Static and Dynamic Characteristics of Resilient Mats for Vibration Isolation of Railway Tracks

The paper presents essential static and dynamic properties characterizing resilient mats for vibration isolation of railway tracks. The attention was focused on under-ballast mats and slab-track mats used in the construction of railways. Referring to this type of mats, selected test procedures for determining the values of parameters describing static and dynamic characteristics were described. Basic classification of vibration isolation mats was presented in the paper. Moreover, the essential functional and operation features related to various types of mats were given. Some theoretical aspects concerning viscoelastic dynamic modelling of resilient track elements were also outlined. In order to characterize requirements and methodology of research for resilient mats in railway tracks, German Standards [1], [2], [3] were used herein.