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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Mitigation of railway-induced ground vibration by soft support elements and a higher bending stiffness of the track N2 - The mitigation of train-induced ground vibrations by track solutions is investigated by calculations and measurements. The calculation by a wavenumber domain method includes the correct vehicle–track interaction and the correct track–soil interaction. Some theoretical results for elastic elements and an increased bending stiffness of the track are presented where the force transfer of the track and the vehicle–track interaction are calculated for the high-frequency dynamic mitigation, and the force distribution along the track is calculated for the low-frequency mitigation which is due to the smoother impulses from the passing static loads. Measurement results for the ground vibration near isolated and un-isolated tracks are given for several under-sleeper pads, for under-ballast mats, and for several under-ballast plates and ballast troughs. The elastic elements yield a resonance frequency of the vehicle–track–soil system and a high-frequency reduction of the dynamic axle loads which depends mainly on the softness of the pads or mats and which can be improved by a higher sleeper mass. In addition, all troughs and most of the soft elements show a low-frequency reduction which is attributed to the scattered impulses of the static axle loads. Besides this main contribution of the article, the problem of a soft reference section on a different soil is discussed and recommendations for better ground vibration measurements of mitigation effects are given. KW - Railway track KW - Elastic elements KW - Bending stiffness KW - Ground vibration KW - Mitigation KW - Lowfrequency reduction KW - Axle impulses PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-612568 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/app14031244 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-61256 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Prediction of ground vibrations from rail tunnels finite element, boundary element and wavenumber calculations N2 - The prediction of ground and building vibrations has been established for surface lines and has now been extended to tunnel lines. The wave propagation in homogeneous or layered soils (the transmission) is calculated by an integration in wavenumber domain. The wave amplitudes at different distances and for different frequencies will be analysed for the following situations. 1. The horizontal propagation from a surface point to a surface point constitutes the basic rules. 2. The horizontal propagation from a source point at depth to a receiver point at depth which is related to a building with a deep basement or on a pile foundation. 3. The propagation from depth to the surface, which is the normal case for free-field measurements, has some different characteristics, for example a weaker attenuation with the horizontal distance from the source, which can be approximated by the full-space solution and the reflection rules for incident waves. The emission from a tunnel structure has been calculated by a finite-element model of the tunnel combined with a boundary-element model of the soil giving the reduction compared to a point-load excitation. The immission has been analysed by finite-element models of tunnel-soil-building systems for examples of research and consultancy work. Measurement results from a high-speed and a metro line confirm some of the established rules. T2 - Recent Advance in Structural Dynamics (RASD) CY - Southampton, UK DA - 01.07.2024 KW - Ground vibration KW - Building vibration KW - Railway tunnel KW - Wavenumber method KW - Finite element method KW - Boundary element method PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61230 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Prediction of ground vibrations from rail tunnels –finite-element, boundary-element and wavenumber calculations N2 - The prediction of ground and building vibrations has been established for surface lines and has now been extended to tunnel lines. The wave propagation in homogeneous or layered soils (the transmission) is calculated by an integration in wavenumber domain. The wave amplitudes at different distances and for different frequencies will be analysed for the following situations. 1. The horizontal propagation from a surface point to a surface point constitutes the basic rules. 2. The horizontal propagation from a source point at depth to a receiver point at depth which is related to a building with a deep basement or on a pile foundation. 3. The propagation from depth to the surface, which is the normal case for free-field measurements, has some different characteristics, for example a weaker attenuation with the horizontal distance from the source, which can be approximated by the full-space solution and the reflection rules for incident waves. The emission from a tunnel structure has been calculated by a finite-element model of the tunnel combined with a boundary-element model of the soil giving the reduction compared to a point-load excitation. The immission has been analysed by finite-element models of tunnel-soil-building systems for examples of research and consultancy work. Measurement results from a high-speed and a metro line confirm some of the established rules. KW - Railway tunnel KW - Ground vibration KW - Building vibration KW - Wavenumber integral KW - Full-space solution KW - Reflection at the surface PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-627015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2909/1/012013 SN - 1742-6596 VL - 2909 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - IOP Publishing CY - London AN - OPUS4-62701 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - The excitation, propagation, and mitigation