Effect of coupling between passenger compartment and trunk of a car on coupled system natural frequencies using acoustic frequency response function

Conventional numerical techniques, used to study the acoustics of a car passenger cabin, treat the cabin as an isolated cavity excited by the cavity boundaries. Realistically, other cavity volumes such as the trunk communicate with the cabin through the holes in the parcel shelf of the car. An extended acoustic model of a car is formed by the cavity volumes of the passenger compartment and the trunk as well as air leakages through the holes provided for electrical devices and ventilation on the parcel shelf. In this study, the dynamic influence of air leakages between the passenger and trunk compartments on the first and second coupled system modes was investigated experimentally using acoustic frequency response function. The response to the acoustic excitation was measured for four different configurations of trim and holes of the parcel shelf. The natural frequencies of the first and second coupled system modes increased with increasing holes size with and without the trim of the parcel shelf. The experimental results were in good agreement with the reported results of coupling effects of double cavities connected by a neck. In the low frequency region since the wavelength is longer compared to the holes dimension, these holes act as point sources.     

Structural-acoustic finite element analysis of the automobile passenger compartment: A review of current practice

This paper contains a brief review of the formulation of the finite element method for structural-acoustic analysis of an enclosed cavity, and illustrations are given of the application of this analytical method at General Motors Corporation to investigate the acoustics of the automobile passenger compartment. Low frequency noise in the passenger compartment (in approximately the 20–200 Hz frequency range) is of primary interest, and particularly that noise which is generated by the structural vibration of the wall panels of the compartment. The topics which are covered in the paper include the computation of acoustic modes and resonant frequencies of the passenger compartment, the effect of flexible wall panels on the cavity acoustics, the methods of direct and modal coupling of the structural and acoustic vehicle systems, and forced vibration analysis illustrating the techniques for computing panel-excited noise and for identifying critical panels around the passenger compartment. The capabilities of the finite element method are illustrated by applications to the production automobile, and experimental verifications of the various techniques are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the method.     

Automotive panel noise contribution modeling based on finite element and measured structural-acoustic spectra

The radiated noise contributions of automotive body panels to the interior sound pressure levels are modeled using an approximate spectral formulation that applies the theoretical interior acoustic sensitivity terms derived from a finite element model and measured spatial-averaged structural-acoustic spectra. The finite element calculation is validated by comparison to a set of experimental acoustic transfer functions. A measurement set-up for the sound intensity and structural-acoustic response is applied to acquire the cross and auto power spectra needed to predict the relative mean-squared velocity term of each control plane near the panel surface, and to obtain the individual panel contribution function. The proposed approach also computes the noise spectra in 1/12 octave band form at selected positions in the passenger compartment, which matches well with the overall experimental results. Through an actual passenger car application, the approximate computational scheme is proven to be generally quite robust and effective for analyzing higher frequency interior noise problems.     

Nd:YAG lasers at 1064 nm with 1-Hz linewidth

Two Nd:YAG lasers are tightly frequency-stabilized to separately located, vertically mounted ultrastable cavities, which are connected by single-mode optical fibers employing fiber phase noise cancellation. The optical heterodyne beat between two independent lasers shows that the linewidth of each laser reaches 1 Hz and the frequency drift is less than 0.3 Hz/s.     

Large-scale PIV measurements of ventilation flow inside the passenger compartment of a real car

Abstract  

Most vehicles have a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning device that makes the environment in the passenger compartment comfortable. The improvement of climatic comfort is crucial not only to passenger comfort but also to driving safety. Therefore, a better understanding of the flow characteristics of ventilation inside the passenger compartment is essential. Most of the previous studies investigated the ventilation flow using computational fluid dynamics calculations or scale-down water-model experiments. In this study, the ventilation flow inside the passenger compartment of a real commercial automobile was investigated using a particle image velocimetry velocity measurement technique. Under real operating conditions, the velocity fields were measured at several vertical planes for various ventilation modes. The experimental data obtained from this study can be used to understand the detailed flow characteristics in the passenger compartment of a real car and to validate numerical predictions.     

Fluid-structure coupling in the guitar box: numerical and experimental comparative study

Resonance boxes are common to many musical instruments and determine the radiated sound to a great extent. The behaviour of the structure and the air inside must be understood as a whole, the complexity of which is increased by the presence of sound holes. In this work, we present a comparative study of the guitar box in which the interior gas is changed both experimentally and numerically. Modal patterns, natural frequencies and quality factors are determined when the box is full of helium, air and krypton, respectively. This allows us to characterise the soundboard-back plate coupling via the cavity fluid, stressing the role of the structural and acoustic uncoupled modes. This could help guitar makers, allowing them to modify the final modes by means of structural modifications. Moreover the methodology, together with the developed finite element model, proves to be valid for studying the dynamic fluid-structure coupling in any arbitrary mechanical system, including cavities connected to the surrounding air.     

