Investigation of Small-Arms Range Noise Mitigation: The Firing Shed and theInterlane Barrier

摘要

Small-arms fire at Army rifle ranges is an unavoidable part of military trainingthat can disturb the surrounding community and become a source of complaint. Two methods that may reduce noise levels from small-arms ranges are the use of firing sheds and interlane barriers. In this study, an open-front firing shed and an interlane barrier were constructed and each was tested in a separate experiment. In each experiment, theoretical noise-reduction calculations were made and compared with the experimental data. Results showed that the firing shed achieved significant noise reduction to the rear, and that the interlane barrier achieved significant noise reduction in the far field. In both experiments, theoretical performance calculations provided some design guidance, but an improved barrier diffraction algorithm is needed to account for source directivity and finite barrier size. The calculations highlighted the role that source directivity of gun noise plays in determining the performance of noise-shielding structures for guns, so that a simple wall barrier behind the gun may yield a larger insertion loss to the rear than a shed that partially encloses the firing line.... noise reduction, firing shed, interlane barrier, rifle ranges.