Prediction and Limitations of Noise Maps Developed for Heterogeneous Urban Road Traffic Condition: A Case Study of Surat City,India

Road traffic noise pollution has been recognized as a serious issue which affects human health as well as affects urban regions. Noise maps are very beneficial to identify the impact of noise pollution. A noise mapping study performed to study the propagation of noise in tier-II city along with field measurements. The noise maps are developed using a computer simulation model (SoundPLAN essential 4.0 software). The noise prediction models like U.K’s CoRTN, Germany’s RLS-90, and their modified versions, which can be used for homogenous road traffic conditions, cannot be successfully applied in heterogeneous road traffic conditions of India. In developing country like India, road traffic noise pollution depends on the composition of heterogeneous traffic volume, variance in road geometrical, honking conditions, un-authorized parking, and varying density of the building on either side of the road. These traffic compositions contain vehicles, which have different sizes, speeds variations, a different dimension of vehicles. Because of fluctuating speeds, lack of lane disciplines, and un-authorized parking on main road lanes, honking events becomes inevitable, which changes and affects the urban soundscape of nations like India. Analysis of noise maps showed that horn honking due to un-authorized parked vehicles contributed an additional increase up to 11 dB (A) noise, which is quite significant.     

Assessment of Traffic Noise Pollution in Burla Town,India; An Inclusive Annoyance Study

Noise pollution is one of the major public health problems in urban areas throughout the world. Noise is unwanted sound which produces undesirable problems in day to day life of human being (e.g., physiological and psychological problems). Rapid increase of the industrialization, urbanization, infrastructure, volume of motor vehicles, and increase in the road networks brought noise pollution to the highest level of disaster in a current situation. In urban areas, road traffic noise plays commanding role among all noise sources and affects the exposed inhabitants. The present work is done to evaluate and assess the traffic noise and its effects in Burla town. Burla, Vidyanagari of Odisha, is an emerging town in India, as it hosts national level of teaching and research institutions like IIM Sambalpur, a medical college- cum-hospital (VIMSAR), a technical university (VSSUT) and Sambalpur University. In last two decade, the road traffic volume has been increased and is facing severe noise pollution to its inhabitants. Noise pollution assessment was made at different locations of the town. This study unveiled the dismal state of noise pollution in the town. Noise contour maps were drawn to visualize the noise level at the traffic and its surroundings. The numbers of hearing impaired patients in different hospitals of the locality are increasing. That shows grim picture of the situation. Regression equations were established taking noise levels with percentage of highly annoyed people during study indicates strong correlation.     

Comments on “variational equations for thin elastic shells”

A further study consisting of acoustic and subjective measurements of 552 Chinese firemen at 12 fire stations in Hong Kong has been carried out. Annoyance with aircraft and traffic noise conditions, as expressed by the firemen, was found to correlate well with the acoustic measurements. For aircraft noise the correlation of annoyance with the Number and Noise Index (NNI) was slightly better than with the dB(A) peak value. For traffic noise the similar correlation with the mean sound pressure levels which exceeds 10 % of the sampling period (L₁₀) was slightly better than with the Noise Pollution Level and the Traffic Noise Index. The correlation of the arousal due to the aircraft and traffic noise was similarly found to depend on the NNI and L₁₀ values. However, traffic noise was responsible for more disturbance than aircraft noise. The study demonstrated the desirability of adopting indoor acoustic measurements instead of outdoor measurements for any survey of this kind.     

The contribution of heavy vehicles to urban traffic noise

The dominating influence of road traffic on the noise climate of the world's cities is now established and attempts to reduce the problem follow two main lines: The first involves ameliorating the effects of traffic stream noise; the second an attack on the noise levels of individual vehicles. The great expense involved in developing and building quieter vehicles justifies expending considerable effort in establishing the relative noise contribution of the vehicle types found in typical urban traffic mixtures. This paper describes the development of a field method for examining the effects of heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses on the noise profile of the traffic stream. The essential feature of the method involves synchronisation of a recorded voice commentary with the traffic noise. The graphical record of this noise can then be annotated to show what type of vehicles cause the peaks in the overall noise profile.     

