Abstract
The developments in urban rail transit (URT) construction are associated with the benefits of moving people efficiently and the negative impacts of noise and vibrations caused to surroundings. Despite a proliferation of studies conducted throughout the world, very few studies employed the field measurement approach due to various limitations. Using a metropolitan city, Tianjin (China), as an example, field measurement was set up to monitor the indoor vibration and noise spectrum in buildings near urban rapid transit lines to establish a baseline as well as the effectiveness of corresponding mitigation measures, namely wheel-rail polishing and train speed reduction. While our study suggests a maximum 6 dB reduction in indoor vibration, the effectiveness of noise and vibration reduction measures depends on the attenuation of the main frequency corresponding to the secondary radiation noise of the indoor vibration excitation in the building. In our field test, the peaks of the frequency spectrum were found to be 40, 50, 63 and 80 Hz. The secondary radiation noise attenuation and vibration were invariant to the change in frequency spectrum. Mitigation measures such as polishing may cause vibration frequency to peak in non-main frequency spectrums. URT speed reduction will lead to vibration and noise attenuation energy being concentrated at around 50 Hz. Given the presently inconsistent and widely varying industrial and international standards, this study can provide important field measurement data supporting future development in standards, regulation and legislation with respect to URT development, especially in mature townships.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralThe rapid development of urban rail transit (URT) has become a twin-blade sword bringing the benefits of efficient and low carbon public transport and the negative health impacts associated with noise and vibration
Through the monitoring of actual cases, this study analyzed the indoor vibration and noise spectrum characteristics of selected buildings along the line caused by urban rail transit, and the law of the impact of wheel/rail polishing and speed reduction measures on the indoor vibration and noise of residents along the line
The noise reduction effect depended on the degree of attenuation of the main frequency corresponding to the secondary radiated noise excited by the indoor vibration of the building
Summary
The rapid development of urban rail transit (URT) has become a twin-blade sword bringing the benefits of efficient and low carbon public transport and the negative health impacts associated with noise and vibration. The operation of URT further causes vibration leading to structure-borne noise in the surrounding built environment [2]. In more severe cases, such vibration can lead to safety implications for the buildings, as reported in the literature [3]. The negative impacts of noise hazards and associated social issues from URT have been well documented in the literature [4]. The operation of the commuter rail has become a source of multiple noise hazards, such as wheel-rail vibration noise, aerodynamic noise, and engine and auxiliary machinery noise in the surroundings [5]. Due to the severe noise with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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