Performance of T-shape barriers with top surface covered with absorptive quadratic residue diffusers

A previous paper [Applied Acoustics 66 (2005) 709-730] has shown that adding a quadratic residue diffuser (QRD) to the top of a T-shape barrier can provide better barrier performance than an equivalent purely absorptive barrier. In here, we extend the study to look at the performance when a QRD is made absorptive. This paper presents an investigation on the acoustic performance of a few welled-diffusers with different absorption ability on top of a T-shape noise barrier. The absorption properties of the diffusers are modified with different sequences, by filling the wells with fiberglass, by covering the well entrance with wire meshes, and by putting perforated sheet either on the top surface or inside the wells. A 2D Boundary Element Method (BEM) is used to calculate the barrier insertion loss. The numerical and experimental results on diffuser barriers with rigid and absorptive covers are compared. Among the tested models the best method of treating diffuser barriers with absorbent agents in the QRD is found to be a perorated sheet on top or inside the diffuser wells. It is found that increasing the absorption ability of QRD by fiberglass or high resistance wire meshes has negative effect on the efficiency of a QRD barrier. It is shown that, if the increase in absorption destroys the effect of resonance in wells, it will also have negative effect on the insertion loss performance of the QRD edge barrier.     

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.     

A parametric investigation of the performance of T-profiled highway noise barriers and the identification of a potential predictive approach

Although a considerable amount of research has been undertaken regarding the performance of T-profile noise barriers, the information available to the practicing highway engineer is confusing. For example, there is a widespread belief that the performance of a top edge, expressed as an insertion loss relative to that of the simple barrier on which it is mounted, is constant, irrespective of the relative locations of the source, barrier and receiver. In order to clarify the situation an investigation has been undertaken, using computer modelling, of the performance afforded by highway noise barriers with T-profile tops with different acoustic treatments. The relative insertion loss was found to increase systematically with increasing top width. Although the relative insertion loss afforded by a reflective T-top is small, significant attenuation can be obtained with an absorptive top. Examination of the effect on performance of the locations of source and receiver relative to that of the noise barrier indicated that, for source and receiver locations typical of those experienced for highway noise barriers, the relative insertion loss for a given width of T-top was a function of (a) the path difference between sound travelling to the receiver via the barrier top and direct sound from the source to the receiver and (b) the barrier height. Plots of relative insertion loss versus the path difference, normalised with respect to barrier heights, for a range of T-top widths and absorbent treatment, resulted in a collapse of data around well defined trend lines which offer the potential of being developed into a prediction method.     

Identification of noise sources in factory’s sound field by using genetic algorithm

Noise control is important and essential in factory, where the noise level is restricted by the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Before noise abatement being performed, the identification work in searching for the location and sound power level (SWL) of noisy sound sources is absolutely prerequisite. Several researches on new techniques of single noise control have been well addressed and developed; however, the research work on sound identification for the existing multi-noise plant is hardly found sufficient. Under the circumstance of unrecognized noises, the noise control work will expectedly be extravagant and fruitless. Therefore, the numerical approach in distinguishing noises from a multi-noise plant becomes crucial and obligatory.In this paper, the novel technique of genetic algorithm (GA) in conjunction with the method of minimized variation square will be adopted and used in the following numerical optimization. In addition, various sound monitoring systems in detecting the noise condition within the plant area will also be introduced. Before noises identification, the accuracy of mathematical model has then been proved to be in good agreements comparing to the simulated data of SoundPlan, a commercialized simulation package in sound field. Moreover, three kinds of multi-noise plants have been fully discussed and acknowledged by GA optimization. The results reveal that the relevant locations and sound power levels (SWLs) of noises can be precisely recognized. This paper surely provides a rapid methodology in the noise identification work for a multi-noise plant.     

