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A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via

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 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations
Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels

Y. B. Yang* and L. C. Hsu

Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 10617

(Received: 17 May 2005; Received revised form: 4 November 2005; Accepted: 10 November 2005)

Abstract: Ground-borne vibrations resulting from the railway traffic have become an
important environmental issue which has aroused a great deal of public attention. In
this paper, a survey of the researches conducted on the problem of vibrations resulting
from trains moving in underground tunnels is presented. The major concerns of this
paper include the statement of the problem, the evaluation criteria for ground-borne
vibrations used by various countries, a review of the state-of-the-art researches using
various approaches, and a summary of the isolation methods for reducing the ground-
borne vibrations. Only the papers that are readily available to the writers are reviewed
herein. It is expected that researches on ground-borne vibrations will continue to grow
in the years to come, due to the construction of underground railways in major cities
all over the world. There exists a need to develop reliable and efficient techniques
suitable for practicing engineers in the simulation of building vibrations caused by
trains moving through the tunnels.

Key words: ground-borne vibration, moving load, railway, subway, tunnel.

1. INTRODUCTION we attempt to present in this paper, is the basis for

In densely populated areas, mass rapid transit systems
built underground have emerged as an effective
transportation tool for relieving the saturated ground
traffic. However, the vibration resulting from the
passage of underground trains, propagating through the
soils to the ground, has often reached the level that
cannot be tolerated by residents in adjacent buildings.
Recently, the problem of train-induced vibrations has
received increasing attention from both engineers and
researchers. For example, the project CONVURT
(Clouteau 2005) conducted by the European Union in
its Growth 2000 programme is aimed at controlling
vibrations from underground rail traffic and has the
primary objective of creating validated innovative
software for predicting the noise and vibration induced
in buildings. Studies for decades on the problem are
voluminous and continue to grow rapidly in recent
years. A general understanding of the problem, which
*Corresponding author. Email address: ybyang@ntu.edu.tw; Fax: +886-2-2363-7585; Tel: +886-2-2363-2104.
advancing further researches.
This paper is organized as follows. The problem of
vibrations resulting from trains moving in underground
tunnels is discussed first. Then the current evaluation
criteria for vibrations of this sort are given. In the next
section, a literature review will be given of the previous
research works on ground-borne vibrations, with
particular emphasis on those directly related to
vibrations resulting from trains moving in underground
tunnels. Only papers that are readily available to the
writers and written in English or Chinese will be cited
herein. Finally, a summary will be given of the isolation
methods for reducing the ground-borne vibrations.
2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
There are three types of environmental impacts from
metro trains operated in underground tunnels: airborne
sound, ground-borne vibration and structure-borne

Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006 1

 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels
noise. The airborne sound is a direct noise emission,
which results from the vibrations of the wheels, rails and
sleepers, due to the roughness in wheels and rail running
surfaces (Thompson and Jones 2002). A critical survey
on this problem was done by Talotte et al. (2003). The
noise criteria imposed in The European Union and in
North America are available in the research papers of
Kalivoda et al. (2003) and Staiano (2003).
The ground-borne vibration generated by the passage
of trains due to the surface irregularities of wheels and
rails, the rise and fall of the axles over sleepers, and the
propagation of the deformation pattern of the track and
ground is transmitted through the track structure, the
underground tunnel structure and the surrounding soil to
adjacent buildings. The vibration is transmitted to
buildings via soils and foundations, which may excite
resonant responses in structural members of the
buildings. According to Jones (1994), who conducted a
number of researches for the British Rail, the buildings
will vibrate at low frequencies around 4 Hz, the floors
may resonate vertically at frequencies in the range of
20–30 Hz, and the walls and windows may be excited
into bending resonances at frequencies above 40 Hz. The
perceptible vibration to the occupants of a building has
an appreciable range mainly between 10 and 60 Hz, as
measured by Kuppelwieser and Ziegler (1996). On the
other hand, the resulting vibrations of the structural
members, such as walls and floors, will cause secondary
radiation of audible sound into rooms, which was called
structure-borne noise and also known as ground-borne
noise. The re-radiated noise has frequencies mainly
between 50 and 160 Hz (Hood et al. 1996), which can
usually be heard before the vibration levels are high
enough to be felt (Kurzweil 1979). Figure 1 shows a
conceptual representation of the frequency range for the
air-borne sound, structure-borne sound and ground-
borne vibration generated from trains moving in
underground tunnels. As can be seen, the vibration
transmission caused by rail traffic is mainly a low
frequency problem.
When the occupants of a building experience either
the ground-borne vibration or re-radiated noise, they
may feel uncomfortable and concern about the possible
damages to buildings. Nevertheless, except for old
historical buildings with structural weakness (Xia
1999), the damage of buildings due to vibrations from
the railways is unlikely to occur. But the vibration may
affect the normal operation of equipment housed in the
buildings or other activities of the occupants. Recently,
vibration research activities with sensitivity limitation
below 6.3 Hz were carried out at the Physics and
Astronomy Building (PAB) of the University of
Washington. Scientists are concerned about the
2 Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
Ground-borne
vibration
Structure-borne
sound
Air-borne sound
1 10 100 1000 10000
Figure 1. Conceptual representation of the frequency range for air-
borne sound, structure-borne sound and ground-borne vibration
potential vibration impact of trains operated in the new
proposed underground railways adjacent to PAB. A
study to estimate the vibration impact of this problem
was done by Wolf (2003). Another example is the steel-
framed British Film Institute’s IMAX cinema with
foundations lying only a few meters above two
underground railway lines (Talbot 2001). Base-isolated
design is needed to minimize the ground-borne
vibration and to sustain the high performance of a
modern cinema. The Chartered Bank Building where
the Singapore mass rapid transit (MRT) subway serving
beneath its podium block is also a unique situation
which needs special investigation about the vibration
effects (Balendra et al. 1989). All the above examples
reveal that for some special or important buildings,
more stringent limitations should be placed on the levels
of noises and vibrations induced by the underground
trains on the buildings, for which some vibration studies
are necessary.
In reality, the complaints from inhabitants near
underground railways are likely to occur. For instance,
the Taipei Municipal Government is constantly
receiving complaints from those inhabitants for the
noise and vibration induced by the rapid transit system
(TRTS) of early design. An investigation done by Shyu
(2002) showed that for some areas the noise and
vibration levels do not meet the requirements set by the
International Organization for Standardization.
Therefore, a number of research works aimed at
reducing the ground-borne noise and vibration have
been carried out to improve the existing lines and some
new lines of TRTS from the design phase (Wang et al.
2000 and Chen 2002). According to the research done
by Vadillo et al. (1996), who studied the subjective
reaction of residents near subway systems, vibration
seems to be even more annoying than noise. A series of
studies related to human response to vibrations in
buildings were conduct by Howarth and Griffin
Y. B. Yang and L. C. Hsu

