Study on Vibrations Produced by New City Rail of Cagliari

The vibrational impact of a city rail is a complex phenomenon, and an effective numerical prediction model has not been developed yet to describe the problem in a complete way. Vibrations induced by rail-way traffic depend significantly on mechanical characteristics of layers of soil underlying the track and type and conditions of rail superstructure. Finite Element Method (FEM) represent an interesting approach which can help to understand behavior and propagation of waves produced by vibration. This method gives trusted results; however, it must be calibrated correctly. So, this paper presents a study aimed at estimating the forcing produced by light rail trains and the influence of the sediment soil in order to calibrate the FE model. The forcing was obtained by means of accelerometers that recorded accelerations on an active line.