Abstract
Nowadays, the consolidation of the rail in highly populated areas has become a
reality. Foundations, buildings, high accuracy devices and people are susceptible to suffer from
vibrations induced by passing trains. Therefore, models for predicting ground vibrations are
required in order to determine new mitigation measures. Rectangular open or in-filled trenches
are a suitable solution to be used near constructed railway lines. Their installation is fast, easy
and economic since no intrusion in the track is needed. In this work, the influence of the trench
design on its effectiveness is analyzed considering a train moving with subsonic speed. A finite
element model of the track has been developed and validated with real data registered along the
tram network in Alicante (Spain). The analysis is carried out in the time domain considering the
quasi-static movement of the vehicles. The results demonstrate that, in ascending order, the most
relevant parameters in a trench are its width, depth and in-filled material or trench typology.
However, it is also concluded that other conditions such as the stratification of soil are essential
in order to determine an optimal design of a wave barrier.