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A framework for 3D traffic noise mapping using data from BIM and GIS
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 Structure and Infrastructure Engineering
Maintenance, Management, Life-Cycle Design and Performance

ISSN: 1573-2479 (Print) 1744-8980 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/nsie20

A framework for 3D traffic noise mapping using

data from BIM and GIS integration

Yichuan Deng, Jack C. P. Cheng & Chimay Anumba

To cite this article: Yichuan Deng, Jack C. P. Cheng & Chimay Anumba (2016): A framework for
3D traffic noise mapping using data from BIM and GIS integration, Structure and Infrastructure
Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/15732479.2015.1110603

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 Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2015.1110603

A framework for 3D traffic noise mapping using data from BIM and GIS integration*
Yichuan Denga, Jack C. P. Chenga and Chimay Anumbab
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China; bDepartment of
Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Traffic noise is a major health concern for people living in urban environments. Noise mapping can Received 1 January 2015
help evaluating the noise level for certain areas in a city. Traditionally, noise mapping is performed in Revised 4 October 2015
2D geographic information system (GIS). The use of 3D GIS is also emerging in noise mapping in recent Accepted 16 October 2015
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016

years. However, the current noise-mapping platforms can only conduct noise evaluation for the outdoor KEYWORDS
environment and the indoor environment separately. In addition, related information about absorption Geographic information
coefficient and transmission loss (TL) in noise calculation is not properly retrieved and is often replaced system; building information
with a single value. In this research, building information modelling (BIM) and 3D GIS are integrated in modelling; noise mapping;
order to combine traffic noise evaluation in both outdoor environments and indoor environments in a urban planning; virtual
single platform. In our developed BIM–GIS integration platform, the built environment is represented in a design and construction
3D GIS model that contains information at a high level of detail from BIM. With the integration with BIM, the
3D GIS model now has access to detailed indoor features such as interior walls and interior rooms. Noise
evaluation could therefore be performed at a room level in the developed platform. Essential parameters
such as absorption coefficient and TL can be extracted directly from BIM for noise calculation. The 3D GIS
model is connected with detailed BIM so that any changes in the indoor and outdoor features can be
reflected to each other. The Italian C.N.R model is modified and applied in the platform to conduct noise
calculation. This paper presents the details for the development of the noise-mapping BIM–GIS platform
based on ArcGIS. Two use cases were analysed to show the role of such platform in the decision-making
process of both urban planning and interior design.

Introduction Directive is a 2D map indicating noise levels at a certain height

As more and more people are living in urbanized areas, the
highly dense civil infrastructure in cities is becoming a major
noise source and influencing more and more citizens. As pointed
out by a number of studies, long-term exposure to noise would
induce negative effects to people’s health, both mentally and
physically (Kompała & Lipowczan, 2007; Passchier-Vermeer &
Passchier, 2000; Popescu & Moholea, 2010). Sleep disturbance,
loss of hearing and cardiovascular effects were observed in pop-
ulations with exposure to high levels of noise (Edworthy, 1997).
Among all the noise sources in urban environments, traffic noise
induced from moving vehicles in civil infrastructure is regarded
as the largest contributor to noise (Yilmaz & Hocanli, 2006).
Traffic noise is usually induced by a line source and affecting
large population.
Taking into account the negative effects induced by traffic
noise, several standards have been developed in order to provide
guidelines for noise control. For example, the ‘Environmental
Noise Directive EU, 2002/49/EC’ in the European Union
requested that all the member countries should produce strate-
gic noise maps to allow public access to information about noise
exposure (Directive EU, 2002). The noise map required by the
(i.e. 4 m above ground). Noise maps, which show predicted or
measured noise levels at different locations in cities, allow urban
designers to have quick judgements about noise pollution of
major roads, thus facilitating the decision-making process.
However, as sound is propagated in all directions, a 2D map is
insufficient to show the difference of noise levels with respect to
changes in height. For example, for a high-rise building, the differ-
ence of noise level between the first floor and the top floor could
be significant. Mapping noises in 3D Geographic Information
System (GIS) models is an improved form to show the impact
of traffic noise to the real world. 3D noise mapping also benefits
the design process of individual buildings in a virtual design
and construction (VDC) process. VDC is the use of integrated
multidisciplinary performance models of design-construction
projects to support explicit and public business objectives (Kunz
& Fischer, 2009). Noise control of indoor environments is one of
the major concerns that designers would like to take into consid-
eration. Generating 3D noise mapping for indoor environments
from outdoor traffic noise sources can provide a basis for such
consideration in a VDC process. Moreover, it would be necessary
for designers to update the design and regenerate noise maps in
order to see if specific acoustic design goals are met.

