Numerical Investigations on Optimisation of EPS Geofoam-Infilled Vibration Barriers for High‑Speed Railway Tracks

Numerical Investigations on Optimisation of EPS Geofoam-Infilled Vibration Barriers for High‑Speed Railway Tracks | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Numerical Investigations on Optimisation of EPS Geofoam-Infilled Vibration Barriers for High‑Speed Railway Tracks Pankaj Bariker, Suhail Karalikkadan, M. Roshan Khan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9233619/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ground-borne railway vibrations emanating from High-Speed Trains (HST) on ballasted railway tracks cause significant damage to infrastructure in the vicinity and structural vibrations that distress the residents. This study investigates the potential application of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam-infilled ground trenches as a mitigation measure for high-frequency ground-borne railway vibrations associated with HSTs, using full-scale ballasted railway track numerical models with a key focus on high-speed railway loading conditions and track vibrations. Evaluation of the results demonstrates the exceptional efficiency of EPS vibration wave barriers in attenuating Peak Particle Velocities (PPV) and propagation of ground vibrations away from the railway tracks. The efficacy of various geofoam wave barrier configurations, including different EPS density grades, trench dimensions, and placement locations, is analysed across a broad range of high train speeds. Results demonstrate that optimised trench dimensions, particularly those with low-density EPS infill and placed close to the railway formation, significantly enhance vibration attenuation. Furthermore, geofoam-infilled wave barriers exhibit greater effectiveness at higher, supercritical train speeds, substantiating their suitability for deployment in ballasted high-speed rail corridors to mitigate ground-vibration impacts. High-Speed Railways Ballasted tracks Ground vibrations Geofoam-infilled trenches Vibration mitigation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9233619","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":622657028,"identity":"47161331-821b-4827-84d2-84ce2f515921","order_by":0,"name":"Pankaj Bariker","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pankaj","middleName":"","lastName":"Bariker","suffix":""},{"id":622657029,"identity":"3acc1ffe-fee0-40cb-8c98-bc2dd3932340","order_by":1,"name":"Suhail Karalikkadan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Suhail","middleName":"","lastName":"Karalikkadan","suffix":""},{"id":622657030,"identity":"e75034bf-c0ba-4b0c-9bbf-32a8aa00bbad","order_by":2,"name":"M. 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