Numerical simulation of rubberized concrete noise walls

Description of field of research:

Concrete is the most used construction material worldwide. In terms of noise absorption, plain concrete proved to be a high sound reflective material with very weak sound absorption qualities. Therefore, concrete can be blended with other sound absorptive materials such as rubber to perform considerably well as a sound absorption material and can be used for noise attenuation wall applications. According to a Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) report, 466000 Tons of End-Of-Life Tyre (EOLT) were generated in Australia between 2018-2019. Annually, this number is around 51 million in Australia. Accumulating EOLT in yards and disposal sites can cause the leaching of toxic chemicals and breeding grounds for mosquitos. Therefore, one of the methods to dispose of the EOLT is to blend it with concrete for various construction applications, such as developing noise attenuation walls.

In this research, numerical simulation of rubberized concrete noise walls will be done to analyse the optimum noise wall parameters to mitigate and absorb noise. Prior laboratory data will be used for the initial calibration of the model.

School

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Area

Civil Engineering

Research Environment
Expected Outcomes
Our team
References

The research involves numerical simulation of rubberized concrete. Developing a model which have the capability of analysing the acoustic performance of rubber concrete is the primary objective of the research. Currently, there are no specific numerical simulation tools or frameworks to optimize the performance of rubber-based concrete noise walls. Previous experimental research work has been conducted to analyse the effect of noise wall shape, height, thickness, surface roughness etc., on acoustic performance. However, large scale experimental work will be time consuming and may not be economical. Hence, a proper numerical tool is essential to analyse the fore-mentioned effects on the acoustic performance of a rubberized concrete noise wall.

Developing method/methods and use proper material models to simulate the rubber-based concrete.
Analysing suitable procedure/procedures for acoustic simulation of rubber-based concrete material.
Calibration of the developed model using the available experimental data and by simulating laboratory experiments.
Conducting initial parametric studies where applicable.
Finalizing the model by simulating a noise wall already available from previous literature with a considerable accuracy.
Identify and report the shortcomings of the model for future improvements.