EFFECT OF RAILWAY STRUCTURES UPON

TRANSMISSION OF VIBRATION AT PASSBY

Jaume Solé, Joan Cardona, J. Ignacio Palacios

SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas, AV Enginyers

e-mail: {jaume.sole, jignacio.palacios }@sener.es, jcg@avenginyers.com
 INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT AND SCOPE OF THE WORK

• Predictive study of vibrations induced at passby in the surroundings

of a new high speed line in northern Spain (Variante de Pajares)

• Semi-empirical study of vibration transmission characteristics and

inputs in different contexts along the new infrastructure

• Adaptation of well-known and proved transmission laws to each

context (Barkan’s law)

• Comparative study of local transmission in a case where different

specific features coexist
 SPECIFIC FEATURES IN A RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

• Embankments

• Trenches

• Tunnels: high analytical complexity

• Viaducts: some “typical” designs, but high variability

• Pergolas
 EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF TRANSMISSION IN TUNNELS

• Transference function between a given point in the tunnel vault

and the exterior

• Experimental study of vibration

levels at passby in the reference
point of the vault (values to be
observed in tunnels that are
already in commercial operation)

• Combination of input and transmission spectral levels, to generate

a reliable prediction of future vibration in the surroundings of the line
 MEASUREMENT OF VIBRATION TRANSMISSION IN TUNNELS

• Two synchronized simultaneous

recording equipment (inside and
outside tunnel)

• Vibration excitation by
artificial means (work trains
and specific excitation devices)

• Recording of vibration values in

the exterior at different distances
 CHARACTERISATION OF VIBRATORY INPUT IN TUNNELS

Input vibration levels at passby

are recorded at reference points in
different types of tunnels already
operative: Fuentecilla tunnel
(double track)

• Double track tunnels bored

with traditional methods

• Single track tunnels, bored with

TBMs and with vaults made of
Guadarrama tunnel
assembled prefabricated blocks (single track)
A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENTS

• To avoid as much interfering factors as possible, a placement was selected

where tunnel, embankment and viaduct co-exist in a small distance
• Recording of train passages at speeds around 200 km/h
• Use of 2D interpolation techniques and animation to analyze results

Test site: Madrid -

Barcelona High Speed
Line, near Roda de Barà
(Tarragona, Spain)

Infrastructure type Instrumentation (accelerometers)

 RESULTS
Fitting of Barkan’s law, both at global and at a spectral level, in the vicinity of
an embankment (left) and above a tunnel (right).
Estimation of parameters in Barkan’s law is somewhat risky in the case of
tunnels; it is much preferable to combine inside-outside transmission and
Barkan curve in the exterior.
 RESULTS

Passage of a SIEMENS Velaro high speed train at 200 km/h

 CONCLUSIONS

• At relatively long distances from the source, decay with geometric

distance to the track is, in the case of tunnels, slightly slower than in
the case of an embankment (higher risk of vibrations in buildings)

• Very significant vibration levels in the vicinity of viaduct pillars.

• Noticeably different vibration levels around two different pillars

 FUTURE WORK

• Deepening the analysis of the results obtained (spectral animations)

• Experimental study of other structures (pergolas, railroad switches…)

• Comparative study of different types of viaducts

• Improvement of interpolation techniques

• Simultaneous usage of more accelerometers for a better spatial

sampling
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• We would like to thank the

spanish railway manager ADIF, for
all the help and facilities given.

• The study is largely indebted as well to the CATdBTren research

project, an ambitious study about railway-induced vibrations that has
been co-funded by the European Union and the catalan autonomous
government through its agency ACC1Ó.