Argosy Acoustics test for the barrier assist designed to

raise highway barriers active height.

Atop the existing noise wall is the new barrier assist test section where tire/pavement noise is  diffracting ( at 1300 feet/ second) up the front of existing concrete walls, then over the top and broadcasting out into the neighborhood. The test proved several things. We found that noise was traveling parallel with the neighborhood side face barrier from the ends.  A deflector at the ends of the Barriers has been designed to greatly reduce this diffracted noise and will be offered as needed for all contracts where diffraction around the ends is a problem.

It is common to have a constant din of up 80-85 db from passing vehicles in a mixture of frequencies from "Jake breaks," diesel trucks, or loud exhaust pipes as well as tire/pavement  noise. The test was to  uncover and define several things, including  measuring the frequency and impact of the noise. The data from this test allows us to  verify the frequencies to be taken into consideration when making the selection of our noise control panels.

In the future, we will make these determinations in our test lab in Seattle using recordings from actual sites around the country.