The effectiveness of a pile barrier for vibration transmission in a soil stratum over a rigid bedrock

The potential use of pile barriers as a ground vibration mitigation measure is analysed through an efficient numerical model. The soil is modelled as an elastic half space, using the reciprocity theorem and specific Green's functions for the layered half space, while the piles are treated as beam elements. After benchmarking the proposed model against a Boundary Element model, it is used to study this type of barrier, with particular focus on how the presence of a rigid bedrock alters its performance. A significantly different behaviour when compared to the case of the half space is found if the piles reach the rigid stratum, increasing the barrier performance around the layer second natural frequency.