| 1. |
- Ageborg Morsing, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Wind Turbine Noise and Sleep: Pilot Studies on the Influence of Noise Characteristics
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 15:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The number of onshore wind turbines in Europe has greatly increased over recent years, a trend which can be expected to continue. However, the effects of wind turbine noise on long-term health outcomes for residents living near wind farms is largely unknown, although sleep disturbance may be a cause for particular concern. Presented here are two pilot studies with the aim of examining the acoustical properties of wind turbine noise that might be of special relevance regarding effects on sleep. In both pilots, six participants spent five consecutive nights in a sound environment laboratory. During three of the nights, participants were exposed to wind turbine noise with variations in sound pressure level, amplitude modulation strength and frequency, spectral content, turbine rotational frequency and beating behaviour. The impact of noise on sleep was measured using polysomnography and questionnaires. During nights with wind turbine noise there was more frequent awakening, less deep sleep, less continuous N2 sleep and increased subjective disturbance compared to control nights. The findings indicated that amplitude modulation strength, spectral frequency and the presence of strong beats might be of particular importance for adverse sleep effects. The findings will be used in the development of experimental exposures for use in future, larger studies.
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| 2. |
- Alves, Sonia, et al.
(författare)
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Urban sound planning - The SONORUS project
- 2016
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the INTER-NOISE 2016 - 45th International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering: Towards a Quieter Future. ; , s. 2319-2328
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sound is still insufficiently considered in most urban planning processes, resulting in unsatisfactory sonic environments that might even present health risks to citizens. No matter how complex and challenging the planning project might be, the creation or preservation of acoustically favorable environments should be part of urban planning. To support this process, the SONORUS project developed a holistic approach for urban sound planning and showed its benefits with practical test cases. The goal of the holistic approach is to facilitate the integration of sonic planning in an earlier stage of the planning process by combining different approaches and by providing new tools and methods, thus enabling urban planners to achieve healthy and supportive sound scenarios.
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| 3. |
- Berghauser Pont, Meta, 1972, et al.
(författare)
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Increasing cities' capacity to manage noise and air quality using urban morphology
- 2019
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Ingår i: Book of Abstracts XXVI International Seminar on Urban Form “Cities as Assemblages”. ; , s. 42-42
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- According to the World Health Organization, the top two in disease burden are air pollution and environmental noise. In cities, road traffic is the largest contributor to both noise and air pollution and the corresponding Swedish Environmental objectives are to date estimated to not be reached by 2020. Future reductions concerning both air quality and noise are considered insufficient whereby additional measures are needed. Air quality is linked to urban form such that compact cities were shown to result in increasing concentrations of air pollution. Further, urban form influences the meteorology due to changed surface roughness on the larger scale (urban scale), and even more in a local- and microscale at ground level in street canyons. This will affect wind patterns influencing the dispersion possibility of air pollutants. For investigating local effects of urban morphology on noise and air distribution simultaneously, the Spacematrix method has been shown to be useful, as described in Berghauser Pont and Haupt (2010). Building types can be composed of a combination of density variables enabling to quantify a type and manipulate each variable separately. The aim of this paper is to identify critical spatial parameters influencing noise and air pollution and translate them into measures of spatial form including size of the urban block, and distribution, positioning and height of the buildings within that block.
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| 4. |
- Berghauser Pont, Meta, 1972, et al.
