Case Study
30 Years of Vibration Protection for thePhilharmonic Hall Gasteig, Munich (DE)Vibration protection for the “noisesensitive” philharmonic hall

Elastic bearings for a busy rapidtransit railway line

Long-lasting under ballast mats:practically unchanged after 30 years

Long-Lasting Quality of Under Ballast Mats —even under Extreme Conditions

Description

The Getzner solution

Busy rapid transit railway tunnel
near the Munich Philharmonic Hall
he cultural centre “Am Gasteig”
in Munich is situated next to thecentral tunnel of the Munich rapidtransit railway system: the centre isalso home to the philharmonic halland the city library.

TThe railway line – a standard ballasted
track with timber sleepers – is subjected to a load of around 150,000
metric tons a day and ranks as one of
the busiest rapid transit railway lines
in Germany. When the cultural centre
was built in 1983, the planners had toensure that the background noiselevel in the concert hall did not exceed the specified limit of 25 decibels

when a train is passing so that theconcert hall could also be used forrecording.
To protect the noise-sensitive culturalcentre from structure-borne noise
emissions, the under ballast matsfrom Getzner were installed over a
distance of 345 metres. Since 1983,
they have been subjected to an extreme operating load of around 1,300
million tons and a variety of environmental influences in the track. In
2013, it was discovered just how effective they are in the long-term: theunder ballast mats have reduced vibrations on this key route for over
30 years – and in turn the maintenance work and costs.

Under ballast mats remain highly
effective even after 30 years
ailway lines such as that next tothe “Am Gasteig” generate vibrations and noise which are disturbing
to people — the busier the route, themore disturbing the effect. Strongvibrations also have a negative impact
for track operators: since they subject
the superstructure to strong loads,
they cause an enormous amount ofmaintenance work. The under ballast
mats from Getzner reduce the specificload and, in turn, the mechanical strain
on the superstructure components.
The fact that the polyurethane underballast mats from Getzner remain effective and retain their material properties, even over a period of 30 years,
is evidenced by the studies conducted.

RThree measurements — one result

Sketch map of the measuring points

2

KM 2,771.5

5

KM 2,656.5

6

KM 2,547.0

KM 2,431.0

Area with under ballast mats L: 345 m

1

Munich main station
Munich east station

Urban railway station
Rosenheimer Platz

Since the under ballast mats wereinstalled in 1983, Getzner has initiatedseveral investigations and measurements of the material's effectiveness.
In order to examine the long-term
properties of the Sylomer® B 851 under ballast mats, Getzner took a material sample from the Munich rapidtransit railway tunnel in December
2012, along with a structure-borne
noise measurement, under the supervision of Deutsche Bahn AG. TheImprints of the track ballast on
the under ballast mats

Exposed under ballast mat

Feedback“Prüfamt für Bau von Landverkehrswegen” (Institute of Road, Railwayand Airfield Construction) at theTechnical University of Munich subjected the extracted samples to avisual evaluation. They also determined the static stiffness and compared this with the values that weredetermined in 1983 as part of quality
control during installation and in 2001
when a sample was taken.

same as they were in 1983,” explains
Wolfgang Daiminger, Project Manager
at engineering company Müller-BBM
GmbH. In order to assess the longterm properties under “real” trafficloads, structural-borne noise measurements were also carried out in asection of the tunnel in the samemanner as in 1983.

Measuring the structure-borne
noise and the static and dynamic
stiffness

The under ballast mats successfully
reduce the structure-borne noise
when a train passes through; theacoustic performance remains sounduntil today.

The visual evaluation of the sample
extracted — after 29 years — revealed
that the under ballast mats are inexcellent condition. The side of themats facing the ballast, the load distribution layer, exhibits only slightplastic imprints; there is no sign ofany damage. The imprints show thatthe ballast is embedded well in thesurface of the mat. The enlarged contact area ensures a reduced specificload, which protects the ballast andresults in less ballast destruction. The
static stiffness test showed that theunder ballast mats still meet the requirements defined in the specification — despite the extreme operatingload of around 1,300 million tons.
“The dynamic spring properties of theunder ballast mats remain almost the“The under ballast mats from Getzner
retain their properties and function
even under extreme conditions. Environmental influences, such as standing water, couldn't affect these mats.”
Wolfgang Daiminger,
Project Manager atMüller-BBM

The result“All the tests indicatethat our under ballast mats will remain
effective for at least
another 30 years. If
we take the standard
track service life of
50 years for our calculations, then we can be sure thatthe under ballast mats will remain
effective throughout and beyond thisperiod,” says Mirko Dold, ProductManager at Getzner.

The Philharmonic HallGasteig

1Facts and figures at a glance
Measurement of the long-term properties of under ballast mats at “Am Gasteig”
Bibliography
Daiminger, Wolfgang/Dold, Mirko: Langzeitqualität von Unterschottermatten nach 30 Jahren.
Ermittlung der Langzeiteigenschaften von Unterschottermatten durch Messungen am Material
und Ermittlung der akustischen Leistungsfähigkeit
unter Zugbetrieb (Long-term quality of underballast mats after 30 years. Determination of thelong-term properties of under ballast mats by
taking material measurements and determining
the acoustic performance when subjected to train
operation). In: EI – Internationale Fachzeitschrift
für Schienenverkehr und Technik (Railway engineer- international trade journal for railway transportation and technology), June 2014 issue, P. 2 et seq.

Getzner Werkstoffe GmbHReferences (extract)

Foundation:— Cologne rapid transit railway:
Cologne-Chorweiler tunnel (Germany)— Berlin rapid transit railway: Friedrichstraßestation (Germany)— Berlin rapid transit railway:
Berlin-Dorotheenhöfe station (Germany)— Berlin rapid transit railway: link to
Berlin-Schönefeld airport (Germany)— Stuttgart rapid transit railway:
airport link (Germany)— Hamburg rapid transit railway:
airport link (Germany)

1969 (as a subsidiary of Getzner,
Mutter & Cie)
Chief Executive Officer: Ing. Jürgen Rainalter
Employees:
340
2015 turnover:EUR 77.9 million
Business areas:
Railway, construction, industry
Headquarter:
Bürs (AT)
Locations:
Berlin (DE), Munich (DE), Stuttgart (DE),Lyon (FR), Amman (JO), Tokyo (JP),Pune (IN), Beijing (CN), Kunshan (CN),Charlotte (US)
Ratio of exports:
85 %Image 1: © Deutsche Bahn AG

AUSTRIA — Bürs GERMANY — Berlin — Munich — Stuttgart FRANCE — Lyon
JAPAN — Tokyo INDIA — Pune CHINA — Beijing USA — Charlotte

JORDAN — Amman
www.getzner.com

CS Gasteig en © Copyright by Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH | 07-2016

Client/general contractor: Getzner Werkstoffe GmbHOperator:
Deutsche Bahn AG
Scope of the order: 2,830 m2 of under ballast matsover a distance of 345 m
Opening:
1983
Solution:
Under ballast mats, type: Sylomer® B 851
Project support:
Deutsche Bahn AG, Prüfamt für Bau
von Landverkehrswegen der Technischen
Universität München (Institute of Road,
Railway and Airfield Construction at theTechnical University of Munich)