Impact of aircraft sound quality combined with the repetition of aircraft flyovers on annoyance as perceived activity disturbance in a laboratory context

This study focuses on perceived activity disturbance evaluated by participants who are subjected to the repetition noise of current aircraft and modified aircraft in regard to tonal quality. A previous study devoted to the sound quality of aircraft noise revealed that one of the most important perceptive features is the emergence of Doppler shifted tones. Six 20-min sound sequences were created combining two variables: number of aircraft (N₁ with six aircraft and N₂ with 10 aircraft plus one sequence without aircraft N₀) and tonality (sequences with current aircraft, sequences with +5 dB-amplified tonality and sequences with −5 dB-attenuated tonality). For all sequences, the equivalent sound level and the peak level of the loudest event are constant, except for the sequence without aircraft. Sixty-three subjects, attending two different sequences in one session, rated on a category scale the level of activity disturbance due to the noise environment when carrying out memory and concentration tasks. The order of presentation was controlled as an additional variable in the variance analyses. The perceived activity disturbance is significantly influenced by the equivalent sound level. The influence of the number of aircraft flyovers is statistically significant at the 5% level. High tonal components have no effect on perceived disturbance. Memory and concentration performances, measured by number of incorrect or correct answers, are influenced only by the order of presentation, revealing the importance of the learning effect. Reaction time, which is influenced by the equivalent sound level, seems better adapted for measuring the effect of noise on task achievement. These results are discussed in regard to related research.     

听觉感知中的噪声特性语义描述及其分析

基于听觉感知的噪声语义描述是噪声声品质研究的基础性问题,已有研究未将语义描述与噪声来源、频谱特性以及产品运行状态等物理信息联系起来。该文分别针对飞机舱内噪声、车辆噪声和空气净化器噪声这3组典型噪声开展了主观评价实验,并通过多维尺度分析和主成分分析描述了3组噪声的语义空间,系统分析了不同类型噪声的描述词,同时解释了描述词与噪声物理属性之间的联系。研究发现：飞机舱内噪声、车辆噪声以及空气净化器噪声可以由4维、4维和3维语义空间进行描述;不同类型噪声在语义描述中具有共性与个性,3组噪声语义的主要维度均与嘈杂感相关,而噪声的个性描述词与其声源的物理属性密切相关;进行声品质建模及应用时,应同时考虑噪声共性和个性描述词对听觉感知的影响,采取有针对性的措施以提升产品声品质。该文从听觉感知的角度进行了噪声特性的语义描述和分析,研究结果可为产品声品质以及噪声控制研究提供帮助。     

Aircraft noise-monitoring according to ISO 20906: Evaluation of uncertainty derived from the human factors affecting event detection

One of the most important issues in aircraft noise monitoring systems is the correct detection and marking of aircraft sound events through their measurement profiles, as this influences the reported results. In the recent ISO 20906 (unattended monitoring of aircraft sound in the vicinity of airports) this marking task is split into: detection from the sound level time history, classification of probable aircraft sound events, and the concluding identification of aircraft sound events through non-acoustic features.An experiment was designed to evaluate the factors that influence the marking tasks and quantify their contribution to the uncertainty of the reported monitoring results for some specific cases. Several noise time histories, recorded in three different locations affected by flyover noise, were analyzed by practitioners selected according to three different expertise levels. The analysis was carried out considering three types of complementary information: noise recordings, list of aircraft events and no information at all.Five European universities and over 60 participants were involved in this experiment.The results showed that there were no significant differences in the results derived from factors such as the participant’s institution or the expertise of the practitioners. Nonetheless, other factors, like the noise event dynamic range or the type of help used for marking, have a statistically significant influence on the marking tasks. They cause an increase of the uncertainty of the reported monitoring and can lead to changes in the overall results.The experiment showed that, even when there are no classification and identification errors, the detection stage causes uncertainty in the results. The standard uncertainty for detection ranges from 0.3 dB for those acoustic environments where aircraft are clearly detectable to almost 2 dB in more difficult environments.     

