which consistent with the findings in time domain.
(d) The present test results provide powerful support for the appli­
cation of the design of isolation barrier systems. DXWIB barrier
designed properly can be also used to isolate vibrations caused by
machine operation, engineering construction, and other human
activities. In addition, the monitoring of rotational motion of the
vibration accelerations will be carried out to get more compre­
hensive isolation characteristics for DXWIB in the future
investigation.
M. Gao et al.
Declaration of competing interest
We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with
other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our
work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or
kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as
influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript
entitled, “Isolation of Ground Vibration Induced by High Speed Railway
by DXWIB: Field Investigation”.
Acknowledgements
The research presented in this paper was supported by the Natural
Science Foundation of China (No. 51808324) and the Natural Science
Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR201702160391).
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2020.106039.
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