TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Vehicle-Track-Soil Interaction of Isolated, Un-isolated and Damaged Railway Tracks N2 - This article deals with two topics of vehicle-track-soil interaction, the mitigation of railway induced ground vibration by soft track elements, and the identification of track damage. Theoretical results have been achieved by a combined finite-element boundary-element method (FEBEM). The theoretical results are confronted with measurements at four sites. Improved mitigation effects have been found for soft rail pads under heavy sleepers. The insertion loss, however, can be too optimistic if a strong vehicle track resonance occurs for the un-isolated reference track. Two measurement sites show this strong vehicle-track resonance at about 80 Hz, which has been approximated by using the results of a wide parameter study including the rail pad, ballast, and soil stiffness, as well as the ballast model and the soil layering. – The detection of slab track damage is mainly based on the differences of the receptance or compliance functions. Theoretical results have been confirmed by measurements at one site where a loss of contact between track plate and base layer was visible. Measurements at a second site with a hidden damage have been compared with the theoretical results of a loose sleeper. The differences between intact (or repaired) and damaged tracks are strong enough to encourage the further development of this method for the identification of track damages. KW - Railway track KW - Track-soil interaction KW - Ground vibration KW - Mitigation KW - Under-sleeper pads KW - Track damage monitoring PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.4203/ijrt.6.3.2 SN - 2049-5358 VL - 2 IS - 20 SP - 21 EP - 49 PB - Saxe-Coburg Publications CY - London AN - OPUS4-51257 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Simple and fast prediction of train-induced track forces, ground and building vibrations N2 - A simple and fast prediction scheme is presented for train induced ground and building vibrations. Simple models such as (1-dimensional) transfer matrices are used for the vehicle-track-soil interaction and for the building-soil interaction. The wave propagation through layered soils is approximated by a frequency-dependent homogeneous half-space. The prediction is divided into the parts “emission” (excitation by railway traffic), “transmission” (wave propagation through the soil) and “immission” (transfer into a building). The link between the modules is made by the excitation force between emission and transmission, and by the free-field vibration between transmission and immission. All formula for the simple vehicle-track, soil and building models are given in this article. The behaviour of the models is demonstrated by typical examples, that is the mitigation of train vibrations by elastic track elements, the low- and high-frequency cut-offs characteristic for layered soils, and the interacting soil, wall and floor resonances of multi-storey buildings. It is shown that the results of the simple prediction models can well represent the behaviour of the more time-consuming detailed models, the finite-element boundary-element models of the track, the wavenumber integrals for the soil, and the three-dimensional finite-element models of the building. In addition, measurement examples are given for each part of the prediction confirming that the methods provide reasonable results. As the prediction models are fast in calculation, many predictions can be done, for example to assess the environmental effect along a new railway line. The simple models have the additional advantage that the user needs to know only a minimum of parameters. So, the prediction is fast and user-friendly, but also theoretically and experimentally well-founded. KW - Railway induced vibration KW - Ground vibration KW - Layered soil KW - Building response KW - Excitation forces KW - Track and vehicle irregularities PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-513340 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40534-020-00218-7 SN - 2662-4745 VL - 28 IS - 3 SP - 232 EP - 250 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-51334 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - A mid-frequency component of train-induced ground vibration due to scattered axle impulses and the irregularities of the soil and ballast N2 - The passage of the train is dominated by the impulses of the static axle loads. The response of the regular homogeneous and irregular soils has been calculated by the finite-element method in frequency domain. The superposition of the impulse responses yields the quasi-static component of the ground vibration which is restricted to very low frequencies and to the close near-field of the track. In case of an irregular soil or ballast of which the stiffness varies randomly in space, a mid-frequency ground vibration component is generated by the scattering of the axle impulses. Measurements will be shown which prove the existence of the mid-frequency ground vibration component and the unique explanation by the scattered axle impulses: many international measurements with a raised mid-frequency component, axle-box measurements with a too low mid-frequency dynamic load, amplitude-speed dependencies which are incompatible with irregularity-induced dynamic loads, and ground vibration reductions due to stiff track elements. T2 - International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering (ISMA/USD) CY - Online meeting DA - 07.09.2020 KW - Ground vibration KW - Railway KW - Irregular soil KW - Irregular ballast KW - Axle impulses PY - 2020 SP - 2611 EP - 2625 PB - KULeuven CY - Leuven AN - OPUS4-51210 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - A mid-frequency component of train-induced ground vibration due to scattered axle impulses and the irregularities of the soil and ballast N2 - The passage of the train is dominated by the impulses of the static axle loads. The response of the regular homogeneous and irregular soils has been calculated by the finite-element method in frequency domain. The superposition of the impulse responses yields the quasi-static component of the ground vibration which is restricted to very low frequencies and to the close near-field of the track. In case of an irregular soil or ballast of which the stiffness varies randomly in space, a mid-frequency ground vibration component is generated by the scattering of the axle impulses. Measurements will be shown which prove the existence of the mid-frequency ground vibration component and the unique explanation by the scattered axle impulses: many international measurements with a raised mid-frequency component, axle-box measurements with a too low mid-frequency dynamic load, amplitude-speed dependencies which are incompatible with irregularity-induced dynamic loads, and ground vibration reductions due to stiff track elements. T2 - International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering (ISMA/USD 2020) CY - Online meeting DA - 07.09.2020 KW - Ground vibration KW - Railway KW - Irregular soil KW - Irregular ballast KW - Axle impulses PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51212 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Auersch, Lutz ED - Degrande, G. ED - al., et T1 - Predicted and measured amplitude-speed relations of railway ground vibrations at four German sites with different test trains N2 - The present contribution evaluates four measuring series made by the Federal Institute of Material Research and Testing for the relations between train speed and ground vibration amplitudes. This experimental evaluation is supported by the simulation of the train passages at the different sites by using appropriate excitation mechanisms and forces as well as layered soil models which have been derived from impact measurements at each site. KW - Train speed KW - Ground vibration KW - Excitation forces KW - Layered soils PY - 2021 SN - 978-3-030-70288-5 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70289-2_43 SN - 1612-2909 VL - 150 SP - 411 EP - 419 PB - Springer Nature Switzerland AG CY - Cham AN - OPUS4-52611 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Measurement and evaluation tools for ground and building vibrations from industrial process-es, construction work, traffic and other sources N2 - Vibration measurements have many causes and many technical and natural sources. Problems can sometimes be solved by short-term measurements, but in many cases, a long-term measurement is necessary. In long-term measurements of days, weeks, months and even years, it is easy to collect a huge quantity of raw data, but at the end, the post-processing of these data can be exhausting (for example one-year vibration data of a wind energy tower). A software has been developed which con-sists of measuring and evaluation routines where the measuring routines can operate different meas-uring systems and different measuring cards. The main advantage of this software is the fact that the interesting evaluations can be integrated in the measuring process so that the characteristics of the vibration can be extracted without storing all the raw data. Only important time segments are stored, for example train passages. The overall concept of the software and the main evaluation routines will be described in some details. Examples of our measurement experience will illustrate the capabilities of the software. 1) Surveying construction work in nearby sensitive buildings (for example an old wind tunnel), including a stable alarm system and meaningful vibration limits. 2) Prediction of train-induced vibration for a planned building to prevent annoyance and to improve the building design. 3) Modal analysis and long term measurements of several single- or multi-span, concrete or steel bridges 4) Modal and wave analysis of coupled floors in a historical building (“Neues Palais” at Potsdam). 5) Soil properties of various measurement sites (different routines to evaluate the dispersion). Moreover, from many projects, amplitudes, frequencies, and attenuation laws have been collected and analysed for the different sources such as vibratory or impact pile driving and ground compaction, demolition work with different machines, blasting in quarries and in tunnel works, bomb and mine clearing. T2 - 28th International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV28) CY - Online meeting DA - 25.07.2022 KW - Ground vibration KW - Building vibration KW - Measurement KW - Evaluation KW - Modes and waves PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56035 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Effects of a varying track and soil stiffness on ground vibrations near railway lines N2 - Usually, geometric irregularities are considered as the main cause of ground vibrations from trains. A varying stiffness of the track, the track support and the soil can also generate ground vibrations. The regular stiffness variation of the track on and between the sleepers results in a deterministic dynamic axle load. The random stiffness variation of the track support yields also dynamic axle loads. The dynamic axle loads are generated by the varying wheel displacements under the static axle load by the