Prediction of Ground Vibration from High Speed Trains Using a Vehicle–Track–Ground Coupling Model

The dynamically induced ground vibration from high speed trains (HSTs) is investigated using a semi-analytical vehicle–track–ground coupling model. A multi-body vehicle is adopted along with rail irregularity considered in the model. The soil is simulated as a saturated poroelastic half-space with two elastic layers. The coupling system is solved in the transformed domain by applying the Fourier transform, and the dynamic stiffness matrix method is used to deal with the layered soil. The time-domain solutions are obtained by the inverse fast Fourier transform (FFT). The effects of the vehicle speed, observation location, rail irregularity, subgrade-bed stiffness, and vehicle type on the ground vibration are investigated thoroughly. The results show that all these factors can significantly affect the dynamically induced ground vibration.