Safety of buildings against train induced structure borne noise

Abstract

Construction and operation of subways in crowded zones cause structure borne noise (SBN) which is sometimes annoying to the residents of nearby buildings. This is a serious challenge in the development of subways in large cities. Although various methods have been proposed to protect buildings against SBN, the amount of train-induced vibrations which cause impermissible SBN is not clearly known. Since train induced vibration is a criterion in the design and construction of subways, there is a need to find correlations between train-induced vibrations and SBN in order to take SBN into the subway and buildings design approaches. In response to this need, influences of train-induced vibration on SBN were studied in this research, leading to drive conditions for safety of buildings against train induced structure borne noise. For this purpose, a vibroacoustic model of building was developed and validated, using results of field tests carried out in this research. Buildings parameters were classified based on their structural and non-structural properties. Through parametric analysis of the model, effects of building structural and acoustic parameters on SBN were investigated. A prediction model was developed by which the allowable amount of train induced vibration acceleration beneath building foundations as a function of building conditions is derived. The model was used as a guideline for design and construction of safe buildings against SBN. The applicability and effectiveness of the results/model were illustrated by several field tests.