The Government has published a series of technical reports prepared by Southdowns following a 2 year long independent study into the possible impact of damaging noise and vibration effects at the Ministry of Defence’s test Ranges located at Pendine in south Wales and Shoeburyness in Essex. Southdowns was appointed to undertake the study in and around some of the communities around the two military test facilities, and to identify any causal link between the on-site operations and off-site measured sound and vibration.
The study required the monitoring of sound pressure, air overpressure and groundborne vibration at multiple locations of interest, up to 30 kilometres from the Ranges. The monitoring equipment used in the study utilised bespoke software which was specifically developed and trialled to ensure that data was captured in such a way as to allow for a clear identification of causal link between Range events and off site effects. Following the triggering of an ‘on-site’ Master system, all off-site monitors were automatically triggered via a GPS link to capture signals over a pre-trigger period and for the actual event at the ‘off-site’ locations. The data was processed to quantify the correlation between Range firing logs and the measured signals using digital signal processing and statistical analysis techniques.
Monitoring of noise and vibration took place over a six month period at each site, after which data was collected and analysed. The study found that the magnitudes of sound/air overpressure and vibration resulting from the on-Range activities through this period were unlikely to have resulted in damage to building structures at locations surrounding the Range.
The reports can be found on the Government’s web-site at the following links:
Rick Methold, Project Director said “Southdowns has an established reputation for providing rigorous independent advice to both private and public sector clients alike. The challenges associated with this project were many, including the design and deployment of: a complex and innovative monitoring system capable of meeting the technical specifications required for continuous air overpressure and groundborne vibration measurements both in the near and far fields; a synchronised triggering protocol for ensuring data capture for confirmed on-range activities; and bespoke data management and statistical analysis techniques to provide consistency in the approach of assessing individual event records over the 6 month monitoring period. All of this was needed at the same time as delivering a level of reliability that is seldom achieved with much simpler monitoring and data management systems used in other applications. The successful completion of this highly complex and sensitive project demonstrates why Southdowns is a market leader in environmental noise, vibration and air quality monitoring.”
For more information on Southdowns monitoring capability for both large and small scale projects or information on our technical services for special projects please contact us on enquiries@southdowns.eu.com.