DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL MODULAR FORM OF SOUND ABSORBENT FACING FOR TRAFFIC NOISE BARRIERS

Solid traffic noise barriers may reflect noise in undesirable directio ns. Consequently, various forms of sound absorbent barriers have been developed and installed in locations where reflections may cause probl ems. Such constructions are normally more expensive than simple solid barriers. Retro-fit treatment of solid barriers which were installed w ithout due consideration of adverse reflections were costly. The surfa ces of sound absorbent barriers are vulnerable to the accretion of par ticles thrown up by traffic and of water and ice due to natural precip itation: performance is consequently degraded. This paper describes th e design and model scale evaluation of a modular form of sound absorbe r which may either be incorporated into a basic construction or may be easily and quickly retrofitted to existing reflective barriers. The i nitial tests indicate that the acoustic performance will be at least c omparable with those of existing designs and it is suggested that this form of absorbent facing may be less prone to undesirable aggregation .