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Characterization of rolling stock from the perspective of exterior noise emission is typically carried out by following the technical procedures detailed in the international standard ISO 3095. Whilst this standard can be considered adequate for conventional rolling stock, the advent of very high speed railway transport has introduced a number of challenges in terms of the characterization of noise emission. The most relevant one is the multiplication of noise sources, with the substantial increase in aerodynamic noise emissions from particular zones in the train including: pantograph, pantograph recess, inter-coach gaps, front of train, connection cables, low-level turbulences, high level noise, etc. This paper proposes an improved methodology for acoustic characterization that although more difficult than the procedures described in the standard ISO 3095, is not as difficult as acoustical analysis based on microphone arrays.

In the procurement of track support systems for railways planned in the vicinity of receptors sensitive to groundborne noise and vibration it can be necessary to specify parameters of components of the system in order to ensure that its in-service performance will deliver the required level of mitigation against the effects of groundborne noise and vibration. In previous comparable schemes in the UK it has been the practice to specify the performance of the track system in terms of Insertion Gain (IG) defined as the difference between the vibration spectrum at a reception point with the mitigating track in place, and with a hypothetically “very stiff” track support system. It is necessary to have a means of verifying that a proposed system is likely to satisfy the requirements and it is desirable to simplify the method of evaluation of predicted track performance based on the stated parameters. A simplified algorithm for rapidly calculating the insertion gain of a two-stage (or single-stage) resilient track support system has been developed using the finite-difference method. This provides a tool for evaluating the predicted performance of a variety of proposed track support systems in order to compare it against the required specification.

Railway induced vibration is an important source of annoyance among residents living in the vicinity of railways. Annoyance increases with vibration magnitude. However, these correlations between the degree of annoyance and vibration exposure are weak. This suggests that railway vibration induced annoyance is governed by more than just vibration level and therefore other factors may provide information to understand the wide variation in annoyance reactions. Factors coming into play when considering an exposure-response relationship between level of railway vibration and annoyance are presented. The factors investigated were: attitudinal, situational and demographic factors. This was achieved using data from field studies comprised of face-to-face interviews and internal vibration measurements (N = 755). It was found that annoyance scores were strongly influenced by two attitudinal factors: Concern of property damage and expectations about future levels of vibration. Type of residential area and age of the respondent were found to have an important effect on annoyance whereas visibility of the railway and time spent at home showed a significant but small influence. These results indicate that future railway vibration policies and regulations focusing on community impact need to consider additional factors for an optimal assessment of railway effects on residential environments.

The present research quantifies the influence of source type and the presence of audible vibration-induced rattle on annoyance caused by vibration in residential environments. The sources of vibration considered are railway and the construction of a light rail system. Data\ud were measured in the United Kingdom using a socio-vibration survey (N = 1281). These data are analyzed using ordinal logit models to produce exposure{response relationships\ud describing community annoyance as a function of vibration exposure. The influence of source\ud type and the presence of audible vibration-induced rattle on annoyance are investigated using dummy variable analysis, and quantified using odds-ratios and community tolerance levels (CTL). It is concluded that the sample population is more likely to express higher levels\ud of annoyance if the vibration source is construction compared to railway, and if vibration-induced\ud rattle is audible.

Noise and vibration are two of the main problems associated with railways in residential\ud areas. To ensure quality of life and well-being of inhabitants living in the vicinity of railway\ud paths, it is important to evaluate, understand, control and regulate railway noise and vibration.\ud Much attention has been focused on the impact of noise from railway traffic but the\ud consideration of railway-induced vibration has often been neglected. This paper aims to\ud provide policy guidance based on results obtained from the analyses of relationships estimated\ud from ordinal logit models between human response, railway noise exposure and\ud railway vibration exposure. This was achieved using data from case studies comprised of\ud face-to-face interviews (N = 931), internal vibration measurements (N = 755), and noise\ud calculations (N = 688) collected within the study ‘‘Human Response to Vibration in\ud Residential Environments” by the University of Salford, UK. Firstly, the implications of\ud neglecting vibration in railway noise policies are investigated. The findings suggest that\ud it is important to account for railway induced vibrations in future noise and transport policies,\ud as neglecting vibrations results in an underestimation of people highly annoyed by\ud noise. Secondly, implications of neglecting different types of railway sources are presented.\ud It was found that the impact of noise and vibration form maintenance operations should be\ud better understood and should be taken into account when assessing the environmental\ud impact of railways in residential environments. Finally, factors that were found to influence\ud railway vibration annoyance are presented and expressed as weightings. The data shows\ud that factors specific to a particular residential area should also be taken into account in\ud future vibration policies as the literature shows that attitudinal, socio-demographic and\ud situational factors have a large influence on vibration annoyance responses. This work will\ud be of interest to researchers and environmental health practitioners involved in the assessment\ud of vibration complaints, as well as to policy makers, planners and consultants\ud involved in the design of buildings and railways.

This paper presents the main findings of a field survey conducted in the United Kingdom into the human response to vibration in residential environments. The main aim of this study was to derive exposure-response relationships for annoyance due to vibration from environmental sources. The sources of vibration considered in this paper are railway and construction activity. Annoyance data were collected using questionnaires conducted face-to-face with residents in their own homes. Questionnaires were completed with residents exposed to railway induced vibration (N = 931) and vibration from the construction of a light rail system (N = 350). Measurements of vibration were conducted at internal and external positions from which estimates of 24-h vibration exposure were derived for 1073 of the case studies. Sixty different vibration exposure descriptors along with 6 different frequency weightings were assessed as potential predictors of annoyance. Of the exposure descriptors considered, none were found to be a better predictor of annoyance than any other. However, use of relevant frequency weightings was found to improve correlation between vibration exposure and annoyance. A unified exposure-response relationship could not be derived due to differences in response to the two sources so separate relationships are presented for each source. (C) 2014 Acoustical Society of America.

In this work, exposure-response relationships for annoyance due to freight and passenger railway vibration exposure in residential environments are developed, so as to better understand the differences in human response to these two sources of environmental vibration. Data for this research come from a field study comprising interviews with respondents and measurements of their vibration exposure (N = 752). A logistic regression model is able to accurately classify 96% of these measured railway vibration signals as freight or passenger based on two signal properties that quantify the duration and low frequency content of each signal. Exposure-response relationships are then determined using ordinal probit modeling with fixed thresholds. The results indicate that people are able to distinguish between freight and passenger railway vibration, and that the annoyance response due to freight railway vibration is significantly higher than that due to passenger railway vibration, even for equal levels of exposure. In terms of a community tolerance level, the population studied is 15 dB (re 10(-6) m s(-2)) more tolerant to passenger railway vibration than freight railway vibration. These results have implications for the expansion of freight traffic on rail, or for policies to promote passenger railway.

Exposure-response relationships are important tools for policy makers to assess the impact of an environmental stressor on the populace. Their validity lies partly in their statistical strength which is greatly influenced by the size of the sample from which the relationship is derived. As such, the derivation of meaningful exposure-response relationships requires estimates of vibration exposure at a large number of receiver locations. In the United Kingdom a socio-vibrational survey has been conducted with the aim of deriving exposure-response relationships for annoyance due to vibration from (a) railway traffic and (b) the construction of a new light rail system. Response to vibration was measured via a questionnaire conducted face-to-face with residents in their own homes and vibration exposure was estimated using data from a novel measurement methodology. In total, 1281 questionnaires were conducted: 931 for vibration from railway traffic and 350 for vibration from construction sources. Considering the interdisciplinary nature of this work along with the volume of experimental data required, a number of significant technical and logistical challenges needed to be overcome through the planning and implementation of the fieldwork. Four of these challenges are considered in this paper: the site identification for providing a robust sample of the residents affected, the strategies used for measuring both exposure and response and the coordination between the teams carrying out the social survey and the vibration measurements.

Vibration is one of the main problems associated with railways in residential areas. To ensure quality of life and well being of inhabitants living in the vicinity of route paths, it is important to evaluate, understand, control, and regulate railway noise and vibration. Much attention has been focused on the impact of noise from railway but the consideration of railway-induced vibration has often been neglected. This paper aims to provide policy guidance based on results obtained from the analyses of relationships estimated from ordinal logit models between human response and vibration exposure. This was achieved using data from case studies comprised of face-to-face interviews and internal vibration measurements (N = 755) collected within the study “Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments” by the University of Salford. First, the implications of neglecting vibration in railway noise policies are presented. Second, the influence of different times of day when residents are exposed to rail...

The aim of this work is to investigate the applicability of the use of supervised machine learning methods to classify unknown railway vibration signals within a measurement database. The results of this research will be implemented in the development of exposure-response relationship for annoyance caused by freight and passenger railway vibration, so as to better understand the differences in human response to these two sources of environmental vibration. Data for this research comes from case studies comprising face-to-face interviews with respondents and measurements of their vibration exposure collected during the University of Salford study "Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments". Vibration data from this study are then classified into freight and passenger categories using supervised machine learning methods. Finally, initial estimates of exposure-response relationships are determined using ordinal probit modelling. The results indicate that the annoyance response due to freight railway vibration may be significantly higher than that due to passenger railway vibration, even for equal levels of exposure. The implications of these findings for the potential expansion of freight traffic on rail are discussed. [Work funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) UK, and EU FP7 through the CargoVibes project]

The time of day when vibration occurs is considered as a factor influencing the human response to vibration. The aim of the present paper is to identify the times of day during which railway vibration causes the greatest annoyance, to measure the differences between annoyance responses for different time periods and to obtain estimates of the time of day penalties. This was achieved using data from case studies comprised of face-to-face interviews and internal vibration measurements (N=755). Results indicate that vibration annoyance differs with time of day and that separate time of day weights can be applied when considering exposure–response relationships from railway\ud vibration in residential environments.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of conventional radiology on the assessment of causes of death of human beings after a building collapse and to establish whether the radiographic approach is useful and justifiable.Eight victims of a building collapse were subjected to autopsy, toxicology and radiographic examinations of the entire body. The autopsy findings, classified into three groups according to the New Injury Severity Score (NISS), were compared with radiographic findings.The death of the three individuals in group 1 was ascribed to mechanical asphyxia. Costal fractures, pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema were detected in one case only. The three individuals in group 2 died of mechanical asphyxia associated with cerebral injuries in all cases, abdominal injuries in two and cardiac injuries in one. Plain films showed skull fracture in one case, air within the cardiac chambers in another and diaphragmatic injuries in the third. The two individuals in group 3 died of injuries not compatible with life at the cardiac and abdominal level in both cases and at the cerebral level in one. Radiography showed multiple fractures of the cranium associated with diaphragmatic injuries in one case only. No significant pleuropulmonary radiographic findings were detected in any of the eight victims. Paralytic ileus, identified in all patients, is not strictly correlated to abdominal injuries. Skeletal injuries were all confirmed at conventional radiography.Conventional radiography allows for the overall assessment of skeletal injuries. Radiographic findings provide limited information about the causes of death, whereas findings related to the concomitant causes of death are more frequent. Conventional radiography should be considered inadequate, especially if the potential of the modern software tools available on current computed tomography and magnetic resonance images is considered.

