Building Foundations in Proximity to Railway Lines 1

[srazahz]

Hello,

My questions are related to buildings near railway lines in Canada.

Are there any specific requirements for building foundations that are in close proximity to railway lines?
The building is commercial.
From what I have researched, the main issue would be vibrations due to railway traffic.
Is there a specific distance under which the vibrations have to be considered?

 

[WARose]

It's hard to give a exact number because different soils attenuate different vibrations at different rates. (There are also a lot of different criteria to consider.) As per Figure 4 in the Transportation- and Construction-Induced Vibration Guidance Manual (2004 version) by the California DOT:

So (hopefully) that ought to give you some idea. (By the way, if you have any trouble reading the units: the x-axis value is in meters, and the y-axis [Peak Vertical Particle Velocity] value is in mm/s.)

 

[dik]

Thanks WARose... another clip for my collection...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[miningman]

Interesting graph from Warose but I would take that with a pinch of salt. The graph is dated 2004 , 17 years ago, and the standards for allowable vibration from blssting has dropped from 2 inches per second to 1 inch in that time

 

[srazahz]

Thanks WARose, this gives me some perspective. I will look more into it.

 

[dik]

Could the change in velocities be due to a greater brisance of more modern explosives?

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[WARose]

Interesting graph from Warose but I would take that with a pinch of salt. The graph is dated 2004 , 17 years ago, and the standards for allowable vibration from blssting has dropped from 2 inches per second to 1 inch in that time

Well blasting is a different animal.....but I agree that I wouldn't take the graph as the gospel either. Any kind of site vibration is going to depend on the site itself. There are a lot of circumstances to consider. But I just wanted to give the OP a ballpark number.

Something else for the OP to consider (assuming this is a new building) for his estimate: is the likely cost of site testing to get a idea of attenuation and so on. That won't be part of a typical geotech's scope.

 

[bridgebuster]

I just learned a new word. Thanks dik