TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Soil–structure interaction and damping by the soil - effects of foundation groups, foundation flexibility, soil stiffness and layers N2 - In many tasks of railway vibration, the structure, that is, the track, a bridge, and a nearby building and its floors, is coupled to the soil, and the soil–structure interaction and the damping by the soil should be included in the analysis to obtain realistic resonance frequencies and amplitudes. The stiffness and damping of a variety of foundations is calculated by an indirect boundary element method which uses fundamental solutions, is meshless, uses collocation points on the boundary, and solves the singularity by an appropriate averaging over a part of the surface. The boundary element method is coupled with the finite element method in the case of flexible foundations such as beams, plates, piles, and railway tracks. The results, the frequency-dependent stiffness and damping of single and groups of rigid foundations on homogeneous and layered soil and the amplitude and phase of the dynamic compliance of flexible foundations, show that the simple constant stiffness and damping values of a rigid footing on homogeneous soil are often misleading and do not represent well the reality. The damping may be higher in some special cases, but, in most cases, the damping is lower than expected fromthe simple theory. Some applications and measurements demonstrate the importance of the correct damping by the soil. KW - Soil–structure interaction KW - Soil dynamics KW - Radiation damping of the soil KW - Rigid foundation KW - Flexible foundation KW - Foundation groups KW - Boundary element method KW - Vibration measurement PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-627007 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/vibration8010005 SN - 2571-631X VL - 8 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 28 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-62700 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz A1 - Said, Samir T1 - System and damage identification for cars, floors and roofs, bridges, tracks and foundations by modal analyses, frequency response functions and moving-load responses N2 - The following objects have been analysed by frequency response functions and moving load responses. A simple modal analysis which is based on the transformed and weighted system equations has been tested for an automotive test car and for many floors in many buildings to get some rules for their natural frequency and damping. Moreover, six neighboured equal, weakly coupled, wooden floors in a castle have been measured by ambient and hammer excitation, and a special method to extract the different mode shapes of the closely spaced natural frequencies has been developed and tested. Different foundations, for which the soil-structure interaction is generally important, have been measured and compared with finite-element boundary-element models of varying soil properties. Similarly by FEBEM calculations, damages in railway tracks have been identified from flexibility functions (frequency response functions) and from the moving-load responses to normal train operation. Rail and foot bridges have been measured during train passages and by quasi-static tests with moving vehicles. The repeatability of the inclinometer measurements has been checked for different passages, passage directions, and measurement campaigns at a six-span foot bridge. Two rail bridges at the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed line have been measured and evaluated for integrity and for the train- and speed-dependent bridge resonances. The relation between the multi-axle and the single-axle excitation can be solved in frequency domain by the axle-sequence spectrum of the vehicle or the whole train. The single axle response has been used to identify track and bridge damages in laboratory and in situ. T2 - 10th International Operational Modal Analysis Conference (IOMAC 2024) CY - Naples, Italy DA - 21.05.2024 KW - Weakly coupled floors KW - Bridge passage KW - Track damage KW - Foundation-soil interaction KW - Flexibility function KW - Moving load response PY - 2024 SN - 978-3-031-61420-0 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61421-7_19 SN - 2366-2557 SP - 187 EP - 195 PB - Springer Nature Switzerland AG CY - Cham, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-61248 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Reduction in Train-Induced Vibrations—Calculations of Different Railway Lines and Mitigation Measures in the Transmission Path N2 - The reduction in train-induced ground vibrations by different railway lines and by mitigation measures in the propagation path was analysed in a unified approach by two-dimensional finite element calculations. In general, there was no reduction at low frequencies, and the reduction be-came stronger with increasing frequencies. A maximum reduction of 0.1 at high frequencies was established with an open trench. Reductions between 0.7 and 0.2 have been found for the other sit-uations, filled trenches, walls, plates, and blocks, as well as for railway lines on dams, in cuts and in a tunnel. Bridges can produce amplifications due to their resonance frequencies, but also strong reductions due to massive bridge piers. The influence of some parameters has been analysed, such as the bridge span, the