The influence of train traffic on rock slope stability: A dynamic approach

Albena Peycheva Dimitrova

Key information

Authors:

Albena Peycheva Dimitrova (Albena Peycheva Dimitrova)

Supervisors:

Gustavo André Paneiro (Gustavo Paneiro)

Published in

November 18, 2021

Abstract

Bulgaria has a strategic geoeconomical location, as it has the only railway connecting the European Union and Turkey. In the last years railways are being renewed, so they could allow higher train speed. However, the rails are designed for higher speeds than the trains can reach. With the future replacement of the older trains with new faster ones, problem of stability of the nearby slopes that have not been subjected to the vibrations of trains with the new higher speeds will arise. Analyzing the problem of stability of rock slopes in the Beira Alta railway line (Portugal) after modernization is a case study on which it can be examined how trains influence the stability of the nearby slopes. The present work aims to discuss and compare results of slope stability analysis using various methods. Static stability analysis is made using kinematic method of Markland, limit equilibrium method formulas and program SWedge. Finite element method is applied to static and dynamic analysis with software RS2 (Rocscience) for 2-dimensional modelling. The dynamic analysis includes modelling the railway-induced ground vibrations and constructing a trench as a mitigation measure. The work suggests comparison between the different methods used for estimating the static safety factor. The dynamic analysis performed shows that there is an influence of the rock slope stability when a dynamic loading of a train-induced ground vibration is introduced. The mitigation measure of an open trench reduces the ground vibrations up to 30% in horizontal and up to 40% in vertical direction.