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SoundPLAN

Update information 7.0

Braunstein + Berndt GmbHMarch 2010

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Update Information SoundPLAN 7.0

Table of content page i

Table of content

New in version 7.0 1

Highlights 1

An overview of all modifications 2

Changes in Detail 11

The new calculation core in version 7.0 11The Attribute Explorer 12The elevation filter 14Flexible source definitions for roads and railways 17Tunnel openings 18

Properties of the tunnel opening 19Properties for noise control walls 20Reworking the module Indoor Factory Noise 22

New 22Entries in the Geo-database 23

Filter in SoundPLAN Spreadsheet and Graphics 25Filter column and type of rounding type 25Filter by buildings 25

Filter by receiver points 26Filter settings in Faade Noise Map and level tables 26

Receiver flags in the Graphics 27Result request for receiver flags in the file selection 28Object type receiver flags 29Move the receiver flags 30

Print preview and unprintable frames in Graphics 31Convert sheets from a pre 7 version 32

Train Animation in the 3D Graphics 32Bitmaps in SoundPLAN 33New developments with the Noise Allotment 34New developments of Wall-Design 36

Annex 39

Propagation of noise from tunnel openings 39Directivity 40Literature 41

Algorithms used in Indoor Factory Noise 41

Implemented Calculation Standards 43

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Highlights Page 1

New in version 7.0

HighlightsNew layout and more information in the SoundPLAN-

Manager

Unlimited continuous zoom in the Geo-DatabaseNew calculation core with multi threading, increased

calculation accuracy and increased flexibility with the

design of noise barriers

Side diffraction enabled for road and railway projects

Indoor Factory Noise completely rewritten

Border lines in Documentation and Spreadsheet is now

user configurable

Noise Allotment further refined and with connection to the

graphics

Direct Excel-Export from the Documentation

New Attribute Explorer in the Geo-Database with

calculation and statistics functions

New object type tunnel opening

Noise protection walls with different reflection definitions,

flexible shapes and the possibility of noise passing

underneath the wall

Print preview in the graphics the sheet does not have to

be fitted to the active canvas size

Flexible receiver flags in the graphics

Improvements to the elevation filter with additional

features

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Page 2 An overview of all modifications

An overview of all modifications The layout ofSoundPLAN Manager was updated and extended by 2 buttons

for the Building Acoustics Outside and the Noise Allotment. The data entry foraircraft noise at the moment is only accessible via the SoundPLAN ManagersEXECUTE menu. In a later version 7 it is planned to completely integrate theaircraft noise into the Geo-Database. In addition, the new SP Manager nowshows the selected calculation standard for aircraft noise and the selectedemission time slots for traffic noise (road, railway, aircraft noise).

o If you select a packed project, the SoundPLAN Manager now asks if theproject shall be unpacked.

Geo-Database

o The Attribute Explorer clearly arranges the properties of an object type ina table. You can for example set properties via formulas or performstatistical functions, see The Attribute Explorer on page 12.

o Increases of noise levels close to tunnel portals now can be directlyassessed by selecting the object type Tunnel Portal (Tab for sources), see

Tunnel openings on page 18.

o The wall properties now allow the entry and calculation of more flexibleforms and the definition of different reflection properties of the wall, seeProperties for noise control walls on page 20.

o The filter algorithm for importing data with elevations was reworked andextended, see The elevation filter on page 14.

o Flexible emission definition screens for road and rail, see ...

o Zoom in the Geo-Database without limits. No need any more to definenew viewports just to zoom in further.

o GeoTool EVALUATE MULTIPLE REFLECTION ADDITIONS: After selectingan emission line, you are asked if you want new coordinates to be insertedusing linear interpolation or splines. With linear interpolation the roadalignment is exactly as before whereas the spline interpolation will create

coordinates not exactly along the existing alignment and thus may createproblems in tight inner city situations.

o When roads are displayed with their properties, refreshing the screen canbecome quite time consuming. With ESC you can now interrupt displayingthe properties.

o New shortcut for VIEW -> CURRENT GEO-FILE (F5) and VIEW -> CURRENTOBJECT TYPE (F6). When pressing the function key again, all objects willbe displayed again.

o For better identification the railway emission line is now drawn in purple.

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An overview of all modifications Page 3

o In the pull-down-menu for an object, the sequence of menu items haschanged, the sub-menu Enhanced Functions is no longer needed.

o

o Shape-file Import: dBase-tables (*.dbf) now can be opened in theSoundPLAN Spreadsheet. Shape-files consist of a dBase-table containingthe objects attributes and all of their definitions and a file with thecoordinates. In any case it is advisable to view this database table beforeimporting the Shape-files. The Spreadsheet makes it possible for exampleto re-configure traffic data given in a format incompatible to SoundPLANso that it can be imported. The formula generator in SoundPLAN is a veryhelpful tool here.

As the Excel spreadsheet from the version 2007 can no longer save thedata in the dBase-format, we have generated a possibility here withinSoundPLAN to cope with these data.

Open the file manager and select the menu topic OPEN and select the filefilter for dBase (*.dbf).

The functionality was restricted to open Shape-file dBase-tables:

Load and save (save as is not offered as the dBase-table musthave the same name as the rest of the Shape-files, safety copiescan be generated using the Windows-Explorer).

Generation of extra columns.

Entry and calculation of formulas.

When you save the table, it is saved in the dbf-format rather than in theSoundPLAN format. Formulas and references entered are converted intovalues.

o For calculations in accordance to the Schall 03 the German railwaycompany demands that shielding and reflections from buildings are

suppressed. For the location of the receiver on a building and thereferences to the Faade Noise Map the buildings are vital, so in thecalculation it is not possible to simply ignore the buildings. In order tosupply the calculation core with the required information and to facilitatethis some extra controls are introduced:

Building properties, tab additional: IGNORE THIS BUILDING IN THEPROPAGATION CALCULATION CONCERNING REFLECTION AND

SCREENING.

Calculation settings Facade Noise Map: Check the box SEARCH RANGEDEFINED BY FACADE and also check the box IGNORE BUILDINGS FORPROPAGATION CALCULATION WHICH HAVE APPROPRIATE FLAG IN THE

BUILDING PROPERTIES.

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In the Emission Library below the emission spectrum with the selectedfrequency filter the spectrum is shown with a linear filter. The user definedspectrum and the selected filter are printed in blue. You can modify values inthe filtered or the linear spectrum. In either way, the values of the otherspectrum are immediately calculated to reflect the modification.

In Result table and SoundPLAN Spreadsheet now line width and color for

table header, table and footer can be set separately.

In the result table the line width is printed in points, a point equals about 0.35mm or a little bit more than 1/8 of an inch. The spreadsheet displays line widthin mm.

The result table depicting the mean propagation was changed to document theindividual time slots to have a more consistent documentation of the Leq andLmax time slots.

For each source now the mean propagation table generates a new line for eachtime slot, to document the influences during the propagation calculation. Thisway it is much easier to pinpoint the influence of each propagation parameters.The results are no longer averaged for sources not active in all time slices.

For better overview select individual time slots. With the right mouse buttoncall up the TIME SLICES and activate the time slots you want to display.

Calculation of the negative extra path length / terrain edge

The Object type terrain edge is no longer in use.

As soon as a calculation standard demands the calculation of the negative extrapath length (screening in the illuminated zone), SoundPLAN automaticallycalculates this value. In projects modeled with a pre-7.0 version SoundPLANreplaces the terrain edge with 2 elevation lines.

With the use of external spot height data to calculate a DGM for settingreceivers and to calculate the elevations between source and receiver, it is nolonger sensible to manually define terrain edges.

In case you have a project where terrain edges were required by the standardbut none were defined, it is possible to have deviations of up to 5dB with thenew automatic generation of the terrain edges.

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Terrain base line

If between source and receiver no obstacle is found that would result in apositive extra path length, SoundPLAN defines a line between the ground atsource and receiver labeled the terrain base line. All elevation lines and DGMtriangle edges above below this terrain base line are checked if negative extrapath length needs to be considered. The point delivering the highest value ofextra path length for the terrain base line is chosen for the calculation of thenegative screening.

