InterNoise 2024 - Keynote Lecture #2 by Massimo Garai : From the Laboratory to the Field: the Development of In-Situ Measurements on Noise Barriers

Noise barriers and related devices (claddings, covers etc.) are essential for protecting people from road and rail noise. Thirty years ago, their intrinsic acoustic characteristics could be tested only in the laboratory, in a reverberant sound field. After thirty years of research, noise barriers can be tested on the site where they are installed in real-life conditions while traffic is flowing. The lecture illustrates the development of the signal processing and equipment that now permit us to go on-site and obtain much more representative results and detailed insight into how these devices perform during their service life. It is also a good example of how the outcomes of some international research projects became international standards. Moreover, the link between the acoustic characteristics and the environmental sustainability of noise barriers and related devices will be discussed.