Investigation of train-induced ground vibrations using FEM and field experiments

The main purpose of this chapter is to compare the ground vibration induced bytrains moving on bridges using finite element analyses and field experiments. The finiteelement meshes include bridge superstructures, bridge foundations, moving trains, soils,and absorbing boundaries. The comparison indicates that the predicted numerical andmeasured experimental results are in good agreement, and the train-induced vibration willbe large at the dominant frequencies of nV/L, where n is a positive integer, V is the trainspeed, and L is the distance between two carriage centers. Different from the behavior oftrains moving on embankments, the train-bridge-induced ground vibrations are notgreatly influenced by rail irregularities, and only in the high frequency range (over 15Hz), the rail irregularity effect may not be ignored. However, those high frequencyvibrations will be damped fast at a far field, such as 50 m from the railway.