Effect of Inclined Soil Layers on Surface Vibration from Underground Railways Using the Thin-Layer Method
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 137, Issue 12
Abstract
Noise and vibration from underground railways is a documented disturbance for individuals living or working near subways. Numerical models are used to investigate and understand vibration propagation from these underground railways, although the models commonly include simplifying assumptions (i.e., assuming the soil is a horizontally layered, homogenous half-space). Such simplifying assumptions add a level of uncertainty to the predictions that is not well understood. The goal of the current paper is to quantify the effect of including layer inclination angles up to 5° in relation to the surface. The thin-layer method (TLM) is introduced as an efficient and accurate means of simulating vibration from underground railways in arbitrarily layered half-spaces. The TLM is an element-based approach that uses the analytical wave equation to describe vibration in the horizontal direction, whereas assuming displacements in the vertical direction can be described by using a linear shape-function. The method is used to simulate a half-space with an inclined layer and is shown to be both accurate and computationally faster than a boundary-element model in predicting surface RMS velocities. The sensitivity of surface vibrations to inclination angle is also investigated, and the results suggest that small inclination angles of 5° or less can cause significant variation in RMS response of approximately 5 dB.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded in part by the Gates Cambridge Trust and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 137 • Issue 12 • December 2011
Pages: 887 - 900
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 12, 2010
Accepted: Jun 23, 2011
Published online: Jun 25, 2011
Published in print: Dec 1, 2011
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