Reducing the wind pressure at the leading edge of a noise barrier

A method to reduce the wind pressure at the leading edge of a noise barrier was investigated by gradually lowering the height of a member added to the end of the noise barrier. The shape of the lowered height of the added member was defined by its length and slope, and the optimal variable was determined in wind tunnel testing via the boundary-layer wind profile. The goal of the optimal shape was to reduce the wind pressure at the leading edge of the noise barrier to the level suggested in the Eurocode and to maintain the base-bending moment of the added member at the same level as the noise-barrier section. Using parametric wind tunnel investigation, an added member with a slope of 1:2 that protruded 1.2 times the height of the noise barrier was proposed. This added member is expected to simplify, or at least minimize, the types of column members required to equidistantly support both added members and noise barriers, which should thereby improve the safety and construction convenience of noise-barrier structures.