Additional noise reduction with diffracting elements on barriers: experimental testing

The noise reduction of a (low) noise barrier can be enhanced by using an additional element with quarter-wavelength resonators with varying depths. The so-called WHISwall or WHIStop deflects sound upwards for specific frequencies creating an additional sound reduction. Different experiments on the WHISwall and WHIStop are performed as input for model validation. The development and validation of the model are described in a separate paper. In this paper the measurement campaign and its results are presented. We performed measurements on two setups. The first setup consists of a 1.1 meter high WHISwall, a 1.1m high noise barrier and a reference section (without noise measure). Measurements have been conducted with both an artificial sound source and pass by measurements with light and heavy motor vehicles. In a second test setup, the WHIStop was placed on top of a 4 meter high noise barrier and the diffraction was determined according the European standard EN 1793-4.