Practical Use of an Additional Noise Barrier for High Speed Train

Noise insulation plate made of transparent polycarbonate are additionally installed on existing concrete noise barriers to provide higher noise reduction for high speed train. The height is limited according to the structural strength of the viaduct because of wind load increase, so it is almost impossible to install higher noise barrier without sufficient reinforcement of the viaduct. Therefore, the authors have proposed a novel noise barrier which can reduce wind load by introducing rotatable supporting to sound insulation panel. In a strong wind condition, the panel opens for reducing the wind load transmitting to the viaduct, while it is closed in an ordinary state and works as noise barrier. In this study, the performances of noise insulation were measured when the panel was closed and the mechanical structure was verified in a wind tunnel test and an exposure test in the outdoor environment. As a result, the authors confirmed the noise insulation performance and the mechanical structure for limiting wind load transmitting to the viaduct were sufficient to practical application.