Road traffic induced free field vibrations: Numerical modelling and in situ measurements

This paper deals with the validation of a numerical model for traffic induced vibrations. A 2D vehicle model is used for the calculation of the axle loads from the longitudinal road profile. The free field soil response is calculated with the dynamic Betti-Rayleigh reciprocity theorem, using a transfer function between the road and the receiver that accounts for dynamic road-soil interaction. The validation relies on the measured response of the vehicle's axles and the soil during the passage of a truck on an artificial unevenness with speeds varying from 30 km/h upto 70 km/h. The agreement between the numerical and the experimental results is good: the influence of the vehicle speed and the distance from the road is well predicted, while the ratio of the predicted and the measured PPV is less than two.