Optimizing the bandwidth and noise performance of distributed multi-pump Raman amplifiers

Based on hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA), the signal bandwidth of the distributed multi-pump Raman amplifiers is optimized, and the corresponding noise figure is obtained. The results show that: (1) the optimal signal bandwidth Δλ decreases with the increase of the span length L, e.g., Δλ is 79.6 nm for L=50 km and 41.5 nm for L=100 km under our simulated conditions; (2) the relationship between Δλ and L is approximately linear; (3) the equivalent noise figure can be negative and increases with the extension of L; (4) there are one or several global maximum signal bandwidth on the determinate conditions; (5) to realize the fixed Δλ, several candidates can be obtained by means of HGA, as has important applications on the design of distributed multi-pump Raman amplifiers in practice.     

Standardised acoustic characterisation of sonic crystals noise barriers: Sound insulation and reflection properties

This work presents sound insulation and sound reflection measurements conducted over sonic crystal noise barriers according to the European standards EN 1793-2, EN 1793-5 and EN 1793-6. In most of the reference literature, sound insulation and reflection properties of sonic crystals are measured or a diffuse sound field or in a direct sound field including the top and side edge diffraction effects together with the transmitted (or reflected) components. The aim of this work is to perform free-field measurements over a real-sized sample in order to window out all diffraction components and to verify the points of strength and weakness of the application of standardised measurements to sonic crystals. Diffuse field measurements in laboratory are also done for comparison purposes. Since the target frequency range for traffic noise spectrum is centred at around 1000 Hz, a finite element based parametric investigation is performed to design unit cells capable of generating band gaps in the one-third octave bands ranging from 800 Hz to 1250 Hz. Then, 3 × 3 m sonic crystal noise barriers are installed in the Laboratory of the University of Bologna and sound insulation and sound reflection measurements are performed according to the mentioned active standards for normal incidence. Sound insulation is measured for diffuse incidence too. The two methods give different results. The method more directly comparable to calculations is the free-field one. However, if on the one hand the application of a time window allows to compute the transmitted or reflected component only, on the other hand the time window itself limits the maximum width of the sample for which all reflections of the n-th order having a significant spectral content are included, and thus results critical in the analysis of this kind of noise barriers. Nevertheless, the standardised measurements allow a direct comparison between the performance of sonic crystals and common noise barriers.     

Deriving correction functions to model the efficiency of noise barriers with complex shapes using boundary element simulations

The boundary element method (BEM) is a commonly used method to compute the insertion loss of noise barriers having arbitrary cross-sections. For large scale three-dimensional problems, however, the BEM is not feasible. On the other hand, standardized calculation methods for noise mapping are efficient, but shapes other than the straight barrier cannot be properly calculated. Attempts to merge these two approaches by using BEM to derive correction functions based on geometrical quantities such as source and target angle as well as the path length elongation between source and receiver caused by the barrier were usually focused on a small set of barrier types, dimensions, absorptive configurations, source or receiver positions. The main objective of this study is to investigate which functions based on the most common geometrical parameters are well suited for approximating the efficiency of different types of barriers, dimensions and absorptive configurations. To achieve this, numerous combinations of 7 different barrier types, different heights and widths as well as 3 different absorptive configurations were simulated using the 2D BEM for 8 different source positions. The octave-band-wise efficiency, i.e. the frequency-dependent gain in insertion loss compared to an equally high, fully reflective straight barrier was used as a basis for the correction functions. Linear as well as polynomial models were compared yielding a polynomial of third degree in the source and fourth degree in the target angle as the best model. Effects on the error using uniform sampling in the target angle instead of a uniform receiver grid as a basis for the correction functions are also investigated. Furthermore, wide-band efficiencies based on standardized traffic emission spectra are calculated showing small errors compared to single-band errors, in particular in the high-frequency range. A linear interpolation scheme is suggested to deal with barriers having dimensions not simulated in this work.     

