The application of seismic surface wave testing on stiff low-height embankments for the construction of high-speed railway’s earthworks: a case study in the UK
The speed of seismic surface waves generated by the passage of high-speed trains is an important consideration in the design of railway earthworks. To ensure track stability and good earthwork performance, it should significantly exceed the train speed. Traditionally this requirement has been satisfied by specifying a minimum stiffness of earthwork, empirically shown to give acceptable performance. With train speeds increasing, it has been preferable to predict and then check (during construction) that minimum specified Rayleigh and shear wave velocities are achieved. This requires suitable geophysical tests and an understanding of their reproducibility and repeatability in defining wave velocities for compliance assessment. This paper presents the results of comparative tests to evaluate differences in estimated shear wave velocities, using Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and Continuous Surface Waves (CSW) on a trial railway embankment. The results show that both methods estimated shear wave velocities to similar depths, but CSW produced more consistent shear wave velocity profiles when a stiff embankment overlies natural ground. The variation observed in the MASW testing was attributed to the additional complexity resulting from this unusual stiffness profile. This needs to be considered when specifying appropriate tests for shear wave compliance in earthwork design.
Funding
HS2 Ltd
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Published in
Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Field Monitoring in Geomechanics (ISFMG2022)Source
11th International Symposium on Field Monitoring in Geomechanics (ISFMG 2022)Publisher
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE)Version
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
The paper was published in the proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Field Monitoring in Geomechanics and was edited by Dr. Andrew M. Ridley. The symposium was held in London, United Kingdom, 4-7 September 2022. This paper was downloaded from the Online Library of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). The library is available here: https://www.issmge.org/publications/online-library. Reproduced with the permission of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).Publication date
2022-11-01Copyright date
2022Publisher version
Language
- en