A numerical model for re-radiated noise in buildings from underground railways

Abstract

A numerical prediction model is developed to quantify vibrations and re-radiated noise due to underground railways. A coupled FE-BE model is used to compute the incident ground vibrations due to the passage of a train in the tunnel. This source model accounts for three-dimensional dynamic interaction between the track, tunnel and soil. The incident wave field is used to solve the dynamic soil-structure interaction problem on the receiver side and to determine the vibration levels along the essential structural elements of the building. The soil-structure interaction problem is solved by means of a 3D boundary element method for the soil coupled to a 3D finite element method for the structural part. An acoustic 3D spectral finite element method is used to predict the acoustic response. The Bakerloo line tunnel of London Underground has been modelled using the coupled periodic FE-BE approach. The free-field response and the re-radiated noise in a portal frame office building is predicted. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.