CONTACT Jack C. P. Cheng cejcheng@ust.hk

*This article belongs to a group of three papers in the field of virtual design and construction of infrastructure assembled by Professor Peter E.D. Love, Curtin University,
Australia.
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
 2 Y. Deng et al.
In summary, 3D noise maps induced by traffic noise for both
outdoor environments and indoor environments has a significant
role in both urban planning and VDC for buildings. However,
current tools for 3D noise mapping are not capable of producing
noise maps at such a level of detail (LoD). Particularly, current
noise-mapping tools did not have the required highly detailed 3D
GIS models with interior features as input. Moreover, the noise
absorption and transmission loss (TL) were not considered in
their simulation process, which limited their capacity to simulate
the noise propagation from outdoor sources to indoor receivers.
In this research, building information modelling (BIM) is inte-
grated with 3D GIS for 3D noise mapping. A data conversion
engine is developed to allow seamless data integration between
BIM and GIS. The resulting model from BIM–GIS integration
has a high LoD with interior features such as interior walls and
rooms, allowing noise mapping at a room level. Essential infor-
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016
mation in noise calculation, such as noise absorption coefficient
and TL of surfaces, could be directly extracted from semantic
databases in BIM. The Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
(C.N.R.) model (Cannelli, Glück, & Santoboni, 1983) is used
and modified to calculate noise levels from traffic noise source
because of its effectiveness in noise prediction. In order to
improve accuracy, reflections of sound on boundary surfaces are
also considered in the noise calculation. The simulation results
are interpolated to a full noise map of the whole model to show
the noise level at different locations. To allow a flexible virtual
design process considering noise, a model updating system was
also developed, which can allow designers to update models
using editing functions in BIM and to reflect the changes in GIS
for further simulation.
Related work
Noise mapping based on GIS has a history of nearly two decades
(Fortin, Bocher, Picaut, Petit, & Dutilleux, 2012). Traditionally, 2D
noise maps could be produced by either measurement or simulation
software. For example, Maisonneuve, Stevens, Niessen, and Steels
(2009) proposed the NoiseTube project which aimed to draw noise
contour maps using sound measurements from mobile phones
with GPS functions. However, data credibility was an issue in the
NoiseTube project. Moreover, it was hard to motivate people to par-
ticipate in this project because a software was required to be installed
on their mobile phones. Generally, noise maps generated from
measurements require a huge amount of resource input, includ-
ing labour, equipment and platform design (Alam, 2011; Banerjee,
Chakraborty, Bhattacharyya, & Gangopadhyay, 2009; de Kluijver &
Stoter, 2003). The process is tedious and could be error prone, which
is why people now tend to generate noise maps using simulation
software. In this section, several existing noise-mapping platforms
from both dedicated software vendors and academic researchers are
reviewed. Their limitations lead to the development of our BIM–GIS
integration platform for noise mapping.
Outdoor noise-mapping platform in 2D
Traditionally, noise mapping is performed in a 2D GIS environ-
ment. The simulation platforms usually require inputs such as
location of point sources or line sources and building polygons
which act as barriers of sound. A 2D noise map is used either to
show noise levels at different locations or to demonstrate popu-
lation affected by a noise source. For example, Fortin et al. (2012)
developed an open-source traffic noise-mapping tool for urban
environments using OrbisGIS. They developed a grid system
that separates the study region into small areas, and therefore
allows the implementation of parallel computing. It is notice-
able that in (Fortin et al., 2012), the authors also considered
noise reflection on buildings envelopes, yielding a more accurate
result. Czyżewski and Szczodrak (2009) and Szczodrak, Kotus,
Czyżewski, and Kostek (2013) proposed a computational method
for noise mapping which implemented supercomputer clusters.
By using supercomputer clusters, their developed platform could
build a noise map for a large region within an hour, which was a
huge improvement as compared to several hours of computing
in others approaches. Cho, Kim, Choi, Kim, and Manvell (2004)
introduced outdoor sound simulation that is fully compliant with
ISO 9613 (International Organization for Standardization, 1996)
with some complementary methods that enhance its applicabil-
ity, such as calculation of sound attenuation due to undulating
terrain in octave bands, geometric divergence in the near-field
of the source, and short-term wind effects. Diggory and Oakes
(1980) described a computer simulation model capable of pre-
dicting the noise levels generated by traffic passing through road
intersections controlled by roundabouts where departures from
free-flow traffic conditions occur.
The aforementioned research efforts have focused on devel-
oping and testing noise prediction models in 2D environments.
However, as 2D noise maps have limited capabilities such as
inability to show differences of noise at different heights, this
research aimed to propose methods for generating 3D noise
maps. Previous studies also unveil that the success of noise
mapping relies on careful selection of noise calculation models,
consideration of noise reflection and appropriate selection of
grid size in order to reduce computing time.
Outdoor noise-mapping platform in 3D
3D noise mapping provides urban planners and interior designers
with more comprehensive knowledge about noise levels for the
study region. In recent years, several dedicated noise-mapping
software have been developed to show noise maps on 3D terrains.
For example, CadnaA (Datakustik Gmbh, 2014) and SoundPlan
(SoundPLAN Gmbh, 2014) are two widely used noise-mapping
tools for showing traffic noise on 3D terrains. They also support
building noise maps for moving objects. The Ecotect (Autodesk,
2014a) software from Autodesk can show noise propagation
maps in 3D for small regions of cities. However, these noise
mapping tools are commercial and only support limited data
input formats. In addition, they are not flexible to changes. For
example, their simulation engine is usually a ‘black box’ to users
and could not be easily modified. Neither could they show the
impact of outdoor noise on the interior features of buildings,
which also limits their applications in a VDC process for single
buildings. Several efforts from the academic community have
also been reported.
For example, Farcaş and Sivertunb (2010) developed a GIS
tool for noise mapping using the Nordic Prediction Method.
They tested their method on ArcGIS using datasets of the Skåne
region. However, the output of the platform is a set of 2D noise

