Annoyance at the point of emission versus immission for impulsive noises at train passings

Abstract

Impulsive components of the noise of passing vehicles can cause increased annoyance for the nearby inhabitants. For example, the periodic excitation of a damaged wheel creates a noise with a clearly noticeable fluctuation strength. This leads—in addition to the sound pressure level, which is also raised by the impulsive component—to a significant annoyance of the residents. Usually, such signals are recorded in the vicinity of the point of emission (in the distance of 7.5 m). The scope of the present study was to investigate the question to what extent the annoyance of the residents at the point of immission can be predicted by using these recorded signals. For this purpose, by means of subjective evaluations the annoyance of original signals at the point of immission was compared with that of recordings at the point of emission reduced in accordance with the distance law.