(författare)
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Using urban form to increase the capacity of cities to manage noise and air quality
- 2023
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Ingår i: Urban Morphology. - 1027-4278. ; 27:1, s. 51-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The top two environmental factors adversely affecting human health in Europe are air and noise pollution, with road traffic being the largest source. Urban density plays an important role in reducing car traffic. However, the benefits of reduced emissions per capita can still mean higher emissions locally, because of the number of people in the area. Therefore, this paper investigates how morphological parameters influence the local distribution of noise and air pollution. A parametric approach, based on the Spacematrix method, is used to study the impact of morphological parameters on the distribution of air and noise pollution, controlling for traffic mode, flows and speed. To compare the impact of exposure to noise and air pollution, their respective health burden is calculated using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The results, based on 31 models of different forms, show that the degree of openness greatly affects performance with opposite effects for noise and air pollution. Building types with slightly open yards, like open corner blocks, may provide an attractive compromise solution due to their relatively good noise exposure situation at the same time as the dispersion of air pollutants improves. Adding sound absorbing vegetation is an effective measure to mitigate noise, especially for blocks with openings, limiting the propagation of sound into the yard. Further, densification is beneficial for health if the increase in density does not increase traffic volume in the same proportion. Densification by adding towers on a perimeter building block gives the best results for health as it combines a less noisy yard, thanks to the enclosure of the yard with towers, which enhances turbulent mixing of air within the street canyon.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Bergman, Penny, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptual validation of auralized heavy-duty vehicles
- 2015
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Ingår i: Euronoise 2015. ; , s. 769-774
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Auralization is a valuable tool when evaluating the effect of traffic noise on people. The present study focuses on the validation of auralization of heavy-duty vehicles with a diesel engine. To capture the characteristics of the diesel engine a granular approach has been used. The granular approach has proven to be successful in a previous validation test examining two microphone positions around a still-standing truck. In the present study a granular approach was used to achieve pass-by noise at an artificial listening position alongside a Volvo truck (experiment 1) and pass-by noise inside an apartment (experiment 2). The aim of experiment 1 was to determine the number of interpolated sets of grains needed, in order to create a perceptually valid auralized signal. The results were used in the auralization of pass-by noise in an apartment in experiment 2. 20 and 15 participants respectively rated original recordings and auralized signals on four different attributes: realism, annoyance, and emotional response measured by valence and arousal. The results of both experiments suggest that auralizations of heavy-duty vehicles are successful and usable. It further indicates that what distinguish the auralized signals from the original recordings is mostly the arousal responses.
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| 7. |
- Bolin, Karl, 1977-
(författare)
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Wind Turbine Noise and Natural Sounds : Masking, Propagation and Modeling
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Wind turbines are an environmentally friendly and sustainable power source. Unfortunately, the noise impact can cause deteriorated living conditions for nearby residents. The audibility of wind turbine sound is influenced by ambient sound. This thesis deals with some aspects of noise from wind turbines. Ambient sounds influence the audibility of wind turbine noise. Models for assessing two commonly occurring natural ambient sounds namely vegetation sound and sound from breaking waves are presented in paper A and B. A sound propagation algorithm has been compared to long range measurementsof sound propagation in paper C. Psycho-acoustic tests evaluating the threshold and partial loudness of wind turbine noise when mixed with natural ambient sounds have been performed. These are accounted for in paper D. The main scientific contributions are the following.Paper A: A semi-empiric prediction model for vegetation sound is proposed. This model uses up-to-date simulations of wind profiles and turbulent wind fields to estimate sound from vegetation. The fluctuations due to turbulence are satisfactory estimated by the model. Predictions of vegetation sound also show good agreement to measured spectra. Paper B: A set of measurements of air-borne sound from breaking waves are reported. From these measurements a prediction method of sound from breaking waves is proposed. Third octave spectra from breaking waves are shown to depend on breaker type. Satisfactory agreement between predictions and measurements has been achieved. Paper C: Long range sound propagation over a sea surface was investigated. Measurements of sound transmission were coordinated with local meteorological measurements. A sound propagation algorithm has been compared to the measured sound transmission. Satisfactory agreement between measurements and predictions were achieved when turbulence were taken into consideration in the computations. Paper D: The paper investigates the interaction between wind turbine noise and natural ambient noise. Two loudness models overestimate the masking from two psychoacoustic tests. The wind turbine noise is completely concealed when the ambient sound level (A-weighed) is around 10 dB higher than the wind turbine noise level. Wind turbine noise and ambient noise were presented simultaneously at the same A-weighed sound level. The subjects then perceived the loudness of the wind turbine noise as 5 dB lower than if heard alone. Keywords: Wind turbine noise, masking, ambient noise, long range sound propagation
