Mapping traffic noise
Research at the University of Bradford using novel boundary element methods has resulted in more accurate and efficient predictions of the noise created by roads and railways and of how sound spreads from the transport corridor, enabling more effective design and positioning of noise barriers and earth banks. Bradford researchers refined two areas of modelling applied to noise prediction, which helped to ensure that two new models 'NORD2000 and HARMONOISE' were able to provide more accurate results.
NORD 2000 was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministries and is used by Scandinavian national and local governments, to predict noise from roads and railways. It is mandatory to use Nord2000 in Denmark for strategic noise mapping. The model is also used by the Federal Department of Health in Canada.
Both models were incorporated into six new software packages used around the world to map noise and design noise reduction strategies and barriers, for road, rail, wind turbines and industry. The software packages – Predictor-LIMA, CadnaA, ExSound2000, SPL2000, SoundPlan and WindPRO – are used in over 40 countries, including most European countries, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, South Korea, Chile, and Taiwan.
For more information about this type of research, visit .
Related academics: