• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.277-290
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• 2016

This paper investigates the ground vibration induced by high-speed trains moving on multi-span continuous bridges. The dynamic impact factor of multi-span continuous bridges under trainloads was first determined in the parametric study, which shows that the dynamic impact factor will be large when the first bridge vertical natural frequency is equal to the trainload dominant frequencies, nV/D, where n is a positive integer, V is the train speed, and D is the train carriage interval. In addition, more continuous spans will produce smaller dynamic impact factors at this resonance condition. Based on the results of three-dimensional finite element analyses using the soil-structure interaction for realistic high-speed railway bridges, we suggest that the bridge span be set at 1.4 to 1.5 times the carriage interval for simply supported bridges. If not, the use of four or more-than-four-span continuous bridges is suggested to reduce the train-induced vibration. This study also indicates that the vibration in the train is major generated from the rail irregularities and that from the bridge deformation is not dominant.