Boundary Element Simulations Of Two Opposite Noise Barriers

Traffic-related noise and the population percentage feeling disturbed by it have been increasing steadily. Noise barriers are one of the main tools used for noise abatement; the following paper studies the behaviour of two noise barriers facing each other at a given distance, which is a typical situation in traffic channels. The expected noise will be analysed, also taking into account the influence of the ground and of barrier tilting. As in this situation interference and diffraction play an important role, the boundary element method is the best option to simulate the scenario. 1. Introduction Noise barriers are an effective way to shield residential areas from the traffic noise. While the efficiency in noise absorption can be evaluated experimentally with reverberation room and situ methods1,2,3 , simulations are a helpful and cost-saving tool in predicting and planning new noise barrier solutions. The Boundary Elements Method (BEM) has long been used in the simulation of noise barriers, as it proves to be an effective method whose results are compatible with the analytical solutions4. In this paper we focus on the effect of two noise barriers facing each other on the sound field within the noise barriers. This situation is interesting for the road users; as the opposing barriers produce a higher sound intensity within the barriers, also the noise within the barriers is increased. We look for some alternative solutions apt to reduce the noise. We performed the simulations using 2d-OpenBEM, an open source software developed by the University of Southern Denmark5.