Calculation Core

o SoundPLAN 7.0 has received a new and very efficient and fast

calculation core!The calculation core has been completely rewritten and now uses theDynamic Search (DS) principle. DS does not use fixed angle incrementsany more, instead it dynamically searches all sources and obstacles, ranksthem in accordance to their importance and then replaces the first orderguess with real calculated numbers that are derived from a full projectionof the geometry and calculations fully compliant with the selectedstandard. During this source by source calculation, the list of sources thatneeds full calculation may need to be dynamically extended, henceDynamic Search. Once all of the remaining sources would not increase theresults by more than the defined tolerance, the rest of the sources are eitherestimated or omitted. See The new calculation core in version 7.0 onpage 11.

o Multi threading: The new Dynamic Search calculation core now allowsusers to use all cores of all processors in the PC to be used without usingDistributed Computing. The program automatically recognizes how manycores the PC has. By default the full number of cores are used forcalculations but if you want to use the PC for other tasks while aSoundPLAN calculation is in progress, it is wise to reduce the number ofcores used in the calculation (normally by one). To set the number ofcores, please open OPTIONS -> RUN SETTINGS and set the desired numberof threads for the calculations.

Even when you calculate on multiple PCs using Distributed Computing,the maximal number of threads is automatically recognized. Therefore it isnow wise to connect to each PC once even if the PC has multiple cores.The advantage of this change is that the project needs to be distributed onlyonce to each of the participating PCs, using less time, hard disk space andmemory. Pre-calculations such as the generation of the DGM only oncehave to be carried out at the DC server computers.

o The procedure to evaluate side diffraction has been reworked and cannow be used with all standards, regardless if side screening is required inthe standard or not. The check box if side screening shall be used therefore

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is no longer a switch for the settings of an individual calculation run but adetail of the selected standard. When an individual run is opened, click onthe double arrow in the settings of the standard and check the box forENABLE SIDE DIFFRACTION under the tab diffraction.

For standards that by default do not use side screening, the checkbox bydefault has the setting off.

Buildings that are connected to each other, are now recognized, thescreening will use the entire building block for side screening around theobjects.

o Floating screens linked to buildings or walls of floating screens goingdown to the ground (negative wall height) no longer need to be extendedinto the building or into the soil. Overlaying and stapled objects are alsoautomatically recognized.

o Starting with version 7.0 all calculations using a 3-dimensional modelrequire a DGM as the base. In the main data section all calculationsrequiring a DGM now have a separate DGM selection line.

If no DGM is entered for grid map calculations, the program will generatea DGM from all available elevation information. Receiver elevations andthe elevation supply for the propagation model then will be using thenewly created DGM. If all objects are located on the 0.0 m plane, theprogram will use the constant elevation for the calculation.

For single point calculations without a DGM SoundPLAN evaluates theelevations along the profiles as before. Compared to the method with afixed search angle of 6.5 and prior the search angle might become muchbigger and significant inaccuracies are possible. To warn the user, in thiscase a warning message will appear.

In the tab Grid Noise Map the entry of a DGM was taken out, theelevations for the receiver grid are taken from the normal DGM.

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o When opening the graphics tab of a calculation run, loading and drawingthe DGM can be suppressed by deactivating it in VIEW -> DGMTRIANGLES.

o Now you can delete multiple calculation runs and their results at once.Click right and select DELETE (CTRL-DEL). As soon as more than onecalculation run is marked, you can delete the all run definitions by clickingon the button YES ALL. With an additional query you can also determine ifyou want to delete the results that were generated by the deletedcalculation runs.

o For batch calculation runs you now can define, that the query for existingresults (overwrite or continue) shall only be displayed when starting thebatch run. The setting is used for all calculations during the batch run.

Distributed Computing (DC)

The settings for the control of DC are updated and unified. All settings for thecalculations now are under OPTIONS -> DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING in thecalculation core or in the SoundPLAN Manager under OPTIONS -> SETTINGS,node "Program, Distributed Computing".

In order to combine Distributed Computing with Multi threading, set thenumber of threads or processor cores that shall be used for the computation andset the number of Distributed Computing instances to 1. Exit the control fordistributed computing and restart the socket server from the Execute menu. In

the calculations when defining DC calculations, only activate each PC once. Use Distributed Computing parallel for the SoundPLAN versions 6.5 and

7.0

In order to use Distributed Computing in your net with different versions of theSoundPLAN software, you need to redefine the port numbers in the settings forDistributed Computing. Please be aware that the same port numbers need to beset on all PCs that are to be used for Distributed Computing and that the portnumbers shall not be higher than 65635.

SoundPLAN Spreadsheet

o The Swiss cost/benefit index has been moved, it is now available underFILE -> ADDITIONAL COLUMNS -> SWISS COST / BENEFIT INDEX.

o The filter options have been reworked; the column that the filter isactivated for is now accessible to the user. See Filter in SoundPLANSpreadsheet and Graphics on page 25.

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Graphics

o In addition to the level tables you now have new receiver flags to yourdisposal in the Graphics. In these tables you can present any of the columninformation or the structure lines from the SoundPLAN Spreadsheet. SeeReceiver flags in the Graphics on page 27.

o For the Graphics sheets you now can define the exact measurements of thesheet as the non printable frame around it is administered by the program,see Print preview and unprintable frames in Graphics on page 31.

o Processing bitmaps has been reworked, see Bitmaps in SoundPLAN onpage 33.

oFor the display of geometry texts you now have more options. Select ifyou want to enter the font and position of the text reference marker like inthe Geo-Database or if you want to customize them in the object type fortext under the tab for Cartography.

o Hints for the symbol buttons you now can either have connected to thecursor (like in the Geo-Database) or in the status line of the Graphics

screen. Select you choice under PARAMETER -> OPTIONS. Caution: whenyou link the hints to the cursor, the times of a screen refresh may takemuch longer, depending on the amount of data loaded!

o Editing data in edit-map (for example to move texts for contour line valuesor to move level tables) is no longer accessible via the menu Edit but isnow directly available as topic on the edit-map menu bar.

Select from the list what content you want to edit, ACTIVATE is enabled by

default. To leave the edit mode, deactivate the checkbox ACTIVATE.When moving table positions, the cursor changes into a move cursor, thenew position is visibly marked.

When tables are overlapping, the program first will activate the table that ison top.

o The graphics now retains the information which graphics printer is nowactive.

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o Access to the map-object types is now also given via right clicking in EditMap and in the 3D-Graphics.

o Reload the plan data (Ctrl+ R): For huge amounts of data it can take awhile to reload all data for the entire sheet, therefore with Alt+R you canforce the program to only reload the data that have changed.

o Grid Noise Maps print the text as value: With the checkbox in front ofthe font, you can force the program to automatically fit the font size to thesize of the grid cell.

o Query when loading DGMs. Optionally you can clip triangles out of aselected area or calculation area, e.g. to filter border triangles that are verynarrow and do not represent the geometry. Select a Geo-file containing thearea.

3D-Graphics

o In menu accessible by right clicking, there is now a new menu topicOVERVIEW, with which you can recall the view of the last saved scene (in

case you got lost in 3D space).o It is now possible to display the train animation in 3D-Graphics, see Train

Animation in the 3D Gra on page 32.

o With the fog effect you can now simulate distances from the viewer.

Open PARAMETER -> 3D-SETTINGS, (the 3D model must already be loadedvia VIEW -> 3D MODEL).

Select from the pick list the fog type of choice linear, exponential orsteep-exponential and the color", that causes the fog effect. The fogeffect can be fitted dynamically to the middle of the scene but you also candefine the distances.

With the switch TAKE OVER you immediately can see how the settingsinfluence the scene. Try for yourself what you like best.

With the Noise Allotment out with the users, some additional wishes anddesires have been voiced that now have found its way into the version 7. See

page 34 for details.

In Wall-design additional diagrams and presentations in accordance to both theSwiss Cost/Benefit-Index and in accordance tot the Hints concerning the

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generation of noise prediction studies (Hinweise zur ErstellungSchalltechnischer Untersuchungen) of the EBA (German Federal RailwayAuthority) (Eisenbahn-Bundesamt). See New developments of Wall-Designon page 36.

The printout ofBA-Facade was reworked.

The aircraft noise standard AzB 2008 is now completely implemented, tested

and certified. Import and export of AzB 2008 aircraft noise data according to the QSI

standard.

The SoundPLAN Manual for the new version is not only available on CD butit also is installed with the software on your computer so that you can browsethe handbook from the SoundPLAN Manager under HELP -> READ MANUAL.This update text also will be installed with the version 7 and can be read underHELP -> UPDATE NEWS.

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The new calculation core in version 7.0 Page 11

Changes in Detail

The new calculation core in version 7.0

The calculation core for SoundPLAN 7.0 was re-designed from the ground up. Here

are the motivations for this change:

New standards (for example TNM, Nord2000 and possibly Harmonoise)require much more detail calculations for the propagation calculation for eachreceiver. In order to keep the total calculation time from reaching unsustainabledimensions, the software needs to employ clever techniques to reduce thenumber of source to receiver calculations to a bare minimum.

