The predicted barrier effects in the proximity of tall buildings

A ray model is developed and validated for the prediction of the insertion loss of barriers that are placed in front of a tall building in high-rise cities. The model is based on the theory of geometrical acoustics for sound diffraction at the edge of a barrier and multiple reflections by the barrier and fa?ade surfaces. It is crucial to include the diffraction and multiple reflection effects in the ray model, as they play important roles in determining the overall sound pressure levels for receivers located between the fa?ade and barrier. Comparisons of the ray model with indoor experimental data and wave-based boundary element formulation show reasonably good agreement over a broad frequency range. Case studies are also presented that highlight the significance of positioning the barrier relative to the noise-sensitive receivers in order to achieve improved shielding efficiency of the barrier.     

A- and C-weighted sound levels as predictors of the annoyance caused by shooting sounds,for various façade attenuation types

In a previous study on the annoyance caused by a great variety of shooting sounds [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 109, 244-253 (2001)], it was shown that the annoyance, as rated indoors with the windows closed, could be adequately predicted from the outdoor A-weighted and C-weighted sound-exposure levels [ASEL (L(AE)) and CSEL (L(CE))] of the impulse sounds. The explained variance in the mean ratings by (outdoor) ASEL was significantly increased by adding the product (L(CE) - L(AE))(L(AE)) as a second variable. In the present study it was investigated to which extent the additional contribution of the second predictor is also relevant for fa?ade attenuation types with lower and higher degrees of sound isolation than applied previously. Twenty subjects rated the indoor annoyance caused by 11 different impulse types produced by firearms ranging in caliber from 7.62 to 155 mm, at various levels and for five fa?ade attenuation conditions. The effect of fa?ade attenuation on the ratings was large and consistent. In all conditions, an optimal prediction of the annoyance was obtained with outdoor ASEL as the first, and (L(CE) - L(AE))(L(AE)) as the second predictor. The benefit of the second predictor, expressed as the increase in the explained variance, ranged from 2.5 to 55 percent points, and strongly increased with the degree of fa?ade attenuation. It was concluded that for the determination of the rating sound level, the acoustic parameters ASEL and CSEL are very powerful. In addition, the results showed that for the whole set of impulses included, the annoyance could also be predicted very well by the weighted sum of indoor ASEL and the product (L(CE) - L(AE))(L(AE)).     

A scale model investigation of sound reflection from building façades

A simple model for predicting the sound reflected from a building façade is developed based upon the assumption that the scattering coefficient is small. This model is then used as the basis of an experimental attempt to measure the scattering properties of scale model façades featuring a similar degree of surface irregularity to that found on real buildings. A series of measurements made on a simple scale model are described and the effect of a non-uniform distribution of façade scattering is examined. The measured value of the scattering coefficient is found to be small and not very sensitive to the degree of surface irregularity. A progression of energy from a specular reflection field to a diffuse reflection field for successive orders of reflections is observed. It is suggested that the dominant mechanism of sound propagation for higher order reflections is via random scattering and that the development of propagation models based upon purely random scattering is a valid approach.     

Noise attenuation by a hard wedge-shaped barrier

This paper is concerned with the problem of sound screening by a wedge-like barrier. The sound source is assumed to be point like, and the receiver is located in the shadow of the source sound field, so that according to geometrical optics only the field diffracted by the edge of the barrier is considered. First, for the hard wedge in space, three models are used for calculating the amplitude of the edge-diffracted field. These are the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD), the Hadden-Pierce model, both in the frequency domain, and the Biot-Tolstoy theory of diffraction which is a time domain formulation. It is first shown that even at relatively low frequencies, the frequency domain models perform quite satisfactorily as compared to the exact time domain theory. Hence, and due to its relative simplicity the UTD is proposed as an accurate calculation scheme for solving problems with edge diffraction by hard wedges. It is also proved from theoretical calculations that the amplitude of the edge-diffracted field increases for an increasing angle of the wedge, and consequently the hard half-plane gives the lowest field amplitude in the shadow zone. Some applications are then considered for evaluating the performance of a barrier on a flat ground, either completely hard or with mixed homogeneous boundary conditions. An improvement of the scheme for calculating the sound field in the all-hard case is achieved through considering the multiple diffraction, in this case only to the second order, between the top of the wedge barrier and its base. The results show that for usually occurring situations, increasing the angle of the hard wedge barrier affects negatively its efficiency through diminishing its insertion loss. These conclusions are also supported by the results of some experimental measurements conducted at a scale-model level.     

