The Acoustic Radiation from Pavement Joint Grooves Between Concrete Slabs.

The sound generation and radiation from grooves in the joints between concrete slabs were modeled using relationships previously established for tire groove resonances and groove air pumping. Resonant behavior was clearly established from both in-lab and on-road on-board sound pressure level data. The strength of the noise source was found to be proportional to 20 times the logarithm of the groove cross-sectional area. This relationshipalong with the accounting of residual texture, background noise was foundto replicate that measured in the lab testing. The model was then calibrated using the lab results and extended in speed range using a theoreticalcalculation of the sound radiation from the end of the joint groove. Thepredicted level produced by an isolated joint of specified dimension was then used to model the average sound intensity level for a pavement with auser specified distance between joints, vehicle speed, and pavement texture generated noise level. For smaller groove cross sectional areas (~ 0.25 in2), the contribution of joint grooves was found to be on the order of 1 dB for quieter pavement textures. For larger cross sectional areas, such as a groove width of ½ inch and depth of 1 inch, the contribution increases to almost 3 dB.