CPUs in years past became faster by increasing the clock frequency for theprocessor. With considerations to the thermal load and other physical problems,this route has been maxed out and faster CPUs can only be produced byprocessing the information parallel with multiple CPU cores. In order to usemulti-core PCs successfully, calculations must be parallelized analog to theDistributed Computing (DC). Although DC is able to utilize multiple cores ofthe same PC, the memory requirement for big simulation jobs will become thebottleneck.

With the introduction of new objects or object settings (for example non-vertical walls, stacked-walls and tunnels) it was necessary to develop newalgorithms that allow these new contents to work in better agreement to thephysics and the standards.

Increased accuracy while reducing the calculation time.

Improved user friendliness with less complex and difficult to understandparameters.

The new calculation core that is now replacing the older one, is not totally new, it

was already part of the version 6.5 although it was not released and not visible tothe regular user, the entire railway noise mapping for Germany was calculated withit. This big project allowed us to validate and further improve the calculation core.

New parameters:

The parameters defining angular increment, reflection depth and the switch to pre-calculate the source-side reflections are no longer required and are taken out of theprogram. The need for these parameters is gone as the calculation is now able toautomatically make the correct decisions and get the correct results at an optimizedcalculation speed.

In the new calculation core you find 2 new parameters pertaining to reflections:

MAX. REFLECTION DISTANCE REC[M] (default value 200 m)

MAX. REFLECTION DISTANCE SRC [M] (default value 50 m)

The program only calculates reflections for reflecting surfaces that are either closerto the receiver than the first parameter entered or closer to the source than thesecond parameter. Reflecting surfaces outside the 2 zones are not leading toreflections. There are many reasons for this restriction, the most important one isthat noise does not travel directly on the line of sight but forms an arc. The fartherthe distance from source to reflector and receiver, the higher the reflection pointwill be on the reflecting object, thus the farther away the reflection occurs, thelarger the reflector must be. The default settings in general produce sensible results.

The parameter TOLERANCE was present in earlier SoundPLAN versions, howeverthe new calculation core is now designed around the tolerance requiring a valuegreater zero to be entered (the minimum value is 0.001 dB).

This parameter is designed to increase the calculation speed, the higher thetolerance value the higher the time saving in the calculations. As this tolerance isnot just simply used to truncate the calculations but mark a range of sources that

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Page 12 The Attribute Explorer

need to be calculated accurately, the results will be conservative. With high valuesof tolerance, the results are overestimated rather than underestimated. The value forthe tolerance depends on the task to be calculated.

Recommended values:

0.8 dB: Noise mapping projects, calculations in accordance to the END.

0.1 dB: Road and railway projects for determination of noise protection. Uncritical

industrial projects.0.001 dB: Sensitive industrial projects.

Principles of tolerance:

The tolerance is evaluated for each receiver, tolerance and rankings from onereceiver have no influence upon another receiver. First all sources are evaluated andranked in accordance to their free field contributions. Here only the equivalentsound power and the spreading are evaluated. The sources are ranked in accordanceto their contributions and divided into 2 groups, the group 1 which needs to becompletely calculated and the group 2, the not important sources that will beestimated in the end. Group 1 plus the tolerance shall be the equivalent of thecontributions of group 1 plus group 2. Group 2 is also labeled the rest level. During

the calculation the program calculates source after source of group1 andsuccessively replaces the level estimate with real calculations. This will cause theanticipated noise level at the receiver to also change and thus the cut-off wheresources are decided between groups 1 and 2. As the noise level for real calculatedsource contributions is lower than just the free-field value, the estimate changes andwith it the need to move additional sources from group 2 into group1. Thisprocedure is called Dynamic Search.

Dynamic Search is not only evaluating sources for the average of day and night butis checking for each hour of the day which sources need to be calculated. After thecalculation has processed all sources in group 1 and if there are no additionalsources to be moved from group 2 to group 1, the source contributions of group 2are estimated. For the specific receiver the averages of air absorption, ground effectand screening etc is evaluated and applied to the sources of group 2. As the sources

of group 2 tend to be farther away, the attenuation will be underestimated, leadingto an overestimate of the source contributions of sources in group 2. Allcontributions from group 2 are gathered in the result files of the Documentationunder the label rest source level.

It can be stated

10*log((10^(0.1*R)+10^(0.1*F))/ 10^(0.1*R)) ATTRIBUTE EXPLORER (CTRL+ E),for the

sub-elements of the industrial building direct in the object definition of the objectusing the right mouse button or (CTRL+ E).

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The Attribute Explorer Page 13

Modifications to individual objects can be made directly in the table, changes formultiple objects are done by entering new values or formulas into the field CELLS.

Multiple adjacent cells are marked with a depressed shift key by moving up/downwith the arrow keys. Individual cells cannot be marked (and do not need to be).

The formulas in the Attribute Explorer follow the same syntax as the formulas inthe SoundPLAN Spreadsheet and in the coordinate and attribute manipulation of theGeo-Database. To recognize a formula the Attribute Explorer expects the formulastatement to begin with an = sign. Columns are referenced by their columnnumber in format X+number. The columns of the Attribute Explorer arenumbered sequentially, when you select different columns, the numbering willchange.

Formulas are commands that are valid for the current column. After executing thecommand the formula will be replaced with the calculated value. The formulas arenot saved with the table but it is possible to open the last formulas with a pick-list inthe field CELL.

When objects in the Geo-Database are marked prior to opening the AttributeExplorer, only the objects that are marked and of the selected object type are openedin the table.

Objects with changing attributes will only display the first entry of the object, forexample the road will display the properties defined in the first coordinate of theroad but no subsequent changes in traffic volume, speed or road surface Anextension is planned to extend the capabilities of the Attribute Explore to fullycover object types with variant attributes.

Core functions:

You determine which one of the -sometime plentiful- attributes shall bepresented in one of the columns (yellow wheel or via TOOLS -> SELECT

DISPLAYED ATTRIBUTES). If you want to hide a column temporarily withoutchanging the standard display settings, you can do so by right clicking on thetable header and selecting -> REMOVE COLUMN.

To sort the table in ascending or descending order, right click on the columnheader that is to be used as the sorting parameter and select -> SORT.

As the filed-names some times are too long for the table header, you candisplay a self defined short title. (The short title is defined via TOOLS -> SELECTDISPLAYED ATTRIBUTES in the settings of the object properties.

With the statistics functions (right mouse button on the statistics line in thecolumn header of value columns) you can generate entries for the sum, averageor the smallest/highest value and for noise levels also the energetical sum of thelevels.

In value columns you can mark a block of lines and with the field CELL assigna value to all marked lines of the current column.

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Page 14 The elevation filter

Elements from the library can be referenced either with the element names orvia the element number.

A block of references to the library can be reassigned via a pick list containingthe element names.

With column status selected, which you can activate via TABLE -> SHOWSTATUS SELECTED AS COLUMN, you can use formulas or the simple entry of

1 for selected 0 for unselected to change the status of multiple objects. Thisselected status remains active when you close the Attribute Explorer and furtherprocess the data on the level of the Geo-database-canvas (for example tochange in which Geo-file the data shall be saved).

With a temporary column (TABLE -> INSERT TEMPORARY COLUMN) you canstore intermediate calculation results and use them for further actions inadditional formulas. Data in this column will not save, they are lost when theattribute explorer is closed.

Examples of how to use the Attribute Explorer:

Redefine the height of all buildings with less than 2 meters to a height of 4

meters:

Open the Attribute Explorer for buildings, click on the column header for the heightof the building and sort all buildings in ascending order. Click on the top line andkeep the shift key pressed while you move down in the table with the arrow keys.Mark all values smaller than 2 and then enter the number 4 in the field CELL inorder to transfer the value 4 into all marked cells.

Mark all buildings with multiple apartments:

Either: Sort column Number of Dwellings in descending order, activate thecolumn Status selected (TABLE -> SHOW STATUS SELECTED AS COLUMN),enter 1 into all lines containing a value > 1.

Or: Activate the column Status selected (TABLE -> SHOW STATUSSELECTED AS COLUMN), right click on column header and activate entire

column and then write the formula=xNo. Column number of dwellings > 1

into the CELL and execute it..

