Traffic noise: Annoyance assessment of real and virtual sounds based on close proximity measurements

Abstract

The negative impact of noise on human health is well established and a high percentage of environmental noise is related with traffic sources. In this study, we compared annoyance judgments of real and virtual traffic sounds. Virtual sounds were generated through an auralization software with input from close proximity tyre/road noise measurements and real sounds were recorded through a Head and Torso Simulator. Both groups had sounds generated at two speeds and from three urban pavement surfaces (asphalt concrete, concrete blocks and granite cubes). Under controlled laboratory conditions, participants rated the annoyance of each real and virtual stimulus. It was found that virtual stimuli, based on close proximity tyre/road noise, can be used to assess traffic annoyance, in spite of systematic lower rates than those found for real stimuli. The effects of type of pavement and speed were the same for both conditions (real and virtualized stimulus). Opposed to granite cubes, asphalt concrete had lower annoyance rates for both test speeds and higher rate differences between real and virtual stimuli. Additionally, it was also found that annoyance is better described by Loudness than by LAmax. This evidence is stronger for the virtual stimuli condition than for the real stimuli one. Nevertheless, we should stress that it is possible to accurately predict real annoyance rates from virtual auralized sound samples through a simple transformation model. The methodology developed is clearly efficient and significantly simplifies field procedures, allowing the reduction of experimental costs, a better control of variables and an increment on the accuracy of annoyance ratings.

The Influence of Pavement Degradation on Population Exposure to Road Traffic Noise

“…The following step consists of the Coatings 2019, 9,298 3 of 18 transformation of the CPX data into the required input for the traffic noise model. The developed methodology includes a propagation filter as the main improvement, compared to other attempts to study the tyre/road noise evolution and annoyance [27,28].…”

“…Coatings 2019, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 17 methodology includes a propagation filter as the main improvement, compared to other attempts to study the tyre/road noise evolution and annoyance [27,28]. Finally, based on the traffic data and site physical characteristics for the selected case study, noise maps were created and combined with the population distribution layers from a GIS (Geographical Information System) model.…”

Long-term change in the noise level of road pavements and their assessment

“…Ověřovací periodická měření hlučnosti probíhala průběžně ve stejný den. Je třeba si uvědomit, že vlastní rychlost nárůstu hlučnosti povrchu pozemní komunikace je různá pro jednotlivé typy použitých směsí (19). V souladu s TP 259 (stanovená referenční ekvivalentní hladinou akustického tlaku A styku pneumatika/vozovka) je tato hodnota níže v jednotlivých obrázcích naznačena tlustou linkou v grafech.…”

“…V důsledku zanášení vzduchových mezer se významně snižuje akustická životnost, proto nejvyššího rozdílu mezi současně položenou běžnou a nízkohlučnou směsí lze dosáhnout ihned po pokládce a v čase se tento rozdíl snižuje (19). Pro směsi v souladu s TP 259 viz obr.…”

Surface Aging Effect on Tire/Pavement Noise Medium-Term Evolution in a Medium-Size City

“…This type of noise is strongly related to traffic; however, traffic cannot be easily removed in cities, and thus studying its causes and mechanisms is needed in order to mitigate its effects. It is known that noise pollution causes different health issues [3][4][5][6], and, on the other hand, for passenger cars, tire/pavement interaction plays the main role in traffic noise at speeds greater than 40 km/h [7], i.e., the majority of main streets in urban areas. Thus, preventive and corrective measures should be focused in noise generation mechanisms related to the tire/pavement interaction.…”