What is Noise Barrier Manufacturer and Why Do We Use Them?

What are Noise Barrier Walls?

Noise Barrier Walls are some of the most effective solutions for excessive noise on the market today. They are exterior mounted walls specifically made to block sound from reaching inhabited areas.

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When a roof-mounted AC unit is distracting office workers, or when an industrial manufacturing plant is making too much noise and violating municipal noise ordinances, a Noise Barrier Wall is a simple, effective solution.

Why are Sound Barriers Important?

Sound is a critical component of every building, yet so often it can be neglected in the design process, or even worse, removed from the project due to budget concerns. Most of the time, the noise within a building won’t be realized until the project is completed, which makes cutting sound control an easy cut during the construction process.

The problem is, there can be severe legal penalties for violating OSHA standards for sound levels, not to mention additional municipal noise ordinances on top of that. If you consider the loss of productivity and the displeasure the occupants of your building feel following severe sound problems, it becomes clear that a noise barrier is well worth the investment.

How do Noise Barrier Walls Work?

Noise Barrier Walls, also sometimes called sound walls or noise walls, come in a wide variety of materials, thicknesses and build styles to accommodate every noise environment imaginable. A noise wall lining a highway will differ significantly from a sound barrier enclosing a rooftop AC unit.

Similarly, a barrier used to absorb noise from generators and transformers will require a different grade of wall than an industrial cooling station.  While specifications vary, most noise barrier walls are constructed in panels of customizable size with a hard, outer shell that can either be solid or perforated, while also featuring a softer absorptive material on the inside.

This construction lends itself well to both reflecting and absorbing sound, virtually eliminating the unwanted noise that is inherent to heavy machinery. Once the noise is contained, your occupants will immediately notice the difference, and your space will be transformed into a haven of productivity.

Noise Barriers are always built to industry safety standards and are made to withstand environmental weathering from noise, wind, snow and seismic loading conditions.

What Other Types of Noise Barriers are There?

While Noise Barrier Walls are a great solution for exterior noise pollution, there are also many other forms of noise blocking equipment that we deliver. Sound Control Window systems, for example can be very effective for keeping noise contained.

Additionally we offer a variety of Noise-blocking doors that can be used to block sound from escaping rooms that contain anything from loud machinery, to music, or even theaters.

One of the most effective Noise Barrier types that we recommend is a full acoustical enclosure. These are generally made up of four walls, a roof and a door, and enclose in a particularly noisy area.

Imagine a manufacturing plant that has a metal-on-metal sawing station. That one area of the plant could make enough noise to drive the whole building crazy. An acoustical enclosure can seal off that area, ensuring that working sound levels are maintained in even the most chaotic environments.

How do I get Started?

As with all of our products, the first step towards solving your noise problem is to contact your friends at Gaus Scott Company for a free consultation. From there we will partner with you to nail down project specs, discuss pricing, and set a plan for delivery and installation.

We handle full project management responsibilities from start to finish to make sure that your solution is implemented to your satisfaction.

A noise barrier (also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier, or acoustical barrier) is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants of sensitive land use areas from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effective method of mitigating roadway, railway, and industrial noise sources – other than cessation of the source activity or use of source controls.

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In the case of surface transportation noise, other methods of reducing the source noise intensity include encouraging the use of hybrid and electric vehicles, improving automobile aerodynamics and tire design, and choosing low-noise paving material. Extensive use of noise barriers began in the United States after noise regulations were introduced in the early s.

History

Noise barriers have been built in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when vehicular traffic burgeoned. I-680 in Milpitas, California was the first noise barrier.[1] In the late s, analytic acoustical technology emerged to mathematically evaluate the efficacy of a noise barrier design adjacent to a specific roadway. By the s, noise barriers that included use of transparent materials were being designed in Denmark and other western European countries.[2]

The best of these early computer models considered the effects of roadway geometry, topography, vehicle volumes, vehicle speeds, truck mix, road surface type, and micro-meteorology. Several U.S. research groups developed variations of the computer modeling techniques: Caltrans Headquarters in Sacramento, California; the ESL Inc. group in Sunnyvale, California; the Bolt, Beranek and Newman[3] group in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a research team at the University of Florida. Possibly the earliest published work that scientifically designed a specific noise barrier was the study for the Foothill Expressway in Los Altos, California.[4]

Numerous case studies across the U.S. soon addressed dozens of different existing and planned highways. Most were commissioned by state highway departments and conducted by one of the four research groups mentioned above. The U.S. National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in , effectively mandated the quantitative analysis of noise pollution from every Federal-Aid Highway Act Project in the country, propelling noise barrier model development and application. With passage of the Noise Control Act of ,[5] demand for noise barrier design soared from a host of noise regulation spinoff.

