GEOMETRIC DESCRIPTORS OF ROAD SURFACE TEXTURE IN RELATION TO TIRE-ROAD NOISE

The paper deals with the determination of geometric parameters for studying the relationship between tire-road noise and texture of road surfaces. The approach was found to be an alternative to classical spectral analyses and numerical simulations of the tire-road contact. Texture parameters were derived from previous works at the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chausses related to the influence of the microtexture of road surfaces on skid resistance. Use of these parameters was justified by consideration of generation mechanisms of rolling noise. Texture, rolling noise, and absorption measurements were performed on 12 road surfaces. The measuring devices and the test methods produced texture profile analyses, including the spectral and geometric approaches. Geometric parameters were defined. Correlation between the noise and texture spectra showed results similar to those published in previous works. Fair tendencies were found between the global noise level at 90 km/h and the geometric parameters. Unexpected results obtained on the porous asphalt surfaces were partially explained by the attenuation effect, which was quantified by means of existing models. Results from the correlation between the third-octave-band noise levels and the geometric parameters corroborated those of the spectral analyses

«Adrienne» a European method to qualify road noise barriers on site

Adrienne is a method developed in a European research project, the aim of which was the measurement on site of sound absorption and sound transmission of any road noise barrier. In order to get the impulse response of the device (absorption measurement), a M.L.S. (Maximum Length Sequence) method was selected mainly for its excellent signal/noise ratio. The introduction of a subtraction technique improves the low frequency information. For flat barriers, measurement results showed a good agreement with well-known models or other experimental methods. For non flat barriers, numerical predictions resulted in the requirement of an averaging performed on many source and receiver positions. An encouraging agreement between measurements and predictions was found. Round robin tests on a specially built platform proved a good repeatability of the method