This research thesis involves the measurement of the airborne sound insulation of road traffic noise barriers, with the goal of gaining a more in depth understanding of the factors that influence noise barrier performance. A measurement system is developed, based on EN 1793-6:2012, to quantify the airborne sound insulation of a noise barrier in situ. Validation testing is performed to ensure that the system meets the requirements of EN 1793-6:2012. MATLAB code is developed, incorporating all of the signal processing tasks into a single graphical user interface. The measurement system is then used to measure the airborne sound insulation of eight existing traffic noise barriers located around Auckland, New Zealand.

The results from the Auckland field tests show that consistent single number ratings of airborne sound insulation can be achieved on different samples of the same noise barrier. The presence of air gaps and hidden defects will degrade the acoustic performance of a noise barrier, most significantly at the high frequencies. The comparison of single number ratings calculated with differing measurement frequency ranges is discussed, and some comments are made on the measurement standard itself.