inclination of the dam and the cut, the stiffness of the soil, and the tunnel structure. The dynamic track stiffnesses of a surface, bridge, and tunnel track have been calculated using the 3D finite-element boundary-element method for comparison with corresponding meas-urements. KW - Train-induced vibration KW - Mitigation KW - Trench KW - Obstacles KW - Tunnel KW - Bridge KW - Finite element KW - Boundary element PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-579573 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/app13116706 VL - 13 IS - 11 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-57957 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Site-specific amplitude-distance laws, wave velocities, damping, and transfer functions of the soil from hammer impacts and application to railway-induced ground vibration – Similarities and mid-frequency differences N2 - The propagation of ground vibrations is theoretically analysed with frequency-wavenumber and simplified methods. Experimental methods are presented which can characterise the site-specific ground vibrations by wave velocities, stiffness and damping. Measurements with hammer and train excitation have been performed at several sites. The one-third octave spectra show the stiffness-dependent amplitudes and the low- and high-frequency filter effects due to the layering and the damping of the soil. Specific train effects, an additional high-frequency filter, the sleeper passage frequency, and an amplified mid-frequency component can be clearly found. The attenuation with distance is analysed in detail where the theoretical exponential and the empirical frequency-dependent power law are considered. Hammer and train excitation show the same site-specific effects which are mainly due to the stronger or weaker damping of the soil. The train attenuation is generally weaker than the hammer attenuation. The attenuation exponent of the power law, which is strongly dependent on the site and the frequency, is reduced for the train vibration by 0.3 to 0.5 in agreement with the theory. Reasons are discussed for the overall power law and for the dominating mid-frequency component. KW - Hammer impact KW - Train passage KW - Layered soil KW - Attenuation KW - Filter effects KW - Randomly heterogeneous soil KW - Scattering PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-585020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s42417-023-01095-0 SN - 2366-2557 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-58502 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz A1 - Said, Samir A1 - Rohrmann, Rolf ED - Döhler, Michael T1 - Modal analysis of road and rail bridges for damage detection and resonance prediction N2 - In the 1980s, the Federal Institute of Material Research and Testing started with modal analysis measurements of some bridges before and after repair. For one of the bridges, a structural health monitoring was installed 1994 which is still working up to now. It has been modified and extended several times. The monitoring was extended from the critical span to three neighbouring spans. A modal analysis of the whole bridge with seven spans have been done three times, twice together with EMPA of Switzerland. Additional calibration measurements have been done and additional evaluation procedures have been implemented for the monitoring of the steadily increasing loads from the road traffic. Additional sensors were installed such as strain gauges, crack-width, and temperature sensors. The strong influence of the temperature on the natural frequencies has been studied over the years. Later, a temperature compensation has been established and a weak aging trend has been found in the monitoring data. Now, the bridge will be demolished and replaced by a new bridge. Some results of this long-term monitoring will be shown and possible damages (changes of the pre-stress or the support structure) will be discussed. A second application of modal analysis will be demonstrated: the prediction of the resonances due to passing trains. The response of a bridge to passing trains can be calculated in frequency domain as the multiplication of three spectra, the axle sequence spectrum of the train, the transfer function of the bridge, and the modal force spectrum of a single passing load. A resonance occurs if a maximum of the train spectrum coincides with the maximum of the bridge spectrum. The amplitude at this resonance is strongly influenced by the modal force spectrum which is identical to the frequency or wavenumber spectrum of the corresponding mode shape. Therefore, modal analysis from calculation, impact measurements, wind and train measurements are necessary for the prediction of the resonance occurrence and amplification. Examples of mode shape spectra for single or multi-span bridges with simply supported or continuous spans will be shown, and some relations between mode shapes and resonance amplifications will be concluded. T2 - 11th International Operational Modal Analysis Conference (IOMAC) CY - Rennes, France DA - 20.05.2025 KW - Bridge monitoring KW - Multi-span bridges KW - Damage detection KW - Resonance PY - 2025 SP - 39 EP - 46 PB - INRIA CY - Rennes AN - OPUS4-63473 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz A1 - Song, Jiaojiao T1 - Analysis of intact and damaged (floating) slab tracks by finite-element boundary-element models and by measurements N2 - The