Appraisal of Urban Road Traffic Noise in tier-II City (Surat City), India

Urban road traffic noise pollution has always been identified as a severe problem that affects urban populants. In developing nation, road traffic noise pollution depends on the composition of heterogeneous traffic composition. These traffic compositions contain vehicles, which have different sizes, speeds variations, a different dimension of vehicles. Environmental noise measurements have been carried out during day-time and night-time in different locations of tier-II city of India. The noise levels have been continuously measured over 24 h periods using kimo DB 300 class-2 noise level meter. The data contained in this research paper represent 768 measurement hours. All the information has been used to investigate the time patterns of the noise levels under a wide range of different conditions and to study the relationships between noise levels and traffic in urban areas. Maximum L_Aeq was observed 73.3 dB(A) at B₁₄ location and the minimum was recorded 65.7 dB(A) at C₃ location, which was greater than the central pollution control board (CPCB) prescribed limits during night time. A major reason for the generation of road traffic noise is due to the equal composition of 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler on the arterial road and heavy vehicles were recorded during morning peak and evening peak even though they are prohibited during peak hours.     

Road traffic noise exposure in residential complexes built at different times between 1950 and 2000 in Hong Kong

This paper attempts to determine the exposure of the urban population to road traffic noise living in residential complexes built at different times between 1950 and 2000 in Hong Kong. Noise exposure was estimated at the residents’ dwelling, neighborhood and community by noise mapping. The purpose of the study is to find out if the noise exposure levels of these residential complexes have improved as a result of stepped up noise control and reduction efforts. A total of 212 residential complexes built at different times, by the government and private sector in different districts, were selected for noise assessment. The results show that, compared to private housing, public housing estates are generally exposed to less road traffic noise. The study has also found that, over the 50-year period, the dwelling noise exposure levels of the recently built residential complexes are lower than the older ones, showing some improvement over time. This is particularly more noticeable at the high exposure end. There is however only some small differences in noise level between recent and old developments at the community scale both for public and private housing estates.     

The effects of site selected variables on human responses to traffic noise,part III: Community size by socio-economic status by traffic noise level

This paper reports the results of the third part of a field study of human responses to traffic noise. The influence of traffic noise level, community size, and socio-economic status were investigated in a controlled manner determined by subject selection procedures. Human responses were obtained from interviewer administered questionnaires, and were as spatially and temporally coincident with the noise measurements as possible. Noise measurements were obtained from several days of rapidly sampled digital recordings. Traffic noise level was the major predictor of the intensity of elicited responses. A number of other significant effects were observed largely related to community size. These were explained as due to parallel variations in the perceived necessity of vehicles, the annoyance with aircraft noise, and the logarithm of the vehicle flow rate. The results did demonstrate effects related to community size, and thus it is unwise to extrapolate the results of large city noise studies to small communities and rural areas.     

Analysis of the influence of occupation rate of public transit vehicles on mixing traffic flow in a two-lane system

Based on the existing classical cellular automaton model of traffic flow, a cellular automaton traffic model with different-maximum-speed vehicles mixed on a single lane is proposed, in which public transit and harbour-shaped bus stops are taken into consideration. Parameters such as length of cellular automaton, operation speed and random slow mechanism are re-demarcated. A harbour-shaped bus stop is set up and the vehicle changing lane regulation is changed. Through computer simulation, the influence of occupation rate of public transit vehicles on mixed traffic flow and traffic capacity is analysed. The results show that a public transport system can ease urban traffic congestion but creates new jams at the same time, and that the influence of occupation rate of public transit vehicles on traffic capacity is considerable. To develop urban traffic, attention should be paid to the occupation rate of public transit vehicles and traffic development in a haphazard way should be strictly avoided.     

Computer simulation model for the prediction of traffic noise levels

This paper describes a computer simulation model capable of predicting the noise levels generated by traffic passing through road intersections controlled by roundabouts where departures from free-flow traffic conditions occur. The model depends for its operation on the acoustical and flow characteristics of single vehicles travelling on a road from which the overall noise generated by traffic streams can be deduced using a sampling/integration technique. Distance effects, ground cover, vehicle type, velocity and headway characteristics, etc. are taken into account in the model and the simplest possible input parameters are used deliberately to facilitate the eventual use of the model by highway and planning authorities. Good agreement has been achieved between measured and predicted L₁₀ values for freely flowing traffic negotiating roundabouts. Further applications of the model involving road intersections controlled by traffic lights and the effect of traffic queues are nearing completion.     

