Modelling of soil vibrations from railway tunnels

In densely populated areas such as the Netherlands, it is useful to predict railway traffic induced vibrations if a new railway line is to be built. A modular model, consisting of three sub-models is presented. The three sub-models are: the Static Deflection Model, the Track Model and the Propagation Model. The modular model takes into account all aspects, from the source to the propagation of waves through the soil. In order to investigate the dependence of the results on the accuracy of the model inputs, a parameter study has been performed with the third-sub model: the propagation model. For this study a Japanese metro tunnel has been modelled. Element size, soil stiffness, damping, boundary conditions and finite element method (FEM) software have been varied.