This paper presents the results of a study of the effectiveness of pre-cast wall-piles and different types of barrier for controlling ground vibrations. A method for estimation of vibration reduction by such wall barriers has been developed, based on wave penetration theory.
The PC wall-piles barrier was found to be capable of reducing vibration level by 10 to 15dB at a point just behind such a barrier and about 5dB at 10m away from it.
As verified through the percent study, the effect of a barrier composed of hollow PC wall-piles to isolate ground vibration is in between that of a rigid barrier such as concrete wall and that of a gas cushion represented by use of an open trench, these latter effects being determined through a theoretical analysis as reported elsewhere.
According to the wave penetration theory, a composite barrier such as the one referred to in this paper provides a high performance to isolate vibration even over lower ranges of frequency.
Of the single material barriers herein considered the EPS barriers, indicating that the lower the wave impedance ratio of a barrier is, the higher is its performance.
Ground vibration, arising from the recent advent of high-speed railways and motorways as well as large-scale factory installations and heavy construction machinery, has become a serious problem affecting the peace of mind of the inhabitants, causing substantial damage to buildings, as well as causing problems for precision equipment. A barrier made of hollow PC wall-piles already proved fairly effective to keep at bay ground vibration arising from heavy vehicles running on a high-raised motor way. These still remain, however, a large number of problems yet to be solved regarding the complex mechanism through which a PC wall-piles barrier is capable of isolating ground vibration.
