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Atmospheric effects on traffic noise propagation
Book
found to be too limited in scope and underfunded achieve the objectives of the Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL
to
IMPACTS
Annoyance caused by railway vibration and noise in buildings. Howarth, Henrietta Victoria Carmel, Ph.D. University of Southampton (United Kingdom), 1989. 212 pp, Order Number BRDX88074 This thesis is concerned with the annoyance caused by railway-induced building vibration and railway noise. A review of previous studies was conducted to examine current knowledge. The review enabled identification of areas in which there was insufficient information on which to base a prediction of the reaction to railway vibration and noise in buildings. Deficiencies in current knowledge formed the basis of a program of experimental work which was conducted to investigate how the annoyance produced by railway-induced building vibration is affected by the number of trains, the vibration magnitude, the vibration frequency, the direction of vibration, and the presence of noise. Two laboratory experiments were concerned with how annoyance caused by railway-induced building vibration depends on the magnitude of vibration and how often trains pass. A trade-off was determined between the number of trains and the vibration magnitude which indicated a fourth power relation between magnitude and duration. The relation supports the use of vibration dose value as a method of vibration assessment. Two further experiments were conducted to determine the subjective equivalence of noise and vibration and to investigate the interaction and combined effects of the two stimuli. The results suggest that vibration does not influence the assessment of noise, but that the assessment of vibration can be increased or reduced by the presence of noise, depending on the relative magnitudes of the vibration of noise. A fifth experiment was performed to investigate the influence on annoyance of vibration frequency, vibration magnitude, and vibration direction. Vibration frequency weightings were determined to describe subjective response to whole-body vibration at low magnitudes such as occurs in buildings. The resuits indicate that the weightings in British Standard 6841 (1987) provide a reasonable approximation to the frequency dependence of response to whole-body vibration at low magnitudes. . In the final experiment, the previous findings were combined to provide a general method of predicting the relative annoyance from complex conditions of railway vibration and noise. The method was shown to provide a more accurate prediction of the relative
Reviews
35
annoyance from railway vibration and noise than methods based on the influence of noise or vibration alone.
Atmospheric effects on traffic noise propagation. Wayson, Roger Lee, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University, 1989. 205 pp. Director: William Bowlby Order Number DA9006864 The purpose of this research was to add to the body of knowledge on traffic noise propagation by: (i) performing field measurements of traffic noise concurrently with the meteorological parameters wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, and temperature at multiple locations; (ii) using this developed data base to objectively evaluate theory and test for statistical significance of established weather descriptors including turbulence; and (iii) deriving a predictive equation relating the independent variables (weather parameters) to the dependent variable (excess attenuation due to atmospheric refraction). These objectives should help state highway agencies, who commit millions of dollars each year to noise abatement, make better informed decisions and more accurately predict traffic noise. The data base was developed along Interstate 10 in Houston, Texas, and is thought to be the best developed for short-range traffic noise propagation (at distances common to first and second row homes). The research found that traffic noise is affected even at very short distances from the highway, and that skywave scattering is more important than ray bending in affecting receiver noise levels near the highway. The significance of effects from turbulence, the temperature lapse rate, and wind shear on traffic noise propagation were determined. An empirical model was derived to predict short-range atmospheric effects on traffic noise.