damage detection and repair control have become important tasks for slab tracks. Different intact and damaged slab tracks have been investigated theoretically and experimentally for train passages and hammer impacts. The following damages have been considered: The loss of contact between the sleeper and the track slab, between the track slab and the base slab, and between the base slab and the base layer. At first, a slab track with a gap between the track slab and the base layer has been calculated by the combined finite-element boundary-element method which correctly incorporates the behaviour of the infinite soil. The basic results are the track displacements of the rail, the track slab, and the base layer along the track which are caused by a single axle load. These solutions are properly superposed for to get the complete train load. The influence of track and soil parameters and of the track damage has been analysed. For the intact track, the compliance of the soil is dominant whereas the track bending stiffness becomes more important for the damaged track. By comparing the calculated results with the measurements, the length of the gap could be quantified. A slab track with a loose sleeper (without contact to the supporting track slab) was analysed by the transfer function between the displacements and the hammer force (receptance functions) where a resonance appeared in case of the damage. Differences between the different track elements confirmed the detection of the damage. A floating slab track with a thin rubber layer has been investigated for a possible gap between the base slab and the base layer. The behaviour of the intact track has been calculated by a wavenumber-domain method, and the same behaviour has been found in the measurements at several track sections, indicating that there is no damage. Finally, a floating slab track with steel springs and viscous fluid dampers has been measured in the Tongji laboratory. The modes of the floating track slab and the transfer function with corresponding resonances have been calculated and successfully compared with results from wheelset drop tests. T2 - Third International Conference on Rail Transportation (ICRT2024) CY - Shanghai, China DA - 07.08.2024 KW - Railway track KW - Damage KW - Vibration measurement KW - Finite element method KW - Boundary element method KW - Frequency response function KW - Moving load response KW - Floating slab track PY - 2025 SN - 978-0-7844-8594-1 SP - 591 EP - 600 AN - OPUS4-61267 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Compliance and damping of piles for wind tower foundation in nonhomogeneous soils by the finite-element boundary-element method N2 - A combined finite-element boundary-element method for the dynamic interaction of the soil with flexible structures such as single piles or complete wind energy towers has been developed. Flexible piles in different soils are analysed in frequency domain. The different parameters such as the stiffness of the soil, the bending stiffness and the radius of the hollow pile are analysed for their influence on the complex compliances. The results have been determined as specific power laws which are different for the different load cases (horizontal, rocking, coupling) and for the different soil models (Winkler, continuum with constant, root-parabolic and proportional-linear stiffness variation). The strongest influence of the soil stiffness can be found for the homogeneous soil and the horizontal component. Winkler soils have a weaker influence than the corresponding continuous soils. An offshore wind energy tower has been modeled and calculated for wind and wave loads. KW - Pile foundation KW - Finite-element boundary-element method KW - Pile bending stiffness KW - Soil stiffness KW - Continuously inhomogeneous soils KW - Layered soils KW - Wind energy tower PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.12.005 SN - 0267-7261 VL - 120 IS - 5 SP - 228 EP - 244 PB - Elsevier CY - London AN - OPUS4-47891 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Mitigation of railway induced vibration at the track, in the transmission path through the soil and at the building N2 - This contribution presents some principles and some examples of the mitigation of railway-induced ground vibrations. The principles are different for the mitigation measures at the track, in the soil or at the building. Force transfer functions of isolated and un-isolated track-soil systems, reflected and transmitted wave amplitudes at walls and trenches in the soil, and the transfer of the (free-field) vibration amplitudes to the foundation amplitudes of the building are analysed. The mitigation effect can be calculated by exact or simplified formulas. Some examples with 3D (finite-element boundary-element), 2D (beam-on-support), and 1D track models, 2D and 1D soil models, detailed 3D building models and finite or infinite 1D wall-floor models are investigated to find out if simple models can be used for a satisfactory prediction of the mitigation effect. The 1D track examples show that the force transfer of the track without vehicle can be exactly calculated, whereas the total force transfer can be calculated approximately if appropriate wheelset masses per track length are used for the isolated and the un-isolated track. The mitigation effect of a filled trench is calculated by a 2D finite element model and the results compare