Use of vegetation for abatement of road traffic noise in a 1:10 scale street model

Abstract

Sound propagation over the building elements has been evaluated to measure the traffic noise level from the street canyon the adjacent courtyard. In this study, a 1:10 urban scale model was constructed to evaluate the noise abatement by use of vegetation as sustainable means. The model materials were selected by measuring absorption coefficients and ground impedances in a 1:10 and a full scale testing environment; the ground, foot path, low barrier, façade and roof were treated with vegetation. Sound pressure levels and reverberation times were measured in the scale model and were compared with the results of computer simulation.