Modify the emission spectrum for all sources of a group

Sort sources according to the group they are part of. In the column emission spectrafor all sources of this group mark all sources with a depressed left mouse button andfrom the selection list in the box CELL select the new desired element from thelibrary. Via the symbol Library you have access to the libraries.

The elevation filter

The elevation filter since its installation in SoundPLAN has gone through a constantrefinement procedure adapting it to new knowledge and new concepts.

While at first the flyover data were offered as grid based data with resolutionsbetween 1 x 1 m or 10 x 10 m, now most of the already corrected (trees and otherobstacles removed) data are offered as ungridded spot elevations. Additionalcommon formats such as the Winput SCOP and the ESRI ASCII Grid needed to bemade available.

SoundPLAN now can read these formats and filter them intelligently and efficientlyto reduce the size of the DGM. The size of the DGM has big influence upon thework in the Geo-Database and especially upon the calculation time of noise maps.

Spot elevations are normally imported into the Geo-Database via the ASCII grid

elevation import, during this procedure the data is filtered. The import data can bein a single file or can be tiled, thus distributed over many individual files, often eachfile containing data for 1 square kilometer.

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The elevation filter Page 15

In case the spot elevations are present in a different format (for example DXF), youcan import the data unfiltered and filter them afterwards in the Geo-Database viaGEOTOOLS -> FILTER TERRAIN POINTS FILTERN. The already imported spotelevations must be marked before opening the geo-tool.

Open FILE -> IMPORT -> ASCII ELEVATION GRID and select the folder where theelevation data are stored.

Hint: When the files are not shown, select the correct data filter or enter *.* topresent all files available.

By selecting the file with a double click, all files with the same extension will besent to the elevation filter. Mark one or multiple files with the shift or the Ctrl key(all files with Ctrl + A) and click on the upper right hand button INFORMATIONFROM THE SELECTED FILE(S). SoundPLAN loads the files and extracts thestructure. Depending on the number and size of the files, this may take time. Thisprocedure needs only to be done once, SoundPLAN remembers the structure andadditional information. If the data are loaded via the Geo-tools into the elevationfilter, this information will be extracted directly.

The information box displays how the data are stored, their min/max coordinatesand additionally for unstructured data the average point distance.

Select how you want the elevations to be imported; the following options arepossible (these options are the same regardless where the filter is invoked import ordirect start):

For all import types

You can select an area and only coordinates within this area are imported andfiltered. Often you get data with a much bigger scope than you need. Enter a generalarea in the GeoDB that generously covers the area for which you need elevationsupplied, save the area in a geo-file of its own. After you click the check-box USEAREA DEFINING THE IMPORT AREA and select the Geo-file.

Filter Coordinates

For spot elevations positioned on a regular grid, the GRID SPACING is displayed. For

unstructured spot elevations a grid with a spacing of four times the average distancebetween coordinates is assumed but this value can be modified at will. The finer thebase grid, the smaller the number of iterations needed to force a structure where allelevation deviations of the remaining coordinates are below the set tolerance, yet forfiner grids the number of coordinates remaining will be higher, thus the results arenot as efficient as with a courser base grid. It might be worth the time to set the basegrid to a coarser grid spacing and later on save time fitting embankments, loadingDGMs and calculating noise levels.

Enter MAXIMUM ELEVATION DIFFERENCE to the original coordinates that shall notbe exceeded.

MAXIMAUM POINT SPACING: It turned out that the maximal spacing between thecoordinates shall not be too big and that if the spacing was moderate the number of

iterations were smaller and that the filtering generated more equal sided trianglesthat were better suited for all processing later on. If you do not like the results of thefiltering, try again with a reduced MAXIMUM POINT SPACING.

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Page 16 The elevation filter

As the triangulation of the DGM calculation with a square grid is random, theprogram with the option SEARCH FOR TERRAIN EDGES generates forced elevationlines generates forced connections between the grid coordinates first in order toobtain a more realistic DGM. If the slider is shifted to the far left, no terrain edgesare searched, if the slider is to the far right, the program will try to set thetriangulation even for small elevation differences.

Whether you have the program search for terrain edges depends on the terrain, the

grid spacing. For mostly flat terrain the tendency should be to generate less terrainedges and for rough terrain to generate them. When terrain edges are used thenumber of spot elevations increases and so is the size of the DGM with allconsequences later on.

After filtering a DGM is calculated from the remaining spot elevations and theterrain edges. This DGM is then compared with the original elevations and adifference elevation grid map is generated. If spot elevations are outside thetolerance, SoundPLAN will insert coordinates to force the DGM to conform to theoriginal data. This procedure is repeated iteratively until all differences are withinthe tolerance.

In the logbook you can also view each iteration step.

Import points without filtering

Imports spot elevations without filtering them.

If you select this option in GEOTOOLS -> FILTER ELEVATION DATA, you can deleteduplicate spot elevations clicking the button DELETE IDENTICAL POINTS. Forduplicate terrain points with different elevations, SoundPLAN deletes the point withthe higher elevation.

Filter points in outlying areas with increased tolerance.

Often the area of a community consists of areas with buildings and outlying areaswith fields, forests and meadows. As in the non built up areas the accuracy is notquite as important as between buildings, a bigger tolerance can be chosen here.

For the outlying areas, enter general areas in the GeoDatabase and save them in aGeo-File of its own. For the area with a FACTOR FOR A COURSER FILTER VALUEselect this Geo-File.

Import spot elevations within the circumference of buildings without

filtering

If the spot elevations within the building have not been washed out, the averageheight of the building can be calculated most accurately with the GeotoolEVALUATE SPOT ELEVATIONS FOR BUILDING HEIGHT when you import theelevations within the circumference of buildings without filtering. For this optionenter a geo-file or a situation with the buildings.

As no elevation differences need to be filtered, the import is very fast.

Import spot elevations within bands of roads and railways without

filtering

When the terrain information within bands of roads and railways are very accurate,it can be sensible to use unfiltered elevation information to set the elevation of theroad and the railway axis. For this purpose the unfiltered elevation information canbe imported only in the band around the road and railway master alignment. Inorder for the import to get the geographical location of roads and railways, you mustenter the Geo-file where these objects are located.

As no elevation differences and no filtering are done, this import is very fast.

From the unfiltered imported coordinates, generate a DGM and place the road andrailway alignment on top of this DGM.

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Flexible source definitions for roads and railways Page 17

Later on the elevation information of the unfiltered coordinates is deleted within theband around the road/railway axis when the embankments around the objects aregenerated (Geotool GENERATE EMBANKMENTS),

Move files in marked area to a sub-folder

With this function you can move all elevation files located within a marked generalarea can be moved to a sub-folder. Entire files will be moved, not only the part that

is located within the marked area. The sub-folder is generated in the normal projectfolder and is named "Select".

Flexible source definitions for roads and railways

Within the framework of extending the noise time slots from day/night today/evening/night, new source definitions were implemented for railway and roadnoise. These controls were available from the version 6.4 on but from version 7.0they will be the only source definitions to be upgraded to new regulations and newdevelopments (for example having different speeds for the various time slices).

For new projects we can only recommend to use the new emission definitionscreens!

In the selection of the calculation standard in the SoundPLAN Manager the olderday/night version of the emission definitions are referred to Emission according tostandard name (***) (for example: RLS-90 (***)), the new emission definition isfound under Emission according to standard name. The results of the emissioncalculation itself are identical.

Advantage:

Well organized emission documentation for roads in the Geo-database withoutthe need to first run a calculation.

Different speeds allowed for day, evening and night.

Often you can get separate figures for the traffic volume for day, evening andnight but are still obliged to produce results only for day/night. This wasimpossible with the older data entries but is possible with the new variant.

With the access to the road day history it is now possible to generate historiesfort eh emission calculation itself.

The new variant is more flexible with importing traffic volume data.

If the traffic numbers are available for only 2 time slots, switch the SoundPLANManager under OPTIONS -> SETTINGS, current project -> node Emission noiselevel to 2 time slices.

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Page 18 Tunnel openings

Tunnel openings

With the object for tunnel-openings the emissions of roads and railway lines insidethe tunnel are used to determine the sound power and directivity of the propagationof noise from the tunnel opening. From the geometry of the tunnel opening, thelength of the tunnel and the absorption properties close to the tunnel opening theprogram calculates the sound power which is then assigned to 4 point sources in the

opening. The directivity is considered. The procedure is based upon the Nord2000,in the annex of his paper you can find literature references.

The propagation direction from the coordinates of the tunnel opening is to the left asseen in the direction of entry of the coordinates. If the object is to be displayed withproperties, as soon as it is closed with F2, the propagation direction of the tunnel isshown on screen. When opening the tunnels properties, you can change thepropagation direction of the tunnel by clicking on ADJUST GEOMETRY, or via theright click menu with -> CHANGE INPUT DIRECTION.

This plan shows the increase of noise levels due to the noise emitted from the tunnelopening:

The calculation regards the different directivity for road and railways and thereforeis done separately for roads and railways.

All roads or railway lines intersected by the tunnel opening are contributing to theemission of the tunnel. The program uses the local emissions at the tunnel opening,so any changes of the emission further in the tunnel will not have any influence onthe sound power at the tunnel opening. The emissions inside the tunnel are summedup as Lw, the sound power per meter, which is used to determine the sound powerhanded over to the 4 substitute sources in the tunnel opening. In the tunnel openingthe program inserts a coordinate, the section inside the tunnel does not contribute to

the outside contribution.For roads or railways intersecting the tunnel opening multiple times, only the firstintersection is relevant.

The 4 point sound sources in the tunnel opening each have LwT 10 log(4) as thesound power.

The propagation for road and railways is always done in accordance to thefollowing standards:

The following road standards are calculated in accordance to the ISO 9613-2: RLS-90, Hungarian Road, DIN18005 Strae, CRTN, EMPA (StL86, StL95, StL97),RVS, FHWA, ENEA, Russian Road, Statens planverk report no. 48, Road TrafficNoise Nordic Pred. Method; 1996, NMPB-Routes:

The following railway standards are calculated in accordance to the ISO 9613-2:Schall03, Transrapid, VBUSCH, DIN18005 Schiene, ONR305011, Kilde67, CRN,

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Tunnel openings Page 19

Semibel, RMR 2002, Hungarian Rail, Russian Rail, Israeli Rail, ASJ-B, ASJ-RTN-2003, Japan Rail, SNCF

Nord2000 road and Nord2000 railway are calculated in accordance to the Nord2000, TNM roads are calculated in accordance with TNM (Industry) and NMT-96railways are calculated in accordance to General Prediction Method.

Properties of the tunnel opening

The tunnel opening is defined with a line consisting of 2 coordinates. After the entryof the first coordinate the properties dialog for the tunnel itself is started, howeverthe entries for the tunnel are only generated after the second coordinate is entered.This line must intersect the road-alignment or railway alignment (multiple road orrailway lines are also possible) in order to take over geometry and emissions fromthe road/rail into the tunnel opening.

For the SHAPE of the tunnel opening select either a semi circle or a rectangle. TheWIDTH of the tunnel opening is first taken from the length of the line, however itcan be refined via the control ADJUST GEOMETRY. For the form semi circle" theradius is automatically calculated, if you select the form rectangle you need toenter the HEIGHT. BASE HEIGHT is calculated from the intersection between thetunnel opening and the road/railway axis.

The tunnel can be acoustically split into 2 sections, the area directly behind the

portal, which often is clad with acoustics panels and the area further into the tunnelthat most often is left acoustically hard. For the acoustical description of the walls,SoundPLAN supplies 4 typical cases with the sound absorption coefficient (see

annex).

With 2 separate tunnel portals for a road with 2 separate lanes, 2 separate tunnelopenings must be defined. To connect the tunnel opening with the road, thefollowing procedure is to be followed: First enter the tunnel opening over the masteralignment of the road, then open the object definitions and move the tunnel openingwith ADJUST GEOMETRY. Although the tunnel opening may not intersect with theroad alignment any longer, the connection between road and tunnel is made. Repeatthis procedure with the second tunnel opening.

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Page 20 Properties for noise control walls

Adjust geometry

The tunnel opening width (portal width) is extracted from the length of the digitizedtunnel opening, the base height is derived from the intersection between tunnelopening and road/railway alignment. Both values can be adjusted here. When theDISTANCE TO AXIS is 0 m, the tunnel opening is located centrally overroad/railway. For separate tunnel openings for both directions of the road, one of thedistances to axis must be a positive number while the other must be negative. Thetunnel opening can be moved by clicking on the ADJUST button.

With the checkmark REVERSE EMITTING DIRECTION the tunnel opening can bereversed.

Particularities for the object type tunnel opening in the Graphics

A separate object type is delivered for the display of the tunnel opening in the site

map of the Graphics. In order to show the emitting direction, the symbol is twice aslarge as the tunnel opening. As a default the factor is set to 2 in the base settings ofthe object type.

If you want to use another symbol for the tunnel opening (e.g. a semi circle), pleasechange the factor (size) to 1, in order to display the correct size of the tunnelopening.

The 3D Graphics uses a semi circle or a rectangle, depending on the selected formof the tunnel opening in the GeoDatabase.

Properties for noise control walls

A noise control wall can now be defined using many elements above one another.For each element the reflection definitions and/or the direction can be adjusted.Reflections however are only evaluated from the vertical parts of the noise control

wall. The screening is evaluated regardless if the wall is vertical or points in anydirection or covers the road/railway.

Walls with multiple elements are already finally defined and therefore cannot beused for a wall design calculation.

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Properties for noise control walls Page 21

Under the tab base element you find the new switch WALL FLOATS ABOVEGROUND. When this box is checked, the bottom of the wall is no longer extended tothe ground, it will be using the object elevation as the bottom. If there is a gapbetween the terrain and the bottom of the noise protection wall, noise can propagateunder the noise protection wall.

With this feature noise protection walls on bridges can be modeled better thanbefore. Roads and Railway lines should still be marked to be on a bridge in order toprevent the propagation through the bottom of the bridge. This way it is alsopossible to graphically document the height and reference kilometer of walls onbridges.

Open the tab for Additional elements and use the + to request new elements.

As soon as an element is no longer vertical, the absorption properties are discarded,no reflection is calculated in this case.

The SLANT BASED ON PREVIOUS ELEMENT tilts the noise protection wall. A positivevalue will tilt it to the right (in the direction of entry of the object), a negative valuewill tilt it to the left.

HEIGHT/WIDTH defines the size of an element in meters.

Via theNO.OF SIMILAR ELEMENTS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER

you can request that anumber of elements are stacked. If for example you entered a slant of 10 degreesand requested 9 elements, you have created a quarter pipe as a noise protection wall.

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Page 22 Reworking the module Indoor Factory Noise

Example:

Galleries or wall combinations as are printed above next to thedefinition box, should be defined as floating screens so that thereflection on the top vertical element still can be calculated.

Reworking the module Indoor Factory Noise

The program module Indoor Factory Noise allows the calculation and assessment ofnoise in work spaces and is focused at the acoustical evaluation of industrialfacilities indoors. On the basis of the calculations of this module it is possible to

evaluate if noise control measures are required and if so calculate alternative noisecontrol remedies. Compare and optimize different variants with noise control.

This module is following the VDI-standard 3760 (Calculation and measurement ofnoise propagation in work rooms) and extends the concept in accordance to thestandard procedure Mirror sources with scattering in accordance to the writings ofKutruff & Joicic (see Appendix).

New Features

The floor plan for the industrial building no longer has any restrictions exceptthat floor and ceiling need to be parallel to one another and that all walls needto be vertical.

It is possible to place full and partial height screening walls at any position inthe factory building. The walls can be fixed to the ground or defined asfloating screens. The insertion loss incurred by these walls is recognized andapplied by the calculations.

Absorptions can be defined for all surfaces, only the density of scatteringsurfaces and the average absorption coefficients for the scattering surfacesneeds to be defined as a room dependant constant.

The new version also allows the calculation of a vertical cross-sectional typenoise map within the industrial building.

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Reworking the module Indoor Factory Noise Page 23

Entries in the Geo-database

In order to carry out calculations involving the noise levels inside the factorybuilding, additional definitions and parameters must be made.

Step 1: Object settings of the industrial building -> tab Indoor absorption ->

tab General

Definition of the MEAN ROOM HEIGHT (the height of the room on the insidecan differ from the outside dimensions)

Definition of the SCATTERING OBJECT DENSITY (q = 1/L, L = mean free

distance between scattering objects) and the absorption spectrum of scatteringobjects.

The density of scattering objects increases with increased grade of filling thehall with machines. Here some guidance values for

Dense fill with machines 0.1Middle fill with machines 0.08Scattered fill with machines 0.03Hall with very few machines 0.01

Select the absorption spectrum most commonly used in the factory building asthe DEFAULT ABSORPTION SPECTRUM. With the switch ALL FACADESABSORPTIVE this spectrum will be distributed to all walls.

Step 2: Object settings industrial building -> tab indoor absorption -> tababsorptive surfaces

Modifications of the absorption parameters for area that deviate from thedefault absorption spectrum (mark an area in the tree and select a differentspectrum under the settings for Absorption).

Taking over of inserted components as absorption area (mark the area in thetree and use the right mouse button to -> COPY INSERTED COMPONENT ASABSORPTION AREA).

Definition of local absorption areas (draw the area in the drawing window,mark the absorption area in the tree and under ABSORPTION select thespectrum)

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Page 24 Reworking the module Indoor Factory Noise

Step 3: Object settings of the industrial building -> tab indoor wall

The indoor walls are entered -like before- in the object Indoor wall in the dataentry window of the Geo-database. Digitize a wall and enter the vertical POSITIONOF THE WALL IN THE HALL (distance to floor and ceiling) and define theABSORPTION SPECTRUM for the left and the right side.

If Indoor Factory Noise walls are defined outside of the factory building window,upon opening the factory building window, you will be asked if you want tointegrate these walls into the factory building. If yes was the answer, the walls willbe taken off the normal data entry and integrated into the factory building itself.Walls where the parameters change from element to element (for example to define

different distances of the wall top to the ceiling) are broken down into multiplewalls with constant properties. If you want to modify a wall that is integrated intothe factory building on the basis of the full canvas, right click on the wall and select EXTRACT OBJECT from the popup menu.

It is also possible to enter the walls in the factory building window under the tabIndoor walls. This is especially useful if you already know the exact coordinatesof the walls.

oDraw walls in the drawing window

o Mark the wall in the tree

o Define the height of the wall (distance to floor and ceiling)

o Define the absorption properties (left side / right side)

o If needed adjust the wall geometry (coordinates)

Multiple walls of the factory building can be processed using the Attribute Explorerdirectly from the industrial building (right mouse bottom in the tree -> ATTRIBUTEEXPLORER) or CTRL+ E.

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Filter in SoundPLAN Spreadsheet and Graphics Page 25

Filter in SoundPLAN Spreadsheet and Graphics

So far the filter is defined in the (options) document settings:

The filters EXCLUDE FACADES SMALLER THAN [M] and LOAD ONLY POINTSWHICH ALSO ARE IN has not been changed and has been described in thehandbook.

The rest of the filters have been reworked and are now categorized. As all filters aredependant of a (or all) level column(s), these filters are labeled column dependentfilter.

The there is a distinction between 2 filter types, filters depending on buildings andfilters depending on coordinates. For the coordinate-wise filtering only the

coordinates are loaded whereas the building dependent filtering will load allcoordinates of a building as long as the criterion for at least one coordinate of thebuilding is met.

As soon as you change the filter settings for the current document with OPTIONS ->DOCUMENT SETTINGS -> CURRENT DOCUMENT, you are asked if you want toregenerate the table. In this case all coordinates of all results are loaded and sortedbuilding by building, afterwards the filter is applied.

Filter column and type of rounding type

With the FILTER COLUMN you define for which level column i.e. for which of thetime slots the filter (conflict value) value needs to be generated. With the checkmark APPLAY FILTER TO ALL TIME SLOTS the filter criteria are applied to all timeslots of the results. For example for the filter load only receiver points with conflict, this means that only the receiver point with the highest magnitude of excess to thenoise limit is used, regardless of the time slot. Please be aware that this is notnecessarily the receiver point with the highest noise level.

For the decision which point has a conflict, the ROUNDING MODE is important and

also the information to which decimal it shall apply. It is for example possible that areceiver point in accordance to the RLS90 is not a conflict in the un-rounded statebut that the rounding lifts it to the criterion to become a conflict. For this you needto define the parameters here.

If due to rounding, multiple values are becoming identical, the value of the highestinfringement to the limit is used to set the biggest conflict.

The setting to calculate using the shown number of decimals is not used for thefiltering.

Filter by buildings

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Page 26 Filter in SoundPLAN Spreadsheet and Graphics

In accordance to the checkboxes the program loads either only buildings WITHCONFLICT, or buildings WITH THE LEVEL >= an entered threshold value. Allreceiver points are loaded as long as at least one meets the filter criteria. In additionyou can opt to only load a single receiver point per faade.

Filter by receiver points

With the receiver point type filtering criteria on the same line are mutuallyexclusive whereas criteria below each other can be added. For example you canselect to load only POINTS WITH CONFLICTS or to load POINTS WITH LEVELYGREATER THAN. You can further refine the selection by checking the box forloading receiver points with the highest level / conflict PER FACADE or PERBUILDING

With loading floors ONLY WITH HIGHEST LEVEL / CONFLICT only the single floorwith the highest values is loaded whereas ALL AFFECTED will look at every floor ofthe building.

Effect of the filtering upon calculations

If for example you are using the point receiver filter to LOAD ONLY POINTS WITHTHE HIGHEST LEVEL PER BUILDING and only LOAD FLOORS WITH THE HIGHESTLEVEL, only a single value is loaded per building. This point then all inhabitants ofthe building are assigned to (the columns inhabitants and inhabitants

/faade/floor will contain identical values). If the filter to show ONLY CONFLICT isactive, you can easily generate worst case calculations for an area as all inhabitants

of all building are assigned to the point on the building that shows the highestconflict value.

Additional information: Mark lines (points) and hide them: Hidden lines are onlyexcluded from the evaluation statistics (under the tools menu), otherwise the linesare calculated and also are evaluated for the structure lines.

Filter settings in Faade Noise Map and level tables

If multiple receiver points on a faade have been calculated and only some of themare showing a conflict, the display without filtering will only display sections of thefacade representing the conflict receiver. If you use the filter to LOAD ONLY THEPOINTS WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL PER FACADE, the entire facade is marked ashaving a conflict.

Similarly the display of the Facade Noise Map in the object settings will use scalecolors to paint the facade either for a single receiver or for the entire facade.

For the level tables the display combination of showing conflict facades incombination with the selection to load only the POINT WITH THE HIGHEST VALUEFOR THE ENTIRE BUILDING is not sensible as only a single point is marked even ifthere are multiple conflicts.

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Receiver flags in the Graphics Page 27

Receiver flags in the Graphics

Use small flags you can display at the receiver points to present any content of areceiver table (spreadsheet) in a map. In contrary to the level tables, that onlypresent the level values per receiver, you can flexibly display all desiredinformation.

The below extract from the spreadsheet and the resulting receiver flag explain the

relationship:

The receiver flags are connected with a reference line to the receiver point in themap. With Boolean (logical) columns generated in the spreadsheet you definewhich receiver points shall be represented with receiver flags and which points andfacades shall be marked as conflicts (columns 25 and 26 in the table above). Apartfrom the any column you can also display structured rows you have defined in thespreadsheet.

The columns and headers are stored separately in so called column combinations inthe table so that the tabular format and the graphical display as receiver flag cancome from the same spreadsheet with completely different layout and contents.

Column combinations and file type selection

Select the file type RECEIVER FLAGS in the Graphics file selection manager, youwill see a dialog for the selection of the columns to be displayed.

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Page 28 Receiver flags in the Graphics

Select the column that contains the TEXT IN REFERENCE POINTS. This can be a textor integer column from the spreadsheet. Whether the text is actually shown in theGraphics however depends on you definitions for the receiver flags in the objecttypes. Select the Boolean columns for marking it as a CONFLICT POINT and formarking POINTS TO B DISPLAYED IN THE GRAPHICS (both columns can be thesame).

In the table above Boolean columns have been generated for the selection of theconflict and for the display in the graphics. This way you can for example present alevel table for the loudest receiver on a building and mark additional ones thatgenerate conflict receivers and conflict facades.

Choose the HEADER TYPE for the column combination. You can select to use thecolumn headers from the SoundPLAN Spreadsheet or define your own short title.

Hint: You can define your own headers here and still later on select not to have aheader or use the headers from the spreadsheet.

If STRUCTURE LINES (block beginning and/or block end) are contained in thespreadsheet, you can select if you want to display them in the small tables.

SELECT COLUMNS: Now select the columns that shall be visible. By default allcolumns visible in the spreadsheet are marked visible here. If desired enter a shortheader if you want to have a different text (one line) than the header from thespreadsheet, which can have multiple lines.

Switch to DISPLAY ALL COLUMNS, for example to activate a column from thestructure line or any other one that was not visible. DISPLAY ONLY SELECTEDCOLUMNS gives you a better overview is there are columns already selected.

Further compilations of this table you can generate by clicking on the + sign next tothe column combination name. The name must be unique. Column combinations nolonger in use are deleted with the - sign. With >> change the name of the columncombination. If you change a name to a column combination that is already in usein a sheet, the connection to this column combination will be lost however!

Result request for receiver flags in the file selection

After selecting the spreadsheet and defining the column combination, additionalparameters for the presentation are requested:

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Receiver flags in the Graphics Page 29

Define the spacing between the receiver and the reference point and the spacingbetween the reference point and the middle of the table.

Both distances facade - reference point and reference point - receiver flag areconnected with a line, the layout of the line can be further defined in the plan-objecttypes.

The type of header and whether structured lines are used or not, is taken from thecolumn combinations but can be modified in the current sheet.

OPTIMIZE COLUMN ZIZES fits the width of the columns to the longest text present.Structure lines are not used in the calculation of the table width, if they are longerthan the table allows, they are truncated.

Object type receiver flags

The layout of the receiver flags is set in the object setup under the tabs generaland table layout.

As the test size from the spreadsheet may be too big for the display in the graphics,you have a SIZE FACTOR to your disposal to scale the texts up and down withouthaving to redo the table itself.

If you only want to use the receiver flags to mark individual receivers specially, youcan deactivate the receiver flags with the switch SHOW TABLES.

Use the switch ONLY SHOW TABLES THAT ARE MARKED IN THE BOOLANPRESENT COLUMN, in order to show the receiver flags for all receivers containedin the spreadsheet.

With SHOW ONLY FLOORS WITH CONFLICT you can set to print only table lineswith a conflict or for all floors as soon as that location on the building shows aconflict in any of the floors.

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Page 30 Receiver flags in the Graphics

A checkmark in front of SHOW TEXTS IN REFERENCE POINT prints the text from thecolumn you have defined in the column combinations. Font and color and size arealso defined here.

Define the WIDTH and COLOR of the connection line between the facade and thetable. In case the reference point was moved from the faade, both parts aredisplayed the same way.

Under the tab table layout select the background colors for the headers, thestructured lines and the data lines. They are administered independently from thespreadsheet.

Click on the checkbox in front of the line types in order to make a selection ofcolors valid. The color then can be different in the graphics from the colors in thespreadsheet. If the checkbox is unchecked, the colors from the spreadsheet are used.Structure lines can either be placed under the header from the spreadsheet or thecolumn combination or on top.

Often the lines between the time slice columns are switched off in the Spreadsheet.Therefore you can define the TABLE LINES in the object types. You can select,whether you want to keep the settings from the Spreadsheet (then only linesbetween rows can be additionally displayed), display lines from the object typedefinition additionally to the settings from the Spreadsheet or completely ignore thesettings from the Spreadsheet and only use the line color and line width defined inthe object types.

The TABLE EDGE LINES are always taken from the definition in the object types.

Move the receiver flags

Individual tables can be moved under "Edit Plan". Activate MOVE TABLE "RESULTFILE".*

.When the cursor moves on to a table, the cross of the cursor changes into themovement arrow. With the left mouse button pressed, move the table or the symbol.

SoundPLAN remembers the position you have moved results to. When you loadanother result file into your plan, you can force the program to use the sameposition as was used in the result file xxx. First select the spreadsheet to be loaded

(the original table must be still part of the plan), then mark the USE THE POSITIONFROM FILE xxx and then take the original table out of the plan.

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Print preview and unprintable frames in Graphics Page 31

Print preview and unprintable frames in Graphics

The Graphics now is no longer working on the active drawing area but iscontrolling the exact sheet dimensions down to the non printable frame around theactive drawing area. Therefore the exact paper dimensions in [mm] need to bedefined in the sheet properties. The size of the unprintable area is controllablethrough the tab Edge.

Hint: Old sheets and templates are still usable as the edges in the older sheets areset to =0. Regardless, it is the recommendation to adapt the sheets and templates tothe new way because positioning the drawing on the sheet is much easier and it isnow possible without any problem to generate a sheet with a border wide enough topunch holes in to place them into a folder.

It is also possible to generate a new sheet, select the sheet size and the desiredprinter and then view the sheet FILE -> PRINT PREVIEW. The active drawing area isrequested from the printer driver and displayed. If it does not fit, you see themessage:

In case the paper format for the sheet and the printer do not match and the sheet istoo big, the message "sheet too big for selected paper size is displayed.

At the same time the print preview shows the preview of the sheet and the nonprintable border frame.

As long as the sheet frame is smaller than the unprintable area on the printer, thevalues for the sheet frame are displayed in red boxes.

Change printer settings You also have the option to change the printer here or to change the printersettings. Click on the symbol in the upper left hand corner to CHANGE PRINTERSETTINGS.

Enter the minimum sizes for the sheet border and match them at least to theunprintable area of the printer. You can also customize the sheet to contain astapling / hole punching area of 2[cm] on the left had side.

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Page 32 Train Animation in the 3D Graphics

As soon as the border frame is defined, the switch TAKE OVER is active and allowsyou to set the frame settings in the sheet properties. Child elements (plan, groupboxes ...) are automatically fitted to the printable drawing area.

You can view the sheet with or without the frame to maximize the active viewingarea on screen. With VIEW -> WITHOUT SHEET FRAME (CTRL+ E) the frame isactivated/deactivated.

After defining the sheet frame it is no longer possible to move the child elementsbeyond the sheet frame.

You can activate the checkbox FIT ONLY FOR HTIS PRINTOUT to leave the sheetframe untouched but to have the content fitted correctly to the sheet. Additionallyyou can disable the presentation of more complex content in the preview (speedingup the generation of the preview) if you uncheck the checkbox SHOW GEOMETRIEAND RESULTS.

Convert sheets from a pre 7 version

If you already have fitted the size of the sheet to the active printing area of theprinter, you can directly convert the sheet. Open the print preview. TheSoundPLAN Graphics recognizes that sour sheet is of the older type. Click on the

switch CONVERT. The program determines the hull-rectangle of all child elementson the sheet. The frame resulting from this action is then extended by the non-printable frame of the printer and this is defined as your sheet non printable border.

The position of the plan on the sheet has not changed. The size of the sheet is nowthe correct paper size, the position of your plan is located by defining the width ofthe unprintable border.

Only sheets that are in agreement with the unprintable border size of the printer canbe converted. If the sheet was designed for a different printer (printer driver) theremay be a conflict.

Train Animation in the 3D Graphics

Preparation

Before you can generate the animation itself, you must calculate a rid Noise Mapwith the activated option Animated Grid Map (Moving Train). This variant of thenoise map generates the time/level charts that drive the animated noise map. Thecalculation of the time/level chart requires several settings in order to operateproperly.

An assessment must be selected with the maximum noise level for trainsactivated as one of the time slots

The standard for the calculation of the train noise map must allow thecalculation of the maximum noise level for trains

The emission of the train must be set to have a specific train with trainlength and maximum noise level defined.

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Bitmaps in SoundPLAN Page 33

In the Noise Assessment of the calculation RUN definition the L-Maxcalculation must be activated.

To present the train itself, the train line must be loaded in the graphics and mustbe marked in the Geo-Database as the reference line.

If the Grid Noise Map is associated with an animated time/level history file, you canfind the data in Edit Map in the selection list under the label Load level time

history . By checking the appropriate box, the program will load the data.Presentation of the train

For the presentation of the train, the sub-object-type Emission line of the trainobject is used. In the top view the train is presented as a line, in 3D as a solid figure.

For the color and thickness of the train, the normal line display is used. In order forthe train not to be covered by the emission line, the emission line itself must bedeactivated.

The length of the train and the length of the rail cars are defined in the Cartographysection:

- PATTERN SIZE = length of the train- PATTERN RATIO = approximate length of a rail car

In 3D the width and height of the train cannot be altered, the train body starts 30 cmabove the railhead and is 2.5 meters wide and 2.8 meters tall.

Presentation in 3D

In order to present the train-animation in 3D, the data must be loaded while theEdit-Map facility is operating in 2-D. After loading the data, switch to the 3-Dmode. Please make sure that the object types for the grid noise map has the switchUSE GROUND ELEVATIONS set in the tab 3D of the object settings.

In the settings for 3D there is a new tab for the train animation, select one of the 4different way of presentation:

Keep the current view

Move with the train and look at the noise map from a position on the train in adefined angle.

Move with the train and look towards the center of the of the animation world

Look from the center of the animation towards the train.

