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 f rom a finite element model and measured spatial-averaged structural-acousti c spectra. The finite element calculation is validated by comparison to a s et of experimental acoustic transfer functions. A measurement set-up for th e sound intensity and structural-acoustic response is applied to acquire th e 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 t he individual panel contribution function. The proposed approach also compu tes the noise spectra in 1/12 octave band form at selected positions in the passenger compartment, which matches well with the overall experimental re sults. Through an actual passenger car application, the approximate computa tional scheme is proven to be generally quite robust and effective for anal yzing higher frequency interior noise problems. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.