Calum Sharp

Exposure-response relationships for annoyance due to freight and passenger railway vibration exposure in residential environments

In this work, exposure-response relationships for annoyance due to freight and passenger railway vibration exposure in residential environments are developed, so as to better understand the differences in human response to these two sources of environmental vibration. Data for this research come from a field study comprising interviews with respondents and measurements of their vibration exposure (N = 752). A logistic regression model is able to accurately classify 96% of these measured railway vibration signals as freight or passenger based on two signal properties that quantify the duration and low frequency content of each signal. Exposure-response relationships are then determined using ordinal probit modeling with fixed thresholds. The results indicate that people are able to distinguish between freight and passenger railway vibration, and that the annoyance response due to freight railway vibration is significantly higher than that due to passenger railway vibration, even for equal levels of exposure. In terms of a community tolerance level, the population studied is 15 dB (re 10(-6) m s(-2)) more tolerant to passenger railway vibration than freight railway vibration. These results have implications for the expansion of freight traffic on rail, or for policies to promote passenger railway.

Quantification of the effects of audible rattle and source type on the human response to environmental vibration

The present research quantifies the influence of source type and the presence of audible vibration-induced rattle on annoyance caused by vibration in residential environments. The sources of vibration considered are railway and the construction of a light rail system. Data were measured in the United Kingdom using a socio-vibration survey (N = 1281). These data are analyzed using ordinal logit models to produce exposure-response relationships describing community annoyance as a function of vibration exposure. The influence of source type and the presence of audible vibration-induced rattle on annoyance are investigated using dummy variable analysis, and quantified using odds-ratios and community tolerance levels. It is concluded that the sample population is more likely to express higher levels of annoyance if the vibration source is construction compared to railway, and if vibration-induced rattle is audible.

Guidance for new policy developments on railway vibration

Vibration is one of the main problems associated with railways in residential areas. To ensure quality of life and well being of inhabitants living in the vicinity of route paths, it is important to evaluate, understand, control, and regulate railway noise and vibration. Much attention has been focused on the impact of noise from railway but the consideration of railway-induced vibration has often been neglected. This paper aims to provide policy guidance based on results obtained from the analyses of relationships estimated from ordinal logit models between human response and vibration exposure. This was achieved using data from case studies comprised of face-to-face interviews and internal vibration measurements (N = 755) collected within the study “Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments” by the University of Salford. First, the implications of neglecting vibration in railway noise policies are presented. Second, the influence of different times of day when residents are exposed to rail...

Analysis of railway vibration signals using supervised machine learning for the development of exposure-response relationships

The aim of this work is to investigate the applicability of the use of supervised machine learning methods to classify unknown railway vibration signals within a measurement database. The results of this research will be implemented in the development of exposure-response relationship for annoyance caused by freight and passenger railway vibration, so as to better understand the differences in human response to these two sources of environmental vibration. Data for this research come from case studies comprising face-to-face interviews with respondents and measurements of their vibration exposure collected during the University of Salford study “Human Response to Vibration in Residential Environments.” Vibration data from this study are then classified into freight and passenger categories using supervised machine learning methods. Finally, initial estimates of exposure-response relationships are determined using ordinal probit modeling. The results indicate that the annoyance response due to freight rail...

Outline proposal for a good practice guide on the evaluation of human response to vibration from railways in residential environments

The paper will present outline proposals for a good practice guide for the evaluation of human response to vibration from railways in residential environments. The context is the need to increase the proportion of freight carried by railways in Europe whilst avoiding additional disturbance from vibration to populations living nearby. Within this context, the European funded project CARGOVIBES is developing the good practice guidelines to assist in the evaluation of potential disturbance. In the guide it is proposed to include descriptions of the adverse response, primarily annoyance and sleep disturbance. The proposal is to use measured or predicted vibration metrics in conjunction with dose-response relationships to quantify potential adverse impact to residents. To this end, measurement and assessment of vibration will be considered, for example the equipment, locations, mounting and a description of the data to be acquired. The latest information on dose-response relationships will then be reviewed. Fi...

Assessing the exposure-response relationship of sleep disturbance and vibration in field and laboratory settings

Exposure to nocturnal freight train vibrations may impact sleep, but exposure-response relationships are lacking. The European project CargoVibes evaluated sleep disturbance both in the field and in the laboratory and provides unique data, as measures of response and exposure metrics are comparable. This paper therefore provides data on exposure-response relationships of vibration and sleep disturbance and compares the relationships evaluated in the laboratory and the field. Two field studies (one in Poland and one in the Netherlands) with 233 valid respondents in total, and three laboratory studies in Sweden with a total of 59 subjects over 350 person-nights were performed. The odds ratios (OR) of sleep disturbance were analyzed in relation to nighttime vibration exposure by ordinal logit regression, adjusting for moderating factors common for the studies. Outcome specific fractions were calculated for eleven sleep outcomes and supported comparability between the field and laboratory settings. Vibration exposure was significantly associated with sleep disturbance, OR = 3.51 (95% confidence interval 2.6-4.73) denoting a three and a half times increase in the odds of sleep disturbance with one unit increased 8 h nighttime log10 Root Mean Square vibration. The results suggest no significant difference between field and laboratory settings OR = 1.37 (0.59-3.19). However, odds of sleep disturbance were higher in the Netherlands as compared to Sweden, indicating unexplained differences between study populations or countries, possibly related to cultural and contextual differences and uncertainties in exposure assessments. Future studies should be carefully designed to record explanatory factors in the field and enhance ecological validity in the laboratory. Nevertheless, the presented combined data set provides a first set of exposure response relationships for vibration-induced sleep disturbance, which are useful when considering public health outcomes among exposed populations.

Differences in the human response to freight and passenger railway vibration in residential environments

The aim of this paper is to quantify and investigate differences in the human response to freight and passenger railway environmental vibration. Data for this research comes from a field study comprising interviews with respondents and measurements of their vibration exposure (N = 752). A logistic regression model has been developed to classify measured railway vibration signals in the field study as freight or passenger signals, with a classification accuracy of 96%. Exposure-response relationships for annoyance due to exposure to freight and passenger railway vibration are then determined using an ordinal probit model with fixed thresholds. These exposure response relationships indicate that the annoyance response for exposure to freight railway vibration is significantly higher than that for passenger railway vibration. In terms of a community tolerance level, the population studied is 15 dB (re 10−6 m s−2) more tolerant to passenger railway vibration than freight railway vibration. The potential reasons for this difference in the human response are investigated and discussed. Some of the factors that are investigated include time of day effects, sleep disturbance, effects of combined noise and vibration and the effects of social, attitudinal, and demographic factors.

The acceptability of railway induced vibration in residential environments

The aim of the study presented in this paper is to investigate the use of self-reported acceptability for assessing the human response to environmental vibration in residential environments. The human response to environmental stressors such as noise and vibration is often expressed in terms of exposure-response relationships that describe annoyance as a function of the magnitude of the vibration. These relationships are often the basis of noise and vibration policy and the setting of limit values. This paper takes a different approach by expressing exposure-response relationships for vibration in terms of self-reported acceptability. It is argued that exposure-response relationships expressing acceptability as a function of vibration exposure will complement existing relationships for annoyance in future policy decisions regarding environmental vibration. The results presented in this paper are derived from data collected through a large scale (N = 1431) socio-vibration survey conducted in the United Kin...