燃料电池有轨电车声学优化*

基于线路噪声实验,系统测试分析了燃料电池有轨电车的噪声特性,研究了噪声分布以及空气传声、结构传声路径对噪声的贡献。结果表明改善车辆地板、空调、顶板和风挡的隔声性能,尤其是在500～1250 Hz的1/3倍频带范围内的隔声性能将有助于改善车辆内部声学环境。优化燃料电池系统控制,降低冷却单元转速将有助于改善车辆外部声学环境。在此基础上提出减震降噪建议措施,再次进行线路噪声实验,结果表明该措施有效。     

Experimental investigation of different active noise control concepts applied to a passenger car equipped with an active windshield

The main purpose of this work is the implementation and experimental investigation of different active structural acoustic control (ASAC) concepts for the reduction of interior noise in an automobile passenger compartment. For the control experiments, a medium-class test car was used, which had been equipped with an active windshield. The active windshield consists of the serial-production laminated glass pane augmented with piezoceramic patch-transducers applied to the blackened rim of the windshield. A multi-reference test provided measurement data for the identification of a local discrete-time state-space model (SSM). The subsequent acquisition of frequency response functions (FRF) by way of using the same actuators but measuring on a much finer grid provided the database for the formulation of a least-squares problem to derive a global system model. Based on the local and global discrete-time SSMs, different controllers were designed and experimentally realized. The comparison of the vibration levels in open- and closed-loop showed a global reduction of 5–7 dB in the acoustically relevant frequency band containing the second and third structural resonance of the windshield system. The occurrence of complex operational deflection shapes (ODS) was identified as the main limitation concerning the disturbance rejection of the active system. The acoustic performance of the ASAC system is reflected in a reduction up to 15 dB in sound pressure level (SPL).     

利用室温反应系数法计算轿车室内温度变化引起的空调动态负荷

在高温环境下长时间停放后的汽车在空调系统启动后的降温速度和降温辐度，是衡量汽车空调制冷系统性能优劣的主要指标。本文利用室温反应系数法建立了轿车室内温度变化时的汽车空调动态负荷模型。并以福特Ｅｓｃｏｒｔ家用轿车为例进行了实验测试，以实验结果验证了理论模型的可靠性。     

Experimental and computational investigation of coupled resonator–cavity systems

Launch vehicle noise is broadband in nature and the noise transmitted into the payload fairing is reduced by treating its interior with an acoustic absorption layer. The latest generation payload fairings are made from composite material which offer poor noise attenuation at low frequencies. One possible solution for reducing the low frequency noise is to use Helmholtz resonators tuned to a few of the dominant low frequency components, such as shell ring frequency or the first few cavity modes of the fairing. The paper presents a simplified modelling approach for numerical simulation of a coupled cavity–resonator system which is validated by experiments. The influence of damping and resonator volume fraction on the coupled system performance, to suppress the first axial mode in a cylindrical cavity, is shown and the resonator volume fraction required for significantly (more than 5 dB) suppressing the cavity axial mode is established.     

Noise control of an acoustic enclosure covered by a double-wall structure with shallow gap: Design of resonator-like cavities

The present study addresses the possibility of using resonator-like cavities for noise attenuation of an acoustic enclosure covered by a double-wall structure with shallow gap. Different from the conventional design of using Helmholtz resonators, a set of coupled equation describing resonator-like cavity is integrated into the vibro-acoustic model, under which the modes in a broad frequency range will be controlled. Based on the tuned weighting coefficient and the acoustic potential energy, an objective function is developed to optimize parameters (number and location) of resonator-like cavities. The effect of shallow gap on the first two dominant modes of the coupled system and energy transmission is investigated. Simulation results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method for noise attenuation, which might be of direct benefit to engineering applications.     