By the late s, more than a dozen research groups in the U.S. were applying similar computer modeling technology and addressing at least 200 different locations for noise barriers each year. As of , this technology is considered a standard in the evaluation of noise pollution from highways. The nature and accuracy of the computer models used is nearly identical to the original s versions of the technology.

Small and purposeful gaps exist in most noise barriers to allow firefighters to access nearby fire hydrants and pull through fire hoses, which are usually denoted by a sign indicating the nearest cross street, and a pictogram of a fire hydrant, though some hydrant gaps channel the hoses through small culvert channels beneath the wall.

Design

The acoustical science of noise barrier design is based upon treating an airway or railway as a line source.[dubious – discuss] The theory is based upon blockage of sound ray travel toward a particular receptor; however, diffraction of sound must be addressed. Sound waves bend (downward) when they pass an edge, such as the apex of a noise barrier. Barriers that block line of sight of a highway or other source will therefore block more sound.[6] Further complicating matters is the phenomenon of refraction, the bending of sound rays in the presence of an inhomogeneous atmosphere. Wind shear and thermocline produce such inhomogeneities. The sound sources modeled must include engine noise, tire noise, and aerodynamic noise, all of which vary by vehicle type and speed.

The noise barrier may be constructed on private land, on a public right-of-way, or on other public land. Because sound levels are measured using a logarithmic scale, a reduction of nine decibels is equivalent to elimination of approximately 86 percent of the unwanted sound power.

Materials

Several different materials may be used for sound barriers, including masonry, earthwork (such as earth berm), steel, concrete, wood, plastics, insulating wool, or composites.[7] Walls that are made of absorptive material mitigate sound differently than hard surfaces.[8] It is also possible to make noise barriers with active materials such as solar photovoltaic panels to generate electricity while also reducing traffic noise.[9][10][11]

A wall with porous surface material and sound-dampening content material can be absorptive where little or no noise is reflected back towards the source or elsewhere. Hard surfaces such as masonry or concrete are considered to be reflective where most of the noise is reflected back towards the noise source and beyond.[12]

Noise barriers can be effective tools for noise pollution abatement, but certain locations and topographies are not suitable for use of noise barriers. Cost and aesthetics also play a role in the choice of noise barriers. In some cases, a roadway is surrounded by a noise abatement structure or dug into a tunnel using the cut-and-cover method.

Disadvantages

Potential disadvantages of noise barriers include:

• Blocked vision for motorists and rail passengers. Glass elements in noise screens can reduce visual obstruction, but require regular cleaning
• Aesthetic impact on land- and townscape
• An expanded target for graffiti, unsanctioned guerilla advertising, and vandalism
• Creation of spaces hidden from view and social control (e.g. at railway stations)
• Possibility of bird–window collisions for large and clear barriers

• Noise abatement walls often block rail passengers' or road users' view and attract graffiti.
• This noise abatement wall in the Netherlands has a transparent section at the driver's eye-level to reduce the visual impact for road users.
• Low walls close to the track avoid optical impact.

Effects on air pollution

Roadside noise barriers have been shown to reduce the near-road air pollution concentration levels. Within 15–50 m from the roadside, air pollution concentration levels at the lee side of the noise barriers may be reduced by up to 50% compared to open road values.[13]

Noise barriers force the pollution plumes coming from the road to move up and over the barrier creating the effect of an elevated source and enhancing vertical dispersion of the plume. The deceleration and the deflection of the initial flow by the noise barrier force the plume to disperse horizontally. A highly turbulent shear zone characterized by slow velocities and a re-circulation cavity is created in the lee of the barrier which further enhances the dispersion; this mixes ambient air with the pollutants downwind behind the barrier.[14]

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See also

• Health effects from noise
• Noise control
• Safety barrier
• Soundproofing

References