Noise Barrier Diffraction 2D — Acoustic Wave Field Simulator

The 3D version of this simulation plugs source and receiver geometry into the Kurze-Anderson insertion-loss formula, a closed-form approximation built on Fresnel-number diffraction theory. This 2D companion instead simulates the actual sound wave: a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solver steps the scalar wave equation forward on a grid representing a vertical slice through the road, with the barrier and ground modelled as rigid reflecting boundaries and the domain edges left open with an absorbing boundary condition. Watch the pressure field itself bend around the barrier's top edge in real time — the acoustic shadow zone you see is an emergent result of the simulated physics, not an assumption baked into a formula. A second, invisible reference grid runs the same source with no barrier so the panel can report an insertion loss measured directly from the two simulated fields, letting you compare the full-wave result against the idealised geometric prediction the 3D model uses.