Experimental Comparison of Test Methods for Structure-borne Sound Power Measurement

The objectives of this work are to search for a structure-borne sound power measurement method that can be consistently deployed among different test facilities, and to investigate how test results can be compared at different test stands. A series of experimental tests are conducted to compare selected test methods by measuring structure-borne power transmitted from simulated mechanical sources to a supporting plate through single contact and multiple contacts, respectively. The frequency range of interest in these tests is a broad range from 100Hz to 10 kHz. Test methods under this experimental study include the cross-spectral method, the mobility method and the reverberant plate method. In addition, simplified mobility methods based on ideal sources and the synthesized force are also examined. Advantages and limitations of each test methods are discussed from a practical industrial standpoint.