(1988, 1991). The evaluation criteria of human exposure
to vibrations in buildings will be discussed in the next
section.
In summary, according to Hung (2000), the process
of transmission of train-generated noises and vibrations
from tunnels to buildings includes four major phases:
(a) generation, i.e., the excitation caused by the motion
of trains over the rails with irregular surfaces;
(b) transmission, i.e., the propagation of waves through
the underground tunnel structure and surrounding soils;
(c) reception, i.e., the vibrations received by nearby
buildings; and (d) interception, i.e., the reduction of
vibrations using wave barriers, such as piles, trenches,
isolation pads, etc. During each phase, there are a
number of parameters that can affect the final noise and
vibration levels to different extents. The most important
elements of these phases were summarized in Figure 2,
which can be divided into three main categories as
suggested by Melke (1988), i.e., source, transmission
path and receiver.
3. EVALUATION CRITERIA OF VIBRATION
Many design guides and standards have offered
methods for assessing or reducing human exposure to
vibrations in buildings. The effect of vibration on
comfort and annoyance, however, is a very complex
problem and cannot be specified solely by the
magnitude of monitored vibration alone. In other words,
vibration associated phenomena, such as structure-borne
noise, airborne noise, rattling, movement of furniture
and other objects, as well as visual effects may relate to
the degree of complaints. Some studies, like the works
done by Howarth and Griffin (1991), Paulsen and
Kastka (1995) as well as Knall (1996), have been
conducted to predict the subjective response to
simultaneous noise and vibration produced in buildings
near railways. It is shown that for the evaluation of
annoyance, the combined effects should be taken into
consideration, rather than either the noise or vibration
alone. However, researches related to the total
disturbance caused by noise and vibration together are

Source

Train Track

Primary suspension stiffness and damping Rail running surface condition

Wheelset, bogie and car body mass Track curvature
Train speed Track mass, stiffness and damping
Wheel running surface condition Rail fastener spacing
Floating slabs or ballast

Transmission path

Tunnel Ground

Dimensions and shape of tunnel structure Type of soil or rock

Thickness of tunnel structure Density, shear modulus and loss factor
Depth of tunnel Transmission distance
Obstructions

Receiver

Building

Type of building and structural details

Floor natural frequencies
Room size

Figure 2. Parameters affecting noise and vibrations in buildings as reported by Melke (1988)

Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006 3

 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels

still insufficient for forming the basis of design
standards; further investigation with field experiments is
required for establishing more appropriate evaluation
criteria of human response to train-induced vibrations in
buildings.
Experience in many countries has shown that the
occupants of residential buildings are likely to complain
if the vibration magnitudes are only slightly above the
perception threshold. The perception threshold as
reported in ISO 2631–1:1997 (1997) may extend from
about 0.01 m/s2 to 0.02 m/s2 peak. Therefore, most
standards give values representing approximately the
same human response with respect to annoyance of
various frequencies, but no acceptable magnitudes on
building vibrations. The standards used in some
countries were summarized in Table 1. Most standards
concerning the evaluation criteria of vibration, for
example the Norwegian Standard NS 8176 (Turunen-
Rise et al. 2003), have two main objectives: first, to
define a unified method for measuring and quantifying
vibrations, and second, to give some limit criteria for
vibrations. A brief conceptual review of the
International Standard 2631-2, which is the most
commonly used standards and regarded as the basis of
other standards for evaluating the human exposure to
vibrations in buildings, will be given in the following
section. For those who are interested in practical
evaluation of vibrations in buildings, the standard
should be consulted for more details. It is noted that the
standards introduced herein are mainly related to the
assessment of public vibration nuisance, which are
applicable to ground-borne vibrations induced by trains
moving in underground tunnels.
International Standard ISO 2631-2, which is a part of
ISO 2631, offers guidance on the evaluation of human
exposure to whole-body vibrations, especially for
vibrations in buildings from 1 to 80 Hz. The vibration
measurement should follow the methods given in ISO
2631-1. As human sensitivity to vibration is highly
frequency-dependant, there are summation effects for
vibrations of different frequencies. For this reason,
overall weighted vibration values are often used in the
evaluation and acceleration is suggested as the primary
quantity of vibration. The frequency-weighted
acceleration is determined by appropriate weighting and
addition of one-third octave band data as:
⎡
1/2
2⎤
aω = ⎢ ∑ (ω i ai ) ⎥ (1)
⎣ i ⎦
where aω is the frequency-weighted acceleration, ωi is
the weighting factor for the ith one-third octave band and
ai is the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) acceleration for the ith
one-third octave. The frequency weighting normally is
incorporated in the design of measuring equipment with
built-in weighting filters and band-limiting filters. Most
modern vibration meters give an overall level of
frequency-weighted vibration acceleration on the
measured axis aω. For brevity, the values of the
frequency weighting factors will not be listed here and
those who are interested in the calculation of frequency-
weighted acceleration should refer to the standard ISO
2631-1:1997 (1997) for more details.
The basic evaluation method given in ISO 2631-
1:1997 (1997) is the weighted r.m.s. acceleration
method, which is expressed as:
1/2
⎡1 T ⎤
aω = ⎢ ∫ aω2 (t )dt ⎥ (2)
⎢⎣ T t = 0 ⎥⎦

