What is BS EN 16951-1 - Acoustic characteristics of noise barriers for railway application about?
BS EN 16951-1 is the first part of the BS EN 16951 series of standards that specifies requirements for assessing the working life and provides the relevant exposure conditions.
Standards of construction and any material tests conducted should provide evidence of resistance to specified conditions selected from the following:
- Chemical Agents Location dependent
- De-icing salt Location/climate-dependent
- Dirty water/dust Location/climate-dependent
- Dew Climate dependent
- UV Radiation Climate dependent
- Cold Climate dependent
- Heat Climate dependent
- Freeze/thaw Climate dependent
- Traffic Vibration Location dependent
- Biological Process Climate dependent
- Ozone Location dependent
- Water Climate dependent
- Water spray (Wet/dry) Location dependent
Note: Combinations of different materials are worth special attention, whether inside a single device or in combination with other devices (for example a combination of different acoustic elements or another combination of acoustic and structural elements).
Who is BS EN 16951-1 - Acoustic characteristics of noise barriers for railway application for?
BS EN 16951-1 on acoustic characteristics is useful for:
- Manufacturers and suppliers of noise barriers used in railway applications
- Railway authorities
- Railway engineer
- Mechanical engineers
- Operators
Why should you use BS EN 16951-1 - Acoustic characteristics of noise barriers for railway application?
Noise barriers and related devices acting on sound propagation alongside railways should not only fulfil their acoustic function and structural design requirements in accordance with appropriate documents, but also maintain their performance during the required working life. The acoustic elements need to resist the actions of agents within the line side environment that could significantly degrade their performance.
The acoustic characteristics of noise barriers and related devices acting on sound propagation can deteriorate significantly over the duration of their working life if they are not installed or maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, or if the materials are not appropriate for the line side environment BS EN 16951-1 provides material standards which can be used to evaluate long-term performance of components of noise reducing devices.