NOISE BARRIER SCREEN MEASUREMENTS: SINGLE BARRIERS

The Laboratory has undertaken an extensive series of experimental measurements to determine the effect of barrier screens on the transmission of sound from a point source. By exercising great care in the experimental procedures, the data spread was kept within a narrow band about 1 dB wide. The results of these experiments indicate that the correct attenuation curve (in decibels vs Fresnel number 'N') for a point source is given by Fresnel's equations. This is an important determination because computer programs based on the widely used National Cooperative Research Program Report 117 use a curve suggested by the work of Maekawa that is lower than Fresnel's curve. The results of calculations that convert this point source curve to the incoherent line source (and line source segment) case are also given. The measurements were conducted at two frequencies, 5.19 and 10.019 kHz, and employed a variety of source-to-wall and wall-to-microphone spacings. They were carried out indoors using pulse techniques to eliminate unwanted bounces and reflections.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/024.1.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Also pub. as Washington State Dept. of Highways, Olympia. Research Program report 24.1.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Washington, Seattle

  Applied Physics Laboratory, 1013 NE 40th Street
  Seattle, WA  United States  98105

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Washington State Department of Highways

  Highway Administration Building
  Olympia, WA  United States  98501
• Authors:
  • Foss, R N
• Publication Date: 1975-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 71 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acoustic measuring instruments; Acoustics; Computer programs; Diffraction; Equations; Highways; Noise barriers; Noise control; Sound; Traffic barriers; Walls
• Uncontrolled Terms: Attenuation; Barriers; Experimental data; Noise reduction
• Old TRIS Terms: Acoustic measurement; Pulse methods
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00133103
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: APL-UW-7509
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 23 1976 12:00AM