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 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 - 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 - JOUR A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Some resonance effects of non-typical trains and railway bridges investigated by a frequency-domain method N2 - The resonances of railway bridges have often been analysed for short bridges under periodical high-speed trains, for simply supported one-span bridges, for the fundamental bridge mode, and by time-domain analyses. Many time-consuming calculations have been performed to establish simplified rules for standards. In this contribution, the passage of different (existing, new and hypothetic) trains over different (simply supported, integral, multi-span, continuous) bridges will be analysed in frequency domain by using three separated spectra with the purpose to get a better physical insight in the phenomena. At first, the excitation spectrum of the modal forces is built by the mode shape and the passage time of the train over the bridge. The second spectrum is the frequency response function of the bridge which include the modal frequency, damping and mass. The third part is the spectrum of the axle sequence of an arbitrary train which is not limited to periodical or specific (conventional, articulated, regular or standard) trains and which does not include any bridge parameters. The final solution in frequency domain is obtained as the product of these three complex, strongly varying spectra for the dominating bridge mode or in general as the sum of these products over all relevant bridge modes. The time domain solution is obtained via the inverse Fourier transform, and the resulting time histories have been successfully compared with some measurement results. The method is applied to the vertical and torsional modes of a mid-long single-span bridge on elastomeric bearings under standard train speeds, to a short two-span bridge under high-speed traffic, and to a long three-span integral bridge under long periodical freight trains. Different resonance and cancellation effects have been found for systematically varied train speeds according to the axle sequence of the whole train which is dominated by the two locomotives in that case. To be more specific, the first torsional mode of the mid-span bridge is excited for a train speed of 100 km/h whereas the second bending mode is excited for a train speed of 160 km/h. In both cases, the other mode is suppressed by the minima of the axle-distance spectra. In addition, the case of the German high-speed train ICE4, a Maglev train on a viaduct, and the very high-speed hyperloop case will be discussed briefly. In general, it is shown that resonance effects are also worth to be studied for freight and passenger trains with lower speeds. KW - Rail bridge KW - Resonance KW - ICE4 KW - MAGLEV KW - Hyperloop KW - Continuous bridge KW - Multi-span bridge PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-612595 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2647/25/252014 VL - 2647 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-61259 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 - CONF A1 - Auersch, Lutz T1 - Reduction of ground-induced building vibrations by kinematic and inertial soil-structure interac-tion and by base isolation N2 - Many buildings on the soil have been measured and the transfer function freefield-to-building is ana-lysed. In general, an amplification at low frequencies, an amplification for the floor resonances, and a reduction for higher frequencies can be observed. Most of the measurement examples show a flexible behaviour along the height of the buildings. The prediction of building vibration consists typically of three steps. At first, the dynamic stiffness of the foundation and secondly the kinematic soil-structure interaction has to be calculated for example by the combined finite-element boundary-element meth-od. The stiffness of the foundation reduces the incoming waves (the kinematic interaction). Finally, the inertial interaction of the building with the foundation soil is calculated by the conventional finite ele-ment method where the dynamic foundation stiffness from the first step is added at the bottom of the building. The building on the compliant soil has a fundamental vertical resonance usually below 10 Hz. A parametrical variation clearly shows the influence of the elasticity of the building on this reso-nance frequency and amplitude. Moreover for column-type office buildings, the low-frequency floor resonances can further reduce this fundamental frequency. A 1-dimensional model has been estab-lished which can well approximate the behaviour of the 3-dimensional building models. It is used to demonstrate the effect of a base isolation with soft elements at the foundation. A rigid building model clearly over-estimates the isolation effect, which is smaller for a model with flexible walls, columns and floors. An even simpler model of an infinitely high building is suggested for the mitigation effect, and the resonance frequency of the rigid building should be replaced by a better performance indica-tor, which is based on the impedance ratio of the isolation and the wall and which can be also ex-pressed as a characteristic frequency. T2 - 30th International Congress on Sound and Vibration CY - Amsterdam, Netherlands DA - 08.07.2024 KW - Building vibrations KW - Base isolation KW - Foundation stiffness KW - Kinematic soil-structure interaction KW - Transfer functions of flexible buildings PY - 2024 SN - 978-90-90-39058-1 SN - 2329-3675 SP - 1 EP - 8 AN - OPUS4-61245 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 - 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 -