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| 8. |
- Estévez Mauriz, Laura, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Dynamic traffic noise assessment tool: A comparative study between a roundabout and a signalised intersection
- 2018
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Ingår i: Applied Acoustics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-682X .- 1872-910X. ; 130, s. 71-86
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Considering traffic flow as a steady noise source is common practice when studying traffic alternatives and its impact on the sound environment. However, vehicle dynamics have a strong influence on both transport behaviour and noise emission. One of the most relevant elements of traffic design is the intersection, where replacement of crossing intersections with roundabouts is common. In order to understand the features of these two traffic configurations, microscopic approaches are needed, making it possible to study time-pattern fluctuations relevant for the urban sound environment perception. A model based on individual-vehicle characteristics as function of time is developed and implemented in a real case study at a development stage. The model incorporates state-of-art microscopic traffic simulation software combined with the recent noise emission model, CNOSSOS-EU, applied through an in-house developed dynamic traffic noise tool, including both internal combustion engine and all-electric vehicles at different traffic flows. The tool is described in general terms incorporating the randomisation of source power. The propagation considers a flat-city configuration up to 100 m range. The tool enables study of different statistical indicators, including descriptors of probability density functions, calm periods through the novel indicator Centre of Mass Time (CMT) and noise events. The outcomes are presented through graphs and maps explaining traffic disruptions, acceleration effects, vehicle configurations and flows, source strengths, contribution and difference maps. Among the results, it is shown that, for the signalised crossing, the acceleration of the simulated traffic has a large effect on the source strength. It is however also shown that, for an unbalanced roundabout intersection leading to congestions, it can become noisier than the signalised crossing. It is furthermore shown that, when reducing the traffic flow, the two intersection types behave more similarly; however the roundabout having the best performance for the majority of the studied analysis. Further results are shown, e.g. for removing heavy vehicles, removing also medium heavy vehicles and assuming only all-electric light vehicles, including analysis from using various indicators. A discussion about the presented tool, the current results and ideas for future work concludes the paper. The present paper goes along a series of studies with the overall intention to provide a more solid basis for justifying decisions in traffic planning regarding the outdoor sound environment.
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| 9. |
- Estévez Mauriz, Laura, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Incorporation of the quiet side in noise maps
- 2014
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Ingår i: TECNIACUSTICA 2014. 45st SPANISH CONGRESS ON ACOUSTICS. 8 th IBERIAN CONGRESS ON ACOUSTICS. EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON SMART CITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS. - 2340-7441. - 9788487985256 ; , s. 123-130
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nowadays noise maps are focused on the noise level at the most exposed façade, leading to underestimations on the shielded areas. Previous research showed that quiet areas have positive effects for the inhabitants' quality of life. To solve this problem, an engineering method was developed within the QSIDE project. This method aims to improve noise maps in terms of multiple reflections in an efficient way. Two different terms, attenuation due to the barrier and the canyon will be incorporated. In this paper, the suggested model from QSIDE has been further developed for its inclusion in noise map calculations.
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| 10. |
- Estévez Mauriz, Laura, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Is the sound environment relevant for how people use common spaces?
- 2018
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Ingår i: Building Acoustics. - 1351-010X. ; 25:4, s. 307-337
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rapid and intrusive spatial adjustments in common spaces are increasingly questioned by the awareness of citizens demanding higher quality standards. This study aims to understand the use of common space by identifying how the sound environment affects the functions of space and the interaction with other environmental and spatial variables. Is there a certain sound environment required or that should be avoided when designing a space for a specific activity? In situ evaluations with regular users were collected in nine common spaces in Gothenburg, Sweden, conducting sound recordings and questionnaires. Site selection responded to the purpose of the analysed places, the noise level (LAeq) of the city road traffic noise map, and the number of activities suggested by the city sociotope maps. The analyses revealed that certain activities could be identified from LAeq values. Discriminant functions with respect to sound levels primarily identified a tranquil/restorative vibrant dimension, where the highest noise levels tend to be at the most vibrant end. Other results showed that a considerable variability of overall and visual quality judgements came from the variability in sites. These quality assessments were highly correlated, allowing both to be analysed as a single attribute. The variability in sound quality was much lower. Notable is the difference between recorded and perceived loudness. In addition, poor sound quality judgement does not seem to correlate with the perception of mechanical sources as the main source of noise.
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