ANTI-NOISE FACILITY FOR TRACKED TRANSPORT ROAD AND TRACKED TRANSPORT ROAD PROVIDED WITH SUCH A FACILITY

Abstract

The invention relates to anti-noise installation for a guided transport track having a U-shaped cross section, the two branches of which form the lateral walls (15, 16) of the track and the central zone of which, connecting the two branches, forms at least one runway (18) for a guided transport vehicle (50), characterised in that said installation comprises a plurality of acoustic panels (30, 31, 34, 35, 38, 39) arranged relative to one another so as to form at least one chamber (20) for confining the noise resulting from the passage of a vehicle (50) over at least one runway (18), which chamber can be provided around said noise source while extending as far as a free end of at least one branch of the U, each panel (30, 31, 34, 35, 38, 39) forming at least one portion of a partition of a noise-confinement chamber (20).

Claims

1. An anti-noise installation for a guided transport track having a U-shaped cross section forming a U, two branches of the U of which form lateral walls of the track and a central zone, connects the two branches and forms at least one runway for a guided transport vehicle the installation comprising: plurality of acoustic panels arranged relative to one another so as to form at least one chamber for confining a source of noise resulting from passage of a vehicle on at least one runway, said chamber provided around said noise source while extending as far as a free end of at least one of the branches of the U, each acoustic panel forming at least one portion of a partition of a noise-confinement chamber.

2. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein at least one acoustic panel is a cap mounted on free end of at least one of the branches of the U, in parallel with each runway, extending in the direction of the branch of the U facing the branch on which it is mounted, so as to form a top partition of a noise-confinement chamber.

3. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein at least one acoustic panel is a skirt carried by said vehicle perpendicularly to each runway, and wherein at least one acoustic panel is a bottom screen mounted on a runway facing said skirt, so as form a lateral partitions of at least one noise confinement chamber.

4. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein at least one acoustic panel is a lateral panel mounted in a vicinity of a lateral wall of the track, perpendicularly to each runway, so as to form a lateral partition of at least one noise-confinement chamber.

5. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein at least one acoustic panel is a lateral mat attached to the lateral wall of the track, forming a U-shaped branch, so as to form a lateral partition of at least one noise-confinement chamber.

6. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein at least one acoustic panel is an absorbent slab (34a, 34b, 34c), suitable for being attached to a runway (17, 18) so as to form a bottom partition of at least one noise-confinement chamber (20).

7. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein said acoustic panels are arranged to form at least one noise-confinement chamber compatible with said guided transport track on which the installation is mounted.

8. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein said acoustic panels are removably attached to one another.

9. The anti-noise installation according to claim 2, wherein said acoustic panels are arranged relative to one another so as to form at least two noise-confinement chambers provided in series between the noise source and a free end of at least one branch of the U.

10. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1 wherein comprises at least one acoustic panel comprises a central panel attached to the track between two runways of the guided transport track while extending perpendicularly to the two runways so as to form a lateral partition of at least one noise-confinement chamber.

11. The anti-noise installation according to claim 1, wherein each acoustic panel is either an absorbent panel or a blocking panel.

12. The anti-noise installation according to claim 11, wherein at least one absorbent panel is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of porous concrete, timber concrete, rubber concrete, rockwool, glass wool, steel, PVC, and EPDM.

13. A guided transport track having a cross section in the form of a splayed U, two branches of which form lateral walls of the track and a central zone of which, connecting the two branches, forms a runway for a guided transport vehicle, wherein the track comprises an anti-noise installation comprising: a plurality of acoustic panels arranged relative to one another so as to form at least one chamber for confining a source of noise resulting from the passage of a vehicle on at least one runway, said chamber provided around said noise source while extending as far as a free end of at least one of the branches of the U, each acoustic panel forming at least one portion of a partition of a noise-confinement chamber.

