The relative importance of noise and vibration from railways

An experiment was conducted to determine the subjective equivalence of railway noise and railway-induced building vibration, and hence the relative importance of the two stimuli. Six magnitudes of whole-body, vertical (z-axis) vibration and six levels of noise were presented simultaneously to each of 30 subjects in all 36 possible paired combinations. The stimuli were reproductions of the noise and vibration recorded inside a house during the passage of a train. The subjects were asked to indicate, after each presentation, which of the two stimuli (noise and vibration) they would prefer to be reduced. A seven-point scale was employed to indicate the total annoyance produced by the two stimuli. A subjective equivalence contour was determined from the levels at which 50% of the subjects preferred the reduction of noise and 50% preferred the reduction of vibration. The contour may be described by the relation L(AE) = 29.3 log10 VDV + 89.2, where L(AE) is the sound exposure level and VDV is the vibration dose value. This relation may be used to determine whether a reduction of noise or a reduction of vibration would be more beneficial to residents near railways. The total annoyance due to simultaneous noise and vibration was shown to depend on the magnitude of both stimuli.