Auralisation: Wind speed and direction influence on road noise

Does the wind direction have any influence on the road noise from the motorway?

Auralisation is the process of creating audio simulations of sound environments. This page explores how wind speed and direction affect road noise.

These examples show the influence of the wind speed and wind direction of a motorway. In downwind situations the noise level is higher than at neutral wind and in upwind situations.

Understanding this can help in planning quieter road environments and improving noise assessments.

Instructions for listening

Please connect your headset to your computer. Make sure that the left and right channels are set correctly.
Start by pressing the black boxes. During playback you can switch between options.
Do not adjust the volume to maintain calibration accuracy.

Curious about other sound environments? Check out more auralisations below or share your feedback to help us improve

The auralisations are developed in cooperation with the Danish Road Directorate.

Express- and motorway noise

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Listen to the noise at different distances.

Per Finne

Senior specialist, Acoustics, noise and vibrations

T. +45 29 43 17 42 Contact Per

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Good to know

GUIDELINE: How to listen to auralisations
How to listen to auralisations

You can adjust the sound level of your playback system (PC, tablet, or smartphone) using the sound file for adjustment of volume on this page.

Adjust the level to the point where it sounds like a person speaking at normal volume one meter in front of you. You can compare it to a real person speaking at a meter’s distance. You may have to adjust the level a couple of times before you’re confident the level is right.

Get the most out of auralisations

In order to get the most out of the auralisations, you should do the following:
1. Read the prerequisites below. You get the full information on the different situations (traffic flow, type of road etc.) in the grey tabs below.
2. Adjust the “playback level” as described to get the correct volume in your headset.
3. Listen to the auralisations by clicking the appropriate text in the box. When the sound files are loaded into your browser you can instantly switch between different sound files – which makes differences appear immediately.
Enjoy!