Measurement of building vibrations induced by high-speed railway traffic under field conditions and evaluation according to international standards

The repeated passages of high-speed trains (HSTs) cause environmental vibrations with different frequency contents, especially in low-rigidity soil conditions (alluvial soils). The formation mechanisms of environmental vibrations, wave propagation properties on the ground, and the problems they create in buildings close to the train line are the research subjects of this study. In order to examine the acceleration records of the train-induced vibrations, three test areas close to the HST line with low soil stiffness were determined. Acceleration data were recorded with precision accelerometers placed at regular intervals in the perpendicular direction to the track line. In this study, building vibration levels were determined by generating response acceleration spectra using experimental results. The formation mechanisms of vibrations and wave propagation properties were investigated by comparative analysis of the response acceleration spectrum graphs. Furthermore, the effects of perpendicular distance to the track line, trench type of vibration barrier, kinematic interaction considering structure-soil interaction, train passages with different speeds, and effects of different embankment profiles on environmental vibrations were investigated in the present study. Time-velocity and Fourier Amplitude spectrum graphs were created to evaluate the vibration levels with the international standards including USA (FTA 2012) and Germany (DIN 4150-2/3). Train-induced environmental ground-borne vibrations close to train lines were evaluated with regulations in terms of human perception and building damage. As a result, the vibration level generally decreased with distance from the track line. From the results it is seen that, the differences in local ground conditions greatly affect the vibration level. Evaluations according to FTA and DIN 4150-2/3 norms revealed the negative effects of the train-induced vibration level. It is observed that FTA makes a more restrictive and sensitive assessment compared to DIN 4150-2/3.