maps, and the 3D noise maps are simple accumulations of 2D
noise maps on different heights. Kurakula et al. (2007) proposed
methods for noise mapping using standard noise calculation
methods in the Netherlands. Starting from 3D GIS models, the
authors developed methods to generate sample points in a 2-m
by 2-m interval and calculate noise levels on each sample points.
Then the interpolation methods in GIS are used to generate full
3D noise maps. The drawback of these methods is that they are
not able to link outdoor environments with indoor features.
Moreover, they do not allow users to change designs in the 3D
GIS models, which makes their approaches weak for the VDC
process.
Indoor noise-mapping platform
Architectural acoustics analysis is a process of building design
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and evaluation in order to achieve a reasonable sound level within
a building. It is a well-studied area with a number of studies on
noise mapping for indoor environments. Probst (2012) showed
a framework for the prediction of sound pressure levels at work-
places. The noise source in (Probst, 2012) is mainly machinery
at workspaces. Ray-tracing techniques were used to determine
sound propagation paths indoors. Wu and Clayton (2013) linked
BIM with DirectX toolkit to simulate sound propagation in a
BIM model. They showed both the 2D noise map of indoors and
the sound track file that simulates the effect of sound indoors.
However, these approaches did not provide a linkage of outdoor
noise sources with indoor environments. Moreover, they only
considered a single point source in their simulations.
In summary, the existing approaches for building noise map-
ping lack the ability to model outdoor noise and indoor noise
on the same platform. They also do not allow users to update
the design in the simulation platform in order to meet specific
noise control goals (e.g. changing layout of roads or changing
the material of exterior walls).
The developed BIM–GIS integration engine
Integration engine
Acquisition of appropriate data is also a bottleneck for some of
the previous related work. For example, Farcaş and Sivertunb
(2010) generated 3D GIS models from extrusion of 2D footprints
and laser scanning data. Such regenerated models did not have
access to interior features. Moreover, some of the parameters in
acoustic simulations (such as TL) are usually estimated by the
authors with a single value, which fails to reflect real world sce-
narios. In this research, BIM is integrated with 3D GIS in order
to tackle these problems.
BIM is the process and product of managing all the relevant
information about a building or facility throughout its whole
lifecycle (Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks, & Liston, 2008). Information
contained in BIM consists of two major parts: (1) geometric
information including detailed 3D representations of building
components, such as interior walls, windows and utilities; and
(2) semantic information, such as maintenance record, material
types and owner information. By integrating BIM with 3D GIS,
a 3D GIS model with both geometric information (i.e. interior
features) and semantic information (i.e. different TL in different
Structure and Infrastructure Engineering  3
surfaces) could be generated at a high LoD. Using such mod-
els, 3D noise mapping can be performed at a room level, which
enables urban designers to better evaluate the noise impacts of
infrastructure and allows architects to better incorporate noise
in the VDC process.
The integration of BIM and 3D GIS is achieved by develop-
ing a data integration engine to allow bidirectional conversion
between major data schemas in BIM and GIS. In this research,
Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is chosen as the represent-
ative data schema for BIM, whereas City Geography Markup
Language (CityGML) is chosen as the representative data schema
for 3D GIS because they are neutral file formats and widely
supported in the two domains. Developed by buildingSMART
since 1994, IFC schema has been widely used in the architecture,
engineering and construction (AEC) industry for information
exchange. IFC is recognized as the most important data schema
for BIM and well supported by most BIM software. CityGML
is an Open Geospatial Consortium official standard and is
supported by many GIS platforms, such as ArcGIS.
The bidirectional conversion of IFC and CityGML allows
information exchange between BIM and GIS, thus achieving the
integration of the two domains. The developed integration engine
consists of four major parts: (1) the parser of IFC and CityGML,
which extracts information from IFC files and CityGML files
for data conversion; (2) the data conversion module, which is
the most critical part of the integration engine and could per-
form geometry conversion from IFC’s swept solid representation
and constructive solid representation to CityGML’s boundary
surface representations; (3) the generator of IFC and CityGML,
which could receive data from the convertor and generate cor-
responding IFC or CityGML files; and (4) the model updating
function, which could update existing models in BIM and reflect
the changes in 3D GIS for further analysis. The details of the
BIM–GIS integration engine could be found in our previous
studies (Cheng & Deng, 2012; Cheng, Deng, & Du, 2013). The
developed BIM–GIS integration engine also allows designers in
the AEC industry to place a BIM model in a 3D GIS environment
for noise simulation.
Model updating
The developed BIM–GIS integration engine allows model updat-
ing function in GIS, therefore introduces more flexibility to the
VDC process considering noise effects. The model updating sys-
tem is designed to fully utilize the advantages of both BIM and
GIS. BIM software such as Autodesk Revit has powerful editing
functions for 3D models, along with a strong link to semantic
information. GIS software, on the other hand, is designed to
show objects within a geographic context and allows process-
ing of massive data. When an updating process is initiated, the
GIS software sends a modification request and calls the corre-
sponding BIM model. If no such BIM model exists, the CityGML
model in the 3D GIS environment would be sent to the BIM–GIS
integration engine for conversion to IFC files. When the BIM
software receives the IFC files, it could open the BIM models
and make modifications. The revised BIM models are exported
to the BIM–GIS integration engine and updates the CityGML
files, which are shown in the GIS software with changed contents.
 4 Y. Deng et al.
In the adopted framework, the model updating function is
developed with ArcGIS and Autodesk Revit (Autodesk, 2014b).
The conversion engine is an independent Java Archive that could
be called from external commands. When the IFC or CityGML
file is sent to the engine, the engine will convert the file to another
data format and call the corresponding software to open the
converted files.
Noise calculation for outdoors and indoors
Traffic noise prediction model
The calculation of noise levels at different locations of the 3D GIS
models highly relies on an appropriate noise prediction model.
The development of noise prediction models has been initiated
for more than 50 years and is still evolving (Steele, 2001). These
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016
models consider the traffic flow amount of both light and heavy
vehicles on civil infrastructure, mean velocity of vehicles, and
LAeq = 𝛼 + 10Log(QL + 𝛽QP ) − 10Log(d∕d0 ) + ΔLV + ΔLF + ΔLB + ΔLS + ΔLG + ΔLVB
the distance between the receiver points to the roads. The traf-
fic noise prediction models have a long history of applications
by roadway engineers, acoustics engineers and urban planners.
Some of the models have been recognized as legal standards for
noise evaluation.
For example, the Richtlinien fuÈ r den LaÈ rmschutz an
Straûen (RLS-90) (Guidelines for Noise Protection on Streets)
is a standard used in German for road noise evaluation (Steele,
2001). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) highway
traffic noise prediction model was developed for the Department
of Transportation FHWA in the United States (Barry & Reagan,
1978). These models evaluate noise levels based on road param-
eters (e.g. vehicle flow and velocity). For a thorough review of
noise prediction models, please refer to (Steele, 2001).
Traffic noise prediction models have been applied to some of
the previous research work. For example, Farcaş and Sivertunb
(2010) applied the Nordic Prediction Method (Bendtsen, 1999),
while Czyżewski and Szczodrak (2009) used the Harmonoise
model (Nota, Barelds, & Van Maercke, 2005) which was rec-
ommended by the European Union state members. The traffic
noise prediction models often give results in the form of equiv-
alent continuous sound level, Leq, which is a representative value
for sound levels over a designed period of time. Some of the
models would take into account the variance of frequencies as
human ears are more sensitive to higher frequencies than lower
frequencies. The equivalent sound level could be adjusted using
an A-weighting scale considering distribution of frequencies in
sound (Pierre, Maguire, & Automotive, 2004). In an A-weighting
scale, doubling of sound frequency is equal to an increase by
10 dBA in sound level. For example, the noise level at 4000 Hz
has a weighting of more 10 dB than the noise level at 2000 Hz.
The adjusted equivalent continuous sound level Leq is called LAeq.
In this research, the Italian C.N.R. model developed by
the Italian ‘Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche’ (Cannelli
et al., 1983) is used due to the following three reasons. First, the
Italian C.N.R. model measures the mean energy level of traffic
and has a strong goodness. It was reported in (Cannelli et al.,
Table 1. Correction to mean flux velocity (Cannelli et al., 1983).
Flux mean speed (km/h) ΔLV (dBA)
30–50 0
60 +1
70 +2
80 +3
100 +4
1983) that the correlation between the predicted noise level and
the measured noise level for 220 sample points was significant
(r = .96). Second, as pointed out in (Quartieri et al. 2009), the
Italian C.N.R. model tends to have more conservative results as
compared to other traffic noise prediction models (i.e. higher
noise levels over the same parameters). It fits the purpose of noise
evaluation in an urban planning and VDC process. Third, the
Italian C.N.R model also takes into account geometry of roads
and material of pavements. Given certain traffic conditions, the
sound pressure level in dB is calculated as follows:
(1)
where
• QL and QP are the hourly traffic flows for light vehicles and
for heavy vehicles, respectively.
• d0 is a reference distance, which is set to 25 m.
• α is related to single vehicles, whereas β is a weighting for
heavy vehicles. It is suggested to set α = 35.1 dB and β = 6
(Quartieri et al. 2009).
• ΔLV is a correction to mean flux velocity of road traffic,
with values defined in Table 1.
• ΔLF and ΔLB are corrections for reflective facades
close to the observer points or in opposite direction.
ΔLF = +2.5 dBA and ΔLB = +1.5 dBA are set for each case,
respectively.
• ΔLS is the correction to road pavement. For cement roads,
ΔLS = +1.5 dBA.
• ΔLG is the correction for a road’s gradient greater than 5%.
The correction value is +.6 dBA for each % gradient over
5%.
• ΔLVB is a coefficient that takes into account the presence of
traffic lights (+1.0 dBA) or slow traffic (−1.5 dBA).
The Italian C.N.R. model gives noise level values for places
that have a direct exposure to the noise source. In a 3D GIS
environment, the parameter d in Equation (1) could be easily cal-
culated. However, a reflection analysis should also be performed
in order to increase the accuracy of noise prediction.
Reflection analysis
When the sound hits a surface, parts of its incident energy (E)
and sound intensity level (LAeq) would be either reflected by the
surface or absorbed by the surface. Given the reflecting sur-
face’s absorption coefficient (λ) and scattering coefficient (θ),
the reflected energy (ER) is calculated by:
ER = E(1 − 𝜆)(1 − 𝜃) (2)
The values of λ and θ are specific to the material of the reflect-
ing surface. For example, for a brick wall, λ = .003 and θ = .01.
 Structure and Infrastructure Engineering  5

