Efficiency of Sand-Rubber Mixture Wave Barrier Trenches in Reducing Train-Induced Vibrations

The movement of trains on railway tracks generates vibrations that can negatively impact nearby infrastructure and human comfort. One innovative solution to mitigate these vibrations is the use of wave barrier trenches. These trenches can be open or filled with materials such as water, bentonite, concrete, etc. This study investigates the effectiveness of wave barrier trenches filled with a sand-rubber mixture (SRM) (۳۰% and ۷۰% rubber content) on reducing train-induced vibrations and compares the results with open trenches. A two-dimensional finite difference model was developed in FLAC۲D. Wave barrier trenches are categorized into Passive Isolation and Active Isolation, both of which were examined in detail. The results indicate that open trenches provide the highest vibration reduction, followed by trenches filled with ۷۰% SRM, which performed better than the ۳۰% case. Moreover, in the presence of a mat foundation, Passive Isolation is more effective than Active Isolation, whereas without a mat foundation, the opposite is true. Additionally, the findings show that increasing trench width beyond one-tenth of its depth has a negligible effect on vibration reduction. These results provide valuable insights into the efficiency of vibration mitigation techniques and can be beneficial for engineers designing railway infrastructure in urban and sensitive areas.

Keywords:

Sand-rubber mixture (SRM) , Amplitude reduction factor , Wave Barrier trenches , Passive Isolation , Open trench