Review of field studies of aircraft noise-induced sleep disturbance

Aircraft noise-induced sleep disturbance (AN-ISD) is potentially among the more serious effects of aircraft noise on people. This literature review of recent field studies of AN-ISD finds that reliable generalization of findings to population-level effects is complicated by individual differences among subjects, methodological and analytic differences among studies, and predictive relationships that account for only a small fraction of the variance in the relationship between noise exposure and sleep disturbance. It is nonetheless apparent in the studied circumstances of residential exposure that sleep disturbance effects of nighttime aircraft noise intrusions are not dramatic on a per-event basis, and that linkages between outdoor aircraft noise exposure and sleep disturbance are tenuous. It is also apparent that AN-ISD occurs more often during later than earlier parts of the night; that indoor sound levels are more closely associated with sleep disturbance than outdoor measures; and that spontaneous awakenings, or awakenings attributable to nonaircraft indoor noises, occur more often than awakenings attributed to aircraft noise. Predictions of sleep disturbance due to aircraft noise should not be based on over-simplifications of the findings of the reviewed studies, and these reports should be treated with caution in developing regulatory policy for aircraft noise.     

基于传声器阵列过顶测量结果的飞机起落架噪声研究

应用由111个传声器组成的平面传声器阵列对当前流行的民用客机进场着陆过程中的机体噪声源进行了实验测量,本对七架窄体客机和七架宽体客机的起落架噪声进行了分析,得到了起落架噪声的频谱特性、指向特性和声级变化。研究发现,起落架噪声的频谱是由宽频随机噪声与一些较为明显的单噪声源组成,起落架噪声的指向性类似于一个水平放置的偶极子。不同飞机起落架噪声的声级相差较大,这说明可以通过重新结构设计降低起落架噪声。     

Calibration of subjects with master scaling: An application to the perceived activity disturbance due to aircraft noise

The aim of this study is to assess whether or not rating perceived activity disturbance using magnitude estimation scale and using master-scaling transformation is more relevant than rating disturbance with category scale to reveal the influence of the number and the sound quality of aircraft flyovers. The master-scaling transformation is intended to reduce the inter-individual differences between people. Thirty participants were subjected to six sound sequences. They attended the test in two different sessions separated by a week at least, and had to evaluate the level of activity disturbance due to the noise environment when carrying out memory and concentration tasks. During each session, participants first went through a calibration phase and were then subjected to one 20-min sound sequence. The calibration phase, which can be also considered as a training phase at the beginning of each session, allows subjects to built their own annoyance scale. As expected, the perceived activity disturbance depends on the equivalent sound level and on the number of aircraft. But the master-scaling transformation did not succeed in reducing the variability between subjects. This transformation which calibrates the subjects on only one aspect of the sound (which is the equivalent sound level in this experiment) could emphasis the difference between subjects who have been more or less sensitive to other aspects of the sound (the tonality or the repetition of events in this experiment) than to loudness. Nevertheless, this experiment confirms that Stroop reaction time, which is influenced by the number of flyovers, seems to be adapted for measuring the effect of noise on task achievement.     

Estimation of directivity and sound power levels emitted by aircrafts during taxiing, for outdoor noise prediction purpose

Integrated noise model (INM) is the most internationally used software to calculate noise levels near airports. Take off, landing or pass by operations can be modeled by INM, but it does not consider aircrafts taxiing, which, in some cases, can be important to accurately evaluate and reduce airports’ noise assessment.Aircraft taxiing noise emission can be predicted using other prediction tools based on standards that describe sound attenuation during propagation outdoors. But these tools require data inputs that are not known: directivity and sound power levels emitted by aircraft during taxiing.This paper describes methods used to calculate directivity indexes and sound power levels, based on field measurements made in Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain). Obtained results can be used as inputs for general purpose outdoor sound prediction software, which will be able to evaluate noise at airports vicinity as industrial noise.Directivity and sound power levels have been estimated in octave and third octave band terms, for several aircraft families.     

Characteristics of road traffic noise in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Noise pollution due to road traffic is a major global concern because of its negative impact on the quality of life in communities everywhere. In Vietnam, traffic noise has become an increasingly noticeable and serious problem in large cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. To gain more insight into the characteristics of this noise, intensive noise measurements were conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in September 2005 and September 2007, respectively. A comprehensive dataset of noise was obtained that included 24-h noise measurements as well as short-term noise recordings. The volume of traffic was also quantified by reproducing video camera recordings. Noise datasets from both cities were then compared with a dataset of Japanese traffic noise obtained in Kumamoto. The results showed that the traffic noise in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City was characterized by relatively high noise exposure levels due to the large number of motorbikes and frequent horn sounds. The sound of horns contributed a definite impact of 0-4 dB on noise exposure in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where noise levels decreased with the absence of horn sounds. Our results also showed differences in the characteristic traffic noise of Vietnam and Japan.     

