Viability Analysis of Waste Tires as Material for Rail Vibration and Noise Control in Modern Tram Track Systems

Caiyou Zhao,Ping Wang,Qiang Yi,Duo Meng

doi:10.1155/2015/725808

Abstract

This research study focused on the effect of using damping chamber elements made from waste tires on railway noise reduction. First, the energy absorption characteristics of damping chamber elements with various gradation combinations and compaction indices were measured in the laboratory using compression testing. The laboratory compression results demonstrated that the optimal gradation combination of damping chamber elements is as follows: the content of fine rubber particles is 10%, the content of coarse granules is 90%, and the optimal compaction index is 0.98. Next, the findings from the laboratory compression-test studies were used to produce damping chamber elements that were applied to a full-scale modern track model in the laboratory. The measurements of the dynamic properties indicated that the damping chamber elements could significantly reduce the vibration levels of the rail head. Finally, the damping chamber elements, which had been proven effective through laboratory dynamic tests, were widely applied to test rail sections in the field. The field tests demonstrated that damping chamber elements can significantly increase the track vibration decay rate in the frequency range of 200–10000 Hz. Therefore, damping chamber elements made from waste tires are able to control rail vibration and noise in modern tram track systems.

Highlights

In recent decades, due to accelerated industrialization and urbanization and the enhancement of human living standards, the number of private vehicles has significantly increased, which causes increasingly serious traffic congestion in cities and leads to air pollution caused by automobile exhaust, as exemplified by the “haze” phenomenon [1]
The present study focuses on the development of damping chamber elements from waste tires and the analysis of their viability for use as damping elements in modern tram tracks
The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of using damping chamber elements manufactured from deconstructed waste tires to be applied as vibration and noise control elements in a modern tram track system

Summary

Introduction

Due to accelerated industrialization and urbanization and the enhancement of human living standards, the number of private vehicles has significantly increased, which causes increasingly serious traffic congestion in cities and leads to air pollution caused by automobile exhaust, as exemplified by the “haze” phenomenon [1]. New modern tram facilities, which have a variety of advantages over private vehicles, such as their high load capacity, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness, have been demonstrated to help relieve congestion within cities; in addition, the perceptions of cities are improved through the use of clean-running public transport [2]. Often viewed as a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly means of transportation, trams introduce a new component to the urban noise scene. The roughness of the running surfaces generates excitation that causes vibration of the wheel and track Both the wheels and the track radiate significant noise components, whose relative amplitudes depend on the details of the design, the roughness spectrum, and the train speed. The noise component from the rail is often greatest at the lower running speeds of typical tram rail systems

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