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Jun 1979

Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S2-S142

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back to top Session OO. Noise V: Power Plant Noise
Invited Papers
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Electric power plant environmental noise guide (A)

Allan M. Teplitzky, Charles E. Hickman, T. James Dubois, Michael A. Trykoski, and Robert C. Paladino

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S103-S103 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Increased public awareness on environmental noise has resulted in a need for a comprehensive guide for the abatement of noise emissions from electric power plants. The Edison Electric Institute, the principal organization of investor owned electric utilities, sponsored the development of the Electric Power Plant Environmental Noise Guide (Guide) which providing utility engineers, environmentalists, consultants and regulators with detailed information for predicting, evaluating measuring, specifying, and abating power plant noise emissions. The information used in the Guide was gathered from technical publications, standards, consultants' project files and EEI member companies, and represents the state‐of‐the‐art of power plant noise data. The Guide contains information on the following topics: (a) a method for estimating expected community response to power plant emissions; (b) a method for making noise surveys; (c) relationships between noise emissions and significant design parameters of more than twenty types of power plant equipment; (d) properties of outdoor sound propagation, including the effects of local topography and meteorology; (e) a step‐by‐step procedure of predicting noise emissions from an existing or proposed power plant and a method for drawing noise contours of the yearly energy average A‐weighted sound levels; (f) the effectiveness and relative costs of noise control treatments for major power plant equipment; (g) a methodology for ordering the potential environmental noise impact of major pieces of power plant equipment; and (h) information on consensus noise standard applicable to power equipment. The Guide was prepared for EEI by Bolt Beranek & Newman, Inc., under the direction of the EEI Environmental Noise Regulatory Task Force, and it is available from the Edison Electric Institute, 1140 Connecticut Avenue, Northwest Washington, DC 20036.
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Noise attenuation in power plant control valves—past, present, and future (A)

D. E. Hammit

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S104-S104 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Noise measurement and control in power plant valves have seen significant advances in the past several years. Aerodynamic noise in control valves is now predictable within a fairly wide range of variables in fluids, while hydrodynamic noise (principally from cavitation) prediction is still somewhat limited in application. A great variety of proprietary and nonproprietary means of noise control for valving now exists. The evolution of noise controls and devices has been from all segments of the using, supplying, and consulting industries and significant further advances are possible. This is particularly true in the realm of high recovery valves, emergency vent valves, and cavitation prediction and control devices. Valve suppliers are detecting a higher level of sophistication among their users with a pronounced tendency to specify only that degree of noise control necessary for a particular application. Examination of several case histories indicates the extremely high cost penalties inherent in overspecifying acceptable levels of control valve noise.
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Gas turbine noise control (A)

Louis A. Challis and Associates Pty. Ltd.

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S104-S104 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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The use of gas turbine powered generators and pumping stations are likely to increase over the next two decades. Alternative fuel systems utilizing fluidized coal beds are likely in the near future, and direct combustion of pulverized coal is also a possibility. The primary problem of generally unacceptable noise levels from gas turbine powered equipment affects both community noise and hearing conservation alike. The noise criteria of such plant remain a significant design factor. The paper looks at the technical and historical aspects associated with the noise generation process and examines past, present, and possible future approaches to the problem of silencing gas turbine units; adequately specifying the acoustical criteria and ratings; evaluates the techniques by which these criteria should be measured; and correlates these with the typical results achieved in the field.
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A program for power plant fan noise control (A)

J. B. Graham

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S104-S104 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Fan noise has been identified as a significant component of power plant noise in recent years and, as a result, it is an important factor in the noise control analysis program for power plant work areas and the surrounding community areas. This paper evaluates the relative importance of this noise source and outlines a future program for heavy duty industrial fan noise control in power plant applications.
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Noise control of power plant electrical equipment (A)

A. E. Hribar

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S104-S104 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Power plant electrical equipment noise has been of concern from the earliest days of central plant construction, primarily because of the annoyance, disturbance and speech interference which the noise produced. Today, the concerns and efforts to reduce the noise of transformers, switchgear, motors and generator sets are largely spurred by governmental regulations. A review of past noise control work indicates that significant reductions in noise level have been achieved at the same time that equipment unit capacities have increased substantially. The state‐of‐the‐art in measurement standards and noise control technology is reviewed and present limitations to further progress are noted. This review leads to a critical examination of the outlook for future reductions in noise levels and the likelihood of additional governmental regulations.
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Noise control and the consultant in the power industry (A)

Robert M. Hoover

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S104-S105 (1979); (2 pages)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Acoustics and noise control has received considerable attention in the various segments of the power industry. In fact, the power industry has contributed significantly to the development of noise control technology. However, as in other industries, the challenge is to bring the right knowledge to bear on the problem at the right time. This communication challenge and the role of the acoustical consultant serving the power industry is discussed.
Contributed Papers
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In situ measurement of noise of induced‐draft fans in a power plant stack (A)

