Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ANIMA (Aviation Noise Impact Management through Novel Approaches)
Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2021-12-31
Aircraft noise can adversely and severely affect the quality of life and health of people living close to airports. The overall objective of the ANIMA project was to address this challenge by developing new methodologies and tools to manage and mitigate the impact of aviation noise. ANIMA aimed to provide airports and authorities with proven solutions to improve the quality of life near airports. To propose new ways for preventing and reducing the overall impact of aircraft noise, ANIMA considered annoyance as well as health or sociological effects of noise and the influence of non-acoustical factors on these effects. To address such effect that were poorly tackled by previous projects, ANIMA actively involved communities neighbouring airports directly affected by the noise issues. Ultimately, the outcomes of the ANIMA project are wrapped up on its Noise Platform (www.anima-project.eu) gathering numerous achievements.
Critical Review and Assessment of Noise Impact and Related Management Practices
• Existing noise reduction strategies and interventions were investigated and a review of Balanced Approach Implementation across EU MS was conducted.
• A thorough review of noise-related health impacts, annoyance studies and the role played by non-acoustic factors was performed.
• Airport experience and wider literature for enhanced noise communication and engagement practices were outlined. Related non-aviation sectors experiences and the potential lessons for the aviation sector were reviewed.
• Interdependencies were considered to better understand how to incorporate them more effectively into noise management decision-making; related tools and metrics were reviewed.
• Some case studies for intervention were documented and lessons learnt were consolidated to inform research priorities on annoyance and quality of life and identify Best Practices.
• Five airport exemplification case studies were undertaken to assess the impact of the identified best practice by applying the principles, guidance, tools and assessment protocols previously developed.
Reducing noise impact and improving quality of life by addressing annoyance
• A literature study was carried out to increase insight into Quality-of-Life indicators for people living near airports. Further case studies were performed. An engagement guide was developed.
• Field studies on awakening were finished and used to derive both a “simple” and more sophisticated awakenings indicators.
• Laboratory and in-situ experiments (by making use of Virtual Community Noise Simulator) were achieved and analysed.
• The pilot study on dynamic expression of annoyance was achieved around Ljubljana and Heathrow airports, with AnimApp, a mobile app developed.
• An innovative approach issuing dynamic population maps was also developed around the same two airports in order to feed further pilot studies on land-use planning and on the impact of airport expansion on property values.
Toolsets Development and Scenarios assessment
• The development of the Noise Reduction Solutions Simulator was fully completed. Its various components include all major noise source models and a pollutant emissions model; filters giving account for installation effects of new generation aircraft configurations were refined.
• The structure and interface of the Public Toolset as well as the Noise Management Toolset on the ANIMA Noise Platform was deployed. User manual and detailed explanations were also provided.
• The Demo Virtual Community Tool was extended further with an improved interface and indicator functionalities (%HA, %HSD, demography etc.).
• These tools have been successfully used to create, simulate and assess Scenarios. It is possible to exemplify the impact of possible changes in aircraft, fleet composition or flight path as well as the impact of change in “receiver states” (for instance demographics). New aircraft concepts, noise reductions technologies as well as noise abatement procedures and Land Use Planning initiatives have been evaluated, guiding ideas for the elaboration of the European Aviation Noise Research roadmaps.
• An audio-demo case including existing and future aircraft was created for the Virtual Community Noise Simulator, using partners’ auralization tools.
Communication, dissemination and exploitation of project results
• A total of 14 communication and dissemination events were organized in several EU countries (Belgium, UK, Slovenia, Italia, Austria, Spain) and beyond (Armenia). ANIMA partners engaged with local stakeholders or communities, both in order to provide them with insightful knowledge on aviation noise management and to get their feedback and experience. Several publications, articles, press releases were published and diffused: 31 press releases, 4 articles in international magazines, 1 podcast feature and 4 communication publications. 21 newsletters were also sent to more than 5000 recipients.
• A total of 11 videos were produced and released: 9 video interviews (People behind ANIMA communication campaign, bringing research closer to the public), 1 animation video (introducing the ANIMA Noise Platform and facilitating user experience), and 1 training video (to enhance knowledge about aviation noise management, subtitled in 11 languages).
• The ANIMA Noise platform giving account of the whole effort was achieved, as well as a considerable effort to make freely accessible hundredths of ANIMA-related scientific publications.
• An ANIMA Open book was produced and released (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91194-2).
Global Coordination of Aviation Noise Research Effort
• Two scenario sets were defined and evaluated with the help of the toolchain. These evaluations partook to the development of the Roadmap.
• The Development of Common Aviation Noise Research Roadmap was completed. Further to classifications and consistent format, the various sets of roadmap subsets, covering the main topics for research, were populated, including the new UAM topic.
• Four events were organized during which a European-wide network of experts and research actors were convened and where the roadmap process was discussed. The experts’ network also expanded towards the Balkans region and initiated the development of a high-level roadmap of national efforts.
• Contacts and exchanges relating to targeted international collaboration were pursued with the USA, Russian Federation, Canada and Brazil.
• Existing noise reduction strategies and interventions were investigated and a review of Balanced Approach Implementation across EU MS was conducted.
• A thorough review of noise-related health impacts, annoyance studies and the role played by non-acoustic factors was performed.
