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Now that engines are quieter, the sound made by the wheels on the road accounts
for mast of the noise made by a vehicle doing more than 50mph ( 30 km/h). A team
southanptom's institute of sound and Vibration Research is working up a complete
mathematical model of the way a car tyre produces sound. The scientlsts want to
find out whether subtle differences in design of the rubber tyre could damp down
noise. UK team leader, Dr Roger Pinnington thinks this area of research has been
sadly neglected.' He said: "We all accept traffic noise in citles and towns because it
is continuous, but it would be very pleasant If it stopped."
Surface grlp
As a car is moving, the roughness of the road surfac:e causes the tyres to vibrate
producing sound waves. This phenomenon causes a noise described ,as a roar or
a rumble. But making roads srnoother is not the answer because another
phenomenon occurs in whichair is trapped by the advancing tyre. Whn it is forced
out of the way it causes a noisy "shhhhh" or hiss in a process called air-pumping.
Dr Pinnington is part of Ratin ( Road and Tyre Interaction Noise), one of the EC*funded projects to investigate and reduce tyre noise. A new directlve from Brussels
means that by 2007 every car sold in Europe will undergo a sound trial to include
the noise coming from the tyres. Untll now, only engine noise has been tested.
However, Dr Pinnington believes greater overall noise reduction could be achieved
by changing the nature of toad surfaces. He explained:" A smoother road is
generally quieter than a rough one, but it can be slippery when wet. New, research
shows that surfaces can be made that are both smooth and porous to water, so I
suspect this is the direction we may go In."
The project is a collaboration between the University of Southampton and the
Aristotle University of Thessalonikl, Greece.
What is a team of Southampton's Instltute of Sound and Vibration working on ?
What are these scientists looklng for ?
What happens while a car is moving?
How is the noisy hiss produced ?
What must roads be like in order to be quieter and not slippery?
EXERCISE 3
TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING NOUN PHRASES:
Acomplete mathematical model
Subtle differences in design ofthe rubber tyre
The roughness of the ruad surface
Greater overall noise reduction
TRADUCCION