European methodology for testing the airborne sound insulation characteristics of noise barriers in situ: Experimental verification and comparison with laboratory data

Abstract

In the frame of the 1994-1997 Standard, Measurement and Testing program, the European Commission funded a research project, named Adrienne, to define new test methods for measuring the intrinsic characteristics of road traffic noise reducing devices in situ. The research team produced innovative methods for testing the sound reflection/absorption and the airborne sound insulation characteristics of noise barriers. These methods are now under consideration at CEN (European Committee for Standardization), to become European standards. The present work reports a detailed verification of the test method for airborne sound insulation over a selection of 17 noise barriers, representative of the Italian and European production. The samples were tested both outdoors, using the new Adrienne method, and in laboratory, following the European standard EN 1793-2. In both cases the single number rating for airborne sound insulation recommended by the European standard was calculated. The new method proved to be easy to use and reliable for all kinds of barriers. It has been found sensitive to quality of mounting, presence of seals, and other details typical of outdoor installations. The comparison between field and laboratory results shows a good correlation, while existing differences can be explained with the different sound fields and mounting conditions between the outdoor and laboratory tests. It is concluded that the Adrienne method is adequate for its intended use.

Full scale field study of sound transmission across plenum windows

“…6). Examples on the use of normalized noise spectrum to quantify the properties of acoustical devices as well as the calculation procedure can be found in Garai and Guidorzi [20], Buratti [21] and more recently, Tong and Tang [12]. A comparison between the rated D i s and the NRs can then indicate how important the change in space reverberation due to a change in the window design is in affecting the overall acoustical benefit of replacing the side-hung casement window design by the plenum windows.…”

Insertion losses of balconies on a building façade and the underlying wave interactions

“…In the foregoing discussions, the broadband IL obtained after applying the normalized traffic noise spectral weighting 16,18 is used in the first place to give an overview of the average ILs of the balconies. These results are relevant to traffic noise insertion loss.…”

“…As in many laboratory studies on the acoustical performances of building elements, such as those of Buratti 15 and Garai and Guidorzi, 16 a single rating in dBA was used in this study to describe the broadband insertion losses of the balconies. Oldham and Mohsan 1 adopted the weightings of Delany et al 17 in their balcony scale model study, but this study used the normalized traffic noise spectrum given in EN1793-3, 18 as road traffic is the main source of noise in Hong Kong.…”

Fuzzy TOPSIS Approach in Selection of Optimal Noise Barrier for Traffic Noise Abatement

“…Also, the expert opinion may differ on each and every aspect pertaining to the site specific conditions, etc., as the effectiveness of a noise barrier depends upon its geometry; acoustic characteristics such as sound reflection, diffusion of surface exposed to noise, airborne sound insulation; installation factors; deterioration with time; site geometry; ground profile; site acoustic characteristics; ground impedance, and meteorological conditions (Garai et al, 2000). However, the present work serves as an illustrative example that can be easily applied with no computational complexities inviting the opinion of any number of experts (fuzzy numbers will change) to formulate an effective strategy for selection and installation of a noise barrier considering all these alternatives with regard to criteria considered.…”