The current Technical Note 03 (TN03) was published in 2013, it is a contractual document used for TMR projects due to its citing in the gazetted TMR Transport Noise Management Code of Practice. The current TN03 is to guide on (a) permitted vibration limits on TMR structures due to construction related vibration, and (b) the minimum set back distances for vibratory rollers in controlling structural damage on nearby structures. However, TN03 is silent on the permitted vibration limits on TMR Structures specifically bridges, culverts and retaining walls. The vibratory roller set back limits stated in TN03 did not represent the current industry practice. Hence, a revision of TN03 was warranted.
A project was contracted between Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads and the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), via the National Asset Centre of Excellence (NACOE) program to update TN03.
A literature review on local and international guidelines and standards was carried out. Based on this, considering both the transient and the continuous vibration, the maximum allowable Peak Particle Velocity (PPV) were prescribed for TMR structures namely bridges, culverts, retaining walls and buildings.
Field testing was carried out with class of upper and lower bound vibratory and oscillatory rollers representing the current industry practice. The objective of the field testing was to generate a vibration data set for different rollers with two different fill materials and to identify the trends. The results will be presented in terms of the maximum PPV and its relation to the roller weight, centrifugal forces, and vibration amplitude. A comparison between the vibratory and the oscillatory roller PPVs show that there exists considerable advantage in minimizing the vibration by using oscillatory rollers. Additionally, the vibration attenuation is determined to provide practical guidance on the setback distances between the rollers and the impacted structures.
