Influence of pavement surface noise: the Korea Highway Corporation test road

Abstract

Because of a significant increase in the number of vehicles using national highway networks that link major urban centers, road traffic noise—with its harmful impact on the environment—has become a major pavement system issue. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the characteristics of different types of pavement and their influence on road traffic noise. The Korea Highway Corporation test road, with eight different pavement surfaces, was used to test and analyze noise from tire–pavement interaction and from vehicle power trains. Noise was measured in a novel test approach using a surface microphone. The results show that traffic noise levels vary widely according to pavement surface type, vehicle type, and vehicle speed. The findings of this investigation can be used to determine appropriate pavement surfaces that will satisfy specific environmental impact assessments for given traffic conditions and requirements.Key words: road traffic noise, tire–pavement noise, power-train noise, surface microphone.