All settings are stored in the URL, which is updated every time you make a change.
This is a web page for basic sound level modelling using sources of noise and screening from barriers. It is intended to be a tool for understanding and implementing the calculations of ISO 9613 and creating interactive models that are freely accessible.
Please read through this guide. It can be accessed at any time from within the Global Settings sidebar.
This tool is still under development and is likely to have bugs! We're keen to hear your feedback
It is important to read through this guide before using this tool or its calculations. By using the model you are accepting our terms of use.
Any modern web browser which supports HTML5 features. Calculation times will depend on the processing power of your device.
All settings are stored in the URL, which is updated every time you make a change.
This means you can easily save your model by bookmarking the page or copying the URL for other people to access and look at. Click here for more information
The browser back button will "Undo" any modifications.
Once you have read through the guide, use these pre-built layouts to see it in action
The top right button is where you can access the Global Settings sidebar panel. Here you will find all the options for your model including configuration settings based on the calculation parameters of ISO 9613.
In there you will also find the button to open up this guide.
Referred to here as "the grid", this is an adjustable area that maps the calculated sound levels using colours. The settings for this map including its ground height and design are found within the Global Settings.
To move or resize the grid, click and drag the white border or black corner nodes.
Alternatively, there is the option to Fit to objects under Global Settings. With this ticked, the grid automatically resizes to fit the model.
The sound level map is automatically updated whenever a change is made to the model. You can temporarily pause this process by clicking the top left button.
To turn off the sound level map and stop these calculations permanently, under Global Settings change Display to "Grid off".
The ray receiver draws dotted lines (rays) or waves to illustrate the considered sound paths.
In the "rays" mode with broadband sources, each dash represents a single frequency band
In the Global Settings you will find the Export / Import options where you can choose to export the Receiver calculations in detail (CSV). Here you will be able to view a breakdown of the calculated values for each receiver and frequency band in your spreadsheet software of choice. Make sure you insert receivers where you want to inspect and enable Object labels to better correlate the exported data with the original diagram.
All the settings for the model are stored in the URL in the location bar which means you can simply bookmark the web page and it will save your model exactly as it is.
Remember to create a new bookmark (or update the old one) whenever you make any further changes!
As with saving, all you need is to copy the URL exactly as it is and anyone else can view the model exactly as you have set it up. Their browser may be different and may recalculate from the configuration at a different speed but the results will be the same.
There is an option to use a Shorter URL under Global Settings. When ticked, this will use our server database to store your configuration and automatically convert it to a short URL.
Each change you make creates a new entry in your browser history, which means you can undo your changes simply by hitting the back button or going back through the history.
If you are modelling a lot, your browser history records may become uneccessarily filled up with these entries. To prevent this, either clear your browser history after you have finishing editing or alternatively run your browser in a "Private" or "Guest" mode and it will be cleared automatically.
For more information about the calculations and their limitations, refer to ISO9613 parts I and II.
It is essential to consider that modelling is only ever an estimate and real world measurements may differ greatly.
The following table of accuracy is taken from ISO9613-2 based on tests without screening or reflections
Average height of source and receiver | Distance between source and receiver | |
---|---|---|
0 - 100m | 100m - 1km | |
0 - 5m | +-3dB | +-3dB |
5 - 30m | +-1dB | +-3dB |
One large difficulty in noise mapping / sound modelling is vertical edge diffraction which can create a very complex situation.
As complex ray tracing is beyond the scope of this model, vertical edge diffraction is only considered for simple situations where the screen intersects the direct path and there is an unobscured path around it.
This means that the diffraction around screens with a degree of complexity, such as multi-faceted buildings with an unusual shape, will not always be properly represented in the model.
ISO9613-2 considers the effect of screens that are along the source to receiver path even when the source is still in sight of the receiver, for example an observer looking over the top of a wall.
This model only accounts for such a situation along the top edges. For vertical edges, the attenuating effect of a screen is only considered when you are in the shadow of the barrier.
Therefore, a tall vertical screen that stands to one side of the source to observer eye-line would have an attenuating effect, however this would not represented in the model until the observer has moved behind the screen.
We recommend you use a ray receiver to find these situations and decide yourself the importance of these diffracted levels. Read here for more information on using the ray receiver
Sound waves will be reflected or absorbed by the ground depending upon the frequency of the sound wave and how porous the ground is (indicated by the "Ground Factor" value G). The barrier attenuation formula also accounts for ground effects.
Insertion of a screening barrier will reduce the level of a source using the formulae of ISO9613-2. The guidance states that this reduction in any octave band is limited to 20dB in the case of a single screen or 25dB for two screens. ISO9613 only considers up to two screens, the two that are most effective, and all others are ignored.
You may want to disable this limit to see what effect it has on the final levels.
A barrier is only considered to be screening if the horizontal dimension perpendicular to the source-to-receiver line is greater than the wavelength.
You may want to disable this check to explore the unusual effect it causes. For example, as you move around a barrier its apparent width in your field of vision decreases. There will be a point where this width drops below the wavelength of the source and the barrier will no longer be considered to be screening.
A "facade level" measurement is one taken at one metre perpendicular distance from a large reflecting surface. It is an industry practice for measurements that can be later adjusted to a free-field measurement, one that is outside of the range of influence of reflecting surfaces.
By enabling this all buildings and barriers will show a dashed line illustrating the 1m facade location. Reflections are only considered at distances beyond this line. Additionally, receiver points will be kept outside of this area when being positioned.
For a barrier screen to be considered as reflecting, the size of the surface is compared to the wavelength of the sound using a formula that also considers the angle of incidence and sound path length. This formula can be found in the guidance.
You may want to disable this check to see the result when reflections are always considered for a barrier, to test out and better understand this relationship.
The model is free to use for both private and commercial use but without any warranty.
This is an approximate calculation tool to assist in understanding acoustics and noise mapping / sound modelling.
It should not replace your own calculations and real life measurements.
Your settings are transmitted to our servers when you or someone else first accesses the page from the URL and each time the URL shortening service is used. For example when you click on your bookmark and load up the model, when you use an online bitmap image including the Google Map import, or each change made while Shorter URL is ticked.
When these settings are transmitted to our servers they will be captured by the site statistics tracker, which is currently Google Analytics. We may use information about the use of the model to improve the service but we treat your settings as confidential and will not pass this information on to third parties.
We use cookies to store certain user interface settings such as when you have seen the side tips and want them hidden. We do not use them for anything else.
The calculations are done client side, this means that they are not stored anywhere online but are generated by your computer each time you access the page.
All the objects and settings are saved in the URL, this is what makes it possible to bookmark your model and use the browser back button as an undo button.
Images are only ever referenced by their URL or filename, they are never directly stored on our servers and are only temporarily cached on your computer when generating the model.
Therefore it is recommended that you do not reference images that are not yours and that you understand that if the image is removed then the model will no longer have access to it.
This tool is made freely available for you to use but unfortunately we cannot offer free technical support if you get stuck.
We are keen to hear feedback such as your thoughts on how to improve it or any bugs you have encountered. Please let us know using the contact form.