OPANEL - Development of a low-profile device to reduce noise in urban railway environments

The noise generated by railway infrastructure in urban environments, with its consequent annoyance to the population, has become important with the appearance of legislation that requires defining which areas have these negative characteristics for the population, throughout Europe, and what action plans exist to mitigate the acoustic impact.

Goals:

This is how it was bornOPANELa project led byUniblock, a company belonging toOrmazabal, with the collaboration ofTecnalia Technology CenterThe project aims to end this problem by developing a device that mitigates the noise impact. This solution also seeks to reduce the implementation problems encountered with traditional products such as high-rise noise barriers, which often prove ineffective and visually intrusive, reaching heights of up to 4 meters, in homes adjacent to railway lines. Therefore,UniblockIt is developing a less intrusive solution with similar or greater effectiveness than current ones.

Others:

OPANELThe aim is to solve these technical and safety problems with a low-profile sound-reduction device designed for installation in railway environments where the noise source originates from both low-speed friction between the train wheels and the rails, and the vibration of the train components themselves. Therefore, the solution must meet international standards in order to position itself…Uniblockas a benchmark in this area, allowing the internationalization of the product.
To that end,UniblockIt is relying on the technical specifications that railway infrastructure managers themselves allow in the vicinity of the tracks and the train itself, in order to achieve, as a final result, a model of mini-acoustic barrier that stops the propagation of noise generated by the lower elements of the train, as well as that generated by the elements that make up the track structure. The result of the projectOPANELIt must also overcome some of the main problems of conventional acoustic screens such as installation space, deep foundations or obstruction in case of evacuation.

Project funded by:

The OPANEL project has been co-financed by ERDF funds and the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha.