A Semi-Analytical Approach to Predict Ground Vibration by Identification of Soil Properties and Train-Transit Loads

Abstract

Train-induced ground vibration problems have become an important subject, as the number of the high speed railroad construction projects rapidly increases worldwide. Various numerical approaches have been proposed and used for the prediction of the train-induced ground vibration. However, the estimation performance has not been satisfactory due to the difficulty in modeling the train-transit loads on railroad structures and the structure-soil interaction system, which are essential for the accurate prediction of ground vibration. In this study, a new semi-analytical method was proposed for the prediction of ground vibration and the evaluation of environmental vibration levels with simple measurements of the ground vibration on the surface. The proposed method does not need any analytical model for inputting the train load. Instead, it identifies the effective train loads acting on the railroad track structure based on the measured ground responses at several locations and the numerical model of the structure-soil interaction system through the identification of the properties of the soil layers. Then, the effective train load is utilized as an input to the structure-soil interaction problem to predict the ground vibrations and the environmental vibration levels of the structures. A finite and infinite element model was utilized to solve the wave propagation problem in the soil medium in the frequency domain. Field validations were carried out at a site where Korea high-speed trains run over an elevated bridge structure. The predicted ground accelerations were found to be in good agreement with the measured data.