Half Installation of Rail Dampers

摘要

Rail dampers are generally installed at every sleeper spacing with the aim of reducing noise by 3 to 5 dB(A). However, some damper installation projects with limited budget may not be able to support full installation of rail dampers for the entire track section of concern. Damper installation at alternate sleeper spacing, namely half installation of rail dampers, is proposed as a compromise between cost and performance. Half installation with high performance is made feasible using strong dampers with tuned mass damping at multiple frequencies with multiple oscillators. Measured track decay rate, train pass by rail vibration and trackside noise results from six sites are presented in this study following progressive installation of rail dampers. Rail vibration data at damper positions and at adjacent mid-span positions without damper installed are also compared. Half installation successfully raised track decay rates in both vertical and lateral directions to meet the TSI and ISO standard, and achieved trackside noise reduction of 1 to 6 dB (A). Half Installation can serve as a good alternative to Full Installation under limited project budget or tight timeframe.