State of the art about solutions for tram noise reduction in the framework of the Life SNEAK project

The LIFE SNEAK project, started in September 2021, aims at the reduction of noise in densely populated urban areas where noise and vibrations produced by the tram overlap with noise produced by road traffic. Applicative measures will be designed and tested in a pilot case of the city of Florence, such as low-noise and vibration surfaces, with life cycle costs comparable to those of traditional surfaces, and measures to reduce tram noise aiming to obtain substantial reductions in noise and annoyance. Referring to tram noise, in the first phase of the project, specific attention has been dedicated to the state-of-the-art analysis concerning possible measures to perform noise reduction with specific attention to noise due to wheel-rail contact and “squeal noise” phenomena that mainly occur in urban environments close to curves with small radius. In this paper, the results of the state-of-the-art analysis are presented with particular attention to the use of sound-absorbing panels to be applied on the tram (bogie skirts).