Improving AEDT Modeling for Aircraft Noise Reflection and Diffraction from Terrain and Manmade Structures

Barriers, berms, buildings, and natural terrain may affect the propagation of aircraft noise by shielding or reflecting sound energy. If terrain and manmade structures obstruct the line‐of‐sight between the source and the receiver, then sound energy will be attenuated at the receiver. This attenuation increases with the terrain and structures’ size and proximity to either the source or the receiver. If gaps exist in the terrain or structures, then the potential benefits of acoustical shielding will be substantially reduced. Even when the line‐of‐sight is not obstructed, terrain can reflect the sound and create multiple pathways affecting the sound arriving at the receiver.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Web-Only Document 43: Improving AEDT Modeling for Aircraft Noise Reflection and Diffraction from Terrain and Manmade Structures seeks to develop and evaluate noise propagation methods that account for aircraft noise reflection and diffraction from terrain and manmade structures. It also recommends methods for inclusion into the AEDT (Aviation Environmental Design Tool) integrated noise modeling framework and provides updated AEDT user guidance on the influence terrain and man-made structures have on aircraft noise and the applications these new methods have for airport noise analyses.