Acoustic comfort in large dining spaces

This study carried out a questionnaire field investigation in two typical large dining spaces. The results suggest that the acoustic comfort of diners has an influence on the comfort evaluation of the overall dining environment, and background noise is an important factor affecting the acoustic comfort evaluation of diners. The role of various individual sound sources in background noise has been investigated, considering general background music, speech sound, activity sound, and mechanical noise, and it has been revealed that background music, other diners’ speech sound and tableware’s impact sound has a dominant impact on the acoustic comfort evaluation of diners. Compared with the existence of background music in background noise, diners’ acoustic comfort evaluation is higher than that without background music. The loudness, articulation, noise level and preference degree of various individual sound sources are factors which affect diners’ acoustic comfort evaluation on sound sources. In terms of demographic and social factors, gender and the frequency of dining out have a significant impact on diners’ acoustic comfort evaluation.     

Scenario analysis and noise action planning: Modelling the impact of mitigation measures on population exposure

This paper reports on strategic noise mapping research conducted in Dublin, Ireland. Noise maps are constructed for the day–evening–night-time and night-time periods and levels of population exposure are estimated for the same periods. In methodological terms, the research uses the UK’s calculation of road traffic noise (CRTN) method for calculating noise levels in the study area. This method has been adopted as the interim calculation method by the Irish authorities responsible for meeting the obligations set out in the EU Environmental Noise Directive (END). The research also investigates the usefulness of three noise mitigation measures for ‘acoustical planning’ purposes: traffic reductions, speed reductions and erection of acoustical barriers. The results indicate that levels of population exposure during night-time are extremely high relative to guideline limits set down by the World Health Organisation. In addition, the results highlight the significant role that certain noise mitigation measures can play in good ‘acoustical planning’.     

A method of developing regional road traffic noise management strategies

Road traffic noise management strategies or noise action plans are a necessary tool for pro-active road traffic noise management. A method is proposed for regional scale noise action plans, in part using noise mapping, which is flexible towards various data qualities. A six step method is proposed which links GIS data to road traffic noise calculation methods with the final strategies being presented in GIS format. A ‘Parcel Priority Index’ and a ‘Link Priority Index’ are presented as key variables in the production of regional strategies and planning visions on a road link basis. The noise management strategy method presented is used on a large regional area in South East Queensland, Australia which covers seven local government areas. The results presented indicate the method is successful in prioritising road links equitably for detailed road traffic noise management actions.     

Determination of the sound energy level of a gunshot and its applications in room acoustics

In some cases an impulsive noise source such as a gunshot can be a preferred alternative when investigating building acoustics, including sound insulation measurements, when compared to conventional steady state noise sources. A gun equipped with blank cartridges is an impulsive noise source that is lightweight and small enough to be easily transported. The differences in the noise characteristics between individual cartridges for the same gun are usually small, so the impulsive source can be replicated to a high degree. This paper is focused on the practical application of the sound exposure levels produced by a gunshot with a known sound energy level in the rooms under investigation. In this way, the equipment and methods required by the conventional method are simplified significantly. Furthermore, reverberation times need not be measured, since the equivalent absorption area can be directly obtained from the measured sound exposure levels. Using Green’s theorem, the roles of the sound source and measuring microphone were exchanged, which simplified the determination of sound insulation as it was easier to change the position of the gun than the microphone. The results obtained using the impulsive noise source were in good agreement with those obtained using the conventional method. Above 100 Hz, their difference in any frequency band of interest was less than 1 dB.     

Local sensing/control or global error sensing/control in structural acoustics: A comparison of two techniques influence over sound power

The active control of radiation from large structures is a difficult, though important practical problem. The major reason for the difficulty is the ‘system’ size, as a large number of sensors and actuators are required for successful implementation, thus making it hard to design a robust, efficient system that integrates all sensors and actuators. This work examines the active attenuation of the global error, sound power, from the point of view of two sensing/control strategies that seek to be generalised; thus are applicable to a wide range of applications and are independent of knowledge of structural dynamics. In each approach the idea is that the required hardware can simply be attached, turned on, and immediately being to attenuate global noise. The two strategies are compared based on the level of attenuation of the global error sound power, the attenuation per total control force, and attenuation per actuator (in a structural-acoustic situation). The first strategy is the collocated-decentralised approach, which is built on measuring and controlling local vibration in an attempt to influence the global acoustic error. An alternative approach, termed the hybrid approach is firstly developed. The approach is termed ‘hybrid’ because it is a mix between a fully ‘centralised’ and ‘decentralised’ approach; but still measuring and controlling the global acoustic error directly. The attenuation of sound power is compared for both strategies on two structural sources; using 16 identically placed velocity sensors and 16 secondary point sources, in simulation in an attempt to suggest efficient sensing and control approaches for the global control of sound radiation from large structural sources.     

