Localisation of low frequency noise pollution areas in industrial environments
Regular paper
Microflown Technologies
Wednesday 3 june, 2015, 14:40 - 15:00
0.9 Athens (118)
Abstract:
Low frequency noise and infrasound noise are growing issues in the
industrialized world. Such noises are mainly generated by the heavy industry,
power plants, wind turbines etc. Being ever present in our everyday life, this
phenomena is still heavily underestimated, and its long term impact on the
human health and well-being is largely unknown.
Due to the nature of the noise sources under investigation, the problem of
their localisation becomes a cumbersome task. Traditionally the problem of
localizing noise sources in the very low frequency range, could only be
addressed by the employment of large sound pressure-based beamforming arrays.
However, the limitations of such instrumentation renders it useless for low
frequency applications. Currently the problem of noise assessment at very low
frequencies was reduced to the determination of its sound pressure level.
In this paper, a new measurement system, based on a 2D particle velocity
sensor along with a monitoring station, is presented. The combination of both
particle velocity elements allows for successful localisation of noise sources
in the acoustic far field, without any frequency limitations. Furthermore, the
system is able to monitor and visualize the behavior of a noise source, as
well as highlight the temporal patterns and trends that it follows.
Results presented in this paper are an outcome of an investigation carried
out, in cooperation with the city-hall of Veendam, on a real measurement case.
The aim of the measurement was to locate the source of a 30 Hz noise problem,
which was reported as “annoying” by the local community.