PROVIDING TRAIN VIBRATION ISOLATION TO A HOSPITAL A CASE STUDY - EIGHT YEARS LATER

In June of 1996, a paper was presented at this conference explaining how floating slabs were utilized in order to provide vibration isolation to Northside Hospital, in Atlanta, Georgia, from heavy rail vehicles passing in close proximity to the hospital's facilities. The hospital's future expansion plans necessitated that this section of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) North Line be designed and constructed as a subway which made the installation of the floating slab a much more complicated operation. The limits set forth in the property agreement between MARTA and Northside Hospital stated that the maximum vibration level allowable during construction and/or train operation could not exceed 75 dB at 8 Hz for 10 seconds per day. This agreement required that vibration monitors be placed in the hospital's buildings during construction activities to record any events accruing during those construction activities. Also, the hospital installed four permanent vibration-monitoring sensors in close proximity to the subway box so the train operations could be monitored. This presentation will report on the effectiveness of these vibration mitigation measures as perceived by the hospital and include descriptions of the hospital expansions constructed closer to the rail line than the facilities existing at the time of subway construction. Also, included in the presentation will be observations from the MARTA Track and Structure Department on any additional or special maintenance requirements from these slabs. The conclusions to be drawn from this presentation are that to date, following the first eight years of their lifecycle, the floating slabs utilized near the Northside Hospital have proved effective at suppressing vibration, without requiring a measurable increase in maintenance efforts as compared to normal trackway.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/1931594112
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available on CD-ROM.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Public Transportation Association

  1666 K Street, NW, Suite 1100
  Washington, DC  United States  20006
• Authors:
  • Walker, W D
  • Campbell, E E
• Conference:
  • Rail Transit Conference
  • Location: Miami Florida
  • Date: 2001-6-10 to 2001-6-14
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: 7p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction; Expansion; Floating structures; Hospitals; Isolation (Chemistry); Life cycle costing; Light rail transit; Rail transit; Slabs; Subways; Train operations; Vibration; Vibration isolation
• Geographic Terms: Atlanta (Georgia)
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Finance; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00977274
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 1931594112
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 2 2004 12:00AM