Assessment of adjacent building vibrations induced by metro with a multigrid fully coupled method

The vibrations generated by metro operations can cause structural damage and discomfort to occupants adjacent to the metro lines. In this study, a multigrid fully coupled method of metro vehicle-track-station-soil-building systems is proposed to predict and assess building vibrations before construction. This approach facilitates the efficient calculation of the fully coupled system, while ensuring precise simulations through the utilization of multigrid techniques for wheel-rail contact, track, station, soil, and building components. Using the newly built opera theatre along Beijing metro line 4 as a case, the study demonstrates that the multigrid fully coupled model can predict the dynamics characteristics of metro-induced vibrations and distribution with high accuracy compared with the field tests. Specifically, it was found that metro operations could result in vibrations exceeding specified limits in the opera theatre, particularly at 10∼40 Hz (the building’s natural frequency) and 60∼80 Hz (the main frequency band of vibration caused by the metro). Finally, the mechanism of excessive vibration and the effectiveness of targeted vibration mitigation measures were analyzed with the proposed method. These findings have promising implications for wider applications in environmental assessments and control strategies for new metro lines or vibration-sensitive buildings.