ID 36_20 Paper submitted to RAR 2022 “Experimental comparison of the acoustics performance of rubberised and conventional road surfaces”

2 Sep , 2022 - Papers

Paper submitted to RAR 2022 “Experimental comparison of the acoustics performance of rubberised and conventional road surfaces”

Lara Ginevra Del Pizzo, Gloria Schiaffino, Francesco Bianco, Antonino Moro, Stefano Carpita, Filippo Praticò, Julien Cesbron, Gaetano Licitra

ABSTRACT. Road Traffic Noise (RTN) remains an ongoing issue, even as the world is shifting towards the use of Electric Vehicles (EVs), since its noise source is mainly represented by the interaction between the tyre and the road surface. The use of low-noise surfaces represents one of the most viable solutions to mitigate this noise, known as Tyre/Road Noise (TRN). In this work, the acoustical properties of different low-noise surfaces developed within the LIFE-E-VIA project (LIFE18 ENV/IT/000201) were studied using CPX and CPB measurements. The pavements tested are four Very Thin Asphalt Concrete (VTAC) surfaces with Nominal Maximum Aggregate Size (NMAS) equal to 6 mm. The pavements differ only for the content of crumb rubber, which was added only in the two mixes called PCR and represents 1.9% of the weight, while the other two mixes, called P, represent a standard pavement. Experimental measurements were carried out on a test track with P and PCR in Nantes, France and, subsequently, in an urban context in Florence, Italy, where the other two P and PCR were laid. Results show that CPX noise levels are similar in both sites, while CPB levels depend on the specific characteristics of the site. The pavements designed, moreover, comply with the requirements of the European Green Public Procurement (GPP) for noise emission levels of low-noise surfaces and, moreover, the lower results obtained for the PCR in Florence compared to the P pavement confirm the possibility of crumb rubber to be used as a modifier for designing new low-noise solutions.

KEYWORDS: Tyre/Road Noise, Traffic Road Noise, CPX, CPB, road texture, low-noise surfaces, rubberized surfaces, acoustical performances.