ISO TS 14837-31-2017 PDF

Full title and description

Mechanical vibration — Ground-borne noise and vibration arising from rail systems — Part 31: Guideline on field measurements for the evaluation of human exposure in buildings. This Technical Specification provides recommended procedures, minimum data sets and reporting formats for field measurements of ground-borne vibration and associated ground-borne noise in buildings to enable reliable evaluation of human exposure and international comparison of results.

Abstract

ISO/TS 14837-31:2017 gives guidance to improve the quality and comparability of in‑situ measurements of ground‑borne vibration and ground‑borne noise arising from rail systems. It defines two evaluation scopes (basic room/floor measurements for human exposure and extended measurements to assess building immission including foundation/near‑ground measurements), specifies minimum instrumentation and calibration practices, recommends sampling and analysis approaches and sets out preferred reporting elements so that measurements are reproducible and useful for complaint investigations, model validation, diagnostics and research.

General information

• Status: Published (Technical Specification; confirmed in ISO review 2024).
• Publication date: December 2017 (Edition 1, 2017-12).
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 17.160; 45.080.
• Edition / version: Edition 1 (ISO/TS 14837-31:2017).
• Number of pages: 42.

Scope

The document provides practical guidance for performing and reporting field measurements intended to evaluate human exposure to ground‑borne vibration and ground‑borne noise inside buildings caused by rail systems. Two levels of evaluation are defined: Scope 1 (basic room/floor measurements to assess human exposure, with two levels of measurement accuracy) and Scope 2 (extended measurements to quantify building immission, including foundation and adjacent ground measurements to estimate coupling loss and building transmissibility). Source characterization near tracks is explicitly outside the scope.

Key topics and requirements

• Evaluation levels: Scope 1 (basic and reduced‑uncertainty measurements) and Scope 2 (extended building immission assessment).
• Instrumentation and performance: recommendations for accelerometers, geophones, microphones, signal conditioning and recording equipment suitable for the frequency ranges of interest.
• Calibration and verification: field calibration checks for acoustic equipment and functional checks with documented tolerances for vibration transducers.
• Sampling and acquisition: guidance on sampling rates (satisfying Nyquist and practical multipliers for time‑history capture), filtering and data storage for time‑ and frequency‑domain analyses.
• Measurement locations and mounting: recommended positions inside rooms (floor locations, room corners), transducer coupling, orientation and procedures to estimate building coupling loss and transmissibility.
• Simultaneous noise and vibration measurement: required to identify ground‑borne noise versus airborne noise; identification of rattles and low‑frequency vibration considerations.
• Reporting and minimum data set: standardized report elements to enable site‑to‑site comparison and future empirical model development.

Typical use and users

Primary users include acoustic and vibration consultants, rail infrastructure engineers and planners, environmental and public‑health authorities, building assessors and academic researchers. Typical applications are complaint investigations, environmental impact assessments, validation or development of prediction models, diagnostic surveys and research studies where consistent in‑situ measurement practice and reporting are required.

Related standards

Closely related documents include ISO 14837‑1 (general guidance on ground‑borne noise and vibration from rail systems), other parts of the ISO 14837 series (e.g., parts addressing source and ground properties), ISO 1996 series on environmental noise measurement and ISO 8041 series on instrumentation performance for vibration measurements. These standards are typically cross‑referenced for broader context, instrumentation specifications and environmental noise assessment methods.

Keywords

ground‑borne vibration; ground‑borne noise; rail‑induced vibration; field measurements; human exposure; building transmissibility; coupling loss; measurement protocol; vibration instrumentation; environmental noise.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO/TS 14837-31:2017 is a technical specification providing guidelines for field measurements and reporting of ground‑borne vibration and associated ground‑borne noise inside buildings arising from rail systems.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers recommended measurement procedures, minimum instrumentation and calibration checks, sampling and analysis guidance, measurement locations and reporting formats for evaluating human exposure (Scope 1) and for extended building immission assessments (Scope 2). Source measurements near tracks are outside its scope.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Acoustic/vibration consultants, rail infrastructure engineers, environmental authorities, building assessors and researchers use it for complaint investigation, model validation, diagnostics, project assessments and research.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The publication date is December 2017 (Edition 1). ISO records show the document was reviewed and confirmed in 2024, so this version remains current as of the latest ISO review.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is part of the ISO 14837 series on ground‑borne noise and vibration arising from rail systems; other parts cover general guidance, source and ground measurements and related topics.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Ground‑borne vibration, ground‑borne noise, rail‑induced vibration, human exposure, building transmissibility, coupling loss, in‑situ measurement, instrumentation.