SYNCHRONISED MEASUREMENTS FOR THE CHARAC-

TERISATION OF THE EMERGENCE OF A SOUND SOURCE

Kévin CORMIER, Nicolas ISNARD;

01dB-Brasil, Rua Domingos de Morais, 2102, C.P 04036-000, Vila Mariana, São Paulo Brazil

Christine AUJARD
01dB-Metravib, 200 chemin des Ormeaux F-69578 Limonest Cedex, France

Cities consist of a large urban mix where different human activities coexist. Housing can be found
next to stores and transports, schools and hospitals, industrial facilities and service firms, leisure
and tourism activities. During the day and at night, part of the city is sleeping while the other works
or relaxes. But keeping harmonious local noise situations is beneficial to all inhabitants. Today, the
accumulation of different ways of life leads local authorities to elaborate new policies for the man-
agement of noise pollution. Also, a new concept relative to the measurement of sound levels in sev-
eral synchronised points has come out. Adapting metrology to this concept leads to innovative
quantifying of urban noise events, for a better knowledge of the noise situation. For a very concrete
illustration of the various operating steps addressed in this approach, this article presents an acoustic
case study, done next to an industrial facility in the Lyon region (France).

1. Introduction
Cities show various urban planning. With urban development, industrial facilities and produc-
tion sites are often established next to residential areas. The case study presented here deals with a
production site located next to a residential area. The local industrial activity involves the manufac-
ture of aluminium profiles for the fitting of buildings (windows, shades, etc.). Various noise pollu-
tion is perceived by the neighbouring residents. The acoustic study aims at measuring the sound
levels at the residents’, on the industrial site, next to the urban infrastructures… and to correlate
noise events with measured situations. The final purpose is to identify the origin of the various
sounds perceived and to quantify the sound contributions independently one of the others in the
global environmental noise. This study relies on DUO, an innovating metrological range called
“Smart Noise Monitor”. This generation of instruments results from the merging of classical sound
level meter solutions and noise monitoring solutions. Gifted with unrivalled technical innovation,
capabilities and performances, the DUO “Smart Noise Monitor” ensures original perspective re-
garding environmental noise measurement1. The final goal of this study deals with checking the
compliance with current regulations, in particular with respect to neighbourhood noise.

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2. Characterisation of environmental noise on the site

Today, noisy activities (individual, commercial, industrial, leisure activities…) are subject to
precise national or international regulations relative to environmental and life protection. In France,
Decree 2006-1099 of August 31, 2006 deals with the fight against neighbourhood noise and modi-
fies the Public Health Code accordingly.

2.1 Description of the site under study and selection of the measurement points
The industrial site is located next to Lyon (France), within a business park including several
facilities. Only the site under study can be heard from the neighbouring residential area. In particu-
lar, the residents complain about noise related to the plant activity, to traffic (deliveries, internal
road traffic on the site) on one hand, and from noise generated by the boiler room, on the other
hand.
On the site, measurement points are selected next to the noisiest machines, in the boiler room
on one hand, and outside the technical room and next to the industrial chimney on the other hand.
Furthermore, different measurement points are also selected on the property line of the closest resi-
dents, inside a plaintiff’s house (at the centre of the bedroom, windows closed). The measurements
were carried out simultaneously at the different aforementioned measurement points. The measure-
ment campaign2 took place on October 18, 2010 from 8:30 to 11:30 am.

Figure 1. View of the neighbouring houses from the industrial site. On-site measurement points.

Figure 2. Boiler room – Reference point, inside the technical room.

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2.2 DUO, the new generation of “Smart Noise Monitor” instruments

With its specifications defined based on the user’s requirements, DUO has been developed
to provide an optimum answer to the needs relative to noise measurements. The Smart Noise Moni-
tor can be used to do tests according to Brazilian Standard ABNT NBR 10.151 relative to the char-
acterisation and measurement of environmental noise. Thus, during the measurement, a specific
source can be characterised by coding, and tonality, global emergence and 1/1 and 1/3 octave emer-
gence indicators can be calculated in real time. With DUO, the trigger function allows recording the
signal and/or coding the measurements further to the violation of a predefined threshold.

Figure 3. DUO, dedicated to environmental noise measurements.

