Vibration Protection of Historical Buildings Located near the Lines of Urban Rail Transport

Abstract

Besides the underground, the second common type of public transport is the tram. Tram lines in Moscow city center, as well as in other cities in Russia, are being renovated and reconstructed. Vibration of the railway track travels through the ground to the foundation of buildings adjacent to tram lines, causing high vibration and structure-borne noise levels inside them. The article presents result of a vibration isolation system analysis and design for a building, located in 37m of the two-lanes tram line. Prior to design procedure, field measurements were made and vibration levels inside the building were recorded. The vibration isolation system design included calculation of soil pressure on the isolation pad and subsequent estimation of the elastomeric pad dynamic modulus. Using this data, the eigenfrequecny of vibration isolation system was derived and its efficiency calculated. After the system maintenance, measurements were made to check the system’s performance. During the measurements acceleration of isolated part of the building and the ground surface were synchronously measured and transfer function derived.