Auralization and Visualization for Infrastructure Planning in the Joint Project "EAV-Infra"

Within the joint research project "Real-time Calculation, Auralization and Visualization of Sound Propagation and Noise Protection Measures for Infrastructure Projects" (EAV-Infra), funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, the potentials of digital infrastructure planning based on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the auralization of different states of planning will be combined. In this contribution, the objectives of the project will be presented with particular focus on the auralization. Currently, the effectiveness of noise mitigation measures like acoustic barriers or rail dampers is evaluated and communicated mostly by means of SPL values. Through auralization, a more vivid impression of different states of planning can be given during the whole planning process. In EAV-Infra, the auralization will be based on audio data of partial sound sources taken from real train passings. The data will be collected at various sites using a newly developed MEMS microphone array. To achieve a realistic hearing impression at the receiver position, a suitable model of the sound propagation will be implemented, which allows for a simulation in real time. In a last step, the partial sound source's signals will be convolved with the calculated sound propagation to synthesize the signal at the receiver position.