Influence of train-generated vibrations on embankment

Abstract

Roads and railway lines are often constructed on different geotechnical structures such as tunnels, cuttings, and/or embankments. Three main parts are necessary to consider to evaluate vibration: the source of vibrations, vibration propagation path, and receiver of the signal. This paper describes a review of the influence of train-generated vibrations on an embankment and a building in the surroundings. The first presented case study documents an interpretation of seismic signal in the frequency domain using wavelet transform. The algorithm, which we apply to the computation of the wavelet transform of the velocity component record, is based on the pyramidal algorithm, and the result of this procedure is used for an interpretation of data. The discrete wavelet transform was applied to the construction of a 3-dimension mapping of the time-frequency decomposition. An example of the numerical model on the FEM method (the MIDAS GTS software) shows the vertical displacement of the embankment body during the movement of a train. The creation of these models is strictly based on the results of experimental seismological measurements. Then, the source of vibration is represented by a typical train/vehicle that runs on the nearest part of the railway/road at the most efficient velocity.