PARALLEL BARRIER EFFECTIVENESS: DULLES NOISE BARRIER PROJECT. FINAL REPORT

In an effort to minimize the cost and maximize the effectiveness of highway noise barriers, the Federal Highway Administration and a National Pooled Fund Panel (made up of 14 States) funded a field study program on an experimental highway noise barrier. A test barrier was constructed in 1984 at a site at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. The study, conducted from May 1989 to August 1989 by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Transportation Systems Center, focused on the use of absorptive treatment and tilting as a means of improving the insertion loss (specifically, single event moving point source insertion loss) of two parallel highway noise barriers. Measurements were conducted with both controlled moving point sources (trucks) and an artificial fixed-point source (speaker system). Results show: (1) the addition of absorptive treatment to the roadside face of two vertical, parallel, highway noise barriers eliminated multiple reflections and was found to improve the insertion loss (2 dB to 6 dB); (2) tilting proved to be an effective alternative to absorptive treatment in eliminating the multiple reflections and subsequent degradation in performance of two vertical reflective barriers; (3) additional verification needs to be performed with an artificial fixed-point source before it can be recommended as a viable alternative to actual highway traffic in measuring barrier effectiveness; and (4) although the "BARRIER 2.1" computer program cannot model the Dulles test situation exactly, and actual ground impedance data were not available, the trends in the predicted insertion loss data were in good agreement with the predicted results although lower in absolute level.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Systems Center

  55 Broadway, Kendall Square
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142

  Federal Highway Administration

  Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike
  McLean, VA  United States  22101
• Authors:
  • Fleming, G G
  • Rickley, E J
• Publication Date: 1990-5

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 320 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Computer programs; Field tests; Forecasting; Measures of effectiveness; Noise barriers; Performance; Reflection; Traffic noise
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness; Insertion loss
• Old TRIS Terms: Absorptive treatment; Parallel noise barriers; Tilting
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496588
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-RD-90-105, DOT-TSC-FHWA-90-1, HW027/H0003/4E7B1112
• Files: NTL, ARRB, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM