Abstract
Traffic noise is considered by people as one of the most important sources of environmental discomfort. A way to limit the traffic noise is to reduce the noise emission, for example, by using specific low noise pavements, particularly in suburban areas. However, in real situations, it can be difficult to evaluate the impact of a given pavement, because it depends, for example, on the road geometry, the meteorological conditions, or the distance of the receiver position. Finally it can be difficult to select the most appropriate pavement for a given noise reduction objective. In this paper, a simple method is proposed to evaluate the noise impact of a pavement, in typical road geometries and environmental conditions. The proposed approach uses two databases, the first one based on measurements of emission spectra of road vehicles on several typical pavements, the second one made of pre-calculations of noise propagation for typical road configurations. Finally, the method is implemented in an interactive web tool, called DEUFRABASE, which allows one to obtain a fast estimation of the L Aeq (1 h or 24 h) and L den noise levels for various pavements and road configurations, as functions of the traffic flow and composition. By comparing the method with measurements, it is showed that the tool, although based on a restricted number of pavements and on several simplifications, can predict the noise impact of typical road configurations, with an acceptable error, most often less than 2 dB.
Highlights
Traffic noise is considered by people living in urban areas or next to high-trafficked suburban roads as one of the most important sources of environmental discomfort, with strong health effects [1].Before acting on noise propagation between vehicles and housings by inserting noise barriers or reinforcing building façades, it is better to directly deal with the acoustic source for controlling and decreasing traffic noise
LAeq,1h, which is the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level based on the 1 hour-traffic of passenger cars (PC) and heavy trucks (HT), LAeq,24h, which is the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level based on the traffic distribution of PC and HT over the 24 h of a day, Lden, which is the day–evening–night A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level, calculated from the LAeq,24h
Because the DEUFRABASE was based on databases and pre-calculation for specific roads configurations and propagation conditions, it seems very important to perform a large validation by comparison with in situ measurements
Summary
Traffic noise is considered by people living in urban areas or next to high-trafficked suburban roads as one of the most important sources of environmental discomfort, with strong health effects [1]. Before acting on noise propagation between vehicles and housings by inserting noise barriers or reinforcing building façades, it is better to directly deal with the acoustic source for controlling and decreasing traffic noise In this context, the development of optimized vehicle engines and road pavements, traffic management, as well as specific urban facilities, are relevant solutions [2]. The proposed approach is based on the coupling of two databases, one for describing the noise emission from several typical road pavements, and the other for applying the attenuation due to the noise propagation between the sound source and the receiver, for several road geometries and environments At this stage, it is important to specify that, since the subject of the study concerns the noise impact of road surfaces, the proposed methodology focuses on typical traffic flow of suburban areas, and in particular, considering vehicle speeds where rolling noise is predominant. A deeper validation of the method is detailed (Section 4), using in situ measurements as references, showing a good behaviour of the proposed methodology
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
