Methods for the acoustical optimisation of rail vehicles

The acoustical optimisation of railway vehicles is vitally important in terms of tightened acoustic specification requirements, initiated legal limitation of sound emission and increasing sensitisation to noise exposure. It supposes a so-called noise management, in which a railway vehicle is technically attended from the design stage to the acoustic acceptance measurement. Essential elements of the noise management are computed forecasts and metrology studies used for the preparation of individual acoustic specifications for the acoustically relevant vehicle components. A practised team, a good measuring equipment and a freely available test track are helpful for the acoustical optimisation. The task consists in recognising existing improvement potentials by specific measurements at the components and the total system and to promote their application. Some examples for this purpose are shown below.