Performance of a noise barrier within an enclosed space

The present study involved experimental, theoretical, and numerical analyses of the insertion loss provided by rigid noise barriers in an enclosed space. The existing classical diffuse-field theory may be unable to predict the actual sound pressure level distribution and barrier insertion loss for indoor applications. Although predictions made by the ray tracing method at high frequencies are reasonably satisfactory, the method is computer-intensive and time-consuming. We propose a new formula that incorporates the effects of diffraction theory and the reflection of sound between room surfaces. Our results indicate that the present formula provides more realistic and practical predictions of the barrier insertion loss than existing approaches.     

Sound diffraction by multiple wedges and thin screens

A theoretical formula that is based on the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) is proposed for computing sound diffraction by multiple wedges, barriers, and polygonal-like shapes. The formula can treat both convex and concave edges, where edges may or may not be inter-connected. Comparisons of theoretical predictions with other results done by the BEM or experiments for scaled model confirm the accuracy of the present formula. Numerical examples such as double wedges and doubly inclined barrier show that when there exist several diffraction paths for given source and receiver positions, the insertion loss is dominated by the diffraction associated with the shortest propagation path. It is also found that although the partially inclined barrier increases the shadow zone as compared to the simple screen type of the same total height, it does not necessarily increase the insertion loss at all heights.     

A theoretical analysis and experimental study of the behaviour of sound in corridors

The acoustic ray image theory is developed to predict relative sound levels along a corridor or in adjacent rooms caused by a sound source in the corridor. From experimental results in full-size corridors and in an acoustic scale model, general comments about the behaviour of sound in corridors—and the effect of small intruding walls and the position of absorbent material on sound levels in the corridor—are made.     

Validation of a complex urban noise model close to a road

The adequacy of a model for the sound level close to a road is investigated by comparing resulting predictions for the sound level over a building façade with measurements. The road model involves the road geometry (the number and positions of traffic lanes), the traffic structure (vehicle flow rates and their average speeds in each lane) and equivalent omnidirectional point sources representing the vehicles. It is found that the assumed road traffic noise source model is adequate only for predicting levels over the higher part of the façade. However the investigation has allowed definition of what improvements are needed in the road source modelling to enable adequate predictions over the whole of the building façade.     

An analytical model to estimate the performance of an indoor barrier at low-medium frequencies

Indoor barriers are now widely used for sound insulation. This paper examines the performance of indoor barriers in the low-medium frequency range and analyses the interaction between different natural modes of a room-barrier-room system. Morse proposed a theoretical model to calculate the sound field in a coupled-room, but this model neglects the surface integral of the boundary values of sound pressure. To estimate the performance of a barrier in an indoor environment, an analytical model is proposed that modifies the Green’s function for a non-rigid boundary enclosure and approximates the surface integral by a pre-estimated sound pressure based on Morse’s model. An additional approximation has been made in the proposed model to neglect the coupling area in the calculation of the surface integral. The proposed model used to predict the insertion loss of the barrier is verified by the experimental results using a 1:5 scale model. The predicted results agree well with the measured results at lower frequencies.     

Sound velocities of compressed Fe3C from simultaneous synchrotron X‐ray diffraction and nuclear resonant scattering measurements

The applications of nuclear resonant scattering in laser‐heated diamond anvil cells have provided an important probe for the magnetic and vibrational properties of ⁵⁷Fe‐bearing materials under high pressure and high temperature. Synchrotron X‐ray diffraction is one of the most powerful tools for studying phase stability and equation of state over a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions. Recently an experimental capability has been developed for simultaneous nuclear resonant scattering and X‐ray diffraction measurements using synchrotron radiation. Here the application of this method to determine the sound velocities of compressed Fe₃C is shown. The X‐ray diffraction measurements allow detection of microscale impurities, phase transitions and chemical reactions upon compression or heating. They also provide information on sample pressure, grain size distribution and unit cell volume. By combining the Debye velocity extracted from the nuclear resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering measurements and the structure, density and elasticity data from the X‐ray diffraction measurements simultaneously obtained, more accurate sound velocity data can be derived. Our results on few‐crystal and powder samples indicate strong anisotropy in the sound velocities of Fe₃C under ambient conditions.     