轻轨桥架声屏障降噪效果的测量与分析

在轻轨桥架两侧设置声屏障是控制轨道交通噪声的主要措施之一，对上海轻轨明珠线桥架两侧设置不同高度声屏障实际降噪效果的测量与分析，对声屏障的实用设计有重要的参考价值。     

Experimental verification of the acoustic performance of diffusive roadside noise barriers

The acoustic performance of pairs of diffusive roadside barriers is tested experimentally on a 1:10 scale model, and compared to that of more traditional specularly reflecting barriers. Significant attenuation benefits are detected not only in the shadow zone behind the barriers, but also in the unprotected zone immediately above the barriers, thus proving that diffusive traffic faces of the barriers may effectively help in counteracting multiple reflection effects. In addition, a radiosity-based theoretical model developed for the evaluation of the sound field behind pairs of diffusive noise barriers is described, and its ability to predict the extra SPL attenuation deriving from the replacement of geometrically reflecting barriers with diffusely reflecting barriers is verified.     

Application of perforated sheets to improve the efficiency of reactive profiled noise barriers

The scope of this paper is to study the performance of noise barriers treated with different diffusers with/without a perforated sheet. We investigated the barrier insertion loss using a 2D boundary element method (BEM). To obtain a better depth sequence, a Random Sequence Diffuser (RSD) was designed. The results clearly showed that employing a "RSD" instead of the most popular Schroeder diffusers (Quadratic Residue Diffuser and Primitive Root Diffuser) increased the acoustic performance. We also found that the diffuser performance improved by treating the diffuser with perforated sheets either on the top surface or inside the wells. The addition of these perforated sheets inside the "RSD" (barrier model "RPI2") improved the performance by 3.59 dB (A).     

Optimal design of acoustical sandwich panels with a genetic algorithm

An optimization study is performed to design a sandwich panel with a balance of acoustical and mechanical properties at minimal weight. An acoustical model based on higher-order sandwich beam theory is used with mechanical analysis of the maximum deflection at the center of the sandwich panel under a concentrated force. First, a parametric study is performed to determine the effects of individual design variables on the sound transmission loss of the sandwich panel. Next, by constraining the acoustical and mechanical behavior of the sandwich panel, the area mass density of the sandwich panel is minimized using a genetic algorithm. The sandwich panels are constructed from eight face-sheet and sixteen core materials, with varying thicknesses of the face sheets and the core. The resulting design is a light-weight, mechanically efficient sound insulator with strength and stiffness comparable to sandwich structures commonly used in structural applications.     

Performance of profiled single noise barriers covered with quadratic residue diffusers

The paper describes an investigation about the acoustic performance of noise barriers with quadratic residue diffuser (QRD) tops, and with T-, Arrow-, Cylindrical and Y-shape profiles. A 2D boundary element method (BEM) is used to calculate the barrier insertion loss. The results of rigid and with absorptive coverage are also calculated for comparisons. Using QRD on the top surface of almost all barrier models presented here is found to improve the efficiency of barriers compare with using absorptive coverage at the examined receiver positions. T-shape and Arrow-shape barriers are also found to provide better performance than other shapes of barriers. The best shape of barriers for utilising QRD among the tested models is the T-shape profile barrier. It is found that reducing the design frequency of QRD shifts the performance improvement towards lower frequency, and therefore the most efficient model for traffic noise is a barrier covered with a QRD tuned to around 400 Hz.     

电动水上飞机低噪声螺旋桨翼型优化

为降低翼型的气动噪声,以某型电动水上飞机螺旋桨所使用的RAF-6翼型为研究对象,首先通过CFD/FW-H方法计算得到翼型的升、阻力系数以及气动噪声;其次使用型函数线性叠加描述翼型的几何形状;进而,为使翼型获得设计状态下较好的声学与气动性能,由翼型的气动噪声与升阻比构成优化目标,以型函数系数为变量,以保证翼型升、阻力系数变化不超过10%为约束,使用引入响应面模型的遗传算法对翼型进行降噪优化。通过优化翼型与基准翼型的对比可知,设计状态的优化翼型气动噪声声压级降低了2.17 dB,升阻比提高1.12%,且优化翼型在小攻角状态下具有较为优异的声学与气动性能。优化结果表明,该优化方法具有一定应用价值,可为螺旋桨噪声控制研究提供参考。     

