[Bldg-sim] Environmental acoustic simulation in a residential community

[Ralph Muehleisen]

First things first, if your friend does not know the available
software, then your friend probably doesn't have the acoustic training
needed to be able to make a useful prediction when he/she gets some
software.  It would be like giving eQuest so someone who has no
experience in architecture or buildling engineering and expecting them
to make a useful prediction of energy use or HVAC load.  To do
anything useful your friend will need to learn the basics of
acoustics.  A couple recommended introductory acoustics books that
discuss community noise fairly well are the Handbook of Environmental
Acoustics by James Cowen, and Architectural Acoustics by Marshall Long

But, to answer the question on software

What is your friend trying to predict?
Noise from HVAC equipment near a building?  Noise from an industrial
or event facility  and its community impact?  Traffic noise?
Aircraft noise?

Outdoor HVAC noise near a building  can be predicted using the Trace
Acoustics Program (TAP) or the McQuay Acoustic Analyzer
http://www.trane.com/Commercial/DNA/View.aspx?i=1245
http://www.mcquay.com/McQuay/DesignSolutions/AcousticAnalyzer


The two most popular software programs for community noise prediction
and mapping are Soundplan and cadnaA.
http://www.soundplan.com/
http://www.acu-vib.com.au/cadna.htm

Traffic noise is usually predicted using the Federal Highway
departments traffic noise model software
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/noise/tnm/index.htm

Aircraft Noise is usually predicted using the Integrates Noise Model (INM)
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/aep/models/inm_model/

Ralph

Ralph Muehleisen, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor and Director of the Miller Acoustics Lab
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL 60616
muehleisen at iit.edu
tel: 312-567-3545  fax:312-567-3519



On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 2:37 PM, Zhuolun Chen <chenzhuolun at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> I am trying to figure out an answer for a friend. He is working on an
> evaluation of acoustic in a residential community. Does anyone know whether
> there are some software that can do a simulation on acoustic pressure level
> of outdoor space?
>
> Any suggestions and comments are highly appreciated.
>
> Zhuolun Chen
>
>
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