A database of scale model measurements for urban sound propagation in a moving atmosphere and first comparisons with simulations

The ability to predict environmental sound propagation is of paramount importance to the development and evaluation of noise mitigation strategies. In this context, the recourse to full-wave numerical methods is becoming increasingly popular, even for long-range 3D configurations. Such methods consist in directly solving relevant governing equations of acoustics and do not generally require further modeling assumptions. They are therefore able to provide a very accurate description of wave phenomena, and can inherently account for micro-meteorology and/or complex boundaries (absorbing ground, obstacles or buildings). One limitation actually pertains to the determination of the physical input parameters, which can in practice hinder the accuracy of simulations; controlled experimental data are thus crucial for validation purposes. The current work aims at presenting and sharing a series of scale model acoustics measurements in a wind tunnel (scale 1:40), with different downwind conditions representative of the atmospheric boundary layer and with different urban arrangements (solar panel fields and urban canyons). The maximum investigated range is 100 m for frequencies up to 2 kHz, at full scale.