State-of-the-Art Prediction and Control of Road Traffic Noise in France

Because traffic noise is considered by the French population as the primary environmental nuisance, prediction of road traffic noise and development of efficient noise control techniques is very important. The first step is to analyze the source, the main part of which is due to the contact between tires and the road pavement. Many efforts have been devoted to the assessment of a reliable measurement method, and a classification of road pavements in relation to noise has been established for some years. To abate road traffic noise, special attention has been paid to low-noise pavements. Thus, the modeling of the absorption properties of porous asphalts has been particularly studied in the past 10 years. The second step is to understand the physics of sound propagation outdoors, especially the meteorological effects on the propagation of road traffic noise. Both theoretical and experimental approaches have been undertaken. Finally, the effect of road noise barriers of any shape on the propagation of road noise and their interaction with porous road surfaces have been investigated by using numerical models.