A. R. Thompson, M. A. Theobald, and Alex Simich

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S105-S105 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Induced‐draft fans are commonly the most annoying sources of community noise associated with fossil‐fuel power plants. The low frequency tones generated by the fans are usually radiated to the community from the top of a tall stack. Measurements of the tone levels in the community are hampered by environmental effects such as strong wind and thermal gradients. Measurements within the flue gas ducting are therefore desirable. However, the flue gas environment is hostile to microphones due to elevated temperatures, particulates, and the presence of gas flow. The interpretation of in‐duct data is complicated by the possible effects of standing waves and cross modes in the duct and turbulence generated noise. The recent installation of a dissipative‐reactive muffler in a coal‐fired plant offered the opportunity to (1) investigate techniques for measuring noise in stacks, (2) evaluate the performance of the muffler under operating conditions, and (3) check the in‐stack results against limited farfield data. Good agreement was obtained between reductions in tone levels measured in the stack and in the community.
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Noise impact evaluation of a power generating station and a refuse‐derived fuel facility (A)

V. M. Lee and W. L. Knoll

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S105-S105 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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Community noise impact assessment of a planned addition of refuse‐derived fuel (RDF) facility adjacent to a fossil‐fueled power plant was conducted using a computerized atmospheric sound propagation model. Close‐in measurements of power plant operation and coal handling system were used for station input, and specifications of major equipment of the RDF facility and estimated refuse‐delivering trucks along plant access road segment were used for RDF noise source inputs. Site prevailing meteorological conditions for winter and summer seasons, and daytime and nighttime periods were used to account for the significant effects of the atmosphere on sound propagation. Topographical inputs of receptor grid such as bearing, ground cover, natural and manmade barriers were input from USGS topographical map. Receptor grid output corresponding to each noise source, each season and time period are computed in octave frequency bands, and A‐weighted sound‐pressure levels for each source or combinations of sources are presented in the form of scaled contour maps of 2 dB increment overlaying an aerial photograph of the site of the same scale. Land use and population‐weighted impact can thus be easily evaluated for the existing and the future noise environment when the RDF facility comes on line. Close agreements were obtained between predicted levels of the existing power plant operation and measured levels, and excess attenuations provided by meteorology and topography contributed to the significant reduction of noise levels in the residential community.
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Gas turbine power plant noise source identification using contours (A)

J. R. Cummins, Jr.

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S105-S105 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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In order to apply engineering controls to a noise source it must first be identified. This can be a problem in the power plant environment where a source may dominate in one band and not in others. The problem is complicated by the directivity of the various sources such as fans, ducts, and machinery. A technique of generating sound level contours using relatively large numbers of measurement locations has been developed and aids in source identification. Using a high speed computer to display the sound levels in each frequency band allows the engineer to pinpoint the dominant sources and their frequency. The method is suitable for octave, third‐octave or narrower bands; several examples are given. Extensions including automation using computer controlled graphics are also discussed.
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Sound propagation in coupled interior industrial spaces (A)

N. S. Timmerman

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S105-S105 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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A generalized approach to predicting the sound‐pressure level in interior industrial spaces, such as power plant turbine buildings, is presented. Complex spaces are subdivided into coupled rectilinear subspaces, which are analyzed in terms of direct or diffracted and reverberant fields. Details of the analysis, such as choice of equations for effective source‐power level, barrier insertion loss, and room constant, are investigated in detail, and recommended choices presented for a few specific cases. Limiting cases of the generalized analysis are noted and results compared with standard theory and other authors' experimental results.
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Pile driver noise control—costs and benefits (A)

F. M. Kessler and P. D. Schomer

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 65, Issue S1, pp. S105-S105 (1979); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 11 Aug 2005

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The results of a Construction Engineering Research Laboratory project sponsored by EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control is reported here. The costs for feasible pile driver noise control methods were investigated. Noise control methods studied were: (1) substitution of a vibratory pile driver, (2) substitution of a pneumatic cushioned unit (Chelminski), and (3) silencing of a standard unit. Average costs for substituted units are as much as 110% higher than the cost of standard units, while the cost for a retrofitted silenced unit increases only 20%. Maximum pile driver sound levels are reduced about 29 dB by use of the substitute unit, and about 18 dB using a retrofitted silenced unit. The reduction in construction site one‐hour equivalent sound level Leq (1), for either a substitute unit, or the retrofitted unit is only 11 dB. Thus, if only pile driver noise control is being considered, outfitting a standard unit with a well‐designed muffler and enclosure is the most cost‐beneficial approach for construction site noise reduction. A cost‐benefit demonstration is to take place at a Corps of Engineers flood control project in Iowa. The resulting field data will be presented, if available.
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