Table 1. Standards related to evaluation of human exposure to

vibration in buildings

Nation Name of Standard Standard Number

International International ISO 2631-1
Organization for Standard ISO 2631-2
Standardization
The United States American National
Standards Institute ANSI S3.29
England British Standard BS 6472
Germany Deutsches Institut für
Normung DIN 4150-2
Norway Norwegian Standard NS 8176
Japan Japanese Industrial JIS C 1510
Standards JIS Z 8735

4 Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006

Y. B. Yang and L. C. Hsu
Table 2. Multiplying factors given in ISO 2631-2:1989 to define vibration magnitudes below which the
probability of adverse human reaction is low
Place Time
Critical working areas
(e.g. some hospital, operating
theatres, some precision
laboratories, etc.) Day Night
Day
Residential
Night
Office Day Night
Workshop Day Night
where aω(t) is the weighted acceleration (m/s2) or
(rad/s2) and T is the duration of measurement (s). The
weighted r.m.s. acceleration shall be determined for
each axis (x, y and z) of the principal surface of the floor
supporting the body.
According to the ISO 2631-2:1989 (1989), satisfactory
vibration magnitudes in rooms of various functions
should be specified in multiples of the base curve
magnitudes. The ranges of multiplying factors used in
several countries were listed in Table 2. Complaints are
likely to arise from the occupants of buildings when
the vibration magnitudes, i.e. the weighted r.m.s.
accelerations, are in excess of the value represented by
the corresponding curve related to each axis. This does
not mean that the values above this curve will give rise to
adverse reactions, as the magnitude which is considered
to be satisfactory depends on the real circumstance. For
undefined axis of human vibration exposure, the
combined effects are also taken into consideration by the
combined-standard base curves shown in Figure 3.
From the studies conducted by Griffin (1996), who
wrote a comprehensive book about the human vibration,
the Vibration Dose Value (VDV) is a preferred measure
unit for the assessment of human exposure to railway
vibrations. The VDV, evaluated at the center of the floor
of interest during the measurement period is also one of
the defined means of assessing vibration severity in
ISO 2631-1:1997 (1997). It is a measure of the
cumulative exposure to vibrations from a passing train
and is defined as the fourth root of the integral of the
fourth power of the frequency-weighted acceleration aω
over a period T:
1/4
⎡T ⎤ measurement methods for vibration, while guidance for
VDV = ⎢ ∫ aω4 (t )dt ⎥ (3)
⎢⎣ t = 0 ⎥⎦
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
Continuous or Transient vibration
intermittent excitation with several
vibration occurrences per day
1 1
2 to 4 30 to 90
1.4 1.4 to 20
4 60 to 128
8 90 to 128
0.1
Acceleration (r.m.s.), m/s2
0.01
0.001
1 10 100
Centre frequency one-third octave bands, Hz
Figure 3. Building vibration combined direction (x-, y-, z-axis)
acceleration base curve of ISO 2631-1:1997
where aω(t) is the instantaneous frequency-weighted
acceleration (m/s2) or (rad/s2) and T is the duration of
measurement (s). The SI unit of VDV is m/s1.75.
It is noted that the British Standard BS 6472:1992
(1992) is similar to ISO 2631-2:1989 (1989). Besides
the frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration, the VDV is
used by the BS 6472:1992 (1992) as another
measurement for evaluation of the human response to
vibrations in buildings. Examples for calculating the
VDV were given in this Standard. Table 3 lists the VDV
suggested by BS 6472:1992 (1992), in which the ranges
for adverse reactions expected from residential building
occupants were also listed.
In the newest version of ISO 2631-2:2003 (2003), the
baseline curves are not used anymore. It only gives
evaluating the annoyance of human being is referred to
ISO 2631-1:1997 (1997). This Standard suggests that
5
 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels

Table 3. VDV suggested in BS 6472:1992 at which adverse reactions may be expected from
residential building occupants

VDV above which various degree of adverse comment may be expected in residential buildings

Low probability of Adverse comment Adverse comment

Place adverse comment possible probable
Residential buildings
16 hours (Day) 0.2 to 0.4 0.4 to 0.8 0.8 to 1.6
Residential buildings
8 hours (Night) 0.13 0.26 0.51

complaints of occupants of residential buildings are
likely to arise if the vibration magnitudes are only
slightly above the perception threshold extended from
about 0.01 m/s2 to 0.02 m/s2 peak. As for evaluation of
the human response to comfort, various ranges of
frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration were listed in
Table 4. Due to the lack of comprehensive understanding
of vibration associated annoyance, collecting data for
evaluation of the human response to building vibrations
is encouraged for updating the future edition of
ISO 2631-2.
Another frequently used measurement of vibration is
the vibration acceleration level Lva with unit decibel
(dB), which is defined as
a With the reasons that people are more sensitive to
Lva = 20 log
a0
where a is the r.m.s. value of vibration acceleration and
ao is the reference vibration acceleration (10–5 m/s2). If
the perception threshold of human being is 0.01 m/s2,
the vibration acceleration level of the perception
threshold is 60 dB. When the r.m.s. vibration
acceleration is weighted, another definition of vibration
measurement often being used is the vibration level Lv
with unit decibel (dB), which is defined as
ac
Lv = 20 log
a0
where ac is the r.m.s. value of vibration acceleration
weighted by the vertical characteristic or the horizontal
characteristic and ao is the reference vibration
acceleration (10–5 m/s2).
In Japan, the methods of measurement for vibration
levels, especially for ground surface vibrations due to
public vibration nuisance is standardized in JIS Z 8735
(1981) and JIS C 1510 (1995) for vibration level meters.
The ground vibration caused by road traffic, factory
facilities and construction work have been regulated by
Table 4. Guidance of ISO 2631-1:1997 for valuation
of comfort
r.m.s. weighted
acceleration (m/s2) Semantic label
a < 0.315 Not uncomfortable
0.315 < a < 0.63 A little uncomfortable
0.5 < a < 1 Fairly uncomfortable
0.8 < a < 1.6 Uncomfortable
1.25 < a < 2.5 Very uncomfortable
a > 2.5 Extremely uncomfortable
law so that the life environment can be kept well. The
vibration regulation law (1976) established in 1976 is
applied to vibrations measured on the ground surface.
(4)
vertical vibrations than horizontal vibrations in the
frequency range of vibration nuisances and that the
vertical ground vibration is usually more profound than
the horizontal ground vibration, the focus of vibration
impact assessment is placed on the vertical direction.
The criteria of vibrations listed in the vibration
regulation law were listed in Table 5. The magnitude of
vibration on the floor of a house is usually estimated by
adding a value of 5 dB to that on the ground surface
(Yokota 1996). However, this is an old value obtained
20 years ago when the houses were all made of wood.
Nowadays, further researches on this subject are
(5)
conducted to achieve a more reasonable value suitable
for modern buildings in Japan.
4. STATE-OF-THE-ART RESEARCHES ON
GROUND-BORNE VIBRATIONS
As early as in the 1970s in highly developed countries,
the ground-borne noise and vibration induced by urban
rail transit systems on the surrounding environments
have aroused public attention. In the study by Gutowski
and Dym (1976), researches on the theoretical models of
vibration attenuation, measurement techniques and
predictive models have been reviewed. With an

