A-weighted sound pressure level as an indicator of short-term loudness or annoyance of road-traffic sound

2007 ◽  
Vol 302 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 197-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats E. Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Short Term

scholarly journals Landscape depressions can create silent zones in noise polluted parks

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (4) ◽  
pp. 2550-2554
Author(s):  
Timothy Van Renterghem ◽  
Pieter Thomas ◽  
Dick Botteldooren
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Road Traffic Noise ◽  
Efficient Measure ◽  
Natural Means

Excessive road traffic noise exposure in (sub)urban parks hinders its restorative function and will negatively impact the number of visitors. Especially in such green environments, noise abatements by natural means, well integrated in the landscape, are the most desired solutions. Although dense vegetation bordering the park or raised berms could come first in mind, local landscape depressions are typically underused. In this work, a case-study of a small suburban park, squeezed in between two major arterial roads, is analyzed. The spatially dependent road traffic noise exposure in the park is assessed in detail by mobile sound pressure level measurements. Local reductions of up to 6-7 dBA are found at landscape depressions of only a few meters deep. It can therefore be concluded that this is an efficient measure and should be added to the environmental noise control toolbox for noise polluted parks.

scholarly journals Association Between Road Traffic Noise and Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension in Toronto, Canada: A Population‐Based Cohort Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeha Shin ◽  
Li Bai ◽  
Tor H. Oiamo ◽  
Richard T. Burnett ◽  
Scott Weichenthal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Road Traffic Noise

Background Exposure to road traffic noise has been linked to cardiometabolic complications, such as elevated blood pressure and glucose dysregulation. However, epidemiologic evidence linking road traffic noise to diabetes mellitus and hypertension remains scarce. We examined associations between road traffic noise and the incidence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in Toronto, Canada. Methods and Results Using the Ontario Population Health and Environment Cohort, we conducted a retrospective, population‐based cohort study of long‐term residents of Toronto, aged 35 to 100 years, who were registered for provincial publicly funded health insurance, and were without a history of hypertension (n=701 174) or diabetes mellitus (n=914 607). Road traffic noise exposure levels were assessed by the equivalent continuous A‐weighted sound pressure level (dBA) for the 24‐hour day and the equivalent continuous A‐weighted sound pressure level for the night (11 pm –7 am) . Noise exposures were assigned to subjects according to their annual residential postal codes during the 15‐year follow‐up. We used random‐effect Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for personal and area‐level characteristics. From 2001 to 2015, each interquartile range increase in the equivalent continuous A‐weighted sound pressure level (dBA) for the 24‐hour day (10.0 dBA) was associated with an 8% increase in incident diabetes mellitus (95% CI, 1.07–1.09) and a 2% increase in hypertension (95% CI, 1.01–1.03). We obtained similar estimates with the equivalent continuous A‐weighted sound pressure level for the night (11 pm –7 am) . These results were robust to all sensitivity analyses conducted, including further adjusting for traffic‐related air pollutants (ultrafine particles and nitrogen dioxide). For both hypertension and diabetes mellitus, we observed stronger associations with the equivalent continuous A‐weighted sound pressure level (dBA) for the 24‐hour day among women and younger adults (aged <60 years). Conclusions Long‐term exposure to road traffic noise was associated with an increased incidence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in Toronto.

scholarly journals Sound Levels Forecasting in an Acoustic Sensor Network Using a Deep Neural Network

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan M. Navarro ◽  
Raquel Martínez-España ◽  
Andrés Bueno-Crespo ◽  
Ramón Martínez ◽  
José M. Cecilia
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Sensor Network ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Deep Neural Network ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Acoustic Sensor ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sound Levels