To analyse the relation between results of the Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) questionnaire for aging males, and of quality of life (QOL) questionnaire SF-12 and cardiovascular risk factors.1,927 men aged 55-85 years were interviewed by 56 general practitioners. During the interview the men were asked to fill in the AMS scale and the QOL questionnaire SF-12.Of 1,927 men 1,806 men filled correctly the AMS questionnaire. The mean SF-12 mental index was respectively 55.9 in men with a total AMS score indicating no impairment, 50.9 mild, 42.8 moderate, and 32.8 severe impairment. The corresponding values for the physical index were 51.2, 46.7, 40.8 and 32.3. A history of diabetes was associated with an increased risk of reporting moderate/severe impairment: in relation to the total AMS score the odds ratio, (OR), of moderate/severe impairment in comparison with no impairment was 1.6 (95%CI 1.2-2.1). A history of myocardial infarction and hypertension increased the risk (respectively OR 1.4 (95%CI 1.1-18) and 1.7 (95%CI 1.2-2.4)).This study shows that higher AMS scores are associated with lower SF-12 indices and suggests that elevated values of the AMS score are associated with cardiovascular risk factors or diseases.

The aim of the study presented in this paper is to investigate the use of self-reported acceptability for assessing the human response to environmental vibration in residential environments. The human response to environmental stressors such as noise and vibration is often expressed in terms of exposure-response relationships that describe annoyance as a function of the magnitude of the vibration. These relationships are often the basis of noise and vibration policy and the setting of limit values. This paper takes a different approach by expressing exposure-response relationships for vibration in terms of self-reported acceptability. It is argued that exposure-response relationships expressing acceptability as a function of vibration exposure will complement existing relationships for annoyance in future policy decisions regarding environmental vibration. The results presented in this paper are derived from data collected through a large scale (N = 1431) socio-vibration survey conducted in the United Kingdom, the aim of which was to derive exposure-response relationships for vibration in residential environments. The sources of vibration considered are railways and construction.

This paper summarises the results of the Defra (UK) funded project `NANR209: Human response to vibration in residential environments'. The main aim of this project was to develop exposure-response relationships for the human response to environmental vibration as experienced by residents in their own homes. The sources of vibration considered were railway, construction, and internal sources outside of the resident's control. In this study, 1431 questionnaires were completed with UK residents in their own homes to determine self reported annoyance. Measurements of vibration inside and outside residences were conducted to determine each resident's vibration exposure. Presented in this paper are the exposure-response relationships derived from these data indicating the percentage of people expressing annoyance above a given threshold for a given vibration exposure. In particular, this paper reports the differences in responses to vibration induced by railway and construction activities. [Work funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) UK]

Railway induced vibration is an important source of annoyance in residential environments. Annoyance increases with vibration magnitude. However, these correlations between annoyance and physical ratings are weak. This suggests that vibration-induced annoyance is governed by more than just vibration level, and that simple exposure-response relationships alone sometimes do not provide sufficient information for understanding the wide variation in annoyance reactions. Results of investigations made on factors coming into play when considering an exposure-response relationship between level of vibration and annoyance are presented here. Examples of these factors are time of day, situational factors, personal and attitudinal factors. This was achieved using data from case studies comprised of face-to-face interviews (N=931) and internal vibration measurements collected within the study “Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments” by the University of Salford. This work will be of interest to researchers and environmental health practitioners involved in the assessment of vibration complaints, as well as to planners and consultants involved in the design of buildings and railways. [Work funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) UK]

This paper describes progress in research being carried out at the University of Salford to develop a method by which human annoyance to vibration in residential environments can be assessed. The objective of this study is to yield a robust relationship between vibration exposure and human response, therefore providing a reliable basis for the development of standards and guidance for the assessment of vibration in residential buildings. The vibration sources to be considered are those affecting residents that are outside their control, such as construction, road, and rail activities. Noise is also a consideration. The protocol involves the measurement of vibration outside and inside individual residences and a social study questionnaire based on face‐to‐face interviews with householders. Work so far has concentrated on the response of people in their own homes to railway noise and vibration. Approximately 1000 case studies have been obtained, and examples of early field measurements and results are presented. This work is likely to be of interest to acoustical consultants and environmental health officers involved in the assessment of vibration complaints and to planners and practitioners involved in the design of buildings. [Work funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) UK.]