Table 2. Transmission loss value for several construction materials (Acoustical high frequency noises, the TL value at frequency of 4000 Hz is
Materials Association, 1957).
considered in the developed framework.
Frequency (Hz) Denote S as an outdoor noise source, R′ as an indoor receiver,
Material Thickness 250 4000 and dsr as the distance between S and R′, the sound intensity level
Glass 25 27 48 at R′ is as follows:
Solid hardwood door 43 21 34
Metal door 35 26 40 ( )
Concrete slabs 200 39 64 R
dsr
LAeq = 35.1 + 10 log(QL + 6QP ) − 10 log − TLs (8)
25

As sound intensity level LI is in a decibel scale with regard to a where TLs is the TL of reflecting surface. If a ray travels through
reference intensity, which is defined as follows: multiple surfaces, the TL values would be accumulated and
determine the sound intensity level at the receiver point.
( )
SoundIntensity
LI = 10 log10 (3)
ref.SoundIntensity Platform development
The proposed 3D noise-mapping framework is implemented in
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016

in which, an internationally agreed reference sound intensity is

defined as ref.SoundIntensity = 10−12 W/m2. ArcGIS using ArcObjects and Autodesk Revit using Revit API.
In the examined case SoundIntensity = ER, so the loss of sound The 3D noise mapping takes highly detailed 3D GIS models from
BIM–GIS integration as input and generates noise maps for both
at the hit point Rs in terms of sound intensity in decibel scale is:
outdoor environments and indoor environments for the specific
Considering Rs as a new point source, the sound intensity of Rs noise source (usually a line source). The generated noise maps
is thus: could also be used for decision-making in urban planning and
( ) ( )
E E(1 − 𝜆)(1 − 𝜃) (4)
ΔLAeq = 10 log10 − 10 log10 = −10 log10 [(1 − 𝜆)(1 − 𝜃)]
ref.SoundIntensity ref.SoundIntensity