• Airport experience and wider literature for enhanced noise communication and engagement practices were outlined. Related non-aviation sectors experiences and the potential lessons for the aviation sector were reviewed.
• Interdependencies were considered to better understand how to incorporate them more effectively into noise management decision-making; related tools and metrics were reviewed.
• Some case studies for intervention were documented and lessons learnt were consolidated to inform research priorities on annoyance and quality of life and identify Best Practices.
• Five airport exemplification case studies were undertaken to assess the impact of the identified best practice by applying the principles, guidance, tools and assessment protocols previously developed.
Reducing noise impact and improving quality of life by addressing annoyance
• A literature study was carried out to increase insight into Quality-of-Life indicators for people living near airports. Further case studies were performed. An engagement guide was developed.
• Field studies on awakening were finished and used to derive both a “simple” and more sophisticated awakenings indicators.
• Laboratory and in-situ experiments (by making use of Virtual Community Noise Simulator) were achieved and analysed.
• The pilot study on dynamic expression of annoyance was achieved around Ljubljana and Heathrow airports, with AnimApp, a mobile app developed.
• An innovative approach issuing dynamic population maps was also developed around the same two airports in order to feed further pilot studies on land-use planning and on the impact of airport expansion on property values.
Toolsets Development and Scenarios assessment
• The development of the Noise Reduction Solutions Simulator was fully completed. Its various components include all major noise source models and a pollutant emissions model; filters giving account for installation effects of new generation aircraft configurations were refined.
• The structure and interface of the Public Toolset as well as the Noise Management Toolset on the ANIMA Noise Platform was deployed. User manual and detailed explanations were also provided.
• The Demo Virtual Community Tool was extended further with an improved interface and indicator functionalities (%HA, %HSD, demography etc.).
• These tools have been successfully used to create, simulate and assess Scenarios. It is possible to exemplify the impact of possible changes in aircraft, fleet composition or flight path as well as the impact of change in “receiver states” (for instance demographics). New aircraft concepts, noise reductions technologies as well as noise abatement procedures and Land Use Planning initiatives have been evaluated, guiding ideas for the elaboration of the European Aviation Noise Research roadmaps.
• An audio-demo case including existing and future aircraft was created for the Virtual Community Noise Simulator, using partners’ auralization tools.
Communication, dissemination and exploitation of project results
• A total of 14 communication and dissemination events were organized in several EU countries (Belgium, UK, Slovenia, Italia, Austria, Spain) and beyond (Armenia). ANIMA partners engaged with local stakeholders or communities, both in order to provide them with insightful knowledge on aviation noise management and to get their feedback and experience. Several publications, articles, press releases were published and diffused: 31 press releases, 4 articles in international magazines, 1 podcast feature and 4 communication publications. 21 newsletters were also sent to more than 5000 recipients.
• A total of 11 videos were produced and released: 9 video interviews (People behind ANIMA communication campaign, bringing research closer to the public), 1 animation video (introducing the ANIMA Noise Platform and facilitating user experience), and 1 training video (to enhance knowledge about aviation noise management, subtitled in 11 languages).
• The ANIMA Noise platform giving account of the whole effort was achieved, as well as a considerable effort to make freely accessible hundredths of ANIMA-related scientific publications.
• An ANIMA Open book was produced and released (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91194-2).
Global Coordination of Aviation Noise Research Effort
• Two scenario sets were defined and evaluated with the help of the toolchain. These evaluations partook to the development of the Roadmap.
• The Development of Common Aviation Noise Research Roadmap was completed. Further to classifications and consistent format, the various sets of roadmap subsets, covering the main topics for research, were populated, including the new UAM topic.
• Four events were organized during which a European-wide network of experts and research actors were convened and where the roadmap process was discussed. The experts’ network also expanded towards the Balkans region and initiated the development of a high-level roadmap of national efforts.
• Contacts and exchanges relating to targeted international collaboration were pursued with the USA, Russian Federation, Canada and Brazil.
ANIMA delivered highly operational knowledge, tools and methods to be used by different stakeholders and have a positive impact on several stakeholders:
• Communities around airports (improved quality of life and wellbeing, active participation to decision making processes)
• Airports and local authorities (empowered with decision-making capability through noise management toolset and best practices)
• Aeronautics industry (design toolset allowing them to take into account annoyance in future aircraft design and operations)
• Research community (large sets of data made available by ANIMA to the research community)
• Policymakers (aviation noise research agenda and evidence-based research results to orient future research, decision-making and regulation).
ANIMA’s outcomes were widely disseminated all along the project duration through a very proactive communication and dissemination policy, popularizing concepts issued from research and exemplifying how the aviation noise-related annoyance ought to be addressed.
• Communities around airports (improved quality of life and wellbeing, active participation to decision making processes)
• Airports and local authorities (empowered with decision-making capability through noise management toolset and best practices)
• Aeronautics industry (design toolset allowing them to take into account annoyance in future aircraft design and operations)
• Research community (large sets of data made available by ANIMA to the research community)
• Policymakers (aviation noise research agenda and evidence-based research results to orient future research, decision-making and regulation).
ANIMA’s outcomes were widely disseminated all along the project duration through a very proactive communication and dissemination policy, popularizing concepts issued from research and exemplifying how the aviation noise-related annoyance ought to be addressed.