An efficient three-dimensional method for the prediction of building vibrations from underground railway networks

This paper proposes a new efficient three-dimensional (3D) method to predict the vertical building vibration generated by trains running in tunnels in a multi-layered half-space. The tunnel-ground-building dynamic interaction involving in the proposed method is handled using the sub-structuring approach. The multi-story building is considered as rectangular floors supported by a distribution of columns. Each building floor is divided into several sub-plates. The dynamic stiffness matrix of a single sub-plate derived by the dynamic stiffness method is assembled to obtain the global one of each building floor. The free edge condition of the building floor is satisfied in this solution. The train-track-tunnel-ground dynamic interaction is modelled by a fully-coupled analytical method. The proposed method shows sufficient efficiency and accuracy, making it a suitable tool for predicting large-scale vibrations and performing parametric studies. The responses of a four-story building generated by the passage of trains in a tunnel are analyzed. The building vibrations are significantly affected by the dynamic properties of the building and the building-ground dynamic interaction. The dynamic interaction between the shallow foundations of buildings has a considerable influence on the building vibrations in the low-frequency range. The isolation effectiveness of the floating slab track and the base-isolation of buildings is highly dependent on the isolation frequency.