Measuring vibration damping level on conventional rail track structures

Abstract

The rail-track vibration damping level, as one of key properties for determining proportion of rail track influence in the total rail traffic noise and vibration levels, is estimated in the paper. A detailed overview of research conducted so far on dynamic properties of rail tracks is given, and the methods presented are compared on two test sections. The data processing method, various accelerometer positons, and various types of modal hammers as excitation sources, are also considered in the analysis of measurement results. The results obtained by various analyses are compared to each other so as to increase accuracy in the determination of the vibration damping level.