Description

5. LIST OF FIGURES

[0046] Other aims, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description given solely by way of non-limitative example and which refers to the accompanying figures, in which:

[0047] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a guided transport track according to an embodiment, equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0048] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 1;

[0049] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0050] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 3;

[0051] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which caps and bottom screens are shown;

[0052] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which lateral mats are shown;

[0053] FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which a central panel is shown;

[0054] FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which caps, lateral panels, a central panel and bottom screens are shown;

[0055] FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which absorbent slabs are shown;

[0056] FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which lateral panels, bottom screens and a central panel are shown;

[0057] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guided transport track equipped with an anti-noise installation according to an embodiment of the invention, in which caps, lateral panels, bottom screens and a central panel are shown.

6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0058] In the figures, the scales and proportions are not strictly respected for purposes of illustration and clarity. Throughout the following detailed description given with reference to the figures, unless otherwise indicated, each element of the anti-noise installation is described as it is arranged when the installation is mounted on a guided transport track. This arrangement is in particular shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

[0059] A guided transport track according to the invention intended to be equipped with an anti-noise installation according to the invention has a cross section in the shape of a U, the two branches of which form the lateral walls 15, 16 of the track and the central zone of which, connecting the two branches, forms runways 17, 18 for a guided transport vehicle 50. In the figures, the guided transport track is a track comprising two adjacent runways 17, 18 so that two vehicles can pass each other.

[0060] Throughout the remainder of the detailed description, only the anti-noise installation arranged in relation to the runway 18 will be described precisely, it being understood that the anti-noise installation may be symmetrical and have an identical design in relation to the runway 17.

[0061] The anti-noise installation according to the invention comprises a plurality of acoustic panels arranged relative to one another so as to form at least one chamber 20 for confining the noise resulting from the passage of a vehicle over a runway 18. This confinement chamber 20 is shown schematically by a dashed line in FIG. 2. The chamber 20 surrounds the noise-generating zone that is formed by the wheels 51 of the vehicle 50 and the rails 52 carried by the runway 18. This chamber 20 extends in the noise-formation zone as far as the free end of at least one lateral wall 16 of the track.

[0062] According to the embodiment in the figures, the acoustic panels are all absorbent panels. This being the case, according to other embodiments, one or the other of the absorbent panels described below may be replaced by a blocking panel.

[0063] An anti-noise installation according to the embodiment in the figures therefore comprises a plurality of absorbent panels and in particular: [0064] caps 30, 31 mounted on the free end of the lateral walls 15, 16, respectively, in parallel with the runways, extending in the direction of the opposite lateral walls; [0065] lateral panels 32, 33 mounted perpendicularly to the runways in the vicinity of each lateral wall 15, 16, respectively; [0066] a plurality of absorbent slabs 34 arranged on the runways 17, 18; [0067] a central panel 35 attached to the track between the two runways 17, 18, extending perpendicularly to the runways; [0068] a skirt 36a, 36b carried by the vehicle 50 perpendicularly to the runway 17; [0069] bottom screens 37a, 37b mounted on the runway 17 facing the skirts 36a, 36b; [0070] lateral mats 38, 39 arranged on the lateral walls 15, 16, respectively, of the track.

[0071] The invention makes it possible to form one or more noise-confinement chambers by using at least some of these various absorbent panels and arranging said panels relative to one another.

[0072] To do this, the invention aims to form at least one lateral partition for preventing noise from propagating laterally towards the end of the viaduct, and a top partition for preventing the propagation of noise outside the viaduct.

[0073] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a design of an anti-noise installation according to the invention, in which only a central panel 35, absorbent slabs 34, caps 30, 31 and mats 38, 39 are used to form a noise-confinement chamber 20.

[0074] FIGS. 3 and 4 show another design in which skirts 36a, 36b, bottom screens 37a, 37b, lateral panels 32, 33 and a central panel 35 are used to form a first noise-confinement chamber 22 and a second chamber 21 into which the chamber 22 leads. This design affords a substantial reduction in the noise by arranging two noise-confinement chambers 21, 22 in series.

[0075] Hereinafter, various embodiments of each absorbent panel will be described in relation to FIGS. 5 to 11.