with simple transmission formula if the stiffness per area rather than the wave impedances are used for the infill material. The base isolation of a building is analysed by a detailed 3D model and the results are similar to the analytic results of a single wall with floors on the soil. Other reduction measures as different floor and column dimensions are usually less effective so that the clearly best mitigation solution at a building is a partly or a complete base isolation. T2 - X INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS (EURODYN 2017) KW - Mitigation KW - Soil-building interaction KW - Base isolation KW - Ground vibration PY - 2017 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-420869 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.09.192 SN - 1877-7058 VL - 199 SP - 2312 EP - 2317 PB - Elsevier CY - London AN - OPUS4-42086 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz A1 - Said, Samir A1 - Müller, Roger T1 - Measurements on the vehicle-track interaction and the excitation of railway-induced ground vibration N2 - Two railway measurement campaigns have been performed in Germany and Switzerland which yield insight in the vehicle-track-soil interaction. The campaign in Germany has included simultaneous measurement of vehicle, track, and soil vibrations during train runs with 16, 25, 40, 63, 80, 100, 125, 140, 160 km/h, and impulse measurements of the passenger car, three track sections and the soil. Two ballast tracks, one on the soil surface and one on a concrete bridge, have been investigated as well as a slab track in a tunnel. Ten different sites in Switzerland have been measured for soil properties and train-induced ground vibrations, which allow to determine the excitation forces of the railway traffic. New axle-box measurements at some of the Swiss sites have been analysed to get further experimental evidence. All these measurements have been evaluated to characterize the excitation processes. Relations between vehicle vibration and ground vibration can be observed. The vehicle vibrations, namely the accelerations of the wheelsets, yield the dynamic forces due to the passage over the irregularities of the vehicle and the track. The ground vibrations are correlated to these dynamic forces to a certain extent. Some mid-frequency ground vibration amplitudes, however, are higher than expected from the dynamic excitation forces. The experimental observations can be explained by an irregular response to the passage of the static loads, that means the passage of the static loads over an irregular ballast or soil. This correct understanding of the excitation processes is important for the prediction as well as for the mitigation of railway induced ground vibrations. T2 - X INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS (EURODYN 2017) KW - Vehicle-track interaction KW - Ground vibration KW - Track vibration KW - Railway measurement campaign KW - Axle box measurements PY - 2017 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-420889 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.09.390 SN - 1877-7058 VL - 199 SP - 2615 EP - 2620 PB - Elsevier CY - London AN - OPUS4-42088 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Characteristic Frequencies of Train-Induced Bridge, Track, Ground and Building Vibrations – Excitation and Mitigation N2 - The characteristic frequencies of train-induced vibrations are discussed in theory and experiment following the propagation of vibrations from the source to the receiver: 1. Out-of-roundness frequencies of the wheels, 2. sleeper-passage frequency, 3. the vehicle-track eigenfrequency, 4. band frequency of the impulses of the passing static axle loads, 5. car-length frequency and multiples, 6. axle-distance frequencies with two characteristic zeros, 7. bridge eigenfrequencies, 8. the cut-on frequency due to the layering, and 9. the cut-off frequency due to the material damping of the soil, 10. the building-soil eigenfrequency, 11. as a rigid building or flexible wall/column mode, 12. floor eigenfrequencies, 13. acoustic room resonances, 14. the „resonance“ frequency or cut-off frequency of a base isolation. Coincidences of some of these characteristic frequencies or frequency ranges can be typically problematic and mitigation measures at the track or at the building can be necessary. The bridge response to the passing static loads is deter¬mined by the axle-sequence spectrum, the eigenfrequency (transfer function) of the bridge, and the modal force or mode shape spectrum. The ground vibration has typically high frequencies for a stiff soil and low frequencies for a soft soil. The high amplitudes between the zeros of the axle-sequence spectrum are often measured in the ground vibrations, and they can be mitigated by soft support elements or a higher bending stiffness of the track. T2 - EVACES 2025 CY - Porto, Portugal DA - 02.07.2025 KW - Train-induced vibration KW - Vehicle excitation KW - Track response KW - Bridge resonance KW - Ground vibration KW - Soil-building transfer KW - Floor resonance KW - Axle-sequence spectrum KW - Vehicle-track eigenfrequency KW - Axle impulses PY - 2025 SN - 978-3-031-96113-7 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-96106-9_77 VL - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Springer CY - Cham, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-63655 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -