Protection Against Traffic Noise Acoustic Screens with Solar Cells

Abstract

In connection with the growth of cities and the increase in building density, the problem of noise control in the city is becoming increasingly relevant. To protect residential areas from the noise of traffic flows in megacities, acoustic barriers with their own design features are widely used. These features can be based on a number of reasons: a complex noise picture, imperfection of noise insulation or noise absorption materials, high cost of execution, and other reasons. The article shows that the use of transport acoustic barriers with hoods, the design of which includes solar panels, can ensure the investment attractiveness of highway projects due to the potential profit from the use of solar energy. The efficiency of the use of solar cells in the construction of transport acoustic barriers is evaluated on the example of protection against exceeding the permissible noise of a section of territory near a major highway in St. Petersburg. The necessary noise measurements were carried out and a 3D model of the highway section was created with an acoustic barrier design that combines the function of noise reduction and solar energy generation. The selection of the tilt angle of the hood of the acoustic transport barrier was carried out (it was proposed to place solar panels on the hood), when the use of solar energy in the territory of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region is sufficient to generate adequate electricity consumption in the period from April to September. To assess the effectiveness of the protective barrier, we used guidelines for protecting areas adjacent to highways from traffic noise from Rosavtodor for galleries and tunnels. The conducted assessments showed the prospects of using solar cells in the construction of transport acoustic barriers, as it is shown that even in geographical locations with relatively low solar activity, a useful effect can be obtained from the use of solar panels.