Hand-held sound level measurements are carried out in a classical way, using the built-in
keyboard and screen, or using a wireless (Wi-Fi and 3G) remote control. The operator has full (re-
mote) control of the instrument. DUO is innovative with its ergonomics, operating life, reliability
and built-in communication technology. It avoids using multiple cables between the measuring in-
strument, the microphone, the batteries and the modem. It can be easily deployed on the field based
on it unique and discreet “all in one” design. It allows for more than 3 days of rated operating on
batteries. It is resistant against bad weather: its housing and microphone have been designed for
outdoor use under all weather conditions. It is also reliable due to its periodic self check test, accu-
rate time synchronisation and GPS geo-referencing of measurements. A multi-communicating in-
strument, DUO includes a Wi-Fi module for short-range use and a 3G modem for access from any-
where in the world. Used in multiple points, it opens up new diagnosis possibilities: it is now possi-
ble to analyse precisely and simultaneously noise pollution and disturbing sources in multiple posi-
tions.

The noise measuring equipment used during the test is compliant with the specifications for
class 1 sound level meters. The calibration of the sound level meters is performed prior to the meas-
urements, a noise calibrator being applied to the microphones.

2.3 Definition of the procedure for noise measurements

The A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure levels, called LAeq, are measured in
several reference points. The sound level is indeed a physical indicator that can be used to charac-
terise a physical phenomenon. The LAeq equivalent continuous sound pressure level is the value of
the sound pressure level of a stable continuous sound that, over a given measurement period, has the
same energy as that of the measured sound with a level that varies over time. To complement this
indicator, an emergence indicator is calculated by comparing the ambient noise in the presence of
the specific noise (e.g., characteristic noise of the operating factory) with the residual background
noise. To assess the global emergence and the spectral emergence, the cumulated duration of the
sound level measurement intervals, which must include the presence periods of the specific noise
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and the presence periods of the residual background noise alone, is at least equal to thirty minutes.
The periods of occurrence of exceptional noise or of additional noise related to the achievement of
the measurements (barking due to the presence of the operator, conversations, isolated vehicles, or
parked nearby, etc.) are excluded from the measurement interval. Finally, statistical noise levels
provide additional information on the time history of recorded signals: the sound levels exceeded
during N% of the total measurement period.

3. Analysis of the sounds measured on the site

3.1 DUO, a new concept for environmental measurement3
DUO opens up particularly innovating and efficient noise diagnosis possibilities: noise pollu-
tion and disturbing sources can now be analysed precisely and simultaneously in multiple positions.
Accurate time synchronisation and GPS geo-referencing of the measurements allow for the simulta-
neous use of several instruments in different positions. By relying on the unique remote control ca-
pabilities of the instrument, a single operator can fully control several instruments located in differ-
ent positions on a single site. The operator can perform a multi-channel synchronised analysis by
relying on two complementary approaches. The first approach is based on the notions of measure-
ment point and coding point. Using several instruments on a single site allows for fine analysis of
recorded phenomena. It is then possible to clearly identify vehicle or train pass by or noise gener-
ated by construction or industrial sites using multiple coding. Measurement point analysis takes
advantage of the information collected at the coding points (validation that the incriminated sources
are actually active). Moreover, further analysis in the dBTrait noise data processing software allows
assigning the codes of a measurement campaign to another campaign. The second approach consists
in achieving coding on a levels difference. This principle, derived from the previous one, can prove
extremely powerful in the presence of multiple sources superimposed to the disturbing source(s).
The acquisition is done in a similar way. Analysis with the dBTrait software allows, first to calcu-
late the time history of the two-by-two difference between the coding point and the measurement
point. The time history of this magnitude is then analysed and automatically codes in order to evi-
dence the events during which the disturbing source(s) emerge from the sum of the other noises.

3.2 Coding of noise measurements at the resident’s using levels difference

Sound levels measured inside and outside the neighbouring house are shown on the graph below:
the time history measured on the property line is shown in blue, while signals acquired in the bed-
room are represented in yellow. During the measurement, several “interference noises” occurred
that were related to our presence, such as the barking of the neighbour’s dog and conversations in-
side the bedroom. For the measurement to be valid, it is necessary to remove noises from that are
not representative of the local noise situation. Thus, using the dBTrait software, we calculate the
level difference between the 2 measurements done inside and outside.

