An Innovative Passive Noise Control Technique for Environmental Protection: An Experimental Study in Explosion Noise Attenuation

Abstract

Passive noise control techniques are an effective way of mitigating environmental noise pollution caused by industrial activities, assisting with long-term sustainability in workplace health and safety. Excessive noise from various sources such as mining, construction, manufacturing, air blasting and large-scale gas and dust explosion investigations is challenging as it produces a high level of noise. Excessive explosion noise can have a significant impact on the surrounding environment and people. To suppress the noise to satisfactory levels for nearby occupants, several layers of acoustic barriers are employed. The effectiveness of each level of acoustic barrier is presented. A bottom ash granule base layer with a 300 mm thickness reduced the peak noise levels (136 dBA) by approximately 33 dBA. In the next stage, an autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC)-based 200 mm acoustic barrier was introduced, which suppressed 24 dBA of noise. The inside of the AAC acoustic barrier was finally covered with a 50 mm thick noise attenuation composite material layer constituted of a sound barrier and a sound absorber, and this composite material attenuated the noise level by 6 dBA. The entire noise suppression mechanism was found to be an effective way to suppress gas and dust explosion noise and satisfy the requirement of the occupant and sound level.