Abstract

The application of freight pipeline for the movement of solid goods offers a new option in the field of transportation. This volume examines impacts and their assessments. This study has only identified the areas where truck and/or rail substitution by pipeline may have impacts. It only can be said that pipeline, if it can substitute for surface traffic without correspondingly increasing it at another location, is inherently a more environmentally compatible mode of transport. Based on data presented in this report, it can be stated that, to the extent that a freight pipeline reduces the truck traffic, it helps to reduce street congestion, noise, energy consumption, accidents, and air pollution. As compared to rail, however, accident and noise reduction are certain, but the impact on energy consumption and air pollution depends on local conditions. (MCW) Document type: Report

Abstract

M.Sc. The Strubensvalley area is an up market area with numerous shopping centres and trendy dwellings. A major road, namely Hendrik Potgieter Road (M47), feeding between Johannesburg and North West/Botswana, runs through the suburb. Residents of Strubensvalley are in their concern about this road: the noise pollution which impacts negatively on their lives. This research investigates the traffic noise and the impact it has on the population of Strubensvalley.The selected study area was delimited by drawing a circle with a radius of four kilometers around the middle point, it being at the intersection of Hendrik Potgieter Road and Krugerrand Road. Clearwater Mall and Wilgeheuwel Retail Crossing shopping centre are the two large features on the circumference of the study area. A calibrated sound level meter was used to measure the traffic noise at 18 different measuring points within the study area. Measurements were taken during the day (6am to 10pm) and at night (10pm-6am) in order to establish the noise impact caused by the peak flow and non-peak flow of traffic in the suburb. A 30-item noise -health-related questionnaire was used to establish the impact of traffic noise on the respondents. A hundred randomly -chosen participants within the study area were interviewed on a door-to-door basis. On completion of this research, it was established that the people interviewed were generally annoyed by the traffic noise in Hendrik Potgieter Road. The majority of the participants complained about the annoyance and interference factor caused by traffic noise in that it affected them in activities (e.g. napping during the day).

Abstract

The main goal of this project is the study and modeling of the noise annoyance caused by air traffic by using the fuzzy logic theory. Like many other environmental problems, air traffic noise, continues to grow and has become a serious problem in many countries. Millions of people living or working around airport areas can suffer from noise exposure effects as for instance hearing loss, interference with communication, stress, sleep disturbance, psychological effects as well as a general reduction in quality of life and tranquillity. However, noise annoyance is a difficult issue to evaluate as it is open to subjective reactions. Fuzzy logic theory is the perfect tool to analyse and evaluate all that vague and imprecise concepts that contrary to many other concepts, like age, distance or time, can not be measured as easily. In this project, a fuzzy function has been developed to quantify the annoyance level that people living or working in areas near airports are suffering. The parameters that come into play in this feature are the noise level, time of day, the number of events per hour, and finally, if it is a residential or an industrial area. Finally, the results of the fuzzy system have been represented on graphics that show the levels of nuisance caused by aircraft noise in each of the situations according the variables of the fuzzy function.