A Simulated Environment Experiment on Annoyance Due to Combined Road Traffic and Industrial Noises

Abstract

Total annoyance due to combined noises is still difficult to predict adequately. This scientific gap is an obstacle for noise action planning, especially in urban areas where inhabitants are usually exposed to high noise levels from multiple sources. In this context, this work aims to highlight potential to enhance the prediction of total annoyance. The work is based on a simulated environment experiment where participants performed activities in a living room while exposed to combined road traffic and industrial noises. The first objective of the experiment presented in this paper was to gain further understanding of the effects on annoyance of some acoustical factors, non-acoustical factors and potential interactions between the combined noise sources. The second one was to assess total annoyance models constructed from the data collected during the experiment and tested using data gathered in situ. The results obtained in this work highlighted the superiority of perceptual models. In particular, perceptual models with an interaction term seemed to be the best predictors for the two combined noise sources under study, even with high differences in sound pressure level. Thus, these results reinforced the need to focus on perceptual models and to improve the prediction of partial annoyances.

The Combined Effects of Aircraft and Road Traffic Noise and Aircraft and Railway Noise on Noise Annoyance—An Analysis in the Context of the Joint Research Initiative NORAH

“…The results of the current study fit well into the scope of various other recent studies which show that the perceptual dominance (based on source-specific annoyance) represent a better estimation of total annoyance than physical models of total annoyance [ 7 , 17 , 24 , 25 , 26 ] Moreover, the current study is an augmentation to the field of research, as it includes results on the total annoyance in a situation with equal acoustical exposure to two noise sources.…”

Laboratory Methods with Imaginary and Simulated Contexts to Assess Noise Annoyance: A Comparison in Terms of Annoyance Model Testing

“…[12]) or outdoors, in front of the room window (e.g. [8], [13]), considering noise transmission through the façade of the cottage used for the experiment. Stimuli are usually about several minutes long.…”

“…Due to the longer duration of stimuli, method SC is limited in the number of stimuli, and thus in the number of acoustical factors under study (e.g. [13]). This method is well-adapted to study activity disturbance due to noise (e.g.…”

Community Response to Multiple Sound Sources: Integrating Acoustic and Contextual Approaches in the Analysis

“…Moreover, the annoyance data from mixed source exposure stems mainly from two source exposure environments [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] and few investigated three sound sources in field studies [ 21 ]. There are a few more experimental studies [ 14 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ], however, the transfer to the community experience is difficult. Recently, a combined experimental and field study [ 29 ] evaluated the European Union exposure-response relationships for their ability to predict annoyance from multiple sound sources (road, rail, air) based on the annoyance equivalents model of Miedema [ 6 ].…”