The field study and numerical simulation of industrial noise mapping

•Industrial noise mapping process was carried out by means of not only numerical analysis but also field observations.•Four different working condition and scenario for industrial units were taken into account in noise mapping process.•Industrial noise map was established and the number of people affected by excessive noise levels were determined.•Noise barriers were designed in order to reduce excessive noise in populated areas.•This study show the role of the sensitivity analysis related to the different opening of the doors of the industrial buildings.

The acoustic environment is known to have a physiological as well as psychological impact on human health and also have a great importance in the establishment of comfort conditions. Accordingly, a healthy environment and better quality of life depend on environmental noise control. There are numerous research about traffic, airport and railway noise mapping studies with related to the subject in the literature. However, there are some other factors affect the outcomes of the noise mapping studies such as how the industrial buildings is used. Although this factor effects significantly the industrial noise mapping studies, there is no sufficient number of research studies refers this topic. In fact, the research studies about the noise level of industrial units and their interaction between its surrounding areas play a key role on the industrial noise mapping. It is a well-known fact that there are too many parameters effect the noise mapping results in the real world applications. On the contrary, in the local areas such as an industrial estate, some parameters can be more effective on the noise level and may need a special attention in order to obtain noise mapping results accurately. This study deals with the issue of industrial noise mapping process as part of ensuring environmental noise control and demonstrates that there is a strong relation between the noise level of an industrial estate and the usage of the industrial buildings. In order to achieve this purpose, numerical analysis and some field researches were carried out in the study. In this scope, the sound levels of industrial noise sources were determined and - on the basis of the prevailing sound propagation conditions - a noise map was established for the region. For the industrial noise map, the limit values published in the Turkish Environmental Noise Regulation were used, and the number of people affected by excessive noise levels determined. Noise barriers were designed and their impact on reducing excessive noise in populated areas to acceptable limit values were evaluated. It is concluded that the industrial noise mapping research systematically carried out in order to show the role of the sensitivity analysis related to the different opening of the doors of the industrial buildings.