Efficiency of reduction of noise from railway transport by acoustic screens

Introduction. The strategy for the development of transport infrastructure in Russia involves the construction of railway tracks, including for high-speed traffic. The noise created by rail transport creates uncomfortable living conditions for citizens. One of the most common methods of noise reduction in the way of its propagation is the installation of acoustic screens.

The purpose of the work. To evaluate the effectiveness of acoustic screens used to reduce noise from linear objects of railway transport.

Materials and methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of acoustic screens in the reverberation chamber, a study of six types of materials most commonly used for their construction was conducted. Experimental studies calculations were carried out in accordance with the requirements of current regulatory and technical documentation.

Results. Experimental studies have shown air noise isolation levels to vary from 27 dBA to 44 dBA. In real conditions, the long-wave part of the noise spectrum of railway transport bends around the screen, forming an acoustic shadow. The calculated acoustic shadow from the AE for non-electrified tracks is 45.95 m from the screen, for electrified tracks – 40.56 m. The efficiency of acoustic screens was shown to decrease with increasing train speed.

Limitations. The limitations are determined by the value of the calculated uncertainty indicator obtained by analyzing the results of acoustic measurements.

Conclusion. The use of acoustic screens as the main noise protection measure has little prospect in newly built-up areas with high-rise residential and public buildings, and in the conditions of the prospect of intensive development of high-speed rail traffic. The procedure for establishing the estimated size of the distance from the railway tracks, ensuring compliance with the requirements of sanitary and epidemiological well-being, needs a clear regulation of the list and quality of the initial data, taking into account the peculiarities of the structure of the track and the management of railway traffic.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the submission of the conclusion of the Biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contribubtion:
Kopytenkova O.I. — research concept and design, collection and processing of material; content analysis of documents, writing of text;
Afanasyeva T.A. — research concept and design, collection and processing of material; content analysis of documents, writing of text.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023