6 Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006

Y. B. Yang and L. C. Hsu
Table 5. Vibration criteria regulated by the vibration regulation
law (1976) in Japan
Type I Residential area
Type II Commercial area Industrial area
Note: The criteria for the area within 50 m away from schools, hospitals, libraries and sanatoria are
obtained with a reduction of 5 dB from the values listed above.
increasing public sensitivity to the environmental
impacts, voluminous researches exist on this problem.
Discussion of the works carried out subsequently can be
found in the papers by Krylov and Ferguson (1994) and
Xie et al. (1999).
In this section, an overview of the state-of-the-art
researches related to vibrations generated by trains
moving in underground tunnels will be given.
Researches conducted along these lines can be classified
into four categories as the analytical approach, field
measurement, empirical prediction models, and
numerical simulation. The following is a brief review of
each of the four approaches.
4.1. Analytical Approach
As pointed out by Gutowski and Dym (1976), to predict
the transmission of vibration through the ground is a
complex task due to the following reasons: the lack of a
comprehensive understanding of the soil behavior, the
difficulty of determining accurate values for the soil
properties, and the difficulty of modeling precisely the
sources of vibration and the related near- and far-field
behaviors. Therefore, an exact analytical solution for the
practical problems encountered is presently not
available. However, the analytical solutions with
necessary simplifications and sub-divisions in the
modeling can give us an insight into the basic property
of the problem considered, thereby providing us a useful
reference for validating the results obtained by the
numerical simulation and empirical prediction models.
The pioneering work of Lamb (1904), the first
scientist who investigated the disturbance generated in
an elastic medium due to an impulsive force applied
along a line or at a point on the semi-infinite surface or
inside an unbounded full space, contained most of the
elements for analytical studies of the source and
transmission path in soils. The problems he studied were
now referred to as Lamb’s problems to honor his
contribution to the classic theory of wave propagation.
Since the work of Lamb can be applied to answering
the classical problems of elastic wave propagation with
satisfaction, a variety of researches in soil dynamics
were thereafter carried out based on the framework
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
Day Night
65 dB 60 dB
70 dB 65 dB
established by Lamb to analyze the problems associated
with moving loads. The analytic solutions of ground
vibrations generated by surface moving loads were
derived by many researchers of early times, such as
Cole and Huth (1958), Eason (1965), Fung (1965) and
Frýba (1972). However, the ground vibrations generated
by moving loads in the interior of soils were rarely
studied. Frýba (1972) analyzed the responses of an
unbounded elastic body subjected to a moving point
load by the technique of triple Fourier integral
transformation. The problem may find applications in
the computation of the dynamic response for soils due to
moving trains through the underground tunnels.
Although simple analytical solutions may not be
applied to underground tunnel structures, in the
literature, the supporting railroad track has often been
modeled as a beam resting on a Winkler foundation in
some analytical studies (Timoshenko 1926 and Patil
1988). If the shear stiffness and the rotatory inertia are
disregarded, a Bernoulli-Euler beam is used in the
model; otherwise, a Timoshenko beam is used instead.
A Winkler foundation can be represented by a series of
springs applied continuously along the track. If the
viscous damping is taken into account, the support is
referred to as a Kelvin foundation. A review of early
studies using the above models to analyze the response
of a beam with elastic foundation subjected to a moving
load was given by Achenbach and Sun (1965). Frýba
(1972) presented a detailed solution for the problem of a
constant force moving along an infinite beam on an
elastic foundation. By the concept of equivalent
stiffness for the supporting structure, a critical speed
was identified for the moving load, at which the
response of the beam becomes infinite. The critical
speed for a Bernoulli-Euler beam is the lowest bending
wave speed, which can be given as follows:
4 sEI
Ccr = 4 (6)
m2
in which m is the mass per unit length, EI the bending
stiffness of the beam and s the coefficient of the Winkler
foundation, usually assumed as a constant. Duffy (1990)
7
 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels
obtained similar results by examining the vibrations due
to a moving, vibrating mass passing over an infinite
railroad track lying on a Winkler foundation. Dieterman
and Metrikine (1996, 1997) derived expressions for the
equivalent stiffness of an elastic half-space interacting
with a Bernoulli-Euler beam of finite width. The results
they found show that the equivalent stiffness depends
mainly on the frequency and wave number of the beam.
Their analysis indicated that there exist two critical
speeds. One corresponds to the Rayleigh wave speed
and the other is somewhat smaller than the Rayleigh
wave speed. Suiker et al. (1998) also found similar
results. Chen and Huang (2000) derived the critical
velocities for both the Bernoulli-Euler and Timoshenko
beams on Winkler foundations. In real situations, it is
found that the lowest bending wave speed of the rail and
Rayleigh wave speed of the ground are approximately
over 500 km/h. Thus, the coincidence of train speed and
critical speed is unlikely to occur in current practice,
especially for the urban rail transit system.
To theoretically investigate the level of ground
vibrations due to a moving train in a tunnel, Metrikine
and Vrouwenvelder (2000a) considered an analytical
approach with a simple two-dimensional model
consisting of a visco-elastic layer and an Bernoulli-
Euler beam located inside the layer. Assuming the layer
and the beam to be infinitely long in the longitudinal
direction, they analyzed the surface vibration under
three types of loadings, namely, constant, harmonically
varying and stationary random loads, moving along the
beam. Later, Metrikine and Vrouwenvelder (2000b)
improved their procedure by using two identical
Bernoulli-Euler beams connected by distributed springs,
instead of a single beam. They recognized that the
results obtained using such a two-dimensional model
can be regarded as an upper estimate of the level of
ground vibrations, as the practical situations may be
quite different.
Considering the interaction of a tunnel-soil-building
system due to passing trains, Balendra et al. (1991)
proposed a simple semi-analytical approach for
predicting the level of ground-borne vibrations using a
substructure technique. The two-dimensional plain-
strain model they used comprises a rigid tunnel in an
elastic half-space with a rigid embedded footing for
supporting the building modeled as a lumped mass. The
entire problem was decomposed into a foundation
radiation boundary-value problem and a tunnel radiation
boundary-value problem for the purpose of computing
the impedance matrix for the entire system. By using the
substructure method, the response of the building due to
the train loading was evaluated and compared with the
allowable vibration limits.
8 Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
For the reason that the generation of low-frequency
ground vibrations by moving trains can be considered as
the quasi-static pressure exerted by the wheel axles onto
the track, Krylov and Ferguson (1994) used Green’s
function formalism to calculate the contribution of all
sleepers and axles. Their numerical results were in good
agreement with the experimental ones, indicating that
the load generating mechanism proposed by Krylov and
Ferguson (1994) was acceptable. Another method for
modeling the traffic-induced ground vibration was
proposed by Hunt (1991a, 1991b), who is one of the
team leaders of the project CONVURT. In his study,
vehicles were modeled as two-axle systems, each with
four degrees of freedom, and the ground as an elastic
homogeneous half-space with viscous damping. Based
on Lamb’s (1904) solution of the half-space response
generated by a harmonic load on the surface, he derived
the elastic isotropic half-space frequency response
function. Later, Hunt (1996) extended the analysis to
computing the vibration transmission from trains
moving in underground tunnels to buildings. By
applying the random process theory to model the trains,
track, as well as the ground, and using a simple building
model of infinite length, the procedure for calculating
the train-induced vibration in buildings was
substantially simplified.
4.2. Field Measurement
In order to assess the environmental impact from
running railway systems, field measurement is the most
direct and reliable method. If the collected data are
meaningful and adequate from the point of soil
dynamics and statistics, they can serve as the basis for
establishing empirical prediction models. However,
high quality equipment and empirical observations are
essential to acquire satisfactory data. A brief survey of
researches related to the field measurement is given
below.
Some schemes for analyzing the field measurement
data aimed at extracting useful information for
establishing a prediction model were proposed by
Melke and Kraemer (1983). From essential frequency
analysis of the experimental data, they found that there
are two peak levels occurring in frequency domain. One
has a fixed value corresponding to the natural frequency
of the tunnel/soil system, and the other has a value
increasing with the train speed corresponding to the
sleeper passing frequency fs given as
fs = c/ls (7)
where c is the train speed and ls the spacing between
sleepers. Whenever the two peak frequencies coincide at
Y. B. Yang and L. C. Hsu
certain train speed, the vibration level will increase
drastically due to the effect of resonance.
Based on the review of typical measurement data,
Heckl et al. (1996) proposed some possible mechanisms
for the vibration excitation induced by moving trains.
Similar to the sleeper passing frequency fs, he found that
a moving train can also induce another important
frequency of vibration, that is, the wheel passing
frequency fa, given as
fa = c/la (8)
in which la is the distance between two consecutive
wheels. Since the distance between two consecutive
wheels is not a constant for most trains, the wheel
passing frequency is less apparent than the sleeper
passing frequency.
Volberg (1983) carried out measurements of
vibration propagation induced by passing trains at three
different sites with different ground properties. The
measured data appear to be rather independent of the
sites investigated. A calculation scheme involving a
simple power law was proposed for predicting the train
induced vibrations in the vicinity of planned railroad
tracks. A noise and vibration measurements have been
conducted in the rapid rail transit system in Calcutta,
India by Mohanan et al. (1989). The results of
measurement showed that both the noise and vibration
levels were higher than the recommended values. Based
on these results, the factors influencing the results were
discussed and the measures for reducing the noise and
vibration level were proposed.
In China, experimental measurements were carried
out for a tunnel in Beijing subways by Pan and Xie
(1990). With reference primarily to German standards,
Kurze (1996) reviewed various measurement procedures
and prediction schemes in use for determining the
environmental impact of railway noise and vibration.
Common methods for noise and vibration control at
sources and in the propagation paths were also discussed
in this paper. Kurze (1996) concluded that the sound
from railways and its control can be predicted fairly well,
whilst the tools for controlling railway vibrations were
less advanced.
Following the VDI-Guideline 2562 for locating the
vibration measurement instruments, such as velocity
detectors and accelerometers, Koch (1979) did some
measurements on the structure-borne sound resulting
from the passage of vehicles through track tunnels. His
results showed that the variation of the velocity level Lv
of the structure-borne sound (perpendicular to the tunnel
wall) is a function of the average tunnel thickness for
train speeds of about 60 km/h. For example, the velocity
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
level falls by 17 dB when the tunnel thickness is
increased twice. Moreover, for a tunnel structure with
settlement, the velocity levels of sound at all
measurement points, other than the rail supporting slab,
fall by 4 to 7 dB after four years of running on the track
with normal ballast.
Vadillo et al. (1996) presented the results of vibration
and low-frequency noise measured in the vicinity of
underground railways during the train pass-bys. These