1 1
( )
�
LAeq = LAeq − ΔLAeq = LAeq − 10 log10 log10 + log10
1−𝜆 1−𝜃
(5)
In a receiver point with a distance r of point source Rs, the sound
intensity level dBA is given by the following:
(r )
ray 1 1
Ln = LAeq − 20 log10 − 10 log10 − 10 log10
r 1−𝜆 1−𝜃
(6)
where rray is the total travel distance of the reflecting ray. If the
receiver point already has a sound intensity level, the combined
sound pressure level could be calculated as follows:
LΣ = 10 × log(10L1 ∕10 + 10L2 ∕10 + … + 10Ln ∕10 )
Noise calculation for indoor environment from an outdoor
source
When the sound energy hits a surface, besides reflection, some
of the energy would also transmit to the other side of the sur-
face. The other side of the surface would also have a reduced
sound intensity level. The loss during the transmission of sound
is called the transmission loss (TL). The existence of TL is the
basis for making noise insulation materials. The characteristics
of materials have an important impact on TL.
A number of studies have been conducted to determine the
TL of different materials. For example, Moore and Lyon (1991)
measured the sound TL characteristics of sandwich panels. TL
is a value related to octave band centre frequency of transmitted
sound. For example, as shown in Table 2, the value of TL var-
ies significantly in different frequencies. As the Italian C.N.R.
model is an A-weighted model with more considerations on
VDC process for a single building. The following four modules
were developed in order to achieve the functions required:
(1) A data-processing module that can generate 3D sam-
ple points with specified resolution (e.g. 1 m by 1 m).
(2) A noise calculation module for outdoor noise calcu-
lation using the Italian C.N.R. noise prediction model
and first-order reflection analysis.
(3) A noise calculation module for indoor noise calcula-
tion considering noise TL on boundary surfaces.
(4) A result reporting and model updating module for
generating 3D/2D noise maps and for updating model
using BIM–GIS integration.
(7) The framework is illustrated in Figure 1, which also shows
the information flow in arrows with different styles. The four
modules take information from both BIM and GIS models in
order to build the detailed noise map for outdoor and indoor
environments.
Data-processing module
The first step of noise map generation is to generate sample points
on surfaces of 3D models in a given resolution. These sample
points are like imaginary small microphones which show noise
distribution at different locations of the 3D GIS model. It is
noticeable that some semantic information should also be asso-
ciated with the generated points, for example, the ID of original
surface which may be used in reflection analysis.
Kurakula et al. (2007) claimed that the sample point genera-
tion is the most important step for noise mapping. In (Kurakula
et al., 2007) the authors generated sample points outside buildings
 6 Y. Deng et al.
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016
Figure 1. Overview of the proposed framework, with arrows showing information flows.
without uncovering the methodology of doing so. It is observed
that their approaches could only generate sample points outside
buildings. In our noise-mapping platform, since the input is a
3D GIS model with high LoD in geometry, we have to carefully
select the methodology for generating sample points for both
exterior features and interior features.
The approach to generating sample points in our framework is
based on intersection of 3D lines and surfaces in ArcGIS. Upon
initiation of the module, the program generates a space grid that
consists of evenly distributed vertical and horizontal lines. The
space grid is evenly distributed in space. Using the function of
intersecting 3D lines with surfaces, the intersections between
the space grid and the 3D models forms the evenly distributed
sample points. It is clear that the resolution of sample points is
determined by the resolution of the grid. The approach could
also generate sample points for interior features. The intersec-
tion process also records which surface is the original surface
of sample points.
Outdoor noise calculation module
The outdoor noise calculation considers: (i) the sound propa-
gation simulation that measures noise levels for points having
a direct exposure to the noise source, and (ii) the first-order
simulation that considers the reflection of noise on surfaces.
Equations (1)–(8) are used to determine noise level for first-
order simulation.
Given a noise source and its parameters for the Italian C.N.R.
model, the outdoor noise calculation module will first perform
a line of sight analysis to determine the set of points that have a
direct exposure to the noise source. As shown in Figure 2(b), the
module gives results of visible points and invisible points with
respect to the noise source. Then, the noise level of visible points
could be calculated directly using the Italian C.N.R. model (see
Figure 2(c)).
Traffic noise sources are usually lines sources, in which we
consider the same parameters (i.e. hourly flow rate of light and
heavy traffic, pavement and mean flux speed, etc.). Different road
segments may have different parameters. When considering line
sources in noise calculation, sample points should be generated
for these line sources as sample point sources. The centre line
of each road segment is chosen as the shape of the line source.
Evenly distributed sample points are generated from the centre
lines, as shown in Figure 2(a).
It is noticeable that the line of sight analysis also determines
the potential reflecting surfaces for first-order simulation. One
efficient way to simulate noise propagation paths on computers
is to use the image source method, which computes propaga-
tion paths by considering virtual sources generated by mirroring
the location of the source with respect to the reflecting surfaces
(Allen & Berkley, 1979; Funkhouser et al., 2004). The image
source method could quickly determine the propagation path
from the source to the target receiver considering reflection. The
application of the Image Source method in 3D follows the same
logic. Consider a source point PS at location (XS, YS, ZS) and a
reflection surface M, which is defined by the following equation:
(PM − PM0 )N = 0 (9)
where PM = (xM , YM , ZM ) represents any point on M,
PM0 = (xM0 , YM0 , ZM0 ) represents a known point on M, and N

