Development and applications of a staggered FEM-BEM methodology for ground vibrations due to moving train loads

This work presents an efficient methodology for the analysis of vibrations in a railroad track system, induced by the passage of conventional and high speed trains. The methodology is based on an efficient coupling of the Boundary Element (BEM) with the Finite Element Method (FEM) in the direct time domain. The BEM is used for the modeling of the soil-tie system and the FEM for the modeling of the flexible rail system. Soil-Structure Interaction and traveling wave effects are inherently accounted for. The proposed methodology allows for selection of different time steps in order to fulfill stability requirements of each solver.