Blind separation to improve classification of traffic noise

In order to apply noise mapping to traffic noise prediction, a knowledge of several information about traffic characteristics is required to predict the noise levels emitted by the roads involved. In the European case, the CNOSSOS-EU calculation method for traffic-noise level prediction is now under discussion, to be agreed in response to the European Directive relating to the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise (2002/49/EC). In this application context, standard ISO 1996-2:2007 Determination of Environmental Noise Levels, in its Section 6.2, specifically mentions that during L_eq measurements of road traffic noise the number of vehicle pass-bys shall be counted during the measurement time interval. This information is often not available in many roads, so it is typically registered by means of casual counts, often through manual procedures. Besides, if the measurement result is converted to other traffic conditions, a categorization of the vehicles involved is also required. Some additional information, such as the traffic density and the average speed, should be registered if a calculation method is used to build a noise map.In this paper a new automatic classification system of traffic noise covering these requirements is presented. The portable system processes a two channel audio recording to provide information of the average speed and the number of vehicles, which are classified in six categories during the measurement period. After several evaluations of the possibilities to get a good classification of the noise emission of a road from audio recordings, it is shown that increasing the within-class separation, as well as introducing a novel BSS–PCA-based classifier, the precision achieved in the final results is substantially improved.     

Long-range correlation analysis of urban traffic data

<正>This paper investigates urban traffic data by analysing the long-range correlation with detrended fluctuation analysis.Through a large number of real data collected by the travel time detection system in Beijing,the variation of flow in different time periods and intersections is studied.According to the long-range correlation in different time scales, it mainly discusses the effect of intersection location in road net,people activity customs and special traffic controls on urban traffic flow.As demonstrated by the obtained results,the urban traffic flow represents three-phase characters similar to highway traffic.Moreover,compared by the two groups of data obtained before and after the special traffic restrictions(vehicles with special numbered plates only run in a special workday) enforcement,it indicates that the rules not only reduce the flow but also avoid irregular fluctuation.     

道路交通的流体物理模型与粒子仿真方法

针对受多种因素影响的复杂道路交通系统问题,基于颗粒动力学理论,结合传统的Lighthill-WhithamRichards物理模型,建立道路交通系统的流体物理模型,采用无网格粒子与网格相结合的方法进行数值仿真,并应用于典型道路交通问题的求解.在新模型中,将车辆比拟为硬颗粒,车辆的跟车比拟为颗粒间的碰撞相互作用,已知道路情况对驾驶员操作车辆的影响比拟为流-粒两相系统中的外部流体驱动力作用,不同车道间车辆的影响比拟为颗粒间的黏性作用,从而在颗粒动力学理论的基础上,推导建立了道路交通系统拟流体模型;引入光滑离散颗粒流体动力学(SDPH)对车辆系统模型进行离散,建立"SDPH车辆"与真实车辆之间的一一对应关系,再结合有限体积方法,对道路交通构建的双流体模型进行求解,建立求解交通流体物理模型的新型仿真方法.最后,采用所建立的模型和方法对车辆汇入以及机非混合对交通系统的影响过程进行了数值仿真,所得结果与实测值符合较好,表明新的模型和方法有效性好、可靠性高,为道路交通问题的解决提供了一条全新的途径.     

A road traffic noise pattern simulation model that includes distributions of vehicle sound power levels

Annoyance, sleep disturbance and other health effects of road traffic noise exposure may be related to both level and number of noise events caused by traffic, not just to energy equivalent measures of exposure. Dynamic traffic noise prediction models that include instantaneous vehicle noise emissions can be used to estimate either of these measures. However, current state-of-the-art vehicle noise emission models typically consider a single emission law for each vehicle category, whereas measurements show that the variation in noise emission between vehicles within the same category can be considerable. It is essential that the influence of vehicles that are producing significantly more (or less) noise than the average vehicle are taken into account in modeling in order to correctly predict the levels and frequency of occurrence of road traffic noise events, and in particular to calculate indicators that characterize these noise events. Here, an approach for predicting instantaneous sound levels caused by road traffic is presented, which takes into account measured distributions of sound power levels produced by individual vehicles. For the setting of a receiver adjacent to a dual-lane road carrying free flow traffic, the effect of this approach on estimated percentile levels and sound event indicators is investigated.     

