Experimentally Determined Force Density Spectra for Admittance-Based Vibration Predictions along Railways

Featured Application: The article provides practical recommendations on the use of force density spectra in vibration prediction along railway lines. The planning application and approval process of railway tracks is generally accompanied by a vibration immission assessment. Starting with the source spectrum, which is ideally obtained through measurements, the German guideline VDI 3837 recommends a series of multiplications using transfer spectra which account for the various subdomains of the wave propagation path, such as the effect of the superstructure, the free field propagation, the soil-structure coupling and the transmission inside buildings. Typically, these one-third octave spectra are an average over empirical reference values. While simplified empirical relations are prone to a large variance, the use of artificial vibration sources allows the actual vibration transmission behavior from the tracks to the immission points to be quantified. Using so-called transfer admittances, also known as transfer mobilities, which account for all dynamic interactions along the transmission path (track, tunnel structures, foundations, structural properties), together with force density spectra for relevant rail vehicles, the authors investigate the practical application of the method presented in Report No. 0123 of the Federal Transit Administration (2018) for the frequency range 5–200 Hz. The article demonstrates how such force density spectra were obtained for the most common train types in the Austrian rail network at two different track sections using artificial vibration sources. Furthermore, practical aspects are discussed and a recently developed approximation method for estimating line transfer admittances from point transfer admittances using simplified models is introduced.