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Machine learning-driven investigation of environmental effects on dynamic behavior of railway noise barriers based on long-term field test
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Structural and Fire Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2668-1329
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Structural and Fire Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0089-8140
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Structural and Fire Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3548-6082
Division of Structural Engineering and Bridges, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvagen 23, Stockholm 10044, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8926-2140
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2026 (English)In: Engineering structures, ISSN 0141-0296, E-ISSN 1873-7323, Vol. 348, article id 121812Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The passage of trains by railway noise barriers induces vibrations that may affect their fatigue performance and reduce their service life. However, long-term field monitoring of noise barriers under complex environmental and operation conditions remains rare. This study develops an interpretable machine learning (ML) framework to investigate the aerodynamic pressure and dynamic behaviors of noise barriers based on a nine-month long-term field monitoring campaign, yielding 12810 train runs over 105 valid days. Input variables include train type, speed, temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and air pressure, while the target responses cover train-induced aerodynamic pressure, stress near the base of the steel post, and displacement at the post top. Eight ML models, including four traditional and four ensemble algorithms, were used and systematically compared to evaluate their predictive capabilities and robustness. Ensemble models, particularly Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), achieved the best predictive performance, with R2 values exceeding 0.935 for stress and displacement, and 0.895 for pressure. XGBoost, offering a strong balance of predictive accuracy and computational efficiency, was selected for SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)-based interpretability analysis to uncover the physical relationships behind the data-driven predictions. Results reveal that aerodynamic pressure was the most challenging response to predict, given its higher sensitivity to turbulent airflow and environmental fluctuations, whereas stress and displacement exhibited more stable and predictable patterns. SHAP analysis identified train speed and type as the most influential factors across all responses. While environmental factors had comparatively lower influence, temperature and instantaneous wind direction consistently showed higher importance among them. Relative humidity has a moderate effect on aerodynamic pressure but a minor impact on dynamic behavior. Air pressure and wind speed exhibit limited influence on all outputs. These findings highlight the novelty and effectiveness of integrating long-term monitoring data, ML methods, and SHAP-based interpretability, offering new insights into the dynamic behavior of railway noise barriers.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2026. Vol. 348, article id 121812
Keywords [en]
Aerodynamic pressure, Dynamic behavior, Environmental influence, Long-term field monitoring, Machine learning, Railway noise barrier, SHAP analysis
National Category
Vehicle and Aerospace Engineering
Research subject
Structural Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-115616DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2025.121812OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-115616DiVA, id: diva2:2017588
Funder
Swedish Transport Administration, BBT-2019-022, BBT-2024-031Svenska Byggbranschens Utvecklingsfond (SBUF), 14486
Note

Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-12-01 (u5);

Full text license: CC BY 4.0

Available from: 2025-12-01 Created: 2025-12-01 Last updated: 2025-12-01Bibliographically approved

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Liu, DongyunWang, ChaoGonzalez-Libreros, JaimeElfgren, LennartSas, Gabriel

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