Noise

Vibration
and
Harshness

By
C.Venkatanarayana
163701
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 INTRODUCTION
Noise and vibration of automotive vehicles are an
increasingly important issue in the automobile industry,
for implications on both environmental noise pollution
and comfort perceived by driver and passengers.

Since noise and vibration performances affect the

overall image of a vehicle, they are now considered
important factors in the entire vehicle design process.

In this regard, an accurate experimental evaluation of

vehicle noise and vibration levels in both stationary
conditions and driving conditions are often necessary
for undertaking a refinement process of vehicle sound
quality, satisfying the development targets.

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Noise: is unwanted sound or unwanted disturbance in an
signal ,transmitted to the air that causes audible disturbance.
Sense by AURAL.
Vibration: is oscillation that causes noise and disturbance.
Sense by TACTILE.
Harshness :is generally used to describe the severity and
discomfort associated with both vibration and noise

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 Transmission of Vibrations and
Sound
Vibrations and noise are transmitted
the same way. There has to be a:
Vibrating force
Resonating system
Transmission system (path)
Vibrating element (vibration)
Vibration of air (sound)

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Cont

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Examples of Transmission Paths

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 Cont..
The following are examples of methods
used to minimize the level of vibration felt
by the customer through modifying the
transmission path:
Rubber O ring exhaust hangers.
Liquid filled mounts.
Asphalt sheeting on a body panel is an
example of a modification to the vibrator
to insulate the passenger compartment
from a vibration or sound.
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 Testing

To date
noise mapping techniques (sound
intensity),
acoustic holography and beam forming,
Transfer Path Analysis,
modal analysis,
order tracking are
considered the most relevant experimental
techniques to analyze and identify NVH sources in a
vehicle.

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 Some of these techniques employ
instrumentation which requires specifically
constructed rooms such as anechoic or
reverberant chambers. And some dont need
them.

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 a typical condenser microphone, that if used in
rooms that are neither anechoic nor reverberant
could provide incorrect results, whether
positioned too close to the sound source or too far
away from the source, where reflections from
walls and other objects may considerably alter
the measurement accuracy.

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 Other measurement devices that
need to be employed in free field
conditions are the sound level meter
and the traditional pressure-pressure
sound intensity probe.

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 Acoustic holographyis a method for estimating
the sound field near a source by
measuringacousticparameters away from the
source by means of an array
ofpressureand/orparticle velocity transducers.

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 Transfer path analysis
Transfer path analysis (TPA) is a fairly well established
technique for estimating and ranking individual
low-frequency noise or vibration contributions via the
different structural transmission paths from point-coupled
powertrain or wheel suspensions to the vehicle body.
TPA is also used to analyze the transmission paths into
vibration-isolated truck or tractor cabs etc.
TPA can also be used at higher frequencies (above 150-
200 Hz) in road vehicles, although it may be reasonable to
introduce a somewhat different formulation based on the
response statistics of multimodal vibro-acoustic systems
with strong modal overlap.

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 sound intensity technique
This technique relies on the use of the
Microflown p-u intensity probe, the
combination of a pressure microphone
and a particle velocity transducer
which directly measure close to the
source surface the scalar value 'sound
pressure' and the vector value
'acoustic particle velocity' in one spot,
giving in output the sound intensity.
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 Due to the near field benefits using
the direct measure of the directional
particle velocity, p-u probes are not
highly affected by background noise
or reflections, and measurements
can be undertaken in real operational
situation.
P-u probe represents an effective tool
for vehicle noise sources
identification issues.

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 The acoustic signals of the sound field
are acquired by manually scanning the
emitting surface with the p-u probe
while a camera is positioned toward
the surface to film the scanning.
The sensor position is extracted by
applying automatic color tracking to
each frame of the recorded video. It is
then possible to directly visualize
sound variations across the space in
terms of sound pressure, particle
velocity or acoustic intensity.
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 As an example, in the following figure obtained
scanning the engine bay of a four-cylinder four-
stroke engine at a particular stationary operating
condition (2000 rpm),
It is immediate to note that the main acoustic
emissions come from the internal combustion
engine, which radiates up to about 95 dB.

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 Order tracking analysis is
another experimental technique
which can provide useful information
about vibrations and acoustic signals
generated in vehicle drive train
components, related to engine
rotational speed and in particular to
engine ignition frequency.

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 Vehicle sound quality
As explained, the knowledge and characterization of
the different noise sources play a key role in the
sound package design of a vehicle.
However, although the level of interior noise
reduction is very important for the acoustic comfort
of the occupants, another important factor that has
to be taken into account is the quality of the noise.
In recent years there have been many sound quality
studies and analyses in order to define the criteria
for a noise that is not just quiet but also pleasant.
Some of the most commonly used sound quality and
psychoacoustic metrics are Articulation Index (AI),
Loudness and Sharpness .

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 Articulation Index (AI)
The AI is a measure of the intelligibility of
voice signals, expressed as a percentage
of speech units that are understood by the
listener when heard out of context.

There are different algorithms for the

calculation of the AI. The method used in
the automotive field is based on the 1/3-
octave band levels in dB(A) between 200
Hz and 6300 Hz, taking strongly into
account the frequency bands where the
typical speech frequencies are more 20
 Loudness
The Loudness level refers to the
perceived intensity of the sound. It is
based on the statistical response of
the ear as a function of frequency for
a statistically significant number of
people.
The unit of Loudness is sone, which
allows to visualize the parameter on
a linear scale.
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 Sharpness
The Sharpness is defined as the ratio between
the high frequency noise level and the overall
level; it is not related to sound intensity, but it is
high for metallic noise components that are
generally considered annoying.
A high Sharpness is hence correlated with bad
quality of the vehicle. The unit of Sharpness is
acum.
The Sharpness calculation is based upon the
specific Loudness distribution of the sound.
Therefore the calculation of the Loudness affects
the results of the Sharpness analysis.

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 Example
An example of poor sound quality is
represented by data reported in the
following figures, In Fig the two lines
on the graph represent the Time
Varying Loudness measured in a four-
cylinder engine vehicle by two
conventional microphones located at
the driver ears position, during
engine run-up on a chassis
dynamometer
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24
 Cont..
As highlighted in the circled region, exhibits strong
deviations from the ideal trend (dashed blue line) at
particular engine speed ranges, giving the
impression of a vehicle not characterized by a
smooth and refined ride.
Also Sharpness plot in Fig, which refers to the same
test, indicates a low vehicle interior sound quality at
a particular operating condition (around 2675 rpm),
as it reaches a substantially high level.
The measure of the mentioned psychoacoustic
parameters helps to identify the best solutions to
improve NVH performance in terms of good interior
sound quality rather than only reduced noisiness.

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 Sources
http://alflash.com.ua/avtovideo/noise
http://www.globalspec.com/learnmor
e/test_measurement_equipment/nois
e_vibration_harshness_nvh_test_equi
pment
http://www.fev.com.
Journal Paper on A review of
experimental techniques for NVH
analysis on a commercial vehicle.
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THANK YOU
For Your Attention

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