results, together with measurements of environmental
noise due to other sources, were considered together
with the response to a questionnaire completed by the
residents affected. They also proposed a simple formula,
based on those measurements, for estimating the low-
frequency noise levels with regard to given vibration
levels. They found that residents close to the railway
never complained when exposed to one second noise
with a level below 32 dB(A). On the other hand,
residents exposed to one second noise with a level above
42 dB(A) strongly complained about both the noise and
vibration. However, vibration seems to be even more
annoying than noise.
4.3. Empirical Prediction Models
Due to the imprecise knowledge of important
parameters involved in the analysis of vibration
propagation, such as the soil properties and the vibration
generation mechanism, an exact analysis is difficult to
achieve, especially for newly constructed underground
railways. In order to estimate the emission of vibration
and noise for underground railways in planning, an
easier and cheaper way is to apply reasonable prediction
models based on some empirical and theoretical
considerations. Some of the prediction methods
published in the literature will be briefly reviewed
below.
Kurzweil (1979) proposed a prediction formula for
estimating the ground-borne vibration in buildings near
subways and listed the factors influencing the tunnel
vibration levels. In this study, the structure-borne noise
inside a room was obtained from the estimated floor
acceleration level.
The statistical energy analysis (SEA) adopted in
architectural acoustics is a simple approach for
evaluating structural vibrations (Woodhouse 1981).
Based on the SEA approach, Trochides (1991)
presented a simple method for predicting the excitation
levels caused by ground-borne vibrations in buildings
alongside subways. A comparison between the
calculations and measurements for a scaled model
indicated that such a method was acceptable for general
design purposes. Melke (1988) briefly reviewed some of
the prediction methods and proposed a procedure for
9
 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels
predicting the structure-borne noise and vibration from
underground railway lines. Based on the analysis results
and laboratory measurements, he used a chain of
transmission losses, including the track transmission
loss, tunnel transmission loss, ground transmission loss,
and building transmission loss, for predicting the
vibration level of buildings induced by trains.
Based on the operation and construction of the
proposed 108 km long high speed railway link between
London and the Channel Tunnel, which includes an 18
km long tunnel beneath the residential areas in London,
Hood et al. (1996) proposed a methodology for
assessing the ground-borne noise and vibration from
trains running through the tunnel. A comparison
between the predicted results and measured ones
indicated that the empirical approach is practicably
applicable for the purpose of environmental assessment.
In order to minimize the negative influence of
vibrations in buildings near railways, Swiss Federal
Railways developed a three-part computer program
(VIBRA 1-2-3), with the cooperation of external
experts, for predicting the emission of vibrations and
structure-borne noises for every newly constructed or
extended railway track (Kuppelwieser and Ziegler
1996). Based on a simple semi-empirical regression
model, VIBRA-1 provides a rough first estimate of the
emission level, from which it can be determined if
further evaluation is necessary. VIBRA-2 is an open
system with a much more detailed calculation model
based on a step-by-step multiplication of the track-side
vibration data with a series of transfer functions, to
account for the various stages of emission along the
propagation path from the track to the building. Users
can improve the model by integrating their experiences
in each step of calculation. VIBRA-3 is the database
supplying useful parameters for the models used in
VIBRA-1 and VIBRA-2. By using VIBRA 1-2-3, the
Swiss Federal Railways can predict the emission of
vibration and structure-borne noise in a less expensive
and simpler manner.
4.4. Numerical Simulation
Before the mid 1970s, researches in the field of train
induced vibration transmission were mainly conducted
using approaches such as the theoretical modeling of
vibration attenuation, measurement techniques and
predictive models. However, starting from the mid
1970s, various sophisticated numerical methods,
enhanced by the growing use of high-performance
computers, have emerged as an effective tool for solving
complex vibration transmission problems under realistic
conditions. It is noted that the vibration of ground
surface track loaded by moving trains can be predicted
10
by relatively simple analytical or semi-analytical
models for which solutions are available in the
literature. Concerning the vibrations due to trains
moving in underground tunnels embedded by multi
layers of soil deposits, numerical methods that are
capable of simulating the tunnel structure, variations in
soil layers and geometric radiation damping have to be
developed.
From the survey by Stamos and Beskos (1996), the
numerical methods ever used for solving the
aforementioned vibration transmission problems
include the finite difference method (FDM), finite
element method (FEM), boundary element method
(BEM) and their variants. The FEM and FDM are
frequently applied to solving problems with finite
domains. In the modeling of soil media with semi-
infinite domains, an extensive mesh and/or artificial
boundaries are needed. Even so, the radiation damping
that accounts for the loss of energy due to waves
traveling into infinity cannot be modeled adequately. On
the other hand, the BEM that is applicable for solving
problems with unbounded domains can accurately take
into account the radiation damping effect through use of
suitable fundamental solutions, or Green’s functions.
The use of the BEM will result in a system matrix of
much smaller size than that of an equivalent FEM
model. Hence, the BEM has often been applied to
solving wave propagation problems, for which
numerous examples may be found in the literature. An
overview of the BEM used in solving the half-space
problems was given by Beskos (1987, 1997).
When the BEM is used for solving problems with
irregularities in geometry or material, either a more
complicated Green’s function should be used or an
interior subdivision of the domain is needed. To
overcome such a disadvantage, the hybrid method has
often been used. By the hybrid method, a soil-structure
system is divided into two subsystems, i.e., the near
field and the far field. The near field can be modeled by
the finite elements as conventional and the far field by a
different type of elements, for example, by the boundary
elements or infinite elements, which are capable of
simulating the wave propagation property in the far
field. In the following, a brief review will be given for
numerical methods used to solve the vibration
transmission problems induced by subways.
Thiede and Natke (1991) used a finite element
method to study the influence of thickness variation of
subway walls. Chua et al. (1995) analyzed the subway-
soil-building system using a two-dimensional finite-
element idealization with the assumptions of
plain-strain condition and symmetry for the building in
order to reduce the number of elements used, in
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
Y. B. Yang and L. C. Hsu
conjunction with an analytical derivation of the train-
loading spectrum at the tunnel invert. The computed
results showed reasonable conformity with the in-situ
measurements, but not with the trends prescribed by
simplistic empirical formulas. It is worth noting that the
floating-slab-track support system can provide some
vibration isolation effect in contrast with the direct
fixation track system.
Besides the experimental measurements carried out
for a tunnel in Beijing subways, Pan and Xie (1990)
analyzed the vibration of the carriage system to obtain a
deterministic expression of the train loading. The finite
element method was then adopted by them to study the
dynamic behavior of the tunnel-train system.
Andersen and Jones (2002) analyzed a cut-and-cover
tunnel for a double track railway using coupled finite
and boundary elements in the frequency range of 4–80
Hz relevant to the perception of whole body vibration.
The scheme was used in both the two- and three-
dimensional models. Solid finite elements were used to
model the concrete parts of the tunnel structure, whereas
boundary elements were used to model the abutments
walls and surrounding soil. The analyses indicated that
the two-dimensional model yields results corresponding
quite well with those from the three-dimensional model.
In order to overcome the disadvantage of the FEM, by
which numerous elements resulting in long computation
time are required to compute the wave field properly,
Gardien and Stuit (2003) proposed a modular model,
consisting of three sub-models for analyzing vibrations
generated by trains running through the tunnels. The
three sub-models are: the static deflection model, the
track model and the propagation model. A parametric
study with the propagation model was performed to
investigate the dependence of the results on the accuracy
of the model inputs. In order to predict the potential low
frequency ground vibration impacts from a proposed
underground railway system, field measurements and
finite difference analysis were simultaneously
performed by Wolf (2003). After the model calibration,
a finite difference model close to the reality was
established for predicting the ground displacements at
the buildings of concern. Thornely-Taylor (2004) used
the finite-difference-time-domain method to perform a
three-dimensional numerical modeling of a system with
a moving source. The model was validated through
comparison of the data collected from the field
measurements with those calculated onto a tunnel with
a building located above on the Copenhagen Metro.
A full three-dimensional modeling produces better
simulation results for reality than a two-dimensional
modeling, however, it is generally time-consuming in
practice. Therefore, a simplified three-dimensional
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
approach was developed by Clouteau et al. (2005) under
the auspices of the CONVURT project sponsored by
European Community. By the hypothesis that the tunnel
and the soil are assumed to be periodic in the
longitudinal direction along the tunnel axis, the Floquet
transform, limiting the discretization effort to a single
bounded reference cell, is then applied to the dynamic
tunnel-soil interaction system to fully accounting the
three-dimensional geometry of the tunnel. The
validation of the numerical model has been carried out
through an in situ measurements performed in Paris.
However, such an approach is three-dimensional in
geometry, but two-dimensional in loading, by which the
load-moving effect of the train cannot be duly taken into
account.
A frequency-independent infinite element approach
was developed by Yang et al. (1996) for simulating the
infinite boundary, with applications to analysis of wave
barriers for train-induced vibrations (Yang and Hung
1997). Based on this work, a simplified 2.5D
finite/infinite element procedure that considers the load-
moving effect of the train in the direction normal to the
two-dimensional profile considered was developed by
Yang and Hung (2001, 2003) and Hung et al. (2004) to
simulate the wave propagation in soils resulting from
ground surface railway traffic. In their study, besides the
two in-plane degrees of freedom per node
conventionally used for plane strain elements, an extra
DOF is introduced to account for the out-of-plane wave
transmission. The profile of the half-space is divided
into a near field and a semi-infinite far field. The near
field containing loads and irregular structures is
simulated by the finite elements, while the far field
covering the soils extending to infinity by the infinite
elements. One particular feature in this formation is the
introduction of a decay function in the shape function to
account for the effect of radiation to infinity. The 2.5D
finite/infinite element procedure can simulate the three-
dimensional wave traveling behavior generated by
moving loads at all range of speeds and it can be
established within the framework of the finite element
method. Because of this, it is likely to be favored by
most practicing engineers.
5. METHODS FOR REDUCING GROUND-BORNE
VIBRATIONS
When the vibration resulting from the passage of
underground trains has reached the level that cannot be
tolerated by residents in adjacent buildings or that
affects seriously the sensitive structures, such as
hospital, laboratory as well as concert halls etc.,
vibration control is in demand. In the past two decades,
numerous methods for controlling the ground-borne
11
 A Review of Researches on Ground-Borne Vibrations Due to Moving Trains via Underground Tunnels