Diffraction of sound by a rigid screen with an absorbent edge

A solution is obtained for the problem of diffraction of a plane wave sound source by a semi-infinite plane. A finite region in the vicinity of the edge has an impedance boundary condition; the remaining part of the half plane is rigid. The problem which is solved is a mathematical model for a rigid barrier with an absorbing edge. It is found that the absorbing material that comprises the edge need only be of the order of a wavelength long to have approximately the same effect on the sound attenuation in the shadow region of the barrier as a semi-infinite absorbent barrier. Also the softer the absorbent lining the greater the attenuation in the shadow of the barrier. In the illuminated region a reduction in the sound intensity level can be achieved by a suitable choice of the absorptive material of the strip and its length. It is found that the effect of the absorptive strip is lost if its length is less than two wavelengths long. For a strip length of six wavelengths or more the system is equivalent to an absorbing half plane.     

超快X射线衍射

本简单介绍了X射线静态衍射的基本原理,详细了论述了超快X射线衍射探测原子动态过程的理论基础。同时介绍了三种X射线脉冲光源的产生及其实验研究的进展状况,最后对实验结果进行了详细的理论分析。     

超快X射线衍射

本文简单介绍了X射线静态衍射的基本原理 ,详细论述了超快X射线衍射探测原子动态过程的理论基础。同时介绍了三种X射线脉冲光源的产生及其实验研究的进展状况 ,最后对实验结果进行了详细的理论分析     

Sound fields near building facades - comparison of finite and semi-infinite reflectors on a rigid ground plane

The sound field in front of, and close to a building facade is relevant to the measurement and prediction of environmental noise and sound insulation. For simplicity it is often assumed that the facade can be treated as a semi-infinite reflector, however in the low-frequency range (50-200 Hz) this is no longer appropriate as the wavelengths are similar or larger than the facade dimensions. Scale model measurements and predictions using integral equation methods have been used to investigate the effect of diffraction on the sound field in front of finite size reflectors. For the situation that is commonly encountered in front of building facades, the results indicate that diffraction effects are only likely to be significant in the low-frequency range (50-200 Hz) when the façade dimensions are less than 5 m. This assumes that there is a point source close to the ground and microphones at a height of 1.2 or 1.5 m, at a distance between 1 and 2 m in front of the façade.     

Procedures for determining the acoustic efficiency of edge-modified noise barriers

This paper describes the noise shielding efficiency of barriers with an acoustic device mounted on their top edge for reducing sound diffraction. Diffraction behind the edge-modified barrier is investigated by scale model experiments in which the positions of a source and a receiver are aligned along a circular arc around the barrier top. The result indicates that the acoustic efficiency of the edge device is a function of the angles of the source and receiver and independent of their radii. Based on this finding, a novel procedure for determining the efficiency of manufactured edge devices is established. This procedure is very beneficial for estimating the edge device efficiency by eliminating ground and meteorological effects. The measured efficiency of the device will be quite useful for the prediction of noise propagation behind the edge-modified barriers.     

