Building vibration measurement and prediction during train operations

Abstract

Urban societies face the challenge of working and living in environments filled with vibration caused by transportation systems. This paper conducted field measurements to obtain the characteristics of vibration transmission from soil to building foundations and within building floors. Subsequently, a prediction method was developed to anticipate building vibrations by considering the soil and structure interaction. The rigid foundation model was simplified into a foundation–soil system connected via spring damping, and the building model is based on axial wave transmission within the columns and attached floors. Building vibrations were in response to measured input vibration levels at the ground and were validated through field measurements. The influence of different building heights on soil and structure vibration propagation was studied. The results showed that the predicted vibrations match well with the measured vibrations. The proposed prediction model can reasonably predict the building vibration caused by train operations. The closed-form method is an efficient tool for predicting floor vibrations prior to construction.