acceleration of the unsprung mass of the rail vehicle. The random stiffness variation has a second effect. The pulses from the passage of the static axle loads are superposed regularly to the quasi-static response, but also irregularly to yield a “scattered” part of the axle pulses. The same holds for a random variation of the soil stiffness. All these effects of stiffness variations have been calculated by wavenumber-domain multi-beam track models, a random finite-element soil model and the superposition of axle impulses in a stochastic simulation. The results are confronted with many measurements at different sites. It is concluded that the stiffness variation of the track and the soil generate an important ground vibration component near railway lines. T2 - Railways 2022 CY - Montpellier, France DA - 22.08.2022 KW - Ground vibration KW - Railways KW - Varying track stiffness KW - Varying soil stiffness PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56036 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Railway-induced ground and building vibrations – Analysis in frequency-wavenumber domain and fast prediction with approximate models N2 - A simple and fast prediction scheme is presented for train-induced ground and building vibrations. For the emission, finite-element boundary-element or multiple-beam-on-continuous-soil models of the track have been analysed and approximated by faster track-on-Winkler-soil models. The vehicle-track interaction due to irregularities yields the excitation forces. For the transmission of waves in the soil, the wavenumber integral of the compliance of layered soils has been evaluated. The calculation time is reduced for the prediction by using the solution of a homogeneous half-space with a frequency-dependent wave velocity (the dispersion) of the soil. For the immision, many 2 and 3-dimenisonal finite-element building models have been investigated, and a good approximation has been established by a 1-dimensional soil-wall-floor model. In addition, the axle sequence of the train, the quasi-static and the “scattered” response of the soil, and the wave propagation from a tunnel to a pile foundation of a building have been included. T2 - ISMA-Conference CY - Leuven, Belgium DA - 12.09.2022 KW - Ground vibration KW - Building vibration KW - Railways KW - Simple and fast prediction PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56038 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Challenges of vibration prediction – realistic irregularities, the scattering of axle pulses, and the tunnel-surface reduction N2 - A prediction software has been developed by BAM. The following topics have still be solved. A realistic irregularity spectrum can be derived from axle-box measurements. It agrees wel with the spectrum used for the high-speed 2 project in the United Kingdom. In addition, the scattering of axle pulses should be included. This mid-frequency component can also be found in the HS2 procedure. Finally, the reduction in case of a tunnel line compared to a surface line should be included. Some measurement results of BAM, HS2 and other institutes show a certain mid-frequency reduction. This is due to the load distribution of the tunnel which yields softer axle pulses and the scattered axle impulses are reduced. T2 - ISO/TC 108/SC 2/WG 8 Working group Ground-borne noise and vibration from rail systems CY - London, UK DA - 21.11.2022 KW - Ground vibration KW - Railway trafiic KW - Prediction KW - Irregularities KW - Axle pulses KW - Tunnel line KW - Surface line PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56738 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Tracks with under-ballast plates and their mitigation of train induced ground vibration N2 - Experiments have been performed at a test site with six different tracks with under-ballast plates. Hammer excitations of the soil and the tracks as well as train passages have been measured. The experimental observations are as follows. 1. The natural soil is stiff gravel whereas the railway dam consists of softer material. 2. The track compliance indicates a soft ballast if no train is present to provide a confining pressure. 3. The track response to the train passages can be split into a low-frequency region which is ruled by the static loads and a high-frequency region which is ruled by dynamic loads. 4. The track responses to hammer and track excitation indicate the presence of many voids between the sleepers and the ballast. 5. The ground vibrations are highly influenced by the soil. Due to the stiff soil at the site, the hammer and train induced spectra have a considerable high-frequency content. 6. A reduction of the ground vibration has been observed in a low-frequency range. The mitigation effects of an under-ballast plate are also investigated by calculations of a wavenumber domain model. The under-ballast plate has an effect at low frequencies where it distributes the static load over a longer track section. The impulse of the axle passage is longer and the frequencies are lower due to the plate stiffness. The axle impulses could yield a low-frequency ground vibration in an irregular soil with a randomly varying stiffness. This low-frequency part of the ground vibration (the scattered axle impulses) seem to be reduced by the under-ballast plate. T2 - 24th International Congress on Sound and Vibration CY - London, UK DA - 23.7.2017 KW - Railway vibration KW - Ballast tracks KW - Under-ballast plate KW - Ground vibration PY - 2017 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - IIAV CY - Auburn, USA AN - OPUS4-42091 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -