The 'Forum Acusticum 2023 - Acoustics for a green world', the world's leading conference in the fields of acoustics and vibrations, was held from 10 to 15 September 2023 at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy.
Italferr, an engineering company of the Infrastructure Hub of the FS Group, participated with colleagues from the Environmental Monitoring division of its Operational Structure Environment and Energy Saving department with a paper selected by the technical-scientific commission composed of members of the European Acoustic Association (EAA).
The significant experience now gained by Italferr in the field of acoustic monitoring was illustrated through the presentation of the paper entitled "Measurement and evaluation of noise contribution of a major infrastructure yard according to UNI 10855: 1999 standard" which describes the acoustic monitoring activities in the city of Florence conducted during the construction works of the new HS Belfiore railway station. This involved the use of the most advanced and modern measurement and data processing techniques, aimed at discriminating the specific emission contribution of the yard activities in an acoustically complex context such as the city centre where the acoustic climate is characterised by the simultaneous presence of various sound sources such as road and rail traffic, commercial activities and other construction sites.
More specifically, in the activities described the sound level measurements involved the simultaneous use of three phonometers located at the sound source under investigation (the work site), at the receptor (a house located on the third floor of a building in front of the work site) and at the main interfering source (the local road between the source and the receptor).
The data collected from the measurements were processed by applying three methods (A, B and C) identified by the UNI 10855:1999 standard with the aim of determining which was the most appropriate for defining the contribution of the source under investigation.
The environmental noise during ongoing construction and the residual noise when the construction site was silent were initially compared (method A) for an initial assessment of the noise emission contribution of the construction site. Subsequently, temporal (method B) and sound frequency (method C) processing and analyses were carried out in order to acquire more in-depth assessments.
The conclusions of the study carried out showed that the sound frequency analysis (method C) was the most appropriate, while the comparison between ambient and residual noise (method A) returned a less precise result and the temporal analysis (method B) was not applicable.
Forum Acusticum 2023 represented an important opportunity for discussing a fundamental issue such as noise monitoring.
Italferr's excellence oriented towards a process of continuous improvement is leading over time to increasingly precise and effective monitoring, with a view to protecting citizens living in the areas undergoing the construction of new infrastructure.