A Monte Carlo technique to determine the effectiveness of roadside trees for containing traffic noise

Abstract

A computer-generated simulation of noise attenuation by foliage of trees lining urban roads has been carried out. For the simulation of foliage the program uses experimentally measured leaf parameters as input variables. A geometrical reflection model is assumed for the noise trapped by the tall building facade parallel to the road. The results show that belts of trees do not significantly attenuate traffic noise at ground level but, for elevated levels, effective attenuation of the traffic noise occurs, especially at the higher-frequency end.