Assessment of vibrations and structural noise at environmental impact studies: Current practices in Portugal and aspects to be improved for railway traffic in tunnels

Abstract

Currently there is no consensus for the assessment of the human response to indoor vibrations. Also, the methodology used by several countries is different, as can be seen from the publication and use of different normative documents. This paper presents a proposal for the evaluation of railway projects to be used in Portugal, through the calculation of transfer functions and their corresponding validation when the line begins operating. For this purpose, an eligibility criterion for vibrations and structural noise inside the buildings is presented. Additionally, this paper presents a proposal for the assessment of vibration mitigation measures.