Railway induced ground vibrations in soft soil

Abstract

Easy accessibility and affordability of railways over the other mode of transportation makes it most preferred mode of transportation. High speed trains are major technical innovation in the railway industry which has reduced the travel time. As the speed is increasing day by day, numbers of problems are increasing. Ground vibration is one of the concerns which can result in derailment and deterioration of track embankment system. The ground vibration may be detrimental to the stability and safety of the rail track system as well as of the nearby structures. When the running speed of the train matches with the Rayleigh wave velocity of the sub soil “Critical Condition” occurs due to which vibrations get amplified. Soft soils can amplify the induced ground vibration as their Rayleigh wave velocity is very close to the operating speed range of high-speed trains. Field investigation to measure train induced vibrations is expensive, therefore numerical modelling is necessary to predict these vibration. In this study, finite element modelling has been done to study the ground vibration generated at railway track embankment system in soft soils. For this purpose, railway embankment as specified by Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) is modelled using finite elements. Peak particle velocity is measured at different depths of embankment. Further parametric study has been done to find the effect of increase in train speed and increase in soil stiffness.