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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 -