The vibro-acoustic response and analysis of a full-scale aircraft fuselage section for interior noise reduction

The surface and interior response of a Cessna Citation fuselage section under three different forcing functions (10-1000 Hz) is evaluated through spatially dense scanning measurements. Spatial Fourier analysis reveals that a point force applied to the stiffener grid provides a rich wavenumber response over a broad frequency range. The surface motion data show global structural modes (approximately < 150 Hz), superposition of global and local intrapanel responses (approximately 150-450 Hz), and intrapanel motion alone (approximately > 450 Hz). Some evidence of Bloch wave motion is observed, revealing classical stop/pass bands associated with stiffener periodicity. The interior response (approximately < 150 Hz) is dominated by global structural modes that force the interior cavity. Local intrapanel responses (approximately > 150 Hz) of the fuselage provide a broadband volume velocity source that strongly excites a high density of interior modes. Mode coupling between the structural response and the interior modes appears to be negligible due to a lack of frequency proximity and mismatches in the spatial distribution. A high degree-of-freedom finite element model of the fuselage section was developed as a predictive tool. The calculated response is in good agreement with the experimental result, yielding a general model development methodology for accurate prediction of structures with moderate to high complexity.     

DESIGN SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF AN ENGINE MOUNT SYSTEM USING AN FRF-BASED SUBSTRUCTURING METHOD

The FRF-based substructuring method is one of the most powerful methods in analyzing the responses of complex built-up structures with high modal density. In this paper, a general procedure for the design sensitivity analysis of a vibro-acoustic system has been presented using the FRF-based substructuring formulation. For an acoustic response function, the proposed method gives a parametric design sensitivity expression in terms of the partial derivatives of the connection element properties and the transfer functions of the substructures. The derived noise sensitivity formula is combined with a non-linear programming module to obtain the optimal design for the engine mount system of a passenger car. The objective function is defined as the area of the interior noise graph integrated over a concerned r.p.m. range. The interior noise variations with respect to the dynamic characteristics of the engine mounts and bushings have been calculated using the proposed sensitivity formulation and transferred to a non-linear optimization software. To obtain the FRFs, a finite element analysis was used for the engine mount structures and experimental techniques were used for the trimmed body including the cabin cavity. The optimization based on the sensitivity analysis gives the ideal stiffness of the engine mount and bushings. The resultant interior noise in the passenger car shows that the proposed method is efficient and accurate.     

Double pulsed holography used to investigate noisy brakes

The vibrational characteristics of a noisy passenger car disc brake have been studied using the double pulsed holographic technique which has been developed to allow three orthogonal visual images of a vibrating brake system to be recorded simultaneously. These images show the disc to be vibrating in a bending mode whereas the pad is seen to be excited in a variety of modes such as bending, torsion, and often a combination of both. The development of the technique includes alternative ways of triggering the laser and typical results from the application of these differing methods are also included along with mechanical signals which confirm the visual interpretations. Final results, using a laser trigger delay technique, show that the disc mode waveform rotates about the disc at a rate equivalent to the frequency of vibration divided by the diametral mode order. Early work on a passenger car drum brake is also introduced, this complementing commercial ‘noise fix’ solutions and a proposed theoretical model.     

Research on the interior noise contributed from a local panel's vibration of an elastic thin-walled cavity

A theoretical algorithmic method about the interior noise contributed from a local structural panel of an elastic thin-walled cavity is put forward based on the reciprocity of the acoustic system and the finite-element analysis. An example for a passenger compartment is given in order to validate the correctness of the method, and the source of error is also discussed briefly.     

Measurement of frequency noise spectra of frequency-stabilized LD-pumped Nd:YAG laser by using a cavity with separately suspended mirrors

We have developed a frequency stability system for a commercial LD-pumped Nd:YAG laser in a nonplanar ring oscillator geometry (MISER) which is used for our 20-m prototype gravitational wave detector. The frequency of the laser is locked to the rigid cavity resonance frequency, and the relative frequency noise is suppressed down to 3 × 10⁻⁴ Hz/Hz^1/2 the shot-noise limited level at below 1 kHz. We are successful in evaluating the frequency noise level more accurately by means of a separately suspended reirror type cavity (4-m mode-cleaner); the noise level is 2 × 10⁻² Hz/Hz^1/2. As compared to a frequency noise spectrum which is locked to separately suspended mirror type cavities, the frequency noise is lower at a frequency below 400 Hz.     

Reduction of sound transmission into a circular cylindrical shell using distributed vibration absorbers and Helmholtz resonators

A modal expansion method is used to model a cylindrical enclosure excited by an external plane wave. A set of distributed vibration absorbers (DVAs) and Helmholtz resonators (HRs) are applied to the structure to control the interior acoustic levels. Using an impedance matching method, the structure, the acoustic cavity, and the noise reduction devices are fully coupled to yield an analytical formulation of the structural kinetic energy and acoustic potential energy of a treated cylindrical cavity. Lightweight DVAs and small HRs tuned to the natural frequencies of the targeted structural and acoustic modes, respectively, result in significant acoustic and structural attenuation when the devices are optimally damped. Simulations show that significant interior noise reduction can only be achieved by adding damping to both structural and acoustic modes, which are resonant in the frequency bandwidth of interest. In order to be independent of the azimuth angle of the excitation and to avoid unwanted modal interactions, the devices are distributed evenly around the cylinder in rings. This treatment can only achieve good performance if the structure and the acoustic cavity are lightly damped.     

