With technology, trains will be quieter.

Written by Webtranspo Writing: Marco Garcia

There is much talk about chaotic traffic and the absence of efficient collective transportation in the city of São Paulo. Panels, meetings and lectures are and have been held to discover a method that will increase mobility in the largest Brazilian city. The results of the debates point to a subway system that runs through the four corners of the metropolis. However, the task is not so simple. There are many issues involved in it that sometimes fall outside the competence of the company that is ahead of the works. Two of these problems are the noise and vibrations of the subway line that will in the future cause disruption to the residents and workers of houses and companies installed along the path of the compositions.

With that in mind, IEME Brazil Engenharia Consultiva, which works on projects that attenuate the vibrations and noise surrounding the railway lines, has developed VWV-IEME (Vibration of Permanent Pathways) technology to eliminate secondary problems caused to the population neighboring the railway network. The system was successfully used in the stands of the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo stadium, Morumbi, in 1996, to liberate the stage for the matches, which had been interrupted by the Contru (Real Estate Use Control Department). According to Liana Becocci, Director of IEME Brazil, the system is being applied in some lines of the São Paulo Metro, in the case of Linha Verde, which through VVP eliminated the annoyance of vibrations and noise in 15 kilometers of rails.

Mapping The method makes use of experimental techniques that quantify the effects produced by vehicle traffic on rails, first mapping the entire region of the line surroundings to raise the types of constructions that exist in the area. Technology can be added to future rail projects This procedure provides important information to the builder, such as identifying which areas cannot be affected by vibrations or noises such as hospitals and theaters. “With the map in hand, the company can do a schedule detailing which structure needs to meet first and which can wait a little longer, in short, the main advantage is to optimize all the problems that the structure has.” “With the simulation, we can check the degree of vibration that the Subway passes to neighboring houses because the lines can be directly applied to the ground, and such a procedure can affect the constructions or even compromise the structures of nearby bridges. noises are exceeding the limits prescribed in legal norms”, reports Liana.

Shock dampers in this way, IEME collects information from the critical points and passes it on to the responsible company, even suggesting the application of an attenuation system called “Spring mass”. It is a system composed of a floating slab that supports the fixing of the rails, then the fixing of the train. This slab is interconnected to the shock absorbers (springs), which work together to minimize the effects of the vibrations caused by the passage of the trains”, says IEME Engineer Daniela Davi. IEME manages the works of installations of the supports and then returns to the critical points to carry out practical tests that check the effectiveness of the system before the lines start operations.

The director states that the technology can be applied to any rail system, and can be extended to future high speed train and VLT (“We offer only studies and guidelines that determine the parameters and, from there, the market is what has to be manufacture a product that meets the specifications. We provide only the characteristics for manufacturing”, says the executive. “Our job is to find the problem, find a solution and tell the company what kind of product can be used to solve the problems”, she finishes.