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Outdoor noise
Indoor noise
Figure 4. Time history of noises indoor and outdoor – coding on level difference

Several events stand out on the resulting curve: peaks higher than 32 dB seem to define the
dog barking, while hollows below -18 dB seem to characterise conversation noises inside the house.
The Coding on threshold difference function is set to code barking (blue), by deleting events longer
than 500 ms and by extending the coding to 300 ms after the threshold violation. For conversation
noise (yellow), an extension to 100 ms before and after each threshold violation is applied.

By plotting the time history of the measurement inside the bedroom, one can assess the effi-
ciency of the discrimination of interference events inside and outside the house. These non repre-
sentative sources are removed from the time histories of the sound levels in the garden and in the
house.

Figure 5. Sound levels with coding, in the bedroom – Time history with no interference noise

Then, the time history of the outdoor noise (garden) is taken into account. Listening to the re-
corded audio signal allows identifying the remaining specific events. Now, no dog barking is audi-
ble (previously deleted interference noise). Specific events are generated by the traffic on the
neighbouring industrial site. The noise sources are all identified: delivery truck, pallet truck, light
vehicle, remote heavy truck… The sound level of each source is calculated in order to determine the
corresponding emergences, inside and outside the house. Thus, for delivery trucks (predominant
source), average sound levels are equal to 36.5 dB(A) in the bedroom and 62.8 dB(A) in the garden
of the resident. The global emergence calculated according to the Decree of August 31, 2006 is
equal to 12.5 dB(A) inside and 15 dB(A) outside, with respect to the delivery trucks. The 5 dB(A)
limit value allowed for emergence during daytime is widely exceeded. Neighbourhood noise per-
ceived by the plaintiff related to the neighbouring industrial site is proven. The facility will have to
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implement a set of solutions aiming at reducing the emergences originating from its activity (and
from the vehicle traffic in particular).

Figure 6. Time history of the outdoor sound level with coding of specific events

Furthermore, sound levels measured inside the boiler room and inside the resident’s bedroom
are compared. The calculation of the corresponding level difference is done. Events occurring in the
technical room are coded: start of the boiler, operating of the boiler, background noise.

Figure 7. Time history in the boiler room and in the bedroom – zoom in on the boiler noise.

As previously, the coding is shown on the time history of the sound levels measured in the
plaintiff’s bedroom, with the previously identified interference noise and traffic noise being re-
moved. The sound levels of the specific sources and of the background noise are calculated by oc-
tave bands according to Decree 2006-1099. They are close to 22.9 dB(A) in the boiler starting
phases, 24 dB(A) during the operating of the boiler and 22.5 dB(A) for the background noise. The
global emergence for the operating of the boiler measured in the bedroom of the closest neighbour
is equal to 1.5 dB(A). It is lower than the allowed limit threshold of 5dB(A). There is then no harm
caused to the residents related to the operating of the boiler room of the neighbouring industrial site.

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Figure 8. Coded time history (bedroom) – Spectral distribution of the events - Emergence.

However, with further acoustic analysis and considering statistical index L90, one can ob-
serve that an emergence of about 5 dB(A) appears on the 80 and 100 Hz third octave bands. These
marked tonalities explain the annoyance felt by the resident, but cannot actually be considered as a
nuisance according to current regulations.

Figure 9. Marked tonality on 80Hz and 100Hz third octave bands for statistical index L90.

4. Conclusion
Environmental noise in cities is complex and there are many noise sources: road traffic, rail-
road traffic, air traffic, industrial sites and equipment, recreational sites, shopping centers… not to
mention individual noise. Thus, it can prove difficult to identify noise origins and/or quantify their
energy contribution to the global situation. The DUO solution, new generation of environmental
noise measurement concept and instruments called “Smart Noise Monitor” is particularly perform-
ing4. With its built-in technology, DUO allows doing acoustic measurements and analysing results,
using innovating automated approaches. The notions of measurement point – coding point and of
coding on levels difference are particularly efficient to evidence the compliance with and/or viola-
tions of allowed threshold limits defined by the regulations. The quantification of urban noise
events aims at gaining a better knowledge of noise situations for a sustainable environmental devel-
opment.

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REFERENCES

[1] C. Aujard “DUO Press Kit”, Press releases concerning DUO the new concept and associated
product, October 2010.
[2] P. Luquet, JB. Romanet, M. Donet “Campagne de mesure acoustique avec DUO”, October
2010
[3] E. Aflalo, C. Aujard “DUO, Smart Noise Monitor – Product Data Sheet”, Technical documen-
tation, October 2010.
[4] www.01db.com, 01dB-Metravib web site, October 2010.