Welcome to
ECOQUEST
Efficient
Cooling Systems for Quieter Surface Transport
Noise Reduction
The European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC) sets “noise reduction” as one of the major goals for future surface transport research: “Noise levels (must be) appropriate to individual locations including quiet zones. ... The research challenge is to deliver low emissions while also meeting ... vehicle performance, reduction in green house gas emissions and improvements in energy efficiency.” (ERTRAC, Strategic Research Agenda 2020, www.ertrac.org, April 2008)
The European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC)
identifies very similar future efforts: “Simulation tools for
noise assessment, the effectiveness of noise reduction measures
.... are all areas for further study.... Deliverables include
reduction in noise .... in addition to what will have been
achieved through the FP6 projects SILENCE and QCITY.”
Under specific operational conditions the cooling system is the major noise source and the component with the largest consumption of energy. For instance present locomotives cool down their engines upon arriving at a station with a tremendous emission of sound. Or: Car engine cooling systems and air conditioning systems require forced air operation preferably at standstill at red traffic lights or traffic jams. According to the latest European standards for interoperability of rail bound traffic within Europe the averaged sound pressure level LpAeq,T must not exceed 75 dB for both, electric power units and power units with internal combustion engines (EU 2005); ISO 3095 (CEN 2005).