October 08, 2009

Development of Passive and Active Noise Control for Next Generation Locomotive Cabs

Presenters
Timothy Johnson
Consultant, Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc.

Description
The noise environment in a locomotive cab has been the focus of recent attention by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In October 2006 the FRA established a new rule to amend its existing occupational noise standards for railroad employees whose predominant noise exposure occurs in locomotive cabs. The noise exposure rule is expressed in terms of the A-weighted noise level and is consistent with OSHA limits set for general workplace noise exposure. Recent studies have shown that low-frequency sound can be an important contributor to noise induced hearing loss as well as fatigue. Therefore the focus of the FRA rule on the A-weighted noise level may not be enough to guarantee a fatigue-free cab environment where low-frequency sound sources are dominant.

This presentation describes the research project sponsored by the FRA to demonstrate the feasibility of a combination of passive and active noise controls in the cab of next generation locomotives. A mock-up of a locomotive cab was used to demonstrate the feasibility of active noise control to reduce the low-frequency noise levels. The active noise control system focused on eliminating key pure tones that are typically found in the noise spectrum from a diesel engine.

Date
October 8, 2009
6:30 PM - Refreshments and Pizza
7:00 PM - Presentation

Cost
GBCASA meetings are free, and and members are encouraged to invite interested colleagues and friends of the Chapter to attend.

RSVP
None required for this meeting.

Place
Acentech
33 Moulton Street
Cambridge, MA

Public Transportation

MBTA Red Line to Alewife

Carpooling
Why not share a ride with our new RideShare account? Just go to http://gbcasa.erideshare.com. Our password is “sabine”.