[0076] In FIG. 5, only caps 30, 31 and bottom screens 37a, 37b are shown for purposes of illustration and clarity. The caps are formed according to this embodiment from porous concrete and may be crenelated on the bottom part 60 oriented towards the runway 17 so as to increase the absorbent surface area. According to other embodiments, the caps may be formed of extruded EPDM, or from folded sheet metal having a thickness of, for example, 0.8 mm.

[0077] Whatever the material used, each cap has holes 61 extending in parallel with the runway and suitable for receiving attachment means of the screw-and-nut type. According to an advantageous embodiment, each cap has a top surface having a slight slope, for example of approximately 3%, towards the runway, for allowing rainwater to run off.

[0078] The caps extend over a distance of, for example, 10 to 20 cm from the edge of the lateral wall on which they are mounted and extend along the track over a distance of, for example, 6 m.

[0079] FIG. 5 also shows bottom screens 37a, 37b intended to form, together with the skirts 36a, 36b, not shown in FIG. 5, at least one lateral wall of a noise-confinement chamber. The bottom screens 37a, 37b of the embodiment in FIG. 5 have a structure identical to that of the caps 30, 31 described in relation to FIG. 4.

[0080] In FIG. 6, only one lateral mat 39 is shown in detail for purposes of illustration and clarity. It is, for example, formed of timber concrete or rubber concrete and is applied directly against the lateral wall 16 of the viaduct. According to the embodiment in FIG. 6, the mat 39 also carries a rack 64 pegged directly in the concrete of the viaduct. This rack 64 is intended to carry electric cables used for the functioning of the guided transport and/or for the viaduct. In this case, the mat 39 may be held against the lateral wall by means of the attachment means of the rack 64. According to another embodiment, the lateral mat is directly attached to the lateral wall by attachment means of the nails-for-insulation type. The lateral mat 39 may be crenelated in order to maximise the absorbent surface area.

[0081] In FIG. 7, only one central panel 35 is shown in detail for purposes of illustration and clarity. It is, for example, formed by two panels made from porous concrete or timber concrete. It may further comprise an H-shaped steel profile that covers the edges of the two panels and thus mechanically holds these panels in place. The panel further comprises two plates welded to each longitudinal end of the central panel so as to allow attachment of the panel to the runway.

[0082] In FIG. 8, in addition to a central panel 35, a lateral panel 33, a bottom screen 37a and a cap 31 according to another embodiment of the invention are shown. The lateral panel 33 is a timber concrete panel surrounded by a protective metal sheet. The cap 31 is a cap made from timber concrete surrounded by a protective metal sheet. The bottom screen is made from timber concrete surrounded by a protective metal sheet. The protective metal sheet is, for example, a sheet 1.5 mm thick and the timber concrete has a thickness of, for example, 133 mm. Naturally, according to other embodiments, the thicknesses and materials may be chosen differently without calling into question the subject matter of the invention.

[0083] In FIG. 9, only absorbent slabs 34 are shown. These slabs form the bottom partitions of the confinement chambers. In FIG. 8, three types of slab are shown: an absorbent slab 34a made from rubber concrete or porous concrete, a first slab 34b in two parts for following the drainage slope of the track, and a second slab 34c in two parts for following the drainage slope of the track in the central zone of the track.

[0084] In FIG. 10, the central panel 35, the lateral panels 32, 33 and the bottom screens 37a are formed of PVC and rockwool. Panels of this kind are, for example, formed by two heat-welded PVC half-shells that surround the rockwool. For example, the rockwool is 10 cm thick and the half-shells have a thickness of a few mm. The half-shells are also perforated every 20 mm, each hole having a diameter of 10 mm. Naturally, according to other embodiments, the thickness of the materials and the frequency and size of the perforations may be different.

[0085] In FIG. 11, the central panel 35, the lateral panels 32, 33, the bottom screens 37a and the caps 30, 31 are formed of perforated sheet metal and rockwool. The perforated metal sheet has a thickness of, for example, 0.6 mm and the rockwool a thickness of 10 cm. Panels of this kind are, for example, formed by two heat-welded PVC half-shells.

[0086] The invention is not limited solely to the embodiments described. In particular, other types of material may be used to form the acoustic panels, in particular the absorbent panels.