Light rail wheel/rail noise radiation model using a coupled FE-BE method

This paper presents the development of a coupled finite element - boundary element model of rolling noise from a resilient light rail wheel on several types of tracks. The vibro-acoustic model utilizes a 3D elastic solid representation for both wheel and rail which are excited by linearized Hertzian interface loads. Estimates of the radiated sound power, radiation efficiencies and wayside noise levels are obtained and then scaled using a parallel impedance framework and a roughness profile. Results are compared to recently measured vehicle passby noise and track decay rates at Sound Transit in Seattle Washington.