The directivity of railway noise at different speeds

Abstract

For a sound source, directivity is an important parameter to specify. This parameter also reflects the physical feature of the sound generation mechanism. In this article, studies on the directivity of railway noise, by measurement and by theoretical investigation, are discussed extensively and systematically. The two most important noise types, i.e. rolling noise and aerodynamic noise, are focused on. A model of perpendicular dipole pair is proposed to interpret the measurement specified directivity characters of wheel/rail radiation. This model naturally explains why a vibrating railway wheel does not present dipole directivity character and why rail radiation is of different vertical and horizontal directivity characters. Moreover pantograph noise is also found to be of perpendicular dipole components. As for aerodynamic noise around bogies, scattering of the air flow is proposed to be the mechanism of the noise generation; this understanding leads to a different directivity description for the noise component. Directivities of other important noise types are discussed as well; their directivities become understood, although lacking of relevant directivity data. In summary, this study provides applicable directivity functions together with a survey of the directivities of all important railway noise types and components. Hopefully, this work will be useful, for railway noise engineering also contribute to understand better railway noise.