of train-induced ground vibrations from the axle impulses on the track N2 - Train-induced vibrations in soft ground usually have a strong low-frequency component. This component has a characteristic spectrum which is related to the axle sequence and the speed of the train. Its attenuation with distance is weaker than the attenuation for higher frequencies, and it always dominates the far-field ground vibration. Narrow-band frequency analyses clearly show that this ground vibration component is due to the static axle loads. Axle box vibrations have a different characteristic where the first out-of-roundness of the wheels is the only remarkable low-frequency component. Therefore, the dynamic axle loads from wheel and track irregularities are not the reason for the strong ground vibration component. The moving static axle loads generate the quasi-static response of the soil at very low frequencies and at very near distances. A part of the original impulse spectrum is scattered when it propagates through an inhomogeneous ballast and soil with a randomly varying stiffness. The axle impulses are smoother for a higher bending stiffness or a lower support stiffness (under sleeper pads, under ballast mats) of the track. This mitigation of the ground vibration will be demonstrated by measurements at three sites in Switzerland as well as the characteristic of the soil and axle-box vibrations. T2 - Railways Conference CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 02.09.2024 KW - Soil and vehicle measurements KW - Train passages KW - Ground vibration KW - Excitation mechanisms KW - Mitigation KW - Under sleeper pads KW - Under ballast mat PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61226 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Prediction of ground vibrations from rail tunnels –finite-element, boundary-element and wavenumber calculations N2 - The prediction of ground and building vibrations has been established for surface lines and has now been extended to tunnel lines. The wave propagation in homogeneous or layered soils (the transmission) is calculated by an integration in wavenumber domain. The wave amplitudes at different distances and for different frequencies will be analysed for the following situations. 1. The horizontal propagation from a surface point to a surface point constitutes the basic rules. 2. The horizontal propagation from a source point at depth to a receiver point at depth which is related to a building with a deep basement or on a pile foundation. 3. The propagation from depth to the surface, which is the normal case for free-field measurements, has some different characteristics, for example a weaker attenuation with the horizontal distance from the source, which can be approximated by the full-space solution and the reflection rules for incident waves. The emission from a tunnel structure has been calculated by a finite-element model of the tunnel combined with a boundary-element model of the soil giving the reduction compared to a point-load excitation. The immission has been analysed by finite-element models of tunnel-soil-building systems for examples of research and consultancy work. Measurement results from a high-speed and a metro line confirm some of the established rules. Figure T2 - Int. Conf. RASD, Recent Advance in Structural Dynamics CY - Southampton, GB DA - 01.07.2024 KW - Ground vibration KW - Tunnel line KW - Wave propagation KW - Wavenumber method KW - Building vibration KW - Thin layer method PY - 2024 SP - 1 EP - 12 CY - Southampton AN - OPUS4-61266 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz A1 - Conreaux, Laurence A1 - Said, Samir A1 - Müller, Roger T1 - The excitation, propagation, and mitigation of train-induced ground vibrations from the axle impulses on the track N2 - Train-induced vibrations in soft ground usually have a strong low-frequency component. This component has a characteristic spectrum which is related to the axle sequence and the speed of the train. Its attenuation with distance is weaker than the attenuation for higher frequencies, and it always dominates the far-field ground vibration. Narrow-band frequency analyses clearly show that this ground vibration component is due to the static axle loads. Axle box vibrations have a different characteristic where the first out-of-roundness of the wheels is the only remarkable low-frequency component. Therefore, the dynamic axle loads from wheel and track irregularities are not the reason for the strong ground vibration component. The moving static axle loads generate the quasi-static response of the soil at very low frequencies and at very near distances. A part of the original impulse spectrum is scattered when it propagates through an inhomogeneous ballast and soil with a randomly varying stiffness. The axle impulses are smoother for a higher bending stiffness or a lower support stiffness (under sleeper pads, under ballast mats) of the track. This mitigation of the ground vibration will be demonstrated by measurements at three sites in Switzerland as well as the characteristic of the soil and axle-box vibrations. T2 - Sixth International Conference on Railway Technology: Research, Development and Maintenance CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 01.09.2024 KW - Soil and vehicle measurements KW - Train passages KW - Ground vibration KW - Excitation mechanisms KW - Mitigation KW - Under sleeper pads KW - Under ballast mat PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.4203/ccc.7.13.2 SN - 2753-3239 VL - 7 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Civil-Comp Press CY - Edinburgh, United Kingdom AN - OPUS4-61240 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - The dynamic train-track interaction on a bridge and in a tunnel compared with the simultaneous vehicle, track, and ground vibration measurements at a surface line N2 - The vehicle–track interaction generates