On effectiveness of vibration isolation using super‐elastic rail support combined with booted sleeper or floating slab

Abstract

Ground vibration or structure vibration of viaduct due to railway traffic can be reduced by use of super‐elastic rail support, booted sleeper and floating slab to isolate vibration transmission from the track to the infrastructure. In this study modeling in the frequency domain of track structure dynamics and wheel/rail interaction is carried out. Wheel/rail interaction and transmission to the infrastructure of the interaction force due to a relative displacement excitation are simulated. The effectiveness of vibration isolation is analyzed for booted sleeper or floating slab combined with super‐elastic rail fastener. It is found that the combination of super‐elastic rail fastener with booted sleeper or floating slab can effectively reduce the wheel/rail interaction force in the medium frequencies, compared with the booted sleeper or floating slab track using usual rail pad. The combination also shows better ability to block vibration transmission from the track to the infrastructure in the medium and high frequencies.