Sound propagation methods for road traffic noise auralization

Abstract

When changes to an area involving an upgrade to a road network (new or existing) are planned, an assessment of the potential for change in the sound environment is carried out. However this assessment usually only considers local residents’ daily noise exposure and it can be difficult to understand what an increase of 2 dB, for example, actually means in terms of what you hear. Further to this, perceived changes in sound character in relation to road traffic and associated noise mitigation measures are not assessed by current methodologies. There has been increased interest recently in auralization as a potential environmental sound design tool. Without the existence of standardized guidance on the application of existing sound propagation models for auralization there is a potential to obtain a wide range of perceptually different results, depending on the adopted methodology. This work discusses important considerations for the auralization of road traffic noise. Accurately creating these experiences requires bringing together existing sound recordings with the latest and most advanced methods for traffic and environmental noise modeling. Here we discuss some proposed algorithms and methods for achieving this and potential improvements to the nascent methodology for the future.