(a)
(c)
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Figure 2. Generation of 3D sample points in the data processing module. (a) Original 3D GIS model (modified from (Research Center Karlsruhe, 2012)), (b) Line of sight
analysis, (c) Noise level from first order simulation, (d) The Image Source method used for first order simulations.
is the normal of M. The Image Source P′ of P could then be
calculated as follows:
P � = P + 2(PM0 − P) N
The reflecting surface M’s absorption coefficient (λ) and scat-
tering coefficient (θ) are retrieved from BIM models in order to
compute the noise level reduction (ΔLAeq) as shown in Equation
(4). Specifically, as demonstrated in Figure 2(d), the dots outside
the building models are image sources with respect to reflecting
surfaces. The reflection rays could then be generated, which are
used for first-order noise simulation using Equations (2)–(7).
Indoor noise calculation module
The indoor noise calculation follows a similar process as the out-
door noise calculation. Since TL is considered for interior points,
an additional recording of transmitted surfaces should be kept
for each point in the indoor environment. As rays travelling from
the noise source to interior sample points will transmit through
surfaces, the TL of these surfaces will be retrieved from BIM
models and used in the receiver noise level calculation.
The simulation of noise transmitting through surfaces is
performed using line of sight analysis and 3D intersection. For
each ray from the source and reflection analysis, the intersection
between the ray and the 3D GIS model will be determined in
order to determine the transmitted surface. TL values of trans-
mitted surfaces will be retrieved from BIM models and used
for noise calculation on receiver points. Due to the complexity
Structure and Infrastructure Engineering  7
(b)
(d)
of indoor environments, the reflections of sound on interior
surfaces are not considered in our framework. The algorithm
is shown in Figure 3. It is noticeable that in our framework,
(10) by integrating data from BIM, different TL values for walls and
windows could be taken into consideration in noise calculation.
Generating 3D noise maps
Using techniques specified above, the noise levels for all the
sample points could be calculated and stored in a file-based
database. ArcGIS could show 3D noise maps with different col-
ours ­representing different noise levels. 3D noise maps show the
noise distribution in the 3D environment with respect to the
noise sources. In a macro scale, urban planners could use this
3D noise map to see the influence of noise on an existing infra-
structure or planned infrastructure.
If some areas with exceeding noise levels were observed by
3D noise mapping, several countermeasures could be planned
and executed, such as placing noise barriers or controlling
the traffic flow for certain roads. In a micro scale, in a virtual
design process for single buildings near traffic sources, design-
ers could see whether the indoor noise level meets the design
requirements. For example, as recommended by the World
Health Organization, the noise level of a small room should not
exceed 35 dBA to ensure speech intelligibility (World Health
Organization, 1999). In our platform, a graphical user inter-
face (GUI) is also provided to allow users to judge whether the
indoor noise level is acceptable or not and to provide updating
 8 Y. Deng et al.

Construct propagation 3D intersection Compute noise level

path from source to between ray and 3 D considering TL from
interior points model BIM
Indoor Noise Yes
Output Result
Calculation
Compute noise level
Transmitted Add up noise level on
assuming no loss in through surfaces? receiver points
transmission

No

Figure 3. Algorithm for calculating indoor noise levels induced by traffic noise considering transmission.
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016

(a) 3D GIS model (b) Sample Points and Line Source

(c) 3D noise map generated from the proposed BIM-GIS integrated framework

Figure 4. Noise evaluation in scenario 1.

suggestion. The updating suggestion is based on the calculation
process for maximum noise level in indoor environments. The
GUI could suggest modifications in boundary surface materials
or traffic control options. Designers could then update the model
using BIM software by our developed updating system in the
BIM–GIS integration engine.
Use cases and discussions of the proposed 3D noise-
mapping framework
Scenario 1 – noise mapping for noise evaluation of roads
The first use case considers a small-scale 3D GIS model modi-
fied from (Gmbh, 2014). The 3D GIS shows a street canyon at
Max–Joseph–Platz in Munich, Germany. The 3D model as shown
in Figure 4(a) consists of five 3D buildings. The traffic conditions
and parameters for the Italian C.N.R. model used in this scenario
are shown in Table 3.
Sample points for the input model were generated using the
data processing module. The generated sample receiver points
had an interval of .5 m, which results in a set of 896,882 points, as
shown in Figure 4(b). A set of 25 sample source points was gen-
erated from the geometry of roads, with the parameters shown
in Table 3. Noise calculation for outdoor environment was per-
formed on these sample points. As shown in the 3D noise map
result in Figure 4(c), the street canyon on the left hand side of
the model has a high noise level due to the closeness to roads
and reflection on surfaces.
 Structure and Infrastructure Engineering  9

Table 3. Parameters for noise calculation. cause discomfort to people in the environment. With the noise
Parameters Value map, urban planners and municipal government can have a clear
QL 100 understanding about noise distribution in the region and take
QP 50 measures to control the noise level. For example, in this case,
α 35.1 the heavy vehicle flow is Qp = 50/h, which is a large contribu-
β 6
ΔLV +2 tor to noise according to the Italian C.N.R. model. Therefore, it
ΔLF 0 is feasible to control the access of heavy vehicle to this region
ΔLB 0 and reduce the noise levels across the whole region. If heavy
ΔLS +1.5
ΔLG 0 vehicles are completely abandoned in this region, which makes
ΔLVB 0 Qp = 0, the updated noise level would be much lower, as shown
λ .02 in Figure 5(b).
θ .1

Scenario 2 – noise mapping as VDC tool

The noise distribution for the whole model is shown in The following use case considers a design for an office building
Figure 5(a), which indicates that in the current environment set- in the same 3D GIS model. The original designed model from
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016

ting, the noise levels are extremely high on some exterior surfaces BIM was placed in the 3D GIS model using the BIM–GIS inte-
of buildings (>100 dBA, threshold of pain). In addition, some gration engine. The designed building was surrounded by roads.
sample points have noise levels exceeding 75 dBA, which may Designers could check the noise distribution inside the building

6000

5000
Receiver Point Count

4000 60 dBA, normal

conversation

3000

2000

1000
[CATEGORY NAME] dBA,
long time exposure hazardous

0
101
103
105
108
110
112
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
65
67
69
71
73
75
77
80
82
84
86
88
90
93
95
97
99

Noise Level (dBA)

(a) Noise level distribution in the GIS model, with heavy vehicles

9000

8000

7000
Receiver Point Count

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000 60 dBA, normal

[CATEGORY NAME]
conversation
dBA, long time exposure
1000 hazardous

0
38 40 42 44 46 48 50 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98
Noise Level (dBA)
(b) Noise level distribution in the GIS model, without heavy vehicles

Figure 5. Noise level distribution in the GIS model.

 10 Y. Deng et al.

Table 4. Transmission loss values, available in the BIM models, of different materials in scenario 2.

Material TL value
Exterior surface 6 in. cast concrete walls 40
9 in. light-weighted concrete block walls 35
7 in. light-weighted concrete block walls 30
6 in. cast concrete roof 45
Interior surface 6 in × 8 in × 16 in. concrete masonry units 40
8 in × 8 in × 16 in. concrete masonry units 50
Composite wall, 4 in., brick, 4 in., concrete masonry units 30
Composite wall, 4 in. brick, 4 in. concrete masonry units 35
Double wall of 4% in. brick leaves separated by 2 in. air cavity 25
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a) TL value for exterior walls b) TL value for interior features

c) Difference between exterior walls and

d) Noise distribution at interior walls
interior walls

Figure 6. Indoor noise mapping.

induced by traffic on the surrounding roads. If specific design
requirements were not met, designers can update the design
using the model updating function in the proposed framework.
For generation of sample receiver points, the resolution was set to
.2 m. The total number of sample points generated was 303,024.
The TL values of surfaces were retrieved from BIM according to
their surface material, as shown in Table 4 and Figure 6. Indoor
calculation module was applied in the noise evaluation for the
designed building.
As shown in the generated 3D noise maps in Figure 6(c), the
exterior walls had a much higher noise level (dBA) as compared
to interior features. Figure 6(c) also shows the different noise
distribution at different heights. One of the advantages of a 3D
noise map is that it could show the noise distribution at different
heights. As shown in Figure 6(d), the interior walls on higher
floors tend to have a lower noise level. Those rooms on higher
levels could be designed to be function rooms which require
higher speech intelligibility.
Designers could also see the noise distribution on different
floors, as illustrated in Figure 7. Figure 7 highlights the difference
of noise levels between the lowest floor and the highest floor. It is
shown that on the fifth floor, some areas have noise levels lower
than 30 dBA, while on the lowest floor, the noise level exceeds
55 dBA. The histograms of noise distribution of each floor could
be generated to provide a quantified way of evaluating noise lev-
els on the designed building with respect to external traffic noise
source. If designers have some specific goals, for example, with
noise level not exceeding 45 dBA, the results could be verified
and updating suggestions could be provided.
As indicated by Figure 7, the wall on the top did not have
sufficient noise insulation capability, thus the areas near the wall
had a higher noise level. Using the BIM–GIS integration engine,

Before Modification
After Modification
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(a) Noise level at ground floor
Figure 7. Noise distribution at different floors.
designers could change the design of this wall and increase its
TL value (for example, adding 20 dBA on TL value by increas-
ing thickness). The updated model could be imported again and
evaluated. Figure 7 shows the difference between the old design
and the updated design. It is noticeable that after increasing the
TL value, the maximum indoor noise level had been reduced
to less than 50 dBA even at the ground floor. Moreover, more
sample points with noise level less than 30 dBA were observed.
Using filtering at ArcGIS, the designers could also see the areas
with lower noise levels, which could be set to be quiet zones in
the building.
Discussions of the developed framework
LoD and computation time
The generation of 3D noise maps is demanding for computa-
tional powers. For example, even a simple case such as scenario 2
involved more than 300,000 sample points and more than a mil-
lion rays for transmission analysis. The total computation time
for this model is around 8 min. To make a compromise between
noise-mapping resolution and computation time, a proper LoD
of input model should be selected. The LoD selection involved
three aspects: (1) the LoD of input 3D model, (2) resolution of
sample points and (3) order of reflection in noise simulation.
The LoD of input 3D model refers to the details contained
in the 3D model, especially, the geometry details of input
model. One commonly used LoD definition is from the schema
of CityGML (Gröger, Kolbe, Czerwinski, & Nagel, 2008). In
CityGML, four LoDs for 3D buildings are defined. LoD1 mod-
els are blocks model with a flat roof. LoD2 models add roof
Structure and Infrastructure Engineering  11
(b) Noise level at third floor (c) Noise level at fifth floor
structures to the building blocks. LoD3 buildings have detailed
wall and roof structures, along with openings (i.e. windows and
doors) on them. LoD4 models complete the LoD3 models with
interior building features such as interior walls and rooms. In
3D noise mapping, models in higher LoDs requires much more
processing times, while sometimes the users may not need the
information in such a high LoD.
For example, to evaluate the outdoor noise distribution in a
large region of a city, LoD2 models are more appropriate as an
input. If a LoD4 model is imported, the processing time will
increase dramatically, while bringing little benefits for the appli-
cation purpose. As shown in Table 5, for the same building repre-
sented in different LoDs, the number of sample points generated
was significantly different. The sample points generation time
and noise calculation time for a single source were also dramat-
ically different. Users should carefully select the model input in
accordance with specific application needs.
The resolution of sample points also has an important impact
on computation time. In fact, in an extreme case, the computa-
tion time is to the square of the sample resolution. To generate
noise maps as accurately as possible, a higher resolution is rec-
ommended. However, the users must make a trade-off between
resolution selection and computation time. For example, in Table
6, the model was processed using resolution of .2 and 1 m sepa-
rately. It is clear that the processing time is to the inverse square
of sample resolution. However, a model in a lower resolution
may not reflect all the noise level evaluation at all the locations
of building.
In this research, the first-order reflection of noise on surfaces
is also considered, which was not reported in some of the related
 12 Y. Deng et al.

