NOISELESS

PAVEMENTS
By
Jestin John
B110286CE

WHAT IS NOISE POLLUTION?

Sound that is unwanted or disrupts ones quality of

life is called as noise.

Sound becomes undesirable when it disturbs the
normal activities such as working, sleeping, and
during conversations.
It is an underrated environmental problem because of

the fact that we cant see, smell, or taste it.

World Health Organization stated that Noise must be
2

recognized as a major threat to human well-being

Health Effects
There are direct links between noise and health. Also,

noise pollution adversely affects the lives of millions of

people.
Noise pollution can damage physiological and

psychological health.
High blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep

disruption, hearing loss, and productivity loss are the

problems related to noise pollution.
It can also cause memory loss, severe depression, and
3

panic attacks.

 The noise level alongside a freeway might be in

the range of 70 to 80 db.

Exterior noise levels reach 65 to 70 db, people

living inside the building have to close window to

hold conversation.
Noise levels in home should not exceed 40-45 db,

levels that are often exceeded by traffic noise with

the windows closed.
5

How to control noise?

Increasing the distance between the source and the

receiver.
Inserting an obstruction (such as a noise barrier wall).

Do not reduce noise at

source.

67 dB(A)
50 ft

A reduction of 3 dB(A) is like doubling

the distance from the noise.
67 dB(A)- 3 dB(A) = 64 dB(A)

100 ft
7

HIGHWAY TRAFFIC NOISE

Vehicle-generated noise comes from:
engine,
exhaust system,
aerodynamic noise
tire noise.
For > 50 mph, pavement/tire noise dominates.

(Source: Robert Bernhard, 2010)

TIRE/PAVEMENT NOISE
GENERATION
Source Generation Mechanisms
Tread impact

At the interface between the tire and pavement

an impact occurs as the tread hits the pavement
.

10

Air pumping

Within the contact patch, the

passages and grooves in the
tire are compressed and
distorted. The air entrained in
these passages will be
compressed and pumped in
and out. Because of air
compression effects and air
pumping, aerodynamically
generated sound is created.
11

 Slip-stick

If horizontal forces exceed the limits of friction, the

tread block will slip briefly and then re-stick to the
pavement. This action of slipping and will generate
both noise and vibration.

12

 Stick-snap
The contact between the tread block and the pavement
causes adhesion between the tread block and pavement.
When the tread block exits the contact patch, the
adhesive force holds the tread block. The release of the
tread block causes both sound energy and vibration of
the tire carcass

13

TIRE NOISE MEASUREMENT

Statistical Passby :
methods utilize a random sample of typical vehicles
measured one at a time.
The maximum sound pressure level is captured for each
passby using a sound measurement system such as a
sound level meter (SLM).

The speed and vehicle type of each event is recorded. A

statistically significant sample of light and heavy vehicles
must be collected. The data is used to compute a Statistical
Passby Index (SPBI)
14

 The measurement site must be selected to avoid

background noise, reflections, or terrain that might

affect the measurement

15

Close Proximity Methods (CPX):

Close proximity methods (CPX) were developed to
allow measurement to focus on tire/pavement
interaction noise.
The measurement is taken on a trailer, using
microphones located near the tire.
The trailer includes a hood over the microphones
such that wind noise is reduced and noise from
other traffic is reflected

16

17

Asphalt mixtures
1.Porous Asphalt Pavement
Porous pavements- constructed by reducing the amount of

small aggregate
Porosity reduces the strength of the air pumping

source mechanism by preventing air compression

Porous pavements are capable of reducing

traffic noise, by absorbing sound.

18

 Surface course: 50-100 mm

porous or open-graded
asphalt mix.
Filter course: 50-75 mm open
graded crushed aggregate
provides filtering capabilities
as well as a providing a
suitable platform for paving

Reservoir course:50 75 mm
single sized aggregates.
19

2.Stone mastic asphalt (SMA) mixtures:

consist of a gap-graded aggregate with the upper sieve

sizes of 5.6 mm
The typical air void content of SMA mixtures is
between 1.5 and 3.0%, and the layer thickness is
between 2 and 3 cm.
The mixtures have both good mechanical performance
and friction properties, and are applicable for a normal
traffic load;

20

21

3.Portland cement porous pavement

(PCPP)
sparse fine-aggregate content -void content in the

22

mixture can be as high as 1530%.

This high void composition allows for noise
absorption through the porous concrete.
Pervious concrete Layer -12-25 cm
Base coarse - min 15 cm
Sub-Base Layer - depends on infiltration rate

 Not for Heavy traffic

Not for High speed road

23

CONCLUSIONS
Quiet pavement that is safe, durable and economical has
been demonstrated to be possible with current technology
The variation of available materials and construction
techniques among the states mean that there is no general
guideline available yet for design of quiet pavement
The highway design engineer will need to select from
locally available pavement type and texture that will
provide noise reduction using the principles described.
24

REFERENCE
Tian, B., et. al., 2014, Reduction of Tire-Pavement

Noise by Porous Concrete Pavement, Journal of

Materials in Civil Engineering, 26(1), 223-229.
Rasmussen, R.O. and Sohaney, R.C., 2012, TirePavement and Environmental Traffic Noise Research
Study, Colorado Department of Transportation Dtd
Applied Research and Innovation Branch, 20-40.
Kandhal, P.S., 2004, Asphalt Pavement Mitigate
Tire/Pavement noise, Hot Mix Asphalt Technology, 28.
Neithalath, N., Garcia, R. and Weiss, J., 2012, TirePavement Interaction Noise: Recent Research on
Concrete Pavement Surface Type and Texture,
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 6-18.
25

26