Impact of ground reflections on firearms noise exposure metrics

Outdoor measurements of weapons noise exposure are influenced by ground reflections. This paper analyzes the reflections’ impact on A-weighted equivalent level (LAeq) for two measurement campaigns involving standing shooters and dozens of elevated microphones. Although it is only a marginally accura...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2022-04, Vol.151 (4), p.A219-A219
Main Authors: Smith, Jacob R., Sorrell, Avery K., Gee, Kent L., Rasband, Reese D., Campbell, Steven C., Wall, Alan T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Outdoor measurements of weapons noise exposure are influenced by ground reflections. This paper analyzes the reflections’ impact on A-weighted equivalent level (LAeq) for two measurement campaigns involving standing shooters and dozens of elevated microphones. Although it is only a marginally accurate model of a gunshot waveform, the modified Friedlander equation was used to model the direct and reflected muzzle blast waveforms over a perfectly reflective surface. The calculation of the reflection’s effect on LAeq indicates a 2–3 dB increase relative to the free-field contribution over a relatively large spatial range. Validation of this model for most locations where the measured direct and reflected waveforms was well separated yields acceptable agreement for LAeq (
ISSN:0001-4966
1520-8524
DOI:10.1121/10.0011111