SEA and contribution analysis for interior noise of a high speed train

This paper presents a detailed Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) and contribution analysis of the interior noise of a high-speed train through extensive simulations and measurements. The SEA model was developed based on the actual geometrical parameters of a benchmark high-speed coach. Sound transmission loss levels of the structural components of the car body, which are required in the SEA model, were tested in a dedicated acoustic laboratory following international standard ISO 140-3:1995. Modal densities of these structural components were derived from measured frequency response functions using the modal counting method. Damping loss factors were obtained using the half-power bandwidth method and the vibration attenuation method. By considering the relationship between sound radiation and power transmission, coupling loss factors between structures and cavities were estimated. Source inputs to the SEA model were derived from field experiment data. Interior noise due to those sources was predicted using the SEA model and the prediction was generally in good agreement with measurement. Contribution analysis was then performed using this validated model through parametric study, and this analysis was further examined experimentally. In conclusion, for the coach that was investigated in this paper, the key factors for interior noise are sidewall vibration, bogie area noise, and floor sound transmission loss. Based on this and other engineering considerations, an interior noise control strategy can be defined.     

Numerical analysis and passive control of a car side window buffeting noise based on Scale-Adaptive Simulation

Flow over an open side window in a car exhibits similar characteristics as the flow over an open cavity. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation over a cavity was done as a benchmark. The unsteady flow simulation was carried out using Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS) turbulence model. The benchmark results, frequency and sound pressure levels of feedback and resonance modes, all well matched with the experimental data. Then, with the right rear window, for example, the mechanism of the side window buffeting was investigated. The simulation results show that side window buffeting noise is generated by large scale vortices and in low frequency. Furthermore, buffeting noise characteristics under several patterns of side windows opening were also numerically investigated. As a result, rear window buffeting noise is more severe than that of front window when one window open, and combination pattern of side windows open can reduce buffeting noise. To decrease the interior noise and improve car ride comfort, four suppression measures through adding a side window weather deflector at the A-pillars, constructing a cavity at the B-pillars, combination of the front and rear windows and installing a row of square cylinder deflector at the B-pillars were also studied, respectively. In conclusion, certain noise reduction can be achieved through four passive control methods.     

Combined wave and ray based room acoustic simulations of audio systems in car passenger compartments,Part II: Comparison of simulations and measurements

The present series of papers summarizes the results of a three-year research project on the realistic simulation of sound fields in car passenger compartments using a combined Finite Element (FE) and Geometrical Acoustics (GA) approach. The simulations are conducted for the whole audible frequency range with the loudspeakers of the car audio system as the sound sources. The challenges faced during the project relate to fundamental questions regarding the realistic sound field simulation in small enclosures with strong modal and diffraction effects. While Part I of this series of papers focusses on the determination of the boundary and source conditions for the simulation model of the car compartment, the present paper, denoted here as Part II, presents extensive objective and subjective comparisons of the corresponding room acoustic measurement and simulation results.By applying the FE method to the low frequency part of the room transfer function (RTF) the study aims at the quantification of potential objective and subjective benefits with regard to the simulation quality in small rooms, when compared to a purely geometrical acoustics approach. The main challenges and limitations in the simulation domain are due to the very small volume, the difficult to determine source and boundary conditions and the considerable diffraction effects (especially at the seats) in the car passenger compartments. In order to keep the complexity of the FE simulations at a manageable level, all boundary conditions were described by acoustic surface impedances and no fluid-structural coupling was considered in the FE simulation model.While the results of the study reveal that an overall good agreement regarding the energy distribution in time and frequency domain is generally possible even in such complex enclosures, the results also clearly show the limitations of the impedance boundary approach in the FE domain as well as the strong sensitivity of the simulation results with regard to the uncertainty in the boundary and source conditions in both simulation domains. It can thus be concluded, that possible fields of application of the FE extension in room acoustic simulations lie in the prediction of the modally dominated low frequency part of the RTF of well defined rooms and in the prediction of sound fields that are strongly affected by near-field or diffraction effects as in the car passenger compartment. However, due to the considerable problems in the determination of realistic boundary conditions for the FE model, improved measurement techniques are urgently needed to further improve the overall simulation quality.