Honking noise corrections for traffic noise prediction models in heterogeneous traffic conditions like India

In developing countries like India, the nature of the composition of traffic is heterogeneous. A heterogeneous traffic flow consists of vehicles that have different sizes, speeds, vehicle spacing and operating characteristics. As a result of the widely varying speeds, vehicular dimensions, lack of lane disciplines, honking becomes inevitable. In addition, it changes the urban soundscape of developing countries. In heterogeneous traffic conditions, horn events increase noise level (L_den) by 0.5–13 dB(A) as compared to homogenous traffic conditions. Therefore, the traffic prediction models that are used for homogenous traffic conditions are not applicable in heterogeneous traffic conditions. To increase the accuracy of noise prediction models, in depth understanding of heterogeneous traffic noise is required. Understanding the real traffic noise characteristics requires quantification of some of the basic traffic flow characteristics such as speed, flow, Level Of Service (LOS) and density. In a given roadway, the noise level changes with density and LOS on the road. In this paper, a new factor for horn correction is introduced with respect of Level Of Service (LOS). The horn correction values can be incorporated in traffic noise models such as CRTN, FHWA, and RLS 90, while evaluating heterogeneous traffic conditions.     

Noise prediction for urban traffic conditions—related to measurements in the Sydney Metropolitan Area

A method for the prediction of the noise levels from road traffic, developed at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), has been used for comparison with measured values of road traffic noise in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. As the comparison was not good, multiple regression analysis, using the basic format of the NPL formula, was performed. A better comparison was obtained from a formula in which the term relating to the average road speed of the vehicles was excluded. This new formula permits a simple graphical representation for the determination of $\text{L}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>10</mtext>}}$ for urban traffic. A similar formula and graph for the determination of $\text{L}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>eq</mtext>}}$ is also provided.     

The acoustic performance of ventilated window with quarter-wave resonators and membrane absorber

Noise and air pollution problems become significantly in a busy city such as Hong Kong since buildings usually located close to the heavy traffic lines. Traditional openable window cannot fulfill all the functions of noise reduction, lighting and natural ventilation. A new ventilated window combines the multiple quarter-wave resonators (silencer) and the new wing wall designs aim to make a balance between acoustic and ventilation performances at the same time. Furthermore, the use of multiple-wave resonators and membrane absorber which made plexi-glass plastic sheet replace absorption material can improve the durability; avoid small particle emission and light transparency.The acoustic and ventilation performance of new ventilated window were examined in this study. Noise attenuation of the new ventilated window design has improved significantly by combine flexible absorber and quarter-wave resonator effects. Transmission loss of 10–22 dB can be achieved in the frequency range of 500 Hz–4 kHz band. Outlet air flow velocity of ventilated window design is higher than that of “an open window”. Thus, both the acoustics and ventilation performance of the new ventilated window is essential. Wind-driven natural ventilation is an effective strategy in maintaining the comfort and health of the indoor environment.     

Derivation of a fundamental diagram for urban traffic flow

Despite the importance of urban traffic flows, there are only a few theoretical approaches to determine fundamental relationships between macroscopic traffic variables such as the traffic density, the utilization, the average velocity, and the travel time. In the past, empirical measurements have primarily been described by fit curves. Here, we derive expected fundamental relationships from a model of traffic flows at intersections, which suggest that the recently measured fundamental diagrams for urban flows can be systematically understood. In particular, this allows one to derive the average travel time and the average vehicle speed as a function of the utilization and/or the average number of delayed vehicles.     

ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE INFLUENCED BY ROAD BUMPS

Noise levels from different kinds of vehicles were measured on streets close to road bumps. In comparison with free flowing traffic, the acceleration after road bumps increased peak noise levels from 1 to 13 dB (A) max. Although the results are of a pilot nature, it is suggested that noise consequences should be included in the planning of road bumps.     

Study on the relation between urban planning and noise level

Different streets of a city of Spain were randomly selected and analyzed, extracting 135 different urban variables. The urban variables were compared with measured noise levels, and the possible significance in the relationships among them was analyzed. From the variables with a significant correlation, a multiple regression model for urban traffic noise was developed, which allows explaining 63% of the variability of urban noise. In this regression model, only eight of the initial urban variables were included.