Noise analysis is a powerful tool for decision makers to address problems related to environmental noise. To analyze noise conditions on your site, you can use a rapid and, detailed noise analysis.
Rapid Noise Analysis or Detailed Noise Analysis — Which Should I Use?
The rapid noise analysis is aimed at providing guidance while you design. The analysis runs instantly and will provide you with wind simulation results for how the noise conditions change based on your design. The rapid noise results are based on predictions and are therefore more directional than the simulation-based detailed analysis. It's meant to be a tool in your design process.
The detailed noise analysis gives you detailed results on how the noise conditions will be for the site. The output can be used in documentation and to understand how different design choices impact your site's noise conditions for different scenarios for the amount and speed of traffic.
Rapid noise
Detailed noise
Technology
An AI model(surrogate prediction) trained on simulation results from the detailed noise analysis.
Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe (CNOSSOS-EU)
Detail level
Directional, for use in the design phase
For documentation
Output
Noise prediction results on ground
Noise simulation results on ground, facades, and roofs
When to use it?
While actively designing
Evaluating design options, documentation, and final results comparison
Getting Started - Obtaining Traffic Data
In order to run a noise analysis your site needs information about roads or railroads that generate noise. As a minimum, this means adding their location, speed limit, and annual average daily traffic.
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Traffic Assumptions to Use for Conceptual Stage Noise Analysis
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Traffic Data - United States
Here’s a link to where you can find traffic data for each of the United States — typically each state’s Department of Transportation.
For the analysis to run you need to add noise sources.
Add noise sources by drawing or importing a road or a rail into your design.
When you have your roads or rails placed, you can add the traffic data corresponding to that road upon selection of the road. You also have to distribute the traffic across day (06.00-18.00), evening (18.00-22.00), and night (22.00-06.00).
For roads:
ADT (Average Daily Traffic): cars passing on average every day for all directions on all lanes.
Heavy traffic: The amount of heavy vehicles like buses and trucks will impact the overall noise level.
For rails:
ADT (Average Daily Traffic): the combined number of railroad cars passing on average every day for all directions on all tracks.
Vehicle length: Length per railroad car
Rail type: Train, subway, or tram
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Run the analysis
To access the rapid noise analysis, click the Noise analysis icon in the main analysis menu. You don't need to click anything to run it - it will update automatically every time you make a change to the buildings in the scene or navigate back to the main design mode from 3D Sketch.
Interpreting the Analysis Results - Rapid Noise Analysis
This example shows a typical result from a Noise analysis. The colors on the building facades and ground area illustrate the calculated noise levels in decibels (dB). In the bottom of the window a bar shows you the decibel level for each shade of color.
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Example
Simply put, green means quiet, red means noisy and yellow means somewhere in between.
For the analysis to run you need to add noise sources.
Add noise sources by drawing or importing a road or a rail into your design.
When you have your roads or rails placed, you can add the traffic data corresponding to that road upon selection of the road. You also have to distribute the traffic across day (06.00-18.00), evening (18.00-22.00), and night (22.00-06.00).
For roads:
ADT (Average Daily Traffic): cars passing on average every day for all directions on all lanes.
Heavy traffic: The amount of heavy vehicles like buses and trucks will impact the overall noise level.
For rails:
ADT (Average Daily Traffic): the combined number of railroad cars passing on average every day for all directions on all tracks.
Rail type: Train, subway, or tram
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Run the analysis
You can run a noise analysis while you are in design mode by moving to the noise analysis tab in the right-hand side menu and clicking Run detailed analysis. See more info on how to configure analysis areas when triggering an analysis herein the analysis overview article.
Interpreting the Analysis Results - Detailed Noise Analysis
These examples show a typical result from a Noise analysis. The colors on the building facades and ground area illustrate the calculated noise levels in human-perception-adjusted decibels [dB(A)]. At the bottom of the window, a bar shows you the dB(A) level for each shade of color.
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Examples
Simply put, green means quiet, red means noisy, and yellow means somewhere in between. By using the inspect tool you will see the dB(A) value at each point.
Inspect the noise situation and statistics for road, rail, or total(the worst case of either road or rail is shown) by toggling on the right-hand side. The selection will be updated with corresponding analysis metrics.