Study on the effect of sound duration on the annoyance of helicopter noise by applying a technique of time compression and expansion of sound signals

The number of helicopter operations has rapidly increased during the last 20 years in Japan. Helicopter noise sounds different from other aircraft; the waveform of the sound pressure is impulsive and the signal duration is relatively long. The Environmental Agency of Japan implemented new guidelines for evaluating noise exposure around small airports, including heliports, in 1990. This study was executed in connection with the development of provisional guidelines. Psychoacoustic experiments were carried out to identify an evaluation index for helicopter noise. In order to examine the effect of duration independently, we not only used original sound recordings, but also synthesized sound signals. The durations of these sound signals were time compressed or expanded without degrading the quality of the original sound recording. The test results show that the effect of duration is significant, and that the A-weighted sound exposure level is a better index than the maximum A-weighted sound pressure level for the evaluation of helicopter noise.     

城市功能区声环境质量监测时间代表性研究

城市功能区声环境质量监测数据是评估我国城市声环境质量水平的重要依据,为科学准确地反映城市功能区声环境质量水平,应选取合理的、具有代表性的监测时间开展监测。本文以某地4个典型的功能区声环境质量监测点位1年的连续监测数据作为样本,分析了不同功能区点位长期噪声波动特征,并采用Kruskal-Wallis 检验（K-W检验）方法,分别分析了一年中各月之间及一周中各日之间噪声水平的差异性。数据处理及分析结果表明：（1）4个监测点位一年中各月之间噪声水平,特别是夜间等效连续A声级之间具有显著差异,一年监测一次显然难以代表全年声环境质量水平;相比较下,每季度监测一次能大幅提高监测结果代表性,季度内的3个月份各月之间无显著差异的比例占80%以上;（2）对于这4个监测点位,一周中在周二至周五之间监测其结果更具代表性。     

The relationship between civil aircraft noise and community annoyance in Korea

Studies of community annoyance caused by civil aircraft noise exposure were carried out in 18 areas around Gimpo and Gimhae international airports in order to accumulate social survey data and assess the relationship between aircraft noise levels and annoyance responses in Korea. WECPNL, adopted as the aircraft noise index in Korea, and the percentage of respondents who felt highly annoyed (%HA) have been used to assess the dose-response of aircraft noise. Aircraft noise levels were measured automatically by airport noise monitoring system, B&K type 3597. Social surveys were carried out to people living within 100 m of noise measurement points. The Questionnaire used in the survey contained demographic factors, noise annoyance, interference with daily activities and health-related symptoms. The question relating to the aircraft noise annoyance was answered on an 11-point numerical scale. The randomly selected respondents who were aged between 18 and 70 years completed the questionnaire by themselves. In total, 705 respondents participated in the questionnaire. The results show that WECPNL, noise metric considering characteristics of event and intrusive noise, is more reasonable than L_dn, noise metric considering total sound, to assess the effects of aircraft noise on health. It is also shown that the annoyance responses caused by aircraft noise in Korea seems higher than those reported in other countries.     

Real-time aircraft noise likeness detector

One of the most difficult tasks involved in the process of noise monitoring near airports is related to the automatic detection and classification of aircraft noise events.These tasks can be solved by applying pattern recognition techniques to the audio signal captured by a microphone. But now the problem is caused by the background noise, which is present in real environments.This paper proposes a real-time method for continuously tracking the similarity of the input sound and the aircraft’s sounds. Using these facilities, the monitoring unit will be able to mark aircraft events, or to make measurements only when aircraft sound is louder than background noise.A one-class approach has been applied to this detection-by-classification method.Using the default setup, 93% of the aircraft’s events which held an SNR of 6-8 dB were detected, for 30 different locations with diverse soundscapes.     

飞机机体表面声压及舱内降噪优化设计

本文以某型客机为研究对象,从飞行试验数据分析和声学建模两方面研究机体表面声压分布及其对舱内壁板近场辐射声压的影响。首先根据试飞数据分析了机体表面声压分布,然后利用统计能量法建立飞机客舱中后段的声学模型,以试飞数据作为声源输入,研究机体表面声压分布对客舱内部壁板附近声压分布的影响,并在此基础上提出优化设计方案,通过模型验证优化方案的有效性。试飞数据表明：机体表面声压在后应急门前方、靠近地板处最大;巡航速度升高,声压级较大区域的面积随之增加;巡航高度和发动机N1N2频率变化对机体表面声压级分布无明显影响。仿真数据表明：仅蒙皮结构无法有效降低客舱噪声;对声学降噪包进行优化能增加壁板隔声量,降低舱内声压。     

Comparison of models to predict annoyance from combined noise in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi

Seven models were compared in terms of the ability to predict the annoyance due to the combination of aircraft and road traffic noises on the basis of data collected around airports in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam. The 24-h average sound levels L_Aeq,24h and unweighted means of annoyance scores for aircraft, road traffic, and combined noise were used to solve the regression equations for the seven models. The results indicate that road traffic noise exposure and annoyance were more than those of aircraft noise at almost all sites in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Among the considered models, the dominant source model yielded the highest coefficients of determination, with R² values of 0.82 and 0.90 for surveys in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, respectively. These results suggest that the dominant source model is the most useful model in the vicinity of those airports in Vietnam where road traffic noise is more dominant than aircraft noise. This is convenient for situations in which dose-response curves are established separately for different noise sources.     

空调压缩机噪声测试及其声品质客观参量分析*

针对空调压缩机辐射声场的不同场点噪声声品质的差异,采用心理学声品质参量即响度、尖锐度、总感觉噪度,对压缩机辐射声场的不同场点噪声进行声品质客观参量分析,研究压缩机场点噪声声品质客观参量值变化规律。通过特征响度研究各场点噪声响度在频域的分布,并得出压缩机各场点噪声特征响度峰值所在噪声频带。实验结果表明,对于处在压缩机不同方向上的场点,其噪声声品质客观参量值存在明显差异,但其噪声特征响度峰值却处在相同的噪声频带。研究工作为压缩机全方向降噪提供参考依据也为研究压缩机的噪声声品质探索了一种新思路。     

Aircraft noise annoyance modeling: Consideration of noise sensitivity and of different annoying acoustical characteristics

Noise annoyance due to aircraft flyover noise was assessed under laboratory conditions. The main objectives of the study were: (i) to identify influential acoustical features of noise annoyance, (ii) to propose noise indices to characterize these acoustical features and (iii) to enhance annoyance models including influential acoustical and non-acoustical variables. Therefore, a verbalization task was performed by the participants of the experiment to collect their whole impression concerning the aircraft flyover noises for which they rated annoyance. This verbalization task highlights that noise annoyance was influenced by three main acoustical features: (i) the spectral content, (ii) the temporal variation and (iii) the perceived sound intensity. Four combinations of noise indices were used to propose multilevel annoyance models, in combination with the individual noise sensitivity. Noise sensitivity was found to highly contribute to annoyance models and should therefore be considered in future studies dealing with noise annoyance due to aircraft noise. Different combinations of noise indices coupled with noise sensitivity were found to be promising for future studies that aim to enhance current annoyance models.     

A modified tonality and its application to objective evaluation of laser printers noise

Noise in a laser printer is affected by many components, such as spring force, spring constant, and friction coefficient. Objective evaluation of pick up noise is difficult because of background noises, such as operating sound. In particular, pick up noise generated between the friction pad and paper in the process of printing has become an essential aspect of quality evaluation. However, the existing criteria for evaluating pick-up noise have solely relied on subjective human judgments; therefore, there is a need to objectify these criteria. In this paper, the noise index for determining the existence of pick-up noise is established using a modified tonality at just noticeable sound level limit. The study has investigated factors that cause pick-up noise and suggests the substitution of printer components that determine spring constants, spring force, and the quality of friction pads. The proposed noise index is successfully applied to classifying the pick-up noise and mitigating the noise through the optimized design combination of laser printer components.     

Evaluating noise in social context: the effect of procedural unfairness on noise annoyance judgments

General dosage-response curves typically over- or underestimate the actual prevalence of noise annoyance for specific groups of individuals. The present study applies a social psychological approach to noise annoyance that helps to understand and predict collective deflections from the curve. The approach holds that being exposed to man-made sound is more than mere exposure; it is a social experience, too: You expose Me. In effect, social aspects of the situation, like the evaluation of the sound management procedure, influence the evaluation of sound. The laboratory experiment (N=90) investigates the effect of procedural unfairness on noise annoyance. The sound management procedure is varied systematically: Participants are promised they will listen to the sound of their choice (i.e., bird song, radio sound, or aircraft sound) but receive aircraft sound despite their expressed preference (unfair procedure), or they are simply told they will listen to aircraft sound (neutral procedure). All are exposed to aircraft sound (50 or 70 dBA Leq). A collective rise in noise annoyance is predicted in the unfair relative to the neutral procedure conditions. Results show that noise annoyance ratings are significantly higher in the unfair relative to the neutral conditions. Consequences for theory and practice are discussed.