Output details

A continuous damped vibration absorber to reduce broad-band wave propagation in beams

Significance of output:

Railway noise affects 2-4% of the population. The conventional solutions, noise barriers, are visually intrusive and expensive: typically £0.5-1M/km. The authors have developed and patented a rail damper with Tata Steel which can be used in place of noise barriers, or with a smaller noise barrier. To date 150 km of track have been fitted worldwide with overall sales worth £16M. The study gives the underpinning theoretical basis of the damper behaviour. It also has much wider application to distributed damping systems in other industries (buildings, aerospace, pipes). Collaboration with Tata Steel (david.benton@tatasteel.com).