Environmentally sustainable acoustics in urban residential areas

255 Pages·2015·24.56 MB·English

Environmentally sustainable acoustics in
urban residential areas
Chia-Jen YU
May 2008
Thesis submitted for the fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
School of Architecture
The University of Sheffield
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Abstract
The main aim of this thesis is to examine environmentally sustainable acoustics,
considering mainly urban residential areas. The study has systematically examined the
three essential aspects of environmentally sustainable acoustics, namely, people,
buildings and resources. The investigations are focused on three aspects: (l) the effects
of urban acoustics on people: a systematic field survey on people's perceptions which
considered people's living experiences, sound preferences and social factors; (2) a
series of buildings' life cycle assessments which examined the environmental impact
from cradle to grave of the building's lifespan and tried to further comprehend acoustic
sustainability of residential buildings; (3) various possibilities concerning the use of
wind turbines around and above the residential buildings in an attempt to discover how
to regenerate renewable wind energy and to avoid serious noise effects. The study has
then been expanded from the three aspects, by revealing potential to achieving
environmentally sustainable acoustics. Overall, it has been proved that
environmentally sustainable acoustics is an essential part of the environmentally
sustainability development.
The thesis makes a positive contribution to urban residential areas through the
illustration of a sustainable acoustics approach to environmentally sustainable
development, and demonstrates how these factors should be associated with each other.
Acoustics and sustainability is a rather new field this study only reveals some key
issues. More systematic and in-depth study in other aspects is still needed.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my appreciation to a number of people, who have been greatly
helpful to my study: to my supervisor Professor Jian Kang for his supervision and
encouragement; to my family for their unlimited support and incredible patience; to
Mr. Trevor Lea for his time and help; to Dr. George Finlay Turner for his
encouragement and friendship; to BRE Envest team and Mr. Ian Ward for useful
discussion; to Dr. Mei Zhang for her invaluable discussion on questionnaire design; to
Mrs. Meng Van for her invaluable input in web-based questionnaires; to the staffs and
friends in the School of Architecture, the University of Sheffield; to Mrs. Rachel
Grantham and Mr. Christopher Lamb for the help in proofreading; to all of
respondents who give precious time to fill in questionnaires and oral interviews; and
to the University for offering me scholarships.
CONTENTS
Abstract ............................................................................................. i
Acknowledgements ................................................................................ ii
Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................ 1
1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND ............................................................. 1
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDy ............................................2
1.3 THESIS OUTLINE .........................................................................3
Chapter 2 Literature review ..................................................................7
2.1 URBAN ENVIRONMENTS ............................................................. 8
2.1.1 Introduction ................................................................................ 8
2.1.2 Environmental Acoustics ............................................................... 9
2.1.3 Negative Sound .......................................................................... 10
2.1.4 Positive Sound ........................................................................... 13
2.2. EFFECTS OF NOISE .................................................................... 15
2.2.1 Health Effects ........................................................................... .15
2.2.2 Long Term Effects ....................................................................... 17
2.3 ACOUSTIC SIMULATION ............................................................ .19
2.3.1 Micro-scale Simulation ................................................................. 19
2.3.2 Macro-Scale Simulation And Noise Mapping .......................................2 0
2.4 BUILDING LIFE CYCLE MODELLING TECHNIQUES .........................2 3
2.4.1 Background ..............................................................................2 3
2.4.2 Building LCA Software .................................................................2 4
2.4.3 Building LCA And Acoustic Sustainability ..........................................2 7
2.5 ENVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTIC SUSTAINABILITY .............................2 7
2.5.1 Background .............................................................................. 27
2.5.2 Natural Means Of Noise Reduction ...................................................2 8
2.5.3 Artificial Means Of Noise Reduction .................................................3 1
2.6 SUSTAINABLE WIND POWER .......................................................3 3
2.6.1 Wind Turbines ........................................................................... 33
2.6.2 Existing Cases In Urban Areas .........................................................3 7
2.6.3 Standards And Suggestions ............................................................ 38
2.7 SUMMARY ................................................................................4 0
Chapter 3 Methodology: an overview ......................................................4 2
3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 42
3.2 PEOPLE'S PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR LIVING ENVIRONMENT ............ .45
3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF BUILDINGS ..................................4 7
3.4 RENEWABLE WIND POWER .........................................................4 9
3.5 INTEGRATED EXAMINATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTIC
SUSTAINABILITY ........................................................................... 51
3.6 OVERVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY .............................................5 2
Chapter 4 Perception of urban sound environment ...................................5 6
4.1 OVERALL METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 57
4.1.1 Six Selected Sites ........................................................................5 8
4.1.2 Questionnaire Design ...................................................................6 1
4.1.3 Noise Distribution Of Six Surveyed Sites ............................................6 5
4.1.4 Data Analyses ............................................................................6 5
4.2 FIRST STAGE - COMPARISON BETWEEN SELECTED URBAN
RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN SHEFFIELD AND TAIPEI .............................6 6
4.2.1 Noise Mapping Of Six Sites ......................................................... 66
4.2.2 Results Related To Choice Of Living Environment ..............................7 0
4.2.3 Effect Of Occupation, Education, And Age When Choosing A Living
Environment ................................................................................. 71
4.2.4 General Living Environment ........................................................ 72
4.2.5 Environmental Pollution .............................................................7 3
4.2.6 Main Activities ........................................................................ 73
4.2.7 Annoyance From Noise Sources .................................................... 74
4.2.8 Preferred Sounds ......................................................................7 7
4.2.9 Summary ................................................................................7 8
4.3 SECOND STAGE - COMPARISON BETWEEN SHEFFIELD AND TAIPEI78
4.3.1 Choosing A Living Environment ................................................ ~ .. 79
4.3.2 Effect Of Social And Demographic Factors When Choosing A Living
Environment .................................................................................. 80
4.3.3 General Living Environment ......................................................... 83
4.3.4 Environmental Pollution .............................................................. 83
4.3.5 Main Activities ........................................................................ 84
4.3. 6 Annoyance Due To Noise Sources ................................................. 84
4.3.7 Sound Preference ...................................................................... 88
4.3.8 Summary ................................................................................ 88
4.4 THIRD STAGE - COMPARISON BETWEEN THE UK AND TAIWAN ..... 89
4.4.1 Choosing A Living Environment .................................................... 89
4.4.2 Effects Of Social And Demographic Factors When Choosing A Living
Environment .................................................................................. 91
4.4.3 Current Living Environment ..........................................................9 3
4.4.4 Main Activities .........................................................................9 4
4.4.5 Annoyance Level And Sleep Disturbance From Noise Sources .................9 4
4.4.6 Sound Preference .......................................................................9 8
4.4.7 Summary ............................................................................... 101
4.5 COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE THREE STAGES ........................... 102
4.5.1 Choosing A Living Environment .................................................. .l 02
4.5.2 Effects Of Social And Demographic Factors When Choosing A Living
Environment .................................................................................. 10 4
4.5.3 General Living Environment ......................................................... 10 6
4.S.4 Environmental Pollution .............................................................. 107
4.S.5 Main Activities ......................................................................... 107
4.5.6 Noise Sources: Noticeability, Annoyance, And Sleep Disturbance ............ l 08
4.S.7 Sound Preference ...................................................................... 113
4.5.8 Summary ............................................................................... .113
4.6 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................. 114
Chapter 5 Acoustic sustainability, environmental impact and buildings' life
cycles ........................................................................................... 115
5.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ lIS
5.2METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 117
5.2.1 Buildings' Life Cycle Assessment Software ....................................... 118
5.2.2 Analysis ............................................. ; ................................... 120
5.3 BUILDING TYPES ..................................................................... 125
5.3.1 Building Types ......................................................................... 125
5.3.2 Glazing Ratio .......................................................................... .128
5.4 BUILDING ENVELOPES ............................................................ .130
5.4.1 Walls .................................................................................... 130
5.4 .2 Roof Type .............................................................................. 131
5.4.3 Number Of Storeys .................................................................... 132
5.5 TYPICAL ROOMS ..................................................................... 133
5.5.1 Living Room ........................................................................... 134
5.5.2 Bedroom ................................................................................ 137
5.6 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................ .140
Chapter 6 Environmentally sustainable acoustics - wind turbine study ........ 143
6.1 WIND TURBINES ..................................................................... 145
6.2 SIMULATION IN HYPOTHETICAL RESIDENTIAL AREAS ............... .147
6.2.1 Methodology ........................................................................... I 47
6.2.2 Results .................................................................................. I 50
6.2.3 Summary ............................................................................... 159
6.3 MEASUREMENT OF AN EXISTING WIND FARM ........................... 160
6.3.1 Royd Moor Wind Farm and The Measurement Method ........................ 160
6.3.2 Measured Results ..................................................................... 162
6.3.3 Determination Of Sound Power Levels Of Wind Turbines By Comparing
Measured And Simulated Data ............................................................ 165
6.4 FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE WIND FARM WITH HYPOTHETICAL
ARRANGEMENTS ........................................................................ .167
6.4.1 Landform ............................................................................... 168
6.4.2 Source Height .......................................................................... 170
6.4.3 Numbers Of Sources And Different Source Locations ........................... 173
6.4.4 Summary ................................................................................ 175
6.5 DISCUSSIONS .......................................................................... 175
Chapter 7 Integrated consideration of urban acoustic sustainability ............ 177
7.1 SOUND DISTRIBUTION ON FA<;ADES IN SIX SELECTED SITES ......... 179
7.1.1 People's Perceptions .................................................................. I 79
7.1.2 Sound Distribution On Building Fa9ades ........................................... 181
7.1.3 Correlation Between Average SPL And Sound Perception ...................... 186
7.2 SOUND DISTRIBUTIONS OF VARIOUS BUILDING SHAPES .............. .188
7.2.1 Building Shapes ......................................................................... 189
7.2.2 Various Building Combinations ..................................................... .198
7.2.3 Sound Distributions Of Various Building Storeys .................................2 00
7.3 ADDING WIND TURBINES IN EXISTING SITES .............................. 203
7.3.1 Methodology ........................................................................... 204
7.3.2 The Sound Distributions Ofln The Areas ..........................................2 07
7.3.3 The Sound Distribution On The Buildings With Wind Turbines ............... 21 0
7.3.4 The SPL Distributions Of Surrounding Buildings ................................2 13
7.3.5 Sound Distributions Of Building Groups ..........................................2 15
7.4 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................2 17
Chapter 8 Conclusion .......................................................................2 18
8.1 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS THESIS ...............................................2 19
8.1.1 People's Perceptions Of Their Living Environment ...............................2 19
8.1.2 Examination Of The Acoustic Sustainability Of Residential Buildings ....... 220
8.1.3 Sound Effects Of Wind Farms ......................................................2 21
8.1.4 Integrated Study ........................................................................2 22
8.2 FURTHER RESEARCH ...............................................................2 22
References ......................................................................................2 24
Appendix: Field Survey Questionnaires ................................................... 239
AI. Questionnaire of stage 1 and 2 (English)
A2. Questionnaire of stage 1 and 2 (Chinese)
A3. Questionnaire of stage 3 (English)
A4. Questionnaire of stage 3 (Chinese)
Environmentally sustainable acoustics in urban residential areas
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND
In many regions, urban environments are invariably densely populated which often
results in increases in various types of environmental pollution. Accordingly,
environmentally sustainable acoustics have become an important concern with more
attention being paid to the problem, especially in urban residential areas. In urban areas
there can exist continuous mechanical noise such as traffic noise, construction noise
and activity noise which can damage people's physical and psychological health. Such
noise pollution can thus result in harmful and unsustainable levels of environmental
acoustics. Although it is unrealistic to completely prevent these disturbances, it is
possible to manage, control, and improve current environment in order to significantly
reduce noise pollution.
In the busy urban environment, environmentally sustainable acoustics can be
influenced by building arrangements, environmental factors and resources. The urban
residential area, especially, can be described as a sensitive area which has well
established living spaces which should provide multiple functions of a certain quality.
People, as well as the overall environment in urban residential areas, can be seriously
affected. From the viewpoint of the urban residential area, it is necessary to consider
environmentally sustainable acoustics in terms of environmentally sustainable
development. Furthermore, environmentally sustainable acoustics is one of the
essential concerns for environmentally sustainable development as sound exists
everywhere and cannot be completely eliminated. The assessments of environmentally
sustainable acoustics are combined with human perception and environmental aspects,
due to the fact that no single aspect can stand alone in terms of environmentally
sustainable development. And these tend to be linked to aspects of human perception.
However, it is necessary to find acceptable and comfortable levels of acoustic quality.
This can be described as a long term acoustic sustainable development which may not
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Environmentally sustainable acoustics in urban residential areas
be easy to determine from a few factors but it must take into account terms of
environmentally sustainable development. It should always try to find the essential, as
well as typical factors, as considering all these factors may achieve a better balance.
On the other hand, a number of urban acoustic studies have concentrated on
problematic issues such as traffic noise, noise propagation, vibrations, and noise
effects but may not deliver environmentally sustainable acoustics. Creating
environmentally sustainable acoustics in urban residential areas covers a range of
related topics. The existing literature is rather limited due to the focus on either
acoustic problems or environmentally sustainable development. For this purpose, this
thesis focuses on the possibility to develop these essential and typical factors of
environmentally sustainable acoustics. It is important to note that the fulfilment of
these main factors of environmentally sustainable development should involve:
people's perception, buildings' sustainability, as well as renewable resources, as these
are the three essential environmental aspects.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim of this thesis is to establish a systematic framework for developing
environmentally sustainable acoustics in urban residential areas. To achieve this, the
study investigates a number of factors: how various environmental factors can work
together; to discover the effects which might have influence on people's perception,
and the environmental impact of various environmental factors, it is thus important to
understand the effects they may have, or may not have, through investigative research,
and also to break new ground in trying to reach environmentally sustainable acoustics.
In terms of environmentally sustainable development, the environmental impact such
as from various building types, building materials and renewable wind energy are
investigated. These are mainly considered in terms of actual needs, which cannot be
ignored, but can be dealt with in a more sustainable manner. This thesis combines
aspects of human perception, building sustainability and renewable wind energy. This
is because the connection between urban environment and human perception are
considered essential components in terms of environmentally sustainable acoustics.
The detailed research objectives are to:
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