VR demonstration of railway noise mitigation using auralised train pass-bys

Abstract

In the European project SILVARSTAR, a new tool for the demonstration of railway noise mitigation measures was developed. The tool allows for an interactive, immersive audio-visual experience of different train pass-by scenarios. Different train types, speeds and tracks can be simulated within different virtual environments. The user can activate a set of mitigation measures and switch in real time between variants. The tool offers nine different mitigation measures, such as barriers, dampers, acoustic rail grinding, and as well as their combinations. The train pass-by sounds are auralised using physics-based synthesis. For rolling noise, structural transfer functions for the sleepers, the rails and the wheelsets are predicted using the TWINS model. The track contributions are modelled as a combination of distributed fixed and moving equivalent sources, whereas each wheelset is represented by a series of vertically stacked moving point sources. The pass-by sound synthesis was validated by comparisons with field measurements. At public international exhibitions, the VR system consisting of the newly developed auralisation and VR software, and commercial VR hardware has been attested to have high credibility and quality.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Giacomo Squicciarini: orcid.org/0000-0003-2437-6398

ORCID for David Thompson: orcid.org/0000-0002-7964-5906

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