forces and consequently vibrations in the environment. The interaction has been analysed by the simultaneous measurements of vehicle, track and ground vibrations during test runs with varied train speeds. The special effects of the passage over a bridge and through a tunnel are studied and compared with the measurements on a conventional ballasted surface line. The maximum amplitudes, narrow band and one-third octave band spectra are presented for the axle-box accelerations and for the track, bridge and ground vibrations. The different frequencies and frequency bands are related to wheel out-of-roundness, track alignment errors, the sleeper passage and the wheelset–track resonance. An axle impulse component has been observed at the track, at the near-field soil and as a scattered version in the far field. Specific results can be found for the bridge track, where clearly speed-dependent bridge resonances occur due to the axle sequence of the train, and for the tunnel track where soft rail pads are responsible for a strong amplification around the wheelset–track resonance. On the other hand, the axle impulses are strongly reduced by the tunnel track, and the scattered axle impulse component is not as relevant as for the surface track. As a consequence, a strong mid-frequency amplitude reduction of the tunnel compared to the surface line has been measured for low and high train speeds by the Federal Institute of Material Research and Testing (BAM) and by other institutes. KW - Vehicle–track interaction KW - Ground vibration KW - Tunnel-to-surface reduction KW - Bridge resonance KW - Axle sequence PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-585139 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910992 VL - 13 IS - 19 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-58513 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Vehicle Dynamics and Train‑Induced Ground Vibration—Theoretical Analyses and Simultaneous Vehicle, Track, and Soil Measurements N2 - Ground vibrations near railway lines are generated by the forces that are acting between wheel and rail. It seems to be a straight forward assumption that the vehicle dynamics are important for the level and the frequencies of the excitation forces. Different vehicle dynamics phenomena are analysed for their role in the excitation of ground vibrations: rigid body modes of the bogies, elastic (bending) modes of the car body, and elastic modes of the wheelset. The theoretical analyses use rigid body models, simplified elastic models, and detailed elastic models. Some of these problems are vehicle–track interaction problems where 3D finite‑element boundary‑element models have been used for the track and soil. It is shown that the rigid or flexible vehicle modes are well in the frequency range of ground vibrations (4 to 100 Hz). They have an influence on the excitation force but the additional forces are rather small and can be neglected in ground vibration prediction. The theoretical results are checked by experimental results of a simultaneous measurement of vehicle, track, and ground vibrations. KW - Rigid vehicle model KW - Flexible car body KW - Flexible wheelset KW - Dynamic loads KW - Ground vibration PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569796 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles5010013 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 223 EP - 247 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-56979 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Train-induced ground vibrations – The emission and transmission from tunnel and surface lines N2 - Train-induced ground vibrations are quite different for tunnel and surface lines. The excitation of the track and ground vibration by the vehicle-track-soil interaction maybe influenced by the stiffer track support of the tunnel invert. The excited waves are propagating on a different path compared to the surface line. The wave propagation in the interior of the soil is calculated by a wavenumber integral in a similar way as the propagation along the surface and a general reduction of < 0.5 has been found. An additional reduction has been found because of the missing Rayleigh wave. The different excitation of tunnel lines is analysed theoretically by the combined finite-element boundary-element method and some results about the influencing tunnel and soil parameters will be shown. Measurements have been made at the Mühlberg-Tunnel in Germany. The vibrations of the train, the track and the soil have been measured simultaneously at the tunnel and a nearby surface line. Spectra will be shown for different train speeds between 60 and 160 km/h. A clear reduction effect for the tunnel line compared to the surface line has been observed in a specific (train-speed-dependent) frequency range. This agrees well with the observations of other research institutes. The mid-frequency tunnel-surface reduction seems to be a consequence of the stiffer track structure which leads to a wider distribution of the axle loads. Therefore, the axle impulses due to the train passage are longer and have a lower frequency content. This will have an effect on the ground vibrations at some distance which are present in case of an irregular transmission path through a ballast and soil with varying stiffness. A similar reduction effect can also be found for other track forms where the axle impulses are distributed on a longer track segment, for example slab tracks, tracks with under ballast plates, under ballast mats or under sleeper pads. T2 - 29th International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV29) CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 09.07.2023 KW - Ground vibration KW - Railway tunnel KW - Layered soil KW - Surface-tunnel reduction KW - Measurements PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57956 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -