Influence of the Acoustic Cover of the Modular Expansion Joint on the Acoustic Climate in the Bridge Structure Surroundings

The noise generated at the interface between the wheels of vehicles and the road surface is well recognized in the literature worldwide. Many publications describe the phenomenon of reducing this kind of impact by silent road surfaces. A specific type of this noise is the sound generated by vehicles passing over the expansion joints of bridge structures. Due to the impulsive nature of this sound, it is very onerous for people living in the close vicinity of bridge structures. The passage of vehicles over expansion joints causes the formation of vibrations that are transmitted to the structural elements of bridge structures, which may cause the formation of the material sounds (especially arduous in the case of bridges with steel elements). An attempt to reduce this impact was made by making a prototype acoustic cover of the expansion joint on the selected bridge. The paper presents the results of research on the “in situ” acoustic effectiveness of this cover. Additionally, the noise was modelled in the object surroundings before and after the cover’s application. The acoustic efficiency of the cover in the whole measured frequency range was 5.3 dBA. In the narrower frequency bands (1/3 octave bands), larger sound level reductions were observed. The maximum sound levels measured under the tested dilatation were less than 10.0 dBA lower than the maximum sound levels measured under the reference dilatation.