Alliance puts noise on the map

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 9, 2002

To address the demand for noise mapping and calculation of environmental noise levels Bruel and Kjaer has formed a partnership with the world's foremost experts in environmental noise prediction.

To address the growing demand for noise mapping and calculation of environmental noise levels Bruel and Kjaer has formed a partnership with the world's foremost experts in environmental noise prediction.

Under the newly created international Bruel and Kjaer Prediction Partnership, the Predictor and LIMA suites of noise mapping and environmental simulation software are available internationally to provide the most sophisticated noise mapping and prediction solutions on the market worldwide.

The Prediction Partnership already has 12 years experience of noise mapping projects.

Projects have ranged from an area of 1km2 covering a few hundred people through to investigating more than 1000km2 and in excess of one million people.

Noise maps for cities such as Birmingham in the UK, Bonn and Hamburg in Germany and Linz in Austria have been created.

On a larger scale regions like Thuringen (18,000km2) or the whole of The Netherlands have been noise mapped.

With a range of powerful data handling and analysis tools, LIMA is the first software designed specifically for large-scale noise mapping, although its modular nature makes it suitable for producing models of any size.

LIMA reduces preprocessing time through its capability for importing a wide range of data types, and automatic checking and correction features such as 'polygon closing' that ensures that AutoCAD files can be used to give realistic models of buildings.

By using multiple processors or networks, it achieves market-leading speed in the production of detailed maps according to UK and international standards such as ISO9613-2, CRTN and CRN.

LIMA can handle several hundreds of thousands of objects terrain, buildings and emitters in the calculation of each tile in a model.

Each tile may consist of 32,000 x 32,000 grid points.

Tiling of even the largest models is automatic.

LIMA also copes readily with complex build environments such as embankments with barriers, bridges, cantilever roofs, and reflections from underneath bridges and roofs.

The software generates a variety of map forms, for example to highlight areas where noise levels exceed limit values, or to relate number of inhabitants to calculated noise levels at a specific height or at several heights next to facades.

LIMA modules are available for functions including barrier optimisation in relation to combined effects, maximising total emission when fixing quotas, min/max analysis of moving sources, many methods of annoyance analysis, and conflict analysis.

LIMA's modularity limits initial cost by allowing the user to select the most appropriate functionality or model size.

For example, LIMA offers accurate small-scale modelling of complex geometrical structures such as fly-over intersections.

Bruel and Kjaer also offers its Predictor software package a general purpose environmental modelling program that contains a range of intuitive and powerful features.

Predictor is closely integrated with GIS software such as ArcView through data exchange in the industry standard Shape (SHP) format.

Another key member of the Partnership is Hepworth Acoustics, one of the UK's leading independent acoustic consultancies.

Hepworth Acoustics has five years application experience of LIMA software for a variety of projects and will contribute training and user support services based on its extensive first-hand experience of the LIMA software.

"We see the new Bruel and Kjaer Prediction Partnership as becoming the world's No.

1 environmental noise prediction software supplier", commented Peter Sciera Jensen Albarts, Bruel and Kjaer's calculation software product manager.

"The partners' combined knowledge of noise prediction technology and its application is vast and is growing constantly.

The Partnership ensures our customers the best environmental noise level calculation software, support and advice any where in the world.

The expertise covers a wide range of solutions spanning noise measurement, mapping, noise source ranking, modelling of noise reduction solutions, noise environment monitoring and control, and fulfilment of EU IPPC and Environmental Noise Directives".