The prediction of sound‐pressure levels outdoors in the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

In the Federal Republic of Germany the VDI Guidelines 2714 and 2720/2 are used for the prediction of sound‐pressure levels in the neighborhood of sound sources. These guidelines were developed about 20 years ago and they describe a general frequency‐dependent calculation method for sound propagation outdoors under downwind conditions and for different sound sources, mainly industrial plants. Simplified prediction schemes for road and railway traffic have also been derived from the VDI guidelines. The calculation method will be presented. The development of the guidelines have been supported by research work in sound propagation outdoors mainly above soft ground. It will be shown that the calculation methods of the guidelines are able to predict the A‐weighted sound‐pressure level, which is used in Germany for rating purposes, for the usual situations in the neighborhood of the sound sources. For sound propagation over mainly hard ground, which is a rare case in noise control, nearly no information exists ...