Speaker: Antonio Torija Martinez, Lucy Barton, Volkan Acun, University of Salford
Wed 11th June 12:00 – 13:00 UK time. This seminar will be held in person in Peel 102 and you can join us online via Microsoft Teams.
Abstract
During this presentation we will overview the research activities carried out as part of the future homes project, with a focus on air source heat pump work noise. Our focus is addressing the noise issues of ASHP noise to facilitate the wider deployment of these technologies at scale, and contribute to the Net Zero agenda.
As part of the Future Homes Project, we have conducted measurements on a variety of ASHPs using standard and novel approaches to quantify noise. These experiments include measurements made in the field and in the Unversity’s Energy House 2.0 facility.
We have conducted a series of listening tests to examine human responses to ASHP noise, focusing on Valence, Arousal, and Annoyance under varying source distances, background noise levels, and operating conditions, emphasising changes in the acoustic characteristics of the heat pump. We also recently ran a joint listening experiment, as part of the international IEA HPT Annex 63 Placement Impact on Heat Pump Acoustics, to examine the cumulative impact of noise emissions from multiple ASHP units.
Biography
Dr Antonio J Torija Martinez is a world leading expert in perception-driven research on aircraft noise. His main research interests are in aircraft noise measurement and modelling, noise metrics, and psychoacoustics. He is currently focused on the development of psychoacoustic modelling tools for drones and ducted fan propulsion systems. He has published about 48 peer-reviewed journals including in Nature, and more than 70 conference papers (h-index=27 and i10-index=40). He has extensive experience in multidisciplinary research (e.g., collaboration with MIT and UCL in the SAECA-EPSRC Institutional Sponsorship Award’). He is currently PI of the EPSRC project DroneNoise (EP/V031848/1), and Horizon Europe REFMAP (ref. 101096698) and ImAFUSA (ref. 10080939). Before that, he has been the recipient of a prestigious Marie Curie EU Postdoctoral Fellowship, led psychoacoustic research in the InnovateUK project InCEPTion (ref. 73692), and was involved in several InnovateUK (refs. 113013 and 113086), EPSRC (EP/M027031/1), and industry (Airbus Collaborative University Challenge on Aircraft Noise Annoyance) funded projects. He is a Human Response and Metrics expert in the NASA Urban Air Mobility Noise Working Group, and a member of the NATO AVT-414 on Acoustics Mission Planning and Environmental Impact Analysis for UAS and UCA (<5000kg). He was a UK representative in the Joint ISO/TC 20/SC 16 – ISO/TC 43/SC 1 WG leading to the development of the ISO 5305:2024 – Noise measurements for UAS (Unmanned Aircraft systems). Dr Torija Martinez is currently the Chair of the Organising Committee of the QuietDrones 2024 international conference (https://www.quietdrones.org/).
In February 2023, Dr Torija Martinez acted as an expert witness in environmental noise to give oral evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, for a public inquiry on the impacts of noise pollution on human health (https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/193/science-and-technology-committee-lords/news/196536/light-and-noise-pollution-are-neglected-pollutants-in-need-of-renewed-focus/). During this inquiry he provided evidence about the state-of-the-art in environmental acoustics and described the research and policy gaps to be addressed.
Dr Volkan Acun is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford. He works on the Future Homes Project, investigating the psychoacoustics of Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and human responses to environmental noise. Volkan holds a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture and environmental design from Bilkent University (Turkey), and completed his MSc and PhD in soundscape perception. His doctoral research focused on developing deep learning models to classify audio content and predict human perception of soundscapes.
Dr Lucy Barton is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the UKRI funded Future Homes Project in metrology for building acoustics. Her main areas of interest are in acoustic measurement, transfer path analysis, structure-borne sound, and modal analysis.
She completed the BEng Audio Acoustics degree at the University of Salford, followed by an iCASE PhD with a thesis titled ‘Decomposed Vibroacoustic Frequency Response Functions for the Prediction of Radiated Sound’. This work had a basis in experimental modal analysis and transfer path analysis using blocked forces.
Her current work is in developing best practice acoustic testing methodologies for a diverse range of product case studies, with a focus on air source heat pump noise.