Depending on the animation setting, select the position relative to the animationtrack (distance to the front of the train, height above the train) and the view angle.

Bitmaps in SoundPLAN

With switching the program development system from Delphi 7 to Delphi 2007,

some of the external bitmap processing tools became obsolete and had to be set on anew platform that is less dependent on the compiler. Some changes to the bit mapprocessing needed to be accepted here.

Like in the Geo-Database, the Graphics now supports the same graphics formats:

Window-Bitmaps (*.bmp)

Jpeg-files (*.jpg)

Png-files (*.png)

Tiff-files (*.tif)

Loading geometry bitmaps is faster now as each format can be loaded directly andcan be converted into a windows bitmap.

The function rotate was designed new without the need to buffer the bitmap onthe disk.

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A new mode for a fast re-draw was also implemented that allows much higher ratesof re-drawing, specially for black and white bitmaps, however with this fast-redrawmode the quality on screen in some resolutions is a bit reduced. This only affectsthe screen, not printed output.

What is different in re-drawing the screen?

Drawing any bitmap on screen the bitmap first needs to be converted into the pixel-matrix of the screen and then it is drawn. As most bitmaps have a higher resolutionthan the screen, often multiple pixels from the bitmap are presented with only asingle pixel on screen. The fast re-draw does not calculate an average of all thepixels from the bitmap that should be presented as a single pixel on screen butrather has each one of them draw the pixel, which means that the last bitmap pixelto be drawn is what you see in the end. This may result in the picture looking likehaving less detail. The slower mode averages the bitmap pixels resulting in a betterpicture quality. In the addition mode multiple draws will result in black, in thenormal draw mode will yield gray.

New developments with the Noise Allotment

In the past the Noise Allotment could be saved under any file name, now the filename is fixed. This meant that you could generate multiple variants from a singlepre-calculation. This is not possible any longer, the allotment is now saved underthe same name as the pre-calculation.

Why this restriction?

You can generate a grid noise map for your allotment (a more detailed descriptionbelow). This Grid Noise Map needs a calculation run number, this is now the sameas the pre-calculation and the allotment. This makes it easier to keep together thedifferent parts of the allotment.

In case you want to generate variations, copy the pre-calculation run and have itsresults saved under a different run number. The copied calculations need to be

executed before the allotment can be run.

Selection to determine the additional noise contingents

You can now select how the additional contingents shall be generated:

With SECTORS (A.2 according to DIN 45691)

By area (via the usage areas)

NO additional contingentsFor the determination of additional contingents via the method by area, at first theareas need to be defined in the Geo-Database as usage areas. All usage areas to be

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used in the Allotment must be located in the same Geo-File, which is then assignedto the Allotment.

The additional contingents are assigned to the areas instead of the sectors. Ifmultiple receivers are located in an area, the program will use the lowest additionalcontingent.

Suggestion of a LEK per time slot

Via the pocket calculator you can have the program make a suggestion for the LEKfor each time slot. This suggestion is not optimized, it rather assumes the same LEKfor all partial areas, maximizing the permitted sound power. This suggestion shallbe viewed as the beginning of your noise allotment optimizing.

New possibilities for the setting of additional contingents

If you have already set a lot of sectors and then you by accident move the referencepoint, you need to redo your work. Therefore a new function allows you to FIX THEREFERENCE POINT AND THUS GUARDS it against accidental movement.

You can connect sectors by overlaying the angle border between neighboring

sectors or receivers. In order that this is not just an accident, you need to firstactivate the switch ALLOW SECTORS T BE CONNECTED. Additionally you can selectto CLOSE SECTORS AUTOMATICALLY. If this switch is active, the angle marker isdeleted if moved. The same way as sectors can be joined, they can be sub dividedagain.

When sectors are changed the program automatically generates a new list of criticalreceivers for day and for night and calculates the lowest additional contingent.

Here too it is now possible to generate sectors without receivers, i.e. withoutadditional contingents.

Settings for the printout

Now you can select the font type and a scale factor for the font size to make surethat even bigger tables can be fit on a page.

Also select if you want the geometry (page 4) to be printed. For the documentationin accordance to DIN 45691 this graphics is not required. Additionally you can loadthe geometry in the graphics and refine it there with additional text boxes and ascale.

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Calculation of Grid Noise Maps

Once the Noise Allotment is finished you can calculate a Grid Noise Map using theallotment results. In order to simplify the handling, the grid noise map is savedunder the same number as the pre-calculation and the allotment.

The calculation is started in the program section for Noise Allotment under thetab Calculate Grid Noise Map. Click on the green arrow to start the calculation.

Like in the calculation core the logbook contains vital information about yourcalculations. It is not necessary to change into the Calculation core to start thecalculations, however in the Noise Allotment the noise map is not graphicallydisplayed while it is calculating.

The calculation is done in accordance to DIN 45691 with free field propagationwithout ground interaction. The calculation times accordingly are extremely short.

Additional contingents are not used in the calculations, however they can be addedlater on in the graphics from other calculations.

Display of the Noise Allotment in the Graphics

As usual, load the noise allotment from the file selection of the graphics, the filetype is Noise Allotment .

The Grid Noise Map is loaded via the file type Grid Noise Map under the nameof the pre-calculation, i.e. RNAT****.RES. For the selection of the time slot checkthe additional checkbox to use the additional noise contingents:

New developments of Wall-Design

The display of the wall optimization history now has added several diagram types:

1. The benefit of the noise protection wall

2. The efficiency of the wall, i.e. the benefit/cost ratio

3. The effectivity, indicating the percentage of how much the target valueis reached in %

4. The WTI (Wirtschaftlicher Tragbarkeits-Index= Economic feasibilityindex according to the Swiss (BAFU) EPD)

5. The cost per solved case of conflict

The topics 1-4 are based on the Swiss Cost Index (-> Swiss EnvironmentalProtection Department = Schweizer Bundesamt fr Umwelt BAFU), the WTI(Wirtschaftliche Tragbarkeit und Verhltnismigkeit von Lrmschutzmanahmen= Economic feasibility of noise protection construction), which you probablyalready know from the SoundPLAN Spreadsheet.

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This study assumes that noise is responsible costs to the economy. By controllingthe noise the economic costs are reduced, thus noise control not only has costsassociated but there also is an economic benefit to the society.

In the diagram-selection you will find base value above the target value instead ofinhabitants above target value in the diagram type base value above thethreshold value. For this diagram type as well as for effectivity, the WTI and thecosts per solved conflict, a selection list is available where you can set the base to

be:o inhabitants

o dwellings

o receivers

In addition you can select for these diagram types if the evaluation is for the activetime slot of for all time slots.

Calculation of the economic (cost) damages due to noise

The damage per receiver is calculated as follows:

Damage = (A * B) * Conf * RentF[nc] * cost_per_m

o A = square meters of entire floor divided by number of receiverscalculated on that floor

o B = Correction factor for A to adjust for non inhabited areas such asstaircases etc.

o Conf = conflict the damages are based upon

o RentF= rent factor per noise class

o Cost_per_m = rent price per m per year

o The area A is automatically calculated from the geometry of the building.The correction factors and all other parameters are defined under options -> settings.

The damage defining conflict is given by the excess of noise above a giventhreshold value for day or night and also depends on a sensitivity setting for thebuilding. This sensitivity depends on the usage of the building. In order to keep thework defining parameters at bay, the program used the usage assigned to thebuilding in the Geo-Database. A common sensitivity is assumed but threshold- andalarm-values can be defined. The pre setting is for a value -5 for sensitivity step IIfor residential areas.

The noise class is selected in accordance to the noise level (day/night) as follows:

Noise class Evaluation noise level

I > Alarm level

II > Threshold value+5

III > Threshold value

The rental cost per m per year is set to represent the average rental cost inSwitzerland and must be adjusted to represent the true cost in your area.

Benefit of noise control measures: The benefit of the noise control measures isdefined as the reduction of the economic damages.

The efficiency: Is defined as the ratio of cost to benefit.

The effectiveness: In reference to the base inhabitants, dwellings orreceivers, the percentage of inhabitants properly shielded from noise is calculated.When all receivers are shielded to be below the noise threshold, the effectiveness

will be 100%.

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The WTI (Wirtschaftlicher Tragbarkeits-Index = Economic Feasibility Index):

The WTI is calculated as follows:

WTI = Effectivity * Efficiency / 25

WTI according to BAFU is evaluated in classes

WTI Evaluation

> 4.0 Very good

> 2.0 Good

>= 1.0 Sufficient

< 1.0 Insufficient

< 0

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