遗传算法优化变分模态分解提取舰船辐射噪声特征线谱方法

特征线谱提取是舰船目标识别的一个重要研究环节,常采用传统的DEMON谱分析方法,处理过程中,一般对舰船噪声时域信号未予抑噪,低信噪比情况下,传统DEMON谱分析性能差。对此,提出一种采用遗传算法优化变分模态分解方法,用于分解舰船噪声原时域信号,获得抑制噪声后的舰船噪声重构信号,进而有效提取了舰船目标噪声幅度调制特征线谱。该方法首先采用遗传算法优化变分模态分解的两个关键输入参数(分解所取模态个数和惩罚因子),对变分模态分解得到的各阶固有模态分量加以判别,去除噪声主导分量,保留信号主导分量,使重构舰船噪声信号显著抑制了干扰噪声,然后对降噪后的重构信号进行频谱分析,获得目标噪声调制特征线谱。理论分析、仿真和实验数据处理结果表明,相比传统DEMON谱分析法,基于遗传算法优化变分模态分解的舰船噪声特征线谱提取方法具有更好的噪声抑制能力,所获取的舰船噪声幅度调制特征线谱信噪比明显高于传统DEMON方法,具有一定优势,前景良好。     

利用优化算法分析分层结构障板的声学性能

根据水平分层介质的物理模型,分别以追求单一频率条件和给定频段条件下反射系数最小为目标,利用遗传算法对不同组合方式的水平分层介质的参数进行了优化。利用遗传算法的随机搜索特性,得到多组不同的物理参数。利用这些参数,对反射系数与结构及材料参数的依赖关系进行了分析。计算了分层结构中每一层的吸收贡献率,提出了阻抗比系数的概念。通过对比,分析了在不同频率条件下,不同水平分层结构对垂直入射平面波的吸收机理。对利用水平分层复合结构材料制作吸声障板可能达到的指标做了进一步的分析。结果表明,为得到较大的吸收系数,不同层间的阻抗比系数必须保持一定关系。     

Performance of noise barriers with various edge shapes and acoustical conditions

The performances of barriers having different shapes and surface conditions were tested using the boundary element method in a well-controlled environment. The heights and widths of the barriers were standardized and the insertion losses for six receiver positions were averaged and compared. Figures displaying the results allow for straightforward barrier performance estimation. It was shown that absorbing and soft edges significantly improve the efficiency of the barrier, but configuration modifications provide only a slight improvement. The soft T-shaped barrier produces the highest performance. A 3 m high T-shaped barrier provides the same performance as a 10 m high plain barrier. The spectral efficiency was also investigated. The insertion loss spectra for the absorbing and the soft barriers exhibit a similar shape, but the rigid barrier differs from these two.     

Comparison of various algorithms for improving acoustic attenuation performance and flow characteristic of reactive mufflers

The parametric optimization of the reactive mufflers is researched by numerical analysis, regarding the performance of the acoustic and flow fields synthetically. The finite element method, based on the Helmholtz equation and the Navier–Stokes equation respectively, is utilized in the analysis of the acoustic and flow fields. And the initial and boundary conditions are set up in the physical fields respectively. The weighting multi-objective function about acoustic and flow fields is formulated. In addition, the optimization results of multidisciplinary, obtained by the Nelder Mead algorithm (NMA) based on the sensitivity analysis, the Monte Carlo algorithm (MCA) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) based on the random sampling, are analyzed comparatively. The optimization results indicate that the NMA can maximize the transmission loss (TL) and minimize the pressure drop with the given weight factor. Finally, numerical optimization examples confirm the validity and reliability of the proposed optimization method in the acoustic-flow field.     

Finding the reconstructions of semiconductor surfaces via a genetic algorithm

In this article we show that the reconstructions of semiconductor surfaces can be determined using a genetic procedure. Coupled with highly optimized interatomic potentials, the present approach represents an efficient tool for finding and sorting good structural candidates for further electronic structure calculations and comparison with scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images. We illustrate the method for the case of Si(1 0 5), and build a database of structures that includes the previously found low-energy models, as well as a number of novel configurations.     

