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Noise barriers muffle the transmission of traffic noise and constitute a relevant factor in urban action plans. However, their effectiveness varies according to multiple factors. The new green noise barrier developed by two researchers from the School of Building at UPM [(Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)] use the raw material resulting from the pruning of plants and gardens. The combination of this vegetable waste with a local substrate and water result in a new mixture of suitable acoustic and structural characteristics for these types of barriers.
Today, the commercial noise barriers are made of different materials such as concrete, brick, wood, and glass that consume material resources in the manufacturing process and generate a large amount of waste at the end of their useful life.
Researchers have now developed barriers made of recycled elements that reduce the use of materials and reuse carpet waste, scraps of paper and fibrous materials. In this study, the raw materials used by UPM researchers come from garden waste, specifically palm leaves. Using local materials provides savings for both transport and environmental impact, offering a solution to the excessive amount of waste.
This one comes with electrolytes.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday July 20 2018, @11:45AM
The details I'd be looking for would include: sound absorption vs the reflection that concrete walls give. Concrete sound barriers have textured surfaces to randomize the reflections, but they still reflect an awful lot of sound energy.
If this "natural" absorption material is layered over a durable substrate, it might mean that the overall wall can be shorter with the same sonic effectiveness, and if you can get the wall down to half the height, rebuilding it twice as often is clearly a win on the economics.
Still, would be nice if TFA did more than wave hands about "locally sourced."
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