Vibro-acoustic sources in ground transportation
Abstract
Long term exposure to ground transportation (road and rail traffic) noise is, after air pollution, the main environmentrelated
health stressor in densely populated areas and compromises the quality of life and, indirectly, the life expectations
of millions of people. At speeds up to 130 km/h in road traffic and up to 300 km/h in rail traffic the
main source of noise is the tyre/road (respectively wheel/rail) interaction. In this paper the sound and vibration
generation mechanisms due to tyre/road and wheel/rail interaction are discussed, focusing on the similarities and
differences between the sound and vibration generation mechanisms in these two systems. This perspective is
further extended to the discussion of contact force modelling and characterization methods in both road and rail
traffic systems.