Development of tyre/road noise assessment methodology in India

• A methodology was formulated to quantify field tyre/road noise characteristics of Indian roads in this study.
• Seventeen conventional asphalt, four cement concrete and two plastic-modified asphalt road sections covering 24 km were used.
• An indigenous noise trailer assembly was designed and developed to measure field pavement noise of different surfaces.
• The effects of vehicle speeds, roadway types and age on tyre/pavement noise were established.

The major objective of this research study was to develop a methodology to evaluate tyre/road noise of the various road types and sections in Bangalore. The scope of the effort included field noise measurements of the 17 conventional asphalt concrete (AC), four Portland cement concrete (PCC), and two plastic modified asphalt concrete (PMAC) in Bangalore city covering about 24 km of roadway stretches at varying traffic speeds. Field noise measurements were performed using a noise meter mounted underneath a trailer developed in this study and attached to the parent vehicle. Overall, PMAC sections produced the highest noise levels than the PCC followed by the conventional AC sections; PMAC mix type had an average difference of about 6–8 decibels (dB(A)) compared with the AC mix, and 1–2 dB(A) in comparison with the PCC mix types. It is noteworthy that although many traffic noise studies have been conducted in India, the contribution of tyre/road noise to the overall noise has not been developed and/or established till date. The approach taken in this study is first of its kind within the framework of tyre/road noise research and development in India.