Noise barriers customized to abate non conventional noise sources

Nowadays, conventional noise barriers, built with different materials and designs, form a landscape very common on both sides of roads and railways. The fast growth of cities and the increasing awareness of people about noise, leads to define measures to reduce noise caused by other sources in urban areas. This paper presents two types of barriers, slightly different from those already commons. Their designs are customized to two types of sources: railway lines highly integrated in cities, and temporal events that are noisy, like works, concerts, political acts.... On one hand, it is already known that small barriers could be efficient to reduce railway noise. The challenge in the design of this barrier was not only acoustic, but also to comply with maintenance requirements. The design is still experimental and it is being checked with railway managers to find, if possible, common requirements of safety distances to track to allow works at the line, optimizing its acoustical efficiency. On the other hand, the barrier designed to reduce noise caused by works in the city, is a temporary display, easily movable and adaptable to different sources of noise in a work. It has awarded a patent, being still at experimental stage.