Assessment of variability of acoustic power generated by traffic volume

Abstract

The concept of energy harvesting is a mechanism of deriving energy from the sources present in the environment. Using this energy will enable wireless and portable electronic devices to be completely self-sustaining. A variety of sources are available for energy harvesting, including electromagnetic radiation, vibration-, sound -, and windenergy. The output power levels from these sources and the mechanisms involved in energy conversion determine its possible applications. The paper analyses the variability of the acoustic power generated by traffic volume. The equivalent sound level was calculated by permanent automatic sound and traffic volume monitoring stations for three time intervals. The measurements were carried out 24 hours a day. In this study, the authors analysed the acoustic power to be able to compare the fixed and variable components. Standard deviation, coefficient of variation, the positional coefficient of variation, and the quartile deviation were proposed for performing a comparative analysis of the acoustic power scattering. The coefficient of variation is a parameter that satisfactorily describes a variable component of acoustic power. Uncertainties of the acoustic power calculation were compared within the periods under analysis.