Wireless acoustic sensor networks are nowadays an essential tool for noise pollution monitoring and managing in cities. The increased computing capacity of the nodes that create the network is allowing the addition of processing algorithms and artificial intelligence that provide more information about the sound sources and environment, e.g., detect sound events or calculate loudness. Several models to predict sound pressure levels in cities are available, mainly road, railway and aerial traffic noise. However, these models are mostly based in auxiliary data, e.g., vehicles flow or street geometry, and predict equivalent levels for a temporal long-term. Therefore, forecasting of temporal short-term sound levels could be a helpful tool for urban planners and managers. In this work, a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) deep neural network technique is proposed to model temporal behavior of sound levels at a certain location, both sound pressure level and loudness level, in order to predict near-time future values. The proposed technique can be trained for and integrated in every node of a sensor network to provide novel functionalities, e.g., a method of early warning against noise pollution and of backup in case of node or network malfunction. To validate this approach, one-minute period equivalent sound levels, captured in a two-month measurement campaign by a node of a deployed network of acoustic sensors, have been used to train it and to obtain different forecasting models. Assessments of the developed LSTM models and Auto regressive integrated moving average models were performed to predict sound levels for several time periods, from 1 to 60 min. Comparison of the results show that the LSTM models outperform the statistics-based models. In general, the LSTM models achieve a prediction of values with a mean square error less than 4.3 dB for sound pressure level and less than 2 phons for loudness. Moreover, the goodness of fit of the LSTM models and the behavior pattern of the data in terms of prediction of sound levels are satisfactory.

Statistical Study of the Instantaneous Values of Traffic Noise Sound Pressure Level

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
Jesús Alba Fernández ◽  
Marcelino Ferri García ◽  
Jaime Ramis Soriano ◽  
Juan Antonio Martínez Mora
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Road Traffic Noise ◽  
Statistical Parameters ◽  
Sound Event

In environmental acoustics the knowledge of the time dependency of the sound level provides relevant information about a sound event. In this sense, it may be said that conventional sound level metres have frequently implemented programs to calculate the fractiles (percentiles) of the distribution of instantaneous sound levels; and there are several indexes to evaluate the noise pollution, based on different statistical parameters. For further analysis of sound, and to obtain the commented indexes, it is accepted that this distribution is normal or gaussian. The questions we've tried to solve in this work are the following: First of all, whether the time dependent distribution of the variable sound pressure level should be considered as Gaussian in general cases or only in some particular ones. On the other hand, we have studied how the frequency of the sampling affects the resulting distribution of a given a sound event. To these ends, a set of road traffic noise events has been evaluated. Furthermore, even in gaussian distributions of sound pressure levels, the average of the distribution will not be coincident with the equivalent sound pressure level; that is the level of the average quadratic pressure. The difference between this parameter, and its dependence on the standard deviation, is studied.

Estimation of the Reduction in Impact Sound Pressure Level of Floating Floors from the Dynamic Stiffness of Insulation Layers

1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.A. Metzen
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Dynamic Stiffness ◽  
Measurement Procedure ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Insulation ◽  
Relevant Parameter ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Acoustical Properties

The most relevant parameter for assessing the acoustical properties of insulation layers for floating floor applications is the dynamic stiffness. Besides the surface mass of the floor plate the dynamic stiffness influences the reduction in impact sound pressure level of a floating floor. According to the formerly German measurement standard DIN 52214 the dynamic stiffness of impact sound insulation materials had to be measured after applying a short-term pre-load of 50 kNm−2. This pre-load does not reflect the conditions in the field and has been withdrawn in EN 29052-I. By comparison of measured field data for floor constructions with estimated data based on measurements with and without pre-load it is shown, that the new measurement procedure in connection with a more detailed estimation of the building element properties leads to a more accurate prediction of impact sound insulation in dwellings.

scholarly journals Comparing sound emergence and sound pressure level as predictors of short-term annoyance from wind turbine noise

Acta Acustica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Guillaume Dutilleux ◽  
Jean Fosset
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Limit Values ◽  
Wind Turbine Noise ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Sound Pressure Levels ◽  
Wind Energy Development

