BS EN 16951-1 is the first part of the BS EN 16951 series of standards that specifies requirements for assessing the working life and provides the relevant exposure conditions.
Standards of construction and any material tests conducted should provide evidence of resistance to specified conditions selected from the following:
Note: Combinations of different materials are worth special attention, whether inside a single device or in combination with other devices (for example a combination of different acoustic elements or another combination of acoustic and structural elements).
BS EN 16951-1 on acoustic characteristics is useful for:
Noise barriers and related devices acting on sound propagation alongside railways should not only fulfil their acoustic function and structural design requirements in accordance with appropriate documents, but also maintain their performance during the required working life. The acoustic elements need to resist the actions of agents within the line side environment that could significantly degrade their performance.
The acoustic characteristics of noise barriers and related devices acting on sound propagation can deteriorate significantly over the duration of their working life if they are not installed or maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, or if the materials are not appropriate for the line side environment BS EN 16951-1 provides material standards which can be used to evaluate long-term performance of components of noise reducing devices.
EN 16951-1:2018