Study of effects of vibrations caused by railway traffic to buildings

Abstract

The paper presents the manner in which railway traffic affects the buildings in the vicinity of the railways. Railway vehicles in motion produce high-intensity vibrations. The way such vibrations affect the buildings depends upon the distance at which constructions are placed, the traffic speed of the rolling material, the axle load, the state of the railway, the kind of soil, and last but not least the type of foundation. The paper is divided into two parts, a theoretical part dealing with building dynamics, magnitudes quantifying vibrations, and characteristics of vibratory motion, and a practical part where the results of the measurements are presented (regarding acceleration, speed, displacement, frequency) to highlight the detrimental effects of vibrations produced by the rolling stock in motion upon the buildings in the neighborhood of the railways. Relevant photos are also given.