An expert system for highway noise analysis. Sung, Hung-Ming, Ph. D. Vanderbilt University, 1989. 304 pp. Director: William Bowlby Order Number DA891 9724 Highway traffic noise has been a public concern for many years. The most effective method for highway noise control is to construct noise barriers. A design procedure called STAMINA Z.O/OPTIMA has been applied by most state DOTS for highway noise prediction and noise barrier design. This design procedure allows some trade-offs between noise barrier length and height, provides balanced design of noise from different roadways, and balances cost against acoustical performance. However, this design procedure involves extensive use of 3-dimensional data to represent roadways, barriers, and receivers. Therefore, improper representation of the sites or accidental in-
found to be too limited in scope and underfunded achieve the objectives of the Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL
to
IMPACTS
Annoyance caused by railway vibration and noise in buildings. Howarth, Henrietta Victoria Carmel, Ph.D. University of Southampton (United Kingdom), 1989. 212 pp, Order Number BRDX88074 This thesis is concerned with the annoyance caused by railway-induced building vibration and railway noise. A review of previous studies was conducted to examine current knowledge. The review enabled identification of areas in which there was insufficient information on which to base a prediction of the reaction to railway vibration and noise in buildings. Deficiencies in current knowledge formed the basis of a program of experimental work which was conducted to investigate how the annoyance produced by railway-induced building vibration is affected by the number of trains, the vibration magnitude, the vibration frequency, the direction of vibration, and the presence of noise. Two laboratory experiments were concerned with how annoyance caused by railway-induced building vibration depends on the magnitude of vibration and how often trains pass. A trade-off was determined between the number of trains and the vibration magnitude which indicated a fourth power relation between magnitude and duration. The relation supports the use of vibration dose value as a method of vibration assessment. Two further experiments were conducted to determine the subjective equivalence of noise and vibration and to investigate the interaction and combined effects of the two stimuli. The results suggest that vibration does not influence the assessment of noise, but that the assessment of vibration can be increased or reduced by the presence of noise, depending on the relative magnitudes of the vibration of noise. A fifth experiment was performed to investigate the influence on annoyance of vibration frequency, vibration magnitude, and vibration direction. Vibration frequency weightings were determined to describe subjective response to whole-body vibration at low magnitudes such as occurs in buildings. The resuits indicate that the weightings in British Standard 6841 (1987) provide a reasonable approximation to the frequency dependence of response to whole-body vibration at low magnitudes. . In the final experiment, the previous findings were combined to provide a general method of predicting the relative annoyance from complex conditions of railway vibration and noise. The method was shown to provide a more accurate prediction of the relative
Reviews
35
annoyance from railway vibration and noise than methods based on the influence of noise or vibration alone.
Atmospheric effects on traffic noise propagation. Wayson, Roger Lee, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University, 1989. 205 pp. Director: William Bowlby Order Number DA9006864 The purpose of this research was to add to the body of knowledge on traffic noise propagation by: (i) performing field measurements of traffic noise concurrently with the meteorological parameters wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, and temperature at multiple locations; (ii) using this developed data base to objectively evaluate theory and test for statistical significance of established weather descriptors including turbulence; and (iii) deriving a predictive equation relating the independent variables (weather parameters) to the dependent variable (excess attenuation due to atmospheric refraction). These objectives should help state highway agencies, who commit millions of dollars each year to noise abatement, make better informed decisions and more accurately predict traffic noise. The data base was developed along Interstate 10 in Houston, Texas, and is thought to be the best developed for short-range traffic noise propagation (at distances common to first and second row homes). The research found that traffic noise is affected even at very short distances from the highway, and that skywave scattering is more important than ray bending in affecting receiver noise levels near the highway. The significance of effects from turbulence, the temperature lapse rate, and wind shear on traffic noise propagation were determined. An empirical model was derived to predict short-range atmospheric effects on traffic noise.
An expert system for highway noise analysis. Sung, Hung-Ming, Ph. D. Vanderbilt University, 1989. 304 pp. Director: William Bowlby Order Number DA891 9724 Highway traffic noise has been a public concern for many years. The most effective method for highway noise control is to construct noise barriers. A design procedure called STAMINA Z.O/OPTIMA has been applied by most state DOTS for highway noise prediction and noise barrier design. This design procedure allows some trade-offs between noise barrier length and height, provides balanced design of noise from different roadways, and balances cost against acoustical performance. However, this design procedure involves extensive use of 3-dimensional data to represent roadways, barriers, and receivers. Therefore, improper representation of the sites or accidental in-