Fast traffic noise mapping of cities using the Graphics Processing Unit of a personal computer

Traffic noise mapping of cities requires large comp uter calculation times. This originates from the la rge number of point-to-point sound propagation calculat ions that must be performed. In this article it is demonstrated that noise mapping calculation times c an be reduced considerably by the use of parallel computation on the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) of a personal computer. Comparisons are presented between a GPU implementation and a conventional CPU implementation for various urban areas, from which a GPU speedup factor of 720 is obtained (compared with a single CPU). The complete traffic noise map of Amsterdam is calculated with the GPU implementation in 2 h. Local modifications of the noise ma p, for example to investigate the effect of a new buil ding or a road, are calculated in a time of the ord er of a minute.