Dynamic Effect Evaluation Method for Calculating Durability Performance of Railway Noise Barrier

The extension of the railway noise barrier, the construction of which began in the mid-1980s, has currently reached a total of 800 km. As the aging rate is expected to increase rapidly, maintenance through reasonable performance evaluation is required. In this study, a technique for evaluating the durability of railway noise barriers is proposed, considering the dynamic effect of train wind, which is generated when trains pass through noise barriers. The proposed method is based on the equivalent static load for the dynamic effect acting on the noise barrier, as presented in EN 16727-2-2, which considers the train speed, number of passages, length, height, natural frequency of the noise barrier, and distance from the center of the track in reviewing the dynamic effect; moreover, it calculates the durability performance using a performance rating matrix based on the number of trains passing per day and dynamic effects. It is expected that the proposed technique can be used to evaluate the performance of railway noise barriers according to the Railway Construction Act.