Improving performance of FxRLS algorithm for active noise control of impulsive noise

Active noise control (ANC) systems employing adaptive filters suffer from stability issues in the presence of impulsive noise. New impulsive noise control algorithms based on filtered-x recursive least square (FxRLS) algorithm are presented. The FxRLS algorithm gives better convergence than the filtered-x least mean square (FxLMS) algorithm and its variants but lacks robustness in the presence of high impulsive noise. In order to improve the robustness of FxRLS algorithm for ANC of impulsive noise, two modifications are suggested. First proposed modification clips the reference and error signals while, the second modification incorporates energy of the error signal in the gain of FxRLS (MGFxRLS) algorithm. The results demonstrate improved stability and robustness of proposed modifications in the FxRLS algorithm. However, another limitation associated with the FxRLS algorithm is its computationally complex nature. In order to reduce the computational load, a hybrid algorithm based on proposed MGFxRLS and normalized step size FxLMS (NSS-FXLMS) is also developed in this paper. The proposed hybrid algorithm combines the stability of NSS-FxLMS algorithm with the fast convergence speed of the proposed MGFxRLS algorithm. The results of the proposed hybrid algorithm prove that its convergence speed is faster than that of NSS-FxLMS algorithm with computational complexity lesser than that of FxRLS algorithm.     

Determination of acoustic impedances of multi matching layers for narrowband ultrasonic airborne transducers at frequencies <2.5 MHz - Application of a genetic algorithm

The effective ultrasonic energy radiation into the air of piezoelectric transducers requires using multilayer matching systems with accurately selected acoustic impedances and the thickness of particular layers. One major problem of ultrasonic transducers, radiating acoustic energy into air, is to find the proper acoustic impedances of one or more matching layers. This work aims at developing an original solution to the acoustic impedance mismatch between transducer and air. If the acoustic impedance defences between transducer and air be more, then finding best matching layer(s) is harder. Therefore we consider PZT (lead zirconate titanate piezo electric) transducer and air that has huge acoustic impedance deference. The vibration source energy (PZT), which is used to generate the incident wave, consumes a part of the mechanical energy and converts it to an electrical one in theoretical calculation. After calculating matching layers, we consider the energy source as layer to design a transducer. However, this part of the mechanical energy will be neglected during the mathematical work. This approximation is correct only if the transducer is open-circuit. Since the possibilities of choosing material with required acoustic impedance are limited (the counted values cannot always be realized and applied in practice) it is necessary to correct the differences between theoretical values and the possibilities of practical application of given acoustic impedances. Such a correction can be done by manipulating other parameters of matching layers (e.g. by changing their thickness). The efficiency of the energy transmission from the piezoceramic transducer through different layers with different thickness and different attenuation enabling a compensation of non-ideal real values by changing their thickness was computer analyzed (base on genetic algorithm). Firstly, three theoretical solutions were investigated. Namely, Chebyshev, Desilets and Souquet theories. However, the obtained acoustic impedances do not necessarily correspond to a nowadays available material. Consequently, the values of the acoustic impedances are switched to the nearest values in a large material database. The switched values of the acoustic impedances do not generally give efficient transmission coefficients. Therefore, we proposed, in a second step, the use of a genetic algorithm (GA) to select the best acoustic impedances for matching layers from the material database for a narrow band ultrasonic transducer that work at frequency below the 2.5 MHz by considering attenuation. However this bank is rich, the results get better. So the accuracy of the propose method increase by using a lot of materials with exact data for acoustic impedance and their attenuation, especially in high frequency. This yields highly more efficient transmission coefficient. In fact by using increasing number of layer we can increase our chance to find the best sets of materials with valuable both in acoustic impedance and low attenuation. Precisely, the transmission coefficient is almost equal to unity for the all studied cases. Finally the effect of thickness on transmission coefficient is investigated for different layers. The results showed that the transmission coefficient for air media is a function of thickness and sensitive to it even for small variation in thickness. In fact, the sensitivity increases when the differences of acoustic impedances to be high (difference between PZT and air).