Sound Package Design for a Convertible by Statistical Energy Analysis

The application of SEA (Statistical Energy Analysis) to the sound package design for a convertible is presented. SEA modeling was used optimize the soft-top construction and the acoustic insulation in the top-stack area (where the soft-top is stored) which were shown to be important transmission paths for tire noise. Correlation between measurement data and predictions from the SEA model is presented and good agreement shown. It is concluded that SEA can be applied to determine the special sound package requirements for convertible vehicles.