Research and application of combined noise reduction method by using noise reducing pavement and noise barrier

Abstract

Traffic noise has become one of the most significant issues in environmental pollution complaints. In some cases, tyre/road noise level has exceeded the critical values of environmental regulations by more than 10 dB (A), and using single technical method, such as noise reducing pavement or noise barrier, cannot solve the problem effectively. In this paper, research and application were carried out by considering combination of both noise reducing pavement and barrier. Based on analysis of characteristics of tyre/road noise spectrum, a design method of sound absorption performance of barrier which will compensate the absorption ability of the pavement is proposed. Three types of noise barrier panel, namely diffusive, interference-type, and diamond-shaped sound absorption panels, were developed, which provide good complements to the absorption spectrum of porous asphalt pavement. Trail section was built for validation on a practical expressway. Noise reducing pavement designed by considering travel lane differences were firstly constructed, and noise barriers with the three different types of sound absorption panel were installed along the road section. After implementation, it shows that noise levels measured in the surrounding villages can be reduced by 10~13dB (A), and this method is proved effect for eliminating the severe pollution of tyre/road noise.