Abstract
The difference in sound pressure levels between blank and live rounds fired from military rifles has been investigated. The rifles tested were a Colt Canada C8 carbine rifle, a Lewis Machine LM7 sharpshooter, and a SA80 individual assault rifle. Sound pressure waveforms were measured approximately 15 cm away from the right ear of the operator standing on a hard concrete surface. Twelve blank rounds and twelve live rounds were fired from each weapon during the survey: a total of 72 rounds. The twelve repeat rounds showed a maximum difference of 3.4 dB between peak sound pressure levels for blank rounds fired from the Colt C8 rifle. The highest peak sound pressure of 160 dB(C) was measured for a live round from the C8 rifle. The mean peak sound pressure levels for the C8, LM7 and the SA80 were 154.0 dB(C), 153.1 dB(C) and 147.0 dB(C), respectively, for blank rounds, compared with 159.0 dB(C), 154.8 dB(C) and 152.7 dB(C), respectively for live rounds. This shows that, significantly higher sound pressure levels occurred when firing live rounds compared with blank rounds. Similar differences were measured in sound exposure levels for the rounds fired from the three weapons. The data can be used to determine the main frequency range present in the sound pressure waveforms for the three weapons for assessing the suitability of appropriate hearing protectors.
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