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Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 24117

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luigi Maffei

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Guest Editor

Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy
Interests: soundscape, environmental acoustics, noise control, multisensory design

Prof. Massimiliano Masullo

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Guest Editor

Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80131 Naples, Italy
Interests: psychoacoustic; environmental acoustic; virtual reality; noise exposure
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decades, designers, architects, engineers and urbanists have paid more and more attention to the sustainability of their projects, facing environmental, energy, health and safety, productivity and usability issues. In most of these issues, acoustics and noise control aspects are intrinsically included.

This Special Issue of Sustainability will provide a common space to share high quality papers on the knowledge, experiences, and proposals on acoustics, noise control and sustainability.

In the fields of acoustics and noise control, new materials, technologies and techniques today allow the development and testing of new sustainable methodologies and systems aiming to:

use recycled and ecological materials;
limit noise annoyance within the buildings;
create acoustically correct environments;
implement new urban strategies and transport policies;
increase efficiency and productivity at work;
extend knowledge of multisensory perception and the moderating factors of noise;
improve the health, well-being and safety of people in the different urban and social contexts;
design more efficient and comfortable products.

Original research papers, case studies, critical perspectives and viewpoint articles on but not limited to the above subjects are encouraged to be submitted.

Prof. Dr. Luigi Maffei
Assoc.Prof. Dr. Massimiliano Masullo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sustainable design
noise control
urban sound planning
building acoustics
noise annoyance
sustainable mobility
electric vehicles
multisensory design

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 15200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Proposed Options for Noise Reduction from a Wastewater Treatment Plant: Case Study

by Marek Moravec, Miroslav Badida, Nikoleta Mikušová, Lýdia Sobotová, Jozef Švajlenka and Tibor Dzuro

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2409; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13042409 - 23 Feb 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3630

Abstract

Industry and industrial complexes are often located in the proximity of people’s homes. One of the negative effects of industry is noise emissions into the surrounding environment. With the increasing concentration of the human population and the increase in industrial production, more and more people are exposed to the negative effects of noise. This article discusses a comprehensive approach to reducing noise emissions from industrial operations, and the subsequent impacts on surrounding villages and human health. The first step of the whole process is to understand the current state of the acoustic situation in industrial operation and in the nearby villages, an important part of which is the identification and localization of dominant noise sources. For this purpose, a unique noise visualization tool was used, namely, an acoustic camera. The next important step is to propose a technical solution and measures to reduce the noise of the individual source. Consequently, it is necessary to create a mathematical model, i.e., noise maps, in order to verify whether the proposed measures will be sufficient. Once the proposed measures have been implemented, verification of the effectiveness of these measures needs to be carried out through repeated noise measurements in nearby villages and also on the site of the industrial installation. The above procedure was applied to the operation of a wastewater treatment plant that was causing noise exceeding the permissible levels in the surrounding villages. The application of this approach, the implementation of the proposed measures, and the subsequent verification confirmed a significant reduction in the noise levels in the affected villages, and the measures implemented were assessed as highly effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design)

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19 pages, 4579 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Temporal Analysis of Psychoacoustic Parameters of the Acoustic Environment in a University Campus Using a Wireless Acoustic Sensor Network

by José Montoya-Belmonte and Juan M. Navarro

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7406; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12187406 - 09 Sep 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2322

Abstract

Higher education institution campuses have been growing in size to become small cities that encompass all the infrastructures and offer many services to the university community. In order to achieve sustainable growth, it is necessary to take into account different environmental aspects, including the acoustic environment. In this paper, the application of a wireless acoustic sensor network is proposed for the long-term analysis of psychoacoustic parameters of the acoustic environment in a university campus. A network of acoustic nodes is designed and four nodes are deployed at both indoor and outdoor locations of the campus for environmental noise monitoring. A measurement campaign has been running continuously for nine months, including three months in which the state of emergency due to COVID-19 pandemic was established and the university switched to online classes. Acquired and stored data include not only the basic sound level parameters, e.g., equivalent or percentile sound pressure levels, but also psychoacoustic parameters, that are more related with noise assessment of the environment, e.g., loudness or sharpness sound levels. After analysing the acoustic environment of the campus through the complete set of nodes, results show two zones with higher noise indicators where some action plan should be developed. A detailed analysis of the temporal evolution of noise levels in these acoustically saturated zones is done, comparing values between a period of regular activity and the period of state of emergency. Different frequency distributions of sound levels are detected between day and evening periods providing a better insight into the noise sources. The results also show that binaural psychoacoustic annoyance values are correlated with loudness values in these locations, however sharpness values have minor effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design)

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21 pages, 7503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Control of Metro Train-Induced Vibrations in a Laboratory Using Periodic Piles

by Meng Ma, Bolong Jiang, Weifeng Liu and Kuokuo Liu

Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5871; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12145871 - 21 Jul 2020

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 2977

Abstract

Laboratories with sensitive instruments need a low-vibration environment. It is a challenge to control the train-induced vibration impact on these instruments when a newly planned metro line is adjacent to a laboratory building. An alternative method of mitigating train-induced ground vibrations involves installing measures along the transmission path. Recent research has highlighted the potential of periodic pile barriers with specifically designed band gaps for controlling environmental vibrations. This study performed in-situ measurements of ambient vibrations inside and outside a laboratory containing various types of sensitive instruments and located adjacent to a newly designed metro line. The vibration transfer function of the laboratory was then obtained. To help design and optimize the band gaps of periodic piles, a novel band gap performance evaluation function was proposed. Finally, numerical analysis was conducted to validate the mitigation effect of the designed periodic piles. The results showed that the band gap performance evaluation function can be used to optimize the mitigation effect of periodic piles. The proposed periodic piles clearly attenuated vibrations between 52.4 and 74.3 Hz, especially those at 63 Hz. A comparison of general vibration criteria (VC) curves revealed that vibration attenuation of one level can be obtained by the designed periodic piles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design)

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16 pages, 2683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Examining the Associations between Oases Soundscape Components and Walking Speed: Correlation or Causation?

by Djihed Berkouk, Tallal Abdel Karim Bouzir, Luigi Maffei and Massimiliano Masullo

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4619; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12114619 - 05 Jun 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2912

Abstract

The feeling of calm and tranquillity provided by the oases of Algeria can disappear because of the outdated urbanization strategy which is based on the vehicle as a mode of transport. Walkability is one of the most adoptable sustainable strategies to reduce the negative mechanical transportation effects on the quality of life. This paper aimed to examine the correlation and the causation between oases soundscape components and walking speed. The methodology of this field study was based on an empirical approach at the urban settlements in three oases in Algeria. The correlation between walking speed and soundscape components was obtained through the use of the Spearman correlation test. A one-way ANOVA analysis was conducted to assess the effect of the soundscape components on walking speed. A post hoc Tukey test was adopted to explore the sound component that causes increased walking speed. In this study, no significant correlation was explored between the walking speed and the anthrophonical sounds. In contrast, the statistical analysis of the sound walks experience suggests a moderate and significant negative correlation between geophonical and biophonical sounds, with mean walking speed. The results showed that, the cause of the increase in the mean walking speed of the pedestrians is human sound. The findings suggest that further research is needed to focus on the long-term subjective investigation to explore the correlations and the effects between soundscape, walkability and walking speed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design)

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21 pages, 7103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Historical Cloisters and Courtyards as Quiet Areas

by Massimiliano Masullo, Francesca Castanò, Roxana Adina Toma and Luigi Maffei

Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2887; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12072887 - 04 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3431

Abstract

Searching for renovating and/or constructing quiet areas in historical urban sites, along with the conservation and valorization policies of the tangible and intangible value of historic urban sites are goals that can be combined into a unique sustainable strategy for the preservation of the sense of place and identity of communities as well as their well-being. Historic cloisters and courtyards are examples of such sites. Due to their physical, architectural, environmental and cultural features, they present restorative capabilities that could qualify them as quite areas. This paper aims to establish a new procedure that, through the exploration and analysis of past and current aspects of these sites, makes it possible to classify them and understand whether they still preserve a restorative character. A graphic representation, obtained from a historical analysis and an objective description of past and current historical/architectural, environmental and cultural scenarios, has been used. The results were compared with those of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS-11). A diamond shape represents highly restorative sites, while deviations from this shape were found to be weakly correlated with a restorative nature. This has also been shown by the high positive correlation of analytical parameters with the PRS-11 score and, in particular, with the component of Fascination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design)

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Review

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29 pages, 3451 KiB

Open AccessReview

Acoustic Characteristics of Cross-Laminated Timber Systems

by Antonino Di Bella and Milica Mitrovic

Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5612; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12145612 - 13 Jul 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7154

Abstract

The growing diffusion of cross-laminated timber structures (CLT) has been accompanied by extensive research on the peculiar characteristics of this construction system, mainly concerning its economic and environmental benefits, lifecycle, structural design, resistance to seismic actions, fire protection, and energy efficiency. Nevertheless, some aspects have not yet been fully analysed. These include both the knowledge of noise protection that CLT systems are able to offer in relation to the possible applications and combinations of building elements, and the definition of calculation methods necessary to support the acoustic design. This review focuses on the main acoustic features of CLT systems and investigate on the results of the most relevant research aimed to provide key information on the application of acoustic modelling in CLT buildings. The vibro-acoustic behaviour of the basic component of this system and their interaction through the joints has been addressed, as well as the possible ways to manage acoustic information for calculation accuracy improvement by calibration with data from on-site measurements during the construction phase. This study further suggests the opportunity to improve measurement standards with specific reference curves for the bare CLT building elements, in order to compare different acoustic linings and assemblies on the same base. In addition, this study allows to identify some topics in the literature that are not yet fully clarified, providing some insights on possible future developments in research and for the optimization of these products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acoustics and Noise Control for Sustainable Architecture and Industrial Design)

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