Acoustical Standard for Noise Walls

​ Noise walls are constructed along the highways and roadways to protect adjacent residents from the adverse effect of noise from road traffic. Although most noise walls in United States are made of concrete, other​ materials are also available and newer materials are being introduced. However, no uniform standard is maintained by the material manufacturers and vendors regarding the acoustical effectiveness of these materials. Additionally, there is no available benchmark to evaluate different materials with respect to the existing concrete noise walls in terms of reducing traffic related noise. In this proposed project, the research team will systematically evaluate available materials for noise walls and their corresponding industry acoustical standards. Different acoustical evaluation methods will be analyzed methodologically considering the factors such as human perception, noise frequency bands. Adequacy of different methods will be determined for the purpose of selecting materials for noise walls. Based on the detailed analysis, thresholds for different noise measurement methods will be determined and benchmarked. The research team will also collect field data for the existing noise walls to determine the acoustical effectiveness of commonly used noise wall materials (such as concrete). To help NCDOT in selecting and approving noise wall materials, the team will develop a guideline which will include a material attribute matrix benchmarked with respect to concrete noise walls. The guideline will also include directions regarding how a new noise wall material needs to be evaluated and tested.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $141036
• Sponsor Organizations:

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  Research and Development
  1549 Mail Service Center
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27699-1549
• Managing Organizations:

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  Research and Development
  1549 Mail Service Center
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27699-1549
• Project Managers:

  Kirby, John

• Performing Organizations:

  North Carolina State University, Raleigh

  Institute for Transportation Research and Education
  Campus Box 8601
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27695-8601
• Principal Investigators:

  Findley, Daniel

• Start Date: 20190801
• Expected Completion Date: 20210731
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Noise barriers
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01715996
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 11 2019 1:58PM