Review of Weightings for Number of Operations and Night Operations on Airport Noise Levels

摘要

A search of the literature published from 1972 to 1980 was made to identify studies of the effect of how the number of aircraft operations and night weighting of sound levels affect human response. Significant articles are reviewed. Results are reported which show that a multiplier, K, of the logarithm of number of operations should be incorporated in cumulative noise measures. While some research suggests that K different from 10 could be used, analyses of the publications shows that setting K equal to 10 is equally valid within the confidence levels of the data. No new data are available to support a change from the current night weighting of 10 decibels used in day-night average sound level (DNL). However, little scientific data to support this weighting exist. Analyses are provided to examine the effect of setting K from 4 to 20 and of changes in night weighting on the area of airport noise contours. These analyses are reported as the ratio of contour area, at an equal decibel level, to the area when K equals 10 and night weighting is 10 decibels, for different classes of aircraft. The conclusion of this study is that DNL is a good, or better, than other proposals to relate the noise from aircraft operations to community response, and should not be changed from its current definition. (Author)