Short range scattering of the fundamental shear horizontal guided wave mode normally incident at a through-thickness crack in an isotropic plate

Interaction of the fundamental shear horizontal mode with through-thickness cracks in an isotropic plate is studied in the context of low frequency array imaging for ultrasonic guided wave nondestructive evaluation with improved resolution. Circular wave fronts are used and the symmetric case where a line from the wave source bisects the crack face normally is considered. Finite element simulations are employed to obtain trends subject to analytical and experimental validation. The influence of the crack length and of the location of source and measurement positions on the specular reflection from the crack face is first examined. These studies show that low frequency short range scattering is strongly affected by diffraction phenomena, leading to focusing of energy by the crack in the backscatter direction. Study of the diffraction from the crack edges reveals contributions due to a direct diffraction at the edges and multiple reverberations across the crack length. A simple diffraction model is shown to adequately represent cracks up to moderate lengths, providing an easy means of estimating the far field of the waves. The presence of multiple diffraction components is quantitatively established and surface waves on the crack face are identified as equivalent to low frequency symmetric modes of rectangular ridge waveguides.     

Determination of equivalent sound speed profiles for ray tracing in near-ground sound propagation

The determination of appropriate sound speed profiles in the modeling of near-ground propagation using a ray tracing method is investigated using a ray tracing model which is capable of performing axisymmetric calculations of the sound field around an isolated source. Eigenrays are traced using an iterative procedure which integrates the trajectory equations for each ray launched from the source at a specific direction. The calculation of sound energy losses is made by introducing appropriate coefficients to the equations representing the effect of ground and atmospheric absorption and the interaction with the atmospheric turbulence. The model is validated against analytical and numerical predictions of other methodologies for simple cases, as well as against measurements for nonrefractive atmospheric environments. A systematic investigation for near-ground propagation in downward and upward refractive atmosphere is made using experimental data. Guidelines for the suitable simulation of the wind velocity profile are derived by correlating predictions with measurements.     

Weakly divergent ray and diffraction beams in oceanic waveguides

Conditions that should be satisfied by the sound velocity profile of an oceanic waveguide for the dependence of the ray cycle length on the ray phase velocity to contain smooth extrema are formulated. The extrema correspond to weakly divergent ray beams forming “caustic” beams. It is found that diffraction effects cause a considerable smoothing of the sharp extrema that occur in the dependence of the interference period of neighboring modes on their phase velocity. As a result, in addition to the weakly divergent ray beams, weakly divergent diffraction beams and the corresponding “diffraction” caustics can be formed.     

The diffracted sound field from the transition region of an axisymmetric body in water

Understanding the physical features of the diffracted sound field on the surface of an axisymmetric body is important for predicting the self-noise of a sonar mounted on an underwater platform.The diffracted sound field from the transition region of an axisymmetric body was calculated by the geometrical theory of diffraction.The diffraction ray between the source point and the receiving point on the surface of an axisymmetric body was calculated by using the dynamic programming method.Based on the diffracted sound field,a simulation scheme for the noise correlation of the conformal array was presented.It was shown that the normalized pressure of the diffracted sound field from the transition region reduced with the increases of the frequency and the curvature of the ray.The flow noises of two models were compared and a rather optimum fore-body geometric shape was given.Furthermore,it was shown that the correlation of the flow noise in the low frequencies was stronger than that in the high frequencies.And the flow noise received by the acoustic array on the curved surface had a stronger correlation than that on the head plane at the designed center frequency,which is important for sonar system design.     

A coherent model for predicting noise reduction in long enclosures with impedance discontinuities

A theoretical model has been developed for the prediction of sound propagation in a rectangular long enclosure with impedance discontinuities. Based on the image-source method, the boundaries are assumed to be geometrically reflective. An infinite number of image sources are generated by multiple reflections. The sound pressure of each image is obtained by an approximate analytical solution, known as the Weyl-van der Pol formula. The total sound field is then calculated by summation of the contribution from all images. The phase information of each image and the phase change upon reflection are included in the model. A single change of impedance in a two-dimensional duct is focused on as the fundamental problem of the current study. The diffraction effect at the impedance discontinuity is proved to be insignificant, and it is ignored in the formulation. On the assumption that the diffraction effect is not important, the investigation is moved on to a rectangular long enclosure. Measurements are conducted in two model tunnels to validate the proposed prediction model. The predictions are found to give good approximations of the experimental results. The theoretical model serves as the first attempt to optimize the position and pattern of sound absorption materials in a long enclosure, such as an underground railway station or a building corridor, for the reduction of noise and improvement of sound quality.