John M. Noble
Robert O. Olsen
U.S. Army Res. Lab., Battlefield Environment Directorate, ATTN: AMSRI-BE-S, White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002
Richard Okrasinski (New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM 88001)
A system has been designed to provide an assessment of noise levels that result from testing activities at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. The system receives meteorological data from surface stations and an upper air sounding system. The meteorological; data are used as input into an acoustic ray trace model which projects sound level contours onto a two-dimensional display of the surrounding area. This information is also provided to the range control office where a decision can be made to proceed or delay the test activity depending upon acoustic propagation conditions. To evaluate the noise level predictions, a series of microphones is located off the reservation to monitor sound-pressure levels. Any events of significant level are transmitted back to the central display unit, allowing for comparison between prediction and data. The computer models are modular, allowing for a variety of models to be utilized and tested to achieve the best agreement with data. This technique of prediction and model validation will be used to improve the noise assessment system.