noise and vibration have been developed and
implemented, which can be classified into three
categories as the measures taken at the source,
modification of the transmission path and the measures
taken at the buildings (receiver). A brief review of the
above three approaches was given by Talbot (2001).
Measures taken at the source including reducing
resonance and unsprung mass of bogie, slip-slide
transitions, rail grinding, wheel truing, installing
floating slabs, ballast mats, resiliently supported ties,
resilient wheels, jointed track, as well as rail smoothing
and operational changes. Nelson (1996) discussed some
developments and applications of the vibration
mitigating measures taken at the source in the U.S.A.
and Canada. According to the researches conducted by
Carels (2002) and Wagner (2002), among those
techniques taken at the source available, the best
performance in terms of the vibration attenuation can be
expected from floating-slab-track (FST).
If reducing vibration transmission from the source is
not possible, another way to achieve the aim of vibration
control is through modification of the transmission path,
such as the installation of trenches, wave impeding block
(WIB), as well as the use of extra heavy tunnel structures
and increasing tunnel depth. The trenches, including the
open and in-filled ones, have been used as a wave barrier
for isolating the vibration of machine foundations for
years. Yang and Hung (1997) used the finite/infinite
elements to analyze parametrically the isolation effect of
open trenches, in-filled trenches and elastic foundations.
It is noted that in order to achieve a good effect of
isolation, the trench should have a depth on the order
of the surface wave length. Therefore, the isolation of
ground-borne vibrations by trenches is effective only for
moderate to high frequency vibrations. By installing an
artificial stiff layer at a certain depth below the vibration
source, the vibration transmission behavior of the soil
layer over a bed rock will be impeded, which is the
reason underling the use of the WIB. Research on the
isolation of soil vibrations using the WIB were carried
out by Takemiya and Fujiwara (1994). It should be
added that the measures of modification of the
transmission path are usually known to be costly.
As for the measures taken at the building, the base
isolation of a building first used in the 1960s proves to
be an effective mean for reducing vibrations around the
resonant frequency of the structure of concern, but such
a scheme should be conceived at the design stage of the
building. A review of the methods for predicting the
isolation performance was given by Talbot and Hunt
(2000). Some modifications of the decorations inside
the building, for example, through suitable relocation of
furniture away from the center of the supporting floor or
proper design of furniture to avoid resonance, are also
useful for reducing the train-induced vibrations in
buildings.

