Efficient mitigation of high-speed trains induced vibrations of railway embankments using expanded polystyrene blocksEfficient mitigation of high-speed trains induced vibrations of railway embankments using expanded polystyrene blocks Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2021-09-092020enThis research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) through the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014–2020” in the context of the project “Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research – 2nd Cycle” (MIS 5000432). The main aim of this work is to present an efficient mitigation measure of ground vibrations induced by high-speed trains (HST). It is very important to propose such mitigation measures against soil vibrations due to various negative impacts to the population, structures, as well as railway infrastructure. This study examines the application of expanded polystyrene (EPS) blocks as an efficient mitigation measure against the ground vibrations induced by HST’s passage. EPS is a high-performance geosynthetic fill material, which is widely used due to its low weight and great compressibility. In the present numerical study, an three-dimensional (3D) model was used, utilizing the finite element software ABAQUS in conjunction with a user-developed subroutine in order to accurately simulate the complex dynamic phenomenon of soil response during the passage of HST. For this purpose, field data of a typical soil embankment from Paris– Brussels Thalys line were used to validate the adopted numerical approach. Subsequently, the use of different types of EPS schemes was investigated and compared in order to obtain an optimal geometrical configuration of EPS blocks that significantly reduces train-induced vibrations.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Transportation Geotechnics22 Lyratzakis Alexandros Λυρατζακης Αλεξανδρος Tsompanakis Ioannis Τσομπανακης Ιωαννης Psarropoulos Prodromos N. Elsevier High speed trains (HST) Train-induced vibrations Embankments Mitigation measures Expanded polystyrene (EPS)