A Comparison of Predicted and Measured Ground Vibrations due to High Speed, Passenger, and Freight Trains

Abstract

In March 2008, the SNCF has launched a blind prediction test for for railway-induced ground vibration. The aim was to compare predictions from different numerical models to measured ground vibrations at a site along the LGV Atlantique and a site along the Paris-Bordeaux line. Apart from vibration measurements, SNCF has also performed tests and collected data for the determination of the input parameters of the prediction models. Based on these input parameters, the free-field vibrations have been predicted by means of a numerical model that has been developed at K.U.Leuven. This model takes into account the dynamic interaction between the train, the track and the soil. The track geometry is assumed to be invariant with respect to the longitudinal direction, allowing for an efficient numerical solution of the dynamic track–soil interaction problem in the frequency-wavenumber domain. Although a good qualitative agreement has been obtained between the predicted and measured vibration velocities, the ratio between the predicted and measured running RMS values of the vibration velocity is sometimes as high as 3 or 5.