Forced Vibration Test of the Railway Track by Using the Rotating Eccentric Mass Exciter

One of the most important non-destructive tests in railway track is the forced vibration test using an exciter. The important advantages of vibration with the exciter compared to other vibration methods are the full control of the amplitude, frequency, and location of exciting force. On the other hand, its most important disadvantages are the need to block rail traffic and limit the frequency of excitation. One of the major types of exciters is the rotating eccentric mass exciter. The rotating eccentric mass exciter fabricated in the Intelligent Monitoring of Infrastructures Laboratory in the School of Railway Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) has the ability to generate an excitation range of 5 to 20 Hz. In the present study, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted using the exciter on the railway track to determine the vibration reduction caused by the ballasted track. Also, the vibration was generated vertically and longitudinally by changing the relative location of the masses. Railway track instrumentation was performed with three 5g accelerometers on the exciter, sleeper, and ballast particle. In the end, the reduction levels of the accelerometer installed on the sleeper relative to the one installed on the exciter and the ballast particle have been measured in the vertical and longitudinal vibrations.