Vehicle Reverberation Time Measurement and Validation Study

During later stages of an automotive development process, prototypes and normal production units are available to NVH evaluations and tests. During these phases, it is desirable to know as completely as possible the acoustical efficiency of the vehicle internal cavity. The interior of a modern vehicle is a complex combination of different materials, volumes and surface areas. Due to its relation to the absorption, the reverberation time measured inside a vehicle can be used as an indicator of the acoustic quality of the interior cavity, and also as parameter input into SEA models. This work presents a validation study for vehicle reverberation time measurement, including some examples of reverberation time measurement on different vehicles, addressing the difficulties and benefits of the technique.