10. OUTDOOR SOUND PROPAGATION（10。）.pdf

NOISE CONTROL Outdoor Sound Propagation 10.1 10. OUTDOOR SOUND PROPAGATION 10.1 Introduction  Have you ever wondered why distant thunder sounds like a low rumble, while close thunder sounds more like a crackling explosion?  Have you ever wondered why you can sometimes at night, hear distant sounds (like a train) that you cannot hear during the day? These are but two interesting examples of outdoor sound propagation. Up to this point in this course, you have dealt with short range, time invariant propagation in a uniform medium. However, the outdoor environment is anything but uniform. Changing meteorological conditions can easily cause fluctuations in sound levels by 10-20 dB over time periods of minutes. The longer the transmission path, the larger are the fluctuations in levels. Outdoor sound propagation is affected by many mechanisms, including: a) Source geometry and type (point, line, coherent, incoherent) b) Meteorological conditions (wind and temperature variations, atmospheric turbulence) c) Atmospheric absorption of sound d) Terrain type and contour (ground absorption of sound, reflections) e) Obstructions (buildings, barriers, vegetation, etc) In this lesson, these basic mechanisms will be explained and quantified. After completion of this lesson, the reader should be able to explain why thunder sounds different at a distance, or the train can be heard under some conditions and not others. Basic tools and techniques are provided to predict sound propagation over long ranges outdoors. The successful outdoor noise consultant needs five things: 1) Measurement equipment (octave band sound level meter, perhaps a long term monitor) 2) Noise control techniques (such as barriers, damping materials, enclosures, mufflers and silencers) 3) A goal – what is a “good”