Influence of source directivity on noise levels in industrial halls: Simulation and experiments

Noise exposure of workers in industrial halls is mainly induced by noisy machines whose acoustical features are often globally known by Sound Pressure Level. The evaluation of the directivity of these noise sources can help to anticipate specific solutions for noise reduction.This study shows how the directivities of three wood-working machines have been characterized. Some characterisations have been achieved with a simple and fast acoustical intensity mapping which meets the constraints of industrial areas.When source directivity is evaluated, its influence on the noise field in industrial halls can be assessed. Some simulations and some experiments allowed the estimation of the noise field induced in workshops by both directional and omnidirectional sources. Comparison of the fields prove that the noise distribution is influenced by the source directivity if the halls are empty. As soon as the halls contain scattering objects, the directivity effect is reduced a lot and the noise field remains nearly the same far from the source whatever source used. Nevertheless, workers close to a machine are exposed to noise according to their position with respect to the machine. Exposure at the workplace can vary from 4 to 8 dB(A) according to the directivity of machines such as those measured in the trials.     

Assessment of railway noise in an urban setting

The railroads that pass through the city of Curitiba played an important role in Brazil’s economic development. When the rail tracks were laid down, their route was consistent with the city’s layout, but today they are incompatible with its occupation and urban density. Due to its considerable presence in the urban grid, the railway track causes many problems to the population living in its proximities, such as noise pollution. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess the noise levels generated by a railway that passes through an urban area of a large city and to evaluate possible steps that could be adopted to mitigate the noise levels. To this end, three possible alternatives were simulated to control the noise pollution generated by railway traffic: (1) exclusion of the train horn, (2) inclusion of acoustic barriers, and (3) removal of the railway tracks from the urban perimeter. Noise levels were assessed in the surroundings of two major hospitals and a large educational institution. Acoustic mapping revealed that the simulated noise mitigation measures led to a reduction of 2–12 dB(A) in noise levels reaching the facades of the hospitals and school.     

Recent developments in noise research at Deutsche Bahn (noise assessment, noise source localization and specially monitored track)

To strengthen the environmental friendliness of railway traffic in Germany, Deutsche Bahn (DB) is in the process of performing a major research programme concerning noise reduction. To realize this, the DB ‘Low Noise Railway’ programme deals simultaneously with the noise treatment of trains and the wheel/rail system as well as other topics.The assessment of a particular sound experience as annoying noise is a very personal judgement and cannot be dealt with by physical quantities alone. To permit a better understanding of this phenomenon and to support the legislative authorities, the assessment of noise quality is being investigated in detail.To reduce railway noise, the exact location and the magnitude of the different sound sources have to be known. This can be analyzed with an array of many microphones which has been developed by DB in the last few years.Most recently, DB has developed the acoustic concept of the ‘Specially Monitored Track (SMT)’ into a practical application and is now starting to upgrade SMT to increased performance and at a lower cost.     

Experimental and numerical study on aeroacoustic sound of axial flow fan in room air conditioner

Fan is one of the main noise sources of the room air-conditioners. Axial flow fans are widely used in the outdoor unit of split type air-conditioners. The interaction between the fan and the heat exchanger should be taken into consideration. However, only a few researches have been carried out on predicting the aeroacoustic noise because of the difficulty in obtaining detailed information of the flow field. This paper is to understand the generation mechanism of sound and to develop a prediction method for the flow field and the acoustic pressure field of the outdoor unit. Acoustic measurement is performed in a semi-anechoic chamber. Effects of each components is analyzed. Based on commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, Fluent, Fukano’s model is used to predict the overall sound pressure level of broadband noise. The predicted sound pressure levels based on original Fukano’s model are 7.66 dB and 7.42 dB lower than measurement results at 780 rpm and 684 rpm, respectively. And the errors are about 13%. However, when wake width and relative velocity are both calculated by numerical simulations and the distance to blade trailing edge is taken into consideration, the difference of sound pressure level between measurement and prediction is less than 3.4 dB and errors less than 5.5% while the distance is less than 10 mm. Thus, the distance to blade trailing edge should also be an important parameter for Fukano’s model. In comparison with experimental results, it is clearly shown that the Fukano method based on numerical simulation can provide more accuracy than the original Fukano model and numerical results are in a reliable level.