A step-by-step experimental characterization of a low-height acoustic barrier for railway applications

The development of rail transport is crucial for transitioning towards a more sustainable form of mobility. It is imperative to address and mitigate issues regarding discomfort and noise pollution caused by rail traffic in order to foster a harmonious coexistence between the population and railway transport. In this paper, an experimental prototype of a low height acoustic barrier is characterized. The barrier has a high capacity for mitigating railway noise and has great potential for urban design. The acoustic barrier prototypes were initially developed using numerical models and subsequently subjected to a series of experimental tests. The initial experimental characterization was carried out in a semi-anechoic chamber. In the second phase, the prototypes were tested in a free field. The final phase of the experimental characterization involves the application of the noise barrier prototypes along a section of the Sintra railway line, located near Lisboa, Portugal. The results demonstrate the significant potential for noise mitigation offered by the developed solutions, achieving insertion loss levels of approximately 10 dB across the entire frequency range.