Numerical evaluation and experimental measurements of traffic-induced vibrations

A numerical approach is presented for the evaluation of the power spectrum of ground vibrations in the vicinity of a roadway. The method accounts for actual road surface roughness, vehicle mechanic characteristics, vehicle speed and soil parameters. Dynamic models for generation and propagation of vibrations are developed, from the source (the vehicle) through the ground, until the building foundations. An application is presented, in which the road roughness power spectrum has been obtained directly from road displacement field measurements in Florence. The reliability of the computational method has then been verified comparing numerical results with experimental measurements in the same conditions.