A MODEL FOR THE PREDICTION OF NOISE LEVELS ARISING FROM TYPICAL AIRPORT OPERATIONS

A noise exposure prediction method has been developed for airport noise, that requires a minimum of information on aircraft movements. A standard case has been defined which relates to a fully developed regional airport and noise contours are presented. In order to make comparison, and combination, with noise from other sources possible, the noise exposure is calculated in mean energy level units as well as the conventional noise and number index. The new U.S. unified unit, the day/night mean energy level is also computed in an approximate manner. The resulting noise contours are found to extend over considerably greater areas than those defined in the U.S. Housing and Urban Development guidelines, casting doubt on the guidelines usefulness as a planning tool.