Psychoacoustic Evaluation Of Vehicle Interior Noise In Real Driving Conditions Based On Vibration Data

The sound quality of vehicle interior noise is now widely recognized as one of the most important criteria leading customers to purchase a vehicle. In this regard, there are several psychoacoustic parameters usually taken into account by sound quality engineering to assess and enhance the human sensation inside passenger compartment. Present paper illustrates the outcomes of a study aimed in estimating in real time the mostly used psychoacoustic quantities by monitoring the level of vibration exposure experienced by car occupants, as a function of the engine and vehicle speed conditions. For this purpose, an experimental campaign was performed on a passenger car, instrumented with both acoustic and vibration sensors and tested on the road in different stationary and transient operating conditions. The results suggest that the proposed approach is accurate and effective. Its capabilities could be extended to applications concerning active noise control in road vehicles.