Workshop on acoustic measurements with sound levels meters in the framework of the Week Without Noise and INAD

The 3rd edition of the Week Without Noise (Setmana Sense Soroll) was held in Catalonia from April 22th to 28th, 2019. This week coincided with the 24th International Noise Awareness Day (INAD), which was celebrated all over the world the last 24th of April 2019.

In this framework, Marc Arnela and Carme Martínez-Suquía from the Acoustics area of the Grup de recerca en Tecnologies Mèdia (GTM) organized a workshop on the use of sound levels meters in urban environments.

The sound level meter was first introduced and reviewed, as well as the main regulations that can be found in Catalonia for noise pollution control. Next, we proceed to study some of the most important noises that we can find in urban areas. To do so, the noise generated by cars, trains, airplanes, factories, among others, was reproduced through a loudspeaker located within the anechoic chamber of the Acoustics Lab. The sound that they emitted was measured with the help of sound level meters, which provided us some of the main acoustic indices in environmental acoustics, such as the LAeq, LCeq, LAFmax, and LAIeq. These indices were finally used to analyze from a qualitative point of view whether the reproduced sounds complied or not with current regulations.