While most of the countries over the world rely on sound-pressure-level-based limit values to regulate wind energy development, sound emergence as defined in ISO 1996-1 is used in a few national legislations but also in international guidelines. There is however no published evidence that sound emergence is a relevant noise descriptor for that kind of source, namely that there is a correlation between this metric and perception or annoyance. A listening test was carried out to evaluate the relative merits of sound pressure level and sound emergence as predictors of annoyance from wind turbine noise. The test samples consisted of 45 30-s wind turbine sounds at three different A-weighted sound pressure levels and five different signal-to-noise ratios. Thirty two persons rated the test samples according to the ISO 15666 standard scale in a dry room equipped with loudspeakers. The results indicate that short term annoyance is better predicted by A-weighted sound pressure levels than by sound emergence. It is also observed that sound emergence is a poor predictor of the audibility of wind turbine sounds.

scholarly journals Influence of sound-absorping properties of noise protection barriers on road traffic participants

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1(62)) ◽  
pp. 14-18
Author(s):  
Vitaly Zaets ◽  
Dmytro Bida
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Sound Field ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Noise Barriers ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Sound Pressure Levels

The object of research is the sound field from linear sound sources between two parallel impedance noise barriers. The presence of barriers changes the structure of the sound field, as a result of which the sound pressure level in the area between the barriers increases. An increase in sound levels leads to both a decrease in the effectiveness of noise barriers and an increase in the negative impact on road users. One of the ways out of this situation is the construction of barriers with sound-absorbing properties. In this paper, the influence of the impedance properties of the barriers at the level of sound pressure in the area between the barriers is considered. The finite element method was chosen to calculate the sound field around the barrier. A computer model of a linear sound source with vertical sound-absorbing barriers on both sides of the source was built in the Comsol Multiphysics software environment. The sound absorption properties of the barrier were determined by the acoustic impedance of the face of the barrier. The sound fields were calculated in octave bands with geometric mean frequencies from 31 to 500 Hz. In addition, the parameters that were also analyzed were the distance between the barriers and their height. The solution of the problem made it possible to obtain a field of sound pressure levels around the barrier. Changeable simulation parameters made it possible to analyze a large number of situations of relative position of barriers and their heights encountered in engineering. Studies have shown that only at low frequencies and relatively small distances between barriers, the sound pressure level can increase significantly. However, it has also been shown that the use of sound-absorbing lining of noise barriers can reduce the sound pressure levels in the area between the barriers and improve the acoustic conditions for road users.

Contributions of Voice and Nonverbal Communication to Perceived Masculinity–Femininity for Cisgender and Transgender Communicators

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 931-947
Author(s):  
Teresa L. D. Hardy ◽  
Carol A. Boliek ◽  
Daniel Aalto ◽  
Justin Lewicke ◽  
Kristopher Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Presentation Modes ◽  
Audiovisual Stimuli ◽  
Vocal Tract Resonance ◽  
Point Light

Purpose The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to identify a set of communication-based predictors (including both acoustic and gestural variables) of masculinity–femininity ratings and (b) to explore differences in ratings between audio and audiovisual presentation modes for transgender and cisgender communicators. Method The voices and gestures of a group of cisgender men and women ( n = 10 of each) and transgender women ( n = 20) communicators were recorded while they recounted the story of a cartoon using acoustic and motion capture recording systems. A total of 17 acoustic and gestural variables were measured from these recordings. A group of observers ( n = 20) rated each communicator's masculinity–femininity based on 30- to 45-s samples of the cartoon description presented in three modes: audio, visual, and audio visual. Visual and audiovisual stimuli contained point light displays standardized for size. Ratings were made using a direct magnitude estimation scale without modulus. Communication-based predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings were identified using multiple regression, and analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of presentation mode on perceptual ratings. Results Fundamental frequency, average vowel formant, and sound pressure level were identified as significant predictors of masculinity–femininity ratings for these communicators. Communicators were rated significantly more feminine in the audio than the audiovisual mode and unreliably in the visual-only mode. Conclusions Both study purposes were met. Results support continued emphasis on fundamental frequency and vocal tract resonance in voice and communication modification training with transgender individuals and provide evidence for the potential benefit of modifying sound pressure level, especially when a masculine presentation is desired.

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