A low-height acoustic screen in a setting with an urban road: measured and predicted insertion loss

Paper in proceeding, 2016

A low screen was temporarily installed alongside an urban road to test the acoustic performance. Within the on-going project, the screen is an acoustic prototype, whereas later, a screen design will be developed considering also perceived acoustic quality and visual aspects. The current acoustic prototype, built up from concrete modules, was placed beside a small park on the reservation between a two-lane road and a track for walking and cycling. A larger traffic system, of which the two-lane road is a part, determines the daytime equivalent noise level within the urban area. The screen height was about 1.3 m as measured from the level of the road surface and the width of the screen top was 0.3 m. Measurements were carried out both at 20 m distance from the road (within the park) and at 5 m distance from the road (on the cycle track). Insertion loss in maximum level, using controlled light vehicle pass-by at 50 km/h, was measured to 10 dB and 6 dB at 5 and 20 m distance, respectively, at 1.5 m height. The measured results have been compared with those predicted by both a noise mapping software and a boundary element method, showing reasonable agreement.