The effects of floating slab bending resonances on the vibration isolation of rail viaduct

This paper compared the performance of several isolation designs to control vibration transmissions from concrete rail viaducts. The isolation systems analysed includes medium- and short-length floating slabs, and floating ladders. The vibration was measured in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The study aimed to assess the effects of bending resonances of the floating slab systems. Simple formulae of estimating the significant bending resonance frequency and support passage frequency of a floating slab system are proposed. The resonance peaks obtained in site measurement are found to be in agreement with the calculation results. The results show that other than the vertical rigid body resonances for the isolation systems, the bending resonances of slabs have significant effects on vibration isolation performance. In particular, bending resonance frequencies should not coincide with the vertical isolator resonance and support passage frequency. According to the in-situ measurement results, a mini-type concrete floating slab can reduce the vibration level by more than 30 dB in the frequency range of 63–200 Hz. This should be achieved by designing the first bending resonances of the floating slab to be out of the dominant frequency range of concrete rail viaduct vibration.