PAAB - Psychoakustische Analyse Auffälliger Bogengeräusche

Introduction

Railway vehicles passing through tight curves can produce a high pitched noise called curve squeal. Curve squeal is a very salient type of noise located in the high frequency range that can range between a tonal narrow band and a wide band noise. The reason for the tonal noise is lateral creepage on the top of the rail, which excites wheel vibration at frequencies corresponding to their modes. Wide band noise, however, is caused by wheel flanges touching the rail.

Aims

The project PAAB aims at investigating the effect on the perceived annoyance of such noises using in a perception test. Using the resulting perceptual characterization of curve squeal should aid in more adequately considering this type of noise in noise mapping.

Methods

Based on previous conventional large-scale emission measurements as well as new measurements at immission distances using a head-and-torso-simulator representative samples for curve squeal will be derived and used in a perception test. This will also be aided by using synthetic well defined curve squeal noise.

PAAB is funded by the FFG (project 860523) and the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). The project is done in cooperation with the Research Center of Railway Engineering, Traffic Economics and Ropeways, Institute of Transportation, Vienna University of Technololgy (project leader), Kirisits Engineering Consultants, and psiacoustic Umweltforschung und Engineering GmbH.