mercredi 18 décembre 2013

Important Facts On Environmental Noise Control

By Eugenia Dickerson


Noise can be defined as unwanted sound. This type of pollution is caused by recreational, industrial and transport activities. Whereas disorganized sounds at low levels may not necessarily be harmful, intolerable levels can affect humans both psychologically and physiologically. The objective of environmental noise control is to improve the acoustic surrounding. Persons that are working in areas with excessive pollution should undergo regular medical check-ups to rule out hearing impairment.

There are many sources of this type of pollution other than the industrial sources. The commonest causes include architecture, the transport industry and urban planning. Air and road traffic are considered the biggest sources of pollution worldwide. Some sources are fairly easy to bring under control while others are a major challenge.

To address indoor sound levels, multiple techniques have been applied including design of party walls, exterior walls, and ceiling and floor assemblies. Special purpose rooms such as auditoria, social halls, recording and dining areas emit sound which can be controlled by putting up sound baffles or absorbers. As opposed to sound proofing, sound masking entails actively adding sounds to reduce the disturbance of certain other unwanted sounds.

Development of hybrid vehicles in efforts to control road traffic sources will need to attain a market share of about fifty percent to have a significant impact on the streets. Improving tire tread designs for trucks better shielding diesel stacks are some of the ways of curbing noise at source level. Speed control is effective since the minimum sound emissions come from vehicles moving at a speed of at least thirty kilometres per hour.

In the aircraft industry, getting rid of loud engine designs is one of the few measures put in place as a noise control strategy. A number of different flight restrictions are a great potential to improved acoustic environment. This may include preferred use of runways, time of day restrictions and departure flight path. The major setbacks however are flying inconvenience, flight economics and safety.

Several materials have been incorporated into buildings to improve the acoustic properties. Panels made of steel are usually fitted into walls. Good panels are those that have very little interference with the substrates. Fabric covers are usually used in a number of buildings to improve absorption. The fabrics are made into sound curtains or blankets that are fitted onto surfaces or noisy equipment.

Noise from industrial equipment can be reduced by redesigning the machinery to operate in a manner less prone to produce extreme sounds. Additionally, workers can be provided ear protection equipment, shock mounting source equipment and creation of solid barriers. With regard to more conventional office environments, remedies may also involve researching for silent office equipment such as printers and photocopy machines.

A properly organised environmental noise control framework is required in virtually all public places. The methods chosen for this are variable but will fall in any of the following categories: vibration dumping, vibration isolation, absorption or sound isolation. In general, sound isolation is the use of barriers to impede transmission. Damping involves extraction of vibration energy from various media and dissipating it as heat.




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