Propagation characteristics of vibrations induced by heavy-haul trains in a loess area of the North China Plains:

To study heavy train-related vibration, this paper examines the world's largest heavy-freight railway – the Daqin Railway – to study the impacts of the seasonally frozen soil layer on vibrational acceleration. With increasing axle weight, the peak and mean values of the acceleration increased. Vibration acceleration attenuated the most from the shoulder to the embankment footing (51%–71%), while the vibrations at 70 m were attenuated by more than 90%. Certain measures must be taken by those living within 70 m of the railway shoulder. In addition, the acceleration peak caused by trains running in parallel after meeting amplified the vibration by 10%–39%. Moreover, the overall vibrations attenuate with increasing distance, whereas the local vibrations fluctuate. During the freezing period, the acceleration is 13%–26% greater than that of the unfrozen period. The vibration acceleration spectrum is comparatively wider, and is dominated by high-frequency components. Finally, using a three-dimensional model ver...