A Sheet Piling Wall As a Wave Barrier for Train Induced Vibrations

Abstract eng:
Numerical simulations have been carried out with a two-and-a-half dimensional coupled finite element - boundary element methodology to assess the effectiveness of a sheet piling wall to reduce railway induced vibrations. In the method, the geometry of the problem is assumed invariant in the longitudinal direction along the track. The sheet piling wall acts as a stiff wave barrier of which the effectiveness is determined by the depth and the contrast in stiffness between the barrier and the soil. It is important to take into account the orthotropic behavior of the sheet piling wall, as the bending stiffness in the vertical direction (along the profiles) is much larger than the bending stiffness in the longitudinal direction (perpendicular to the profiles). Calculations show that the reduction of vibration levels is entirely due to the relatively high axial stiffness and vertical bending stiffness, while the longitudinal bending stiffness is too low to affect the transmission of vibrations. At Furet, Sweden, a sheet piling wall has been installed next to the track to reduce train induced vibrations in several buildings close to the track. The vibration levels caused by train passages have been measured before and after the construction of wall. Furthermore, the Rolling Stiffness Measurement Vehicle (RSMV) has been used to perform measurements with stationary track excitation. A preliminary comparison is made of the experimental results and predicted insertion loss values.

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