THE KINEMATIC SOUND SCREEN: AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO HIGHWAY NOISE ABATEMENT

SIMPLE BARRIERS OF EARTHWORK OR SOLID CONSTRUCTION HAVE BEEN WIDELY USED TO REDUCE TRAFFIC NOISE LEVELS IN NEIGHBORHOODS ADJACENT TO URBAN FREEWAYS. THE KINEMATIC SOUND SCREEN IS A NEW CONCEPT IN NOISE BARRIER DESIGN. IT CONSISTS OF A SERIES OF HOLLOW, TRIANGULAR-SHAPED COLUMNS ACTING AS HELMHOLTZ RESONATORS. THE SPACING BETWEEN COLUMNS PERMITS THE MOTORIST TO "SEE THROUGH" THE BARRIER AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SCREENING THE TRAFFIC FROM THE VIEW OF OBSERVERS IN NEARBY RESIDENTIAL AREAS. LABORATORY TESTING OF KINEMATIC SOUND SCREEN PANELS DEMONSTRATED THAT AN APPROXIMATE 15-DB ATTENUATION IN TRANSMITTED NOISE LEVELS CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH THIS APPROACH, WHICH IS COMPARABLE TO THAT OBTAINED WITH CONVENTIONAL, SOLID BARRIERS. A FULL-SCALE SOUND SCREEN HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED ALONG A FREEWAY IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AND FIELD EVALUATION OF THIS PROTOTYPE DEMONSTRATED THAT ATTENUATION OF GREATER THAN 10 DB IS ACHIEVABLE USING A 12-FT HIGH SCREEN WITH GREATER ATTENUATION POSSIBLE. THE KINEMATIC SOUND SCREEN OFFERS A PROMISING ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL BARRIERS ALONG FUTURE URBAN FREEWAYS.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1973/448/448-007.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309021790
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Geometric Highway Design. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Hauskins Jr, John B
• Conference:
  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 60-67
• Monograph Title: Noise abatement and control
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 448
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Freeways; Noise barriers; Sound level; Traffic noise
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203847
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309021790
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jan 11 1974 12:00AM