An Analytical Method for Acoustic Characterisation of EV Interior Trims

The growing concern for the environment and advancement in technology has led the automotive industries to develop green vehicles. The development of EV among alternative power-train has attained popularity. Replacing conventional power-train with an electric powertrain does not resolve the acoustic issues of vehicles. However, acoustic tests performed on EV shows that noise levels in the cabin are significant in high sensitivity region of human hearing. At present, limited research has been carried out in the acoustics of EV interiors due to the complexities involved in predicting noise level. This paper aims at developing an efficient method to optimize vehicle interior acoustics by characterizing interior trims. Alpha cabin and impedance tube experiments were conducted on porous materials to obtain acoustic and non-acoustic properties. The non-acoustic properties thus obtained were used as input parameters for a Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) tool to obtain simulation results. Experiment and simulation results showed good correlation which would assist in creating a database of interior trims. The proposed method can therefore be used as an effective and efficient means to predict and optimize EV interior acoustic performance in the early design phase. The assistance of the developed analytical method in optimizing NVH performance has a significant impact on saving time and the cost of design.