Table 5. Processing time for models in different LoDs.

LoD LoD4 LoD3 LoD2 LoD1

Model

Sample points
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No. of points 270,222 90,981 53,749 51,330

Processing time 851 s 267 s 186 s 196 s
Noise calculation 363 s 105 s 63 s 59 s

Table 6. Processing time for models in different resolutions.

Resolution .2 m 1m
Sample points generated

No. of points 270, 222 12943

Processing time 851 s 22 s
Noise calculation 363 s 12 s

work (Farcaş & Sivertunb, 2010; Fortin et al., 2012). Only one
time reflection is considered in this research due to the consid-
eration for computation time. For example, the reflection anal-
ysis in Figure 2(d) identified 39 reflection surfaces for one time
reflection. Using the Image Source method, it is estimated that
39 new noise sources were generated, and thus, the number of
reflection rays to be considered is 39 times of the first-order rays.
If one more reflection is considered, another 39- by 39-point
sources will be generated and the computation time will increase
exponentially.
For higher order reflections, the travel distances of noise rays
have become so large that the received noise level is relatively
small. According to Equations (6) and (7), the small values of
added noise could be neglected. For example, assume that second
order reflection of rays generates noise level of 70 dBA in the
receiver points while the first-order ray generates noise level of
90 dBA. The combination of second order and first-order noise
level is 90.04 dBA, which is only a slight increase as compared to
first-order noise simulation. Thus, in this research, the reflection
time is limited to one only.
Accuracy of noise mapping
In this research, the aim is to provide a general framework for
building detailed 3D noise maps using BIM–GIS integration.
The four modules described in this paper are generic for noise
mapping in 3D GIS environment. As discussed by Farcaş and
Sivertunb (2010), a perfect noise prediction tool is not possi-
ble. A ‘true’ noise mapping could only be obtained by measured

data guided by certain statistical ways. Again, due to the flexible
nature of sound in the environment, such measurements could
only provide a picture of overall noise levels in locations of cities,
which is also what this proposed framework aims to offer.
The noise calculation in the proposed framework highly relies
on the goodness of the selected Italian C.N.R. model. Although
the authors of the Italian C.N.R. model claimed that the model
has a high accuracy as compared to measured data, it was based
on road conditions in Italy. One of the ways to improve the accu-
racy of the Italian C.N.R. model is to ‘tune’ it with some measured
data from local environments. It is shown in Equation (1) that
the parameters α and β are sensitive to local environments, so it
is possible to find the best value for them using measured data
for the simulation environment. Furthermore, a reliable traffic
model would also be helpful to estimate the flow of light and
heavy vehicles (Fortin et al., 2012).
Downloaded by [South China University of Technology] at 17:34 06 January 2016
The reflection analysis in this model is based on the assump-
tion that we are simulating an A-weighted average value of noise
levels at different locations of cities, so we did not consider the
travel time of sound or diffraction of sound. We assume that
the averaged noise energy arrived at surfaces at the same time.
Without this assumption, the reflection analysis is not feasible.
Although the choice of noise prediction models is critical for
the accuracy of the noise simulation platform, the open-sourced
nature of the platform allows users to modify the prediction
models in the outdoor and indoor noise calculation module.
Other choices of noise prediction models include the German
RSL 90 model and the France NMPB models, which are also
deemed to be accurate for noise calculation. Users could select
the noise prediction models which seem more reasonable to the
simulation scenario. We see the flexibility of the noise simulation
platform as one of its advantages.
Conclusions
In this paper, we presented a framework for 3D noise map in
urban environments using BIM–GIS integration. The 3D-noise
mapping tools are based on the Italian C.N.R. model and were
implemented on ArcGIS and Autodesk Revit for demonstration
purpose. An integration engine for BIM and GIS was developed
in order to extract data from BIM for noise simulation and
import them to the 3D GIS environment. The proposed frame-
work contains four modules that are able to generate sample
points from input 3D GIS model, calculate outdoor noise levels
considering first-order reflections, and calculate indoor noise
levels considering TL, and report simulation results.
A model updating function was also developed with the BIM–
GIS integration engine, which allows updating of GIS models
using BIM software. Two use case scenarios were presented to
demonstrate that the proposed framework could benefit both
urban planning and decision-making in the VDC process for
single buildings. The issues of LoD in simulation and accuracy
of results were also discussed. In the future, we aim to improve
the accuracy of the 3D noise-mapping framework by: (1) inves-
tigating a methodology for selecting region specific parameters
in the Italian C.N.R. model, and (2) considering more times of
reflection using parallel computing and more powerful comput-
ing infrastructure.
Structure and Infrastructure Engineering  13
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support by the Hong Kong
Research Grants Council, grant number 622812. Any opinions and find-
ings are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Hong Kong Research Grants Council.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council
[grant number 622812].
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