Computer Method for Airport Noise Exposure Forecast

The major problem facing air transportation for the next decade is aircraft noise. The noise level due to the operation of large jet aircraft has created a very serious annoyance problem to the people living near of adjacent to jet airports. The noise problem has developed both for take-off and landing operations of these aircraft with take -off noise causing the greatest annoyance factor. A technique called Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) has been developed to identify the annoyance factor of these noises to people and activities on the ground. With these NEF ratings or numbers, planners can better determine the type of buildings and activities to locate in the vicinity of airports. This paper presents a computer method for determining NEF areas or contours which eliminate the necessity of performing laborious hand calculations and iterations normally required to determine a given NEF locus about an airport. A land use compatibility table showing land use versus NEF numbers is given on page 3. A sample computer program is given on pages 21 through 25 of the appendix and a sample computer output page is given on page 26. The computer technique developed for this paper can be used for any airport