Comparative studies on mass-spring systems

The tuning frequency of a mass-spring system (MSS) is not necessarily the essential parameter to quantify the effectiveness regarding vibration mitigation. In fact, the eigenfrequency of the MSS in the moment of a train passage is more relevant. As experimentally shown by identified system eigenfrequencies, polyurethane foam materials tend to soften under live load conditions. Other materials, such as rubber or mineral wool, become stiffer. Therefore, similarly tuned MSS may show different dynamic behavior during train passage, depending on the applied elastomeric material. Furthermore, the paper discusses how to derive the system eigen-frequency of an MSS under traffic load, based only on measurements conducted on the unloaded MSS. © 2022, VDI Verlag GMBH. All rights reserved.