Mitigation of Ground Vibration Generated by High-Speed Trains on Saturated Poroelastic Ground with Under-Sleeper Pads

Abstract

Train-induced track and ground vibrations accelerate the deterioration of track, cause nuisance to nearby residents, and even damage adjacent structures. Past research has shown that under-sleeper pads (USPs) are effective at improving track performance and insulating ground vibrations generated by moving trains. The present study was the first to investigate the effectiveness of USP at reducing train-induced ground vibrations at both subcritical and supercritical train speeds (critical speed is defined as the Rayleigh wave speed of the ground surface) and was the first to study the effectiveness of USP at reducing ground vibrations with a two-phase poroelastic soil model. A vehicle-track-ground model containing a fully saturated poroelastic half-space was established, and the whole system was solved by a semianalytical method using Fourier transforms and Fourier series. The differences in the performance of the USPs on saturated poroelastic ground and single-phase elastic ground were examined. It was found that the USPs effectively reduced free-field ground vibrations at subcritical train speeds, but the USP insulation effectiveness was minimized at supercritical train speeds. USPs might also reduce excess pore water pressure in the ground during the passage of a train.