Table 6. The effective frequency range corresponding to partial methods used to

reduce vibration as suggested by Nelson (1996) and Wilson et al. (1983)

Measures taken at the source

Reduce resonance and unsprung mass of bogie Effective at frequencies over 20–100 Hz
Rail grinding and wheel truing
Slip-slide detectors
Floating slabs Effective at frequencies above 20 Hz
Ballast mats Effective at frequencies above 30–40 Hz
Resiliently supported ties Effective at frequencies over 15–50 Hz
Resilient wheels Effective at frequencies above 50–60 Hz
Resiliently direct fixation fasteners Effective at frequencies above 30–40 Hz
Jointed track
Rail straightness specification Effective at frequencies below 20 Hz
Operational changes

Modification of the transmission path

Trenches Effective at frequencies below 40 Hz
Wave impeding block (WIB)
Extra heavy tunnel structures
Increasing tunnel depth

Measures taken at the building

Base isolation
Modification of decoration inside the building

12 Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006

Y. B. Yang and L. C. Hsu
Although there are a variety of provisions for ground-
borne noise and vibration control, the factors such as
appropriate timing, reasonable cost, as well as
acceptable effects will confine the selection to certain
items. According to Wilson et al. (1983) and Nelson
(1996), some measures are especially useful for
reducing vibrations within certain ranges of frequencies.
The effective frequency ranges for the use of some
partial methods to reduce the train-induced vibration
were listed in Table 6.
6. CONCLUSIONS
The ground-borne vibration generated by railway traffic
is indeed a practical engineering problem. It will not
induce instant danger to the residents; however, it
certainly influences the everyday life of the residents
and often cannot be tolerated by them. Accordingly,
there is an urgent demand for proper remedies to
problems of this sort. The materials presented herein,
including the statement of the problem, the current
evaluation criteria, a review of previous research works
and a summary of the isolation methods, are directed
towards the aim of providing a comprehensive
understanding of the problem, which form the basis for
advancing further researches.
Researches on the subject of ground-borne vibrations
generated by railway traffic continue to grow rapidly.
Due to the public attention of this problem, the newest
standard ISO 14837-1 about ground-borne noise and
vibration arising from rail systems was published in July,
2005. At the same time, more and more related
conferences were held all over the world. To obtain
proper remedies to ground-borne vibration problem
induced by underground railway traffic, an advanced
approach that considers the most relevant parameters and
can generate results close to the real situations with
efficiency remains a subject for further study. In this
regard, the 2.5D finite/infinite element approach (Yang
and Hung 2001, 2003, Hung et al. 2004) recently
developed for simulating the wave transmission resulting
from the ground surface railways may be promisingly
extended to the underground railway problem. However,
to successfully approximate the effects of Rayleigh
waves, shear waves and compressional waves in the far
field, the selection of wave numbers suitable for the case
with underground moving loads in the wave propagation
functions remains a crucial issue, which should be
carefully considered in the simulation.
On the other hand, although there exists a variety of
measures for reducing the ground-borne vibrations,
most of these approaches are not perfect as viewed from
the aspects of efficiency and cost. How to reduce the
problem of ground-borne vibrations induced by trains
Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006
with a more effective and less costive method should
also be considered as part of future researches.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study is partly sponsored by the National Science
Council of the Republic of China through grant No.
NSC 93-2211-E-002-046.
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Y. B. Yang received his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University in 1984. He is currently a
professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, and
President of the Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering. He was a past
Dean of College of Engineering. His current area of interest is centered on the
dynamic interaction between the moving vehicles and bridge, and the vibration of
soils and buildings induced by passing trains. He published two books on Theory and
Analysis of Nonlinear Framed Structures (Prentice-Hall 1994) and Vehicle-Bridge
Interaction Dynamics: with Applications to High Speed Railways (World Scientific
2004). Dr. Yang also published over 130 technical papers in leading technical journals,
and more than 240 conference papers and reports. He was the recipient of a number
of important awards, including the Distinguished Research Award of the National
Science Council, R.O.C. and Outstanding Scholarship of the Foundation for the
Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship.
L.C. Hsu graduated from National Taiwan University in 1996; she worked for the
China Engineering Consultants, Inc. from 1996 to 2001 as a structural engineer.
Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Civil Engineering, National
Taiwan University.

16 Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 9 No. 3 2006

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