Off-peak low noise heavy-duty vehicles, façade insulation and indoor noise disturbance

Paper in proceeding, 2016

Off-peak delivery of goods can result in increased transport efficiency, fuel savings, less pollution and increased traffic safety. However, unless carefully managed it causes increased annoyance and health risks for inhabitants exposed to the transportation noise during hours used for recovery and sleep. The presented work focuses on heavy-duty vehicles with Diesel engines during the "last mile" of the transport corridor through densely populated city centers. The aim is to study preconditions, open questions, and problem areas when nighttime soundscapes are altered by low noise vehicles. By using measured and simulated sounds, different driving conditions and acoustical treatments of vehicles and facade were studied at the facade and indoors in terms of 1/3-octaveband levels and judgments in listening tests. The evaluation shows that low-frequency noise of the vehicles is important indoors, while high-frequency noise is the major contributor outdoors. According to the listening tests the low-frequency noise is coupled to the degree of reported arousal, indicating that reduced low-frequency noise is especially important at nighttime. It was concluded that an acceptable indoor environment was achieved with a modified truck that is driven by a responsible driver, and by using "noise proof" windows with higher sound insulation