Combining Modeling Methods to Accurately Predict Wind Noise Contribution

Recent developments in the prediction of the contribution of wind noise to the interior SPL have opened a realm of new possibilities. The main physical mechanisms related to noise generation within a turbulent flow and the vibro-acoustic transmission through the vehicle greenhouse is nowadays better understood. Several simulation methods such as CFD, FEM, BEM, FE/SEA Coupled and SEA can be coupled together to represent the physical phenomena involved. The main objective being to properly represent the convective and acoustic component within the turbulent flow to ensure proper computation of the wind noise contribution to the interior SPL of a vehicle. This paper introduces the reader to the various physical mechanisms involved in wind noise, it also describes the most common ways of characterizing the source and representing the transmission paths to the interior and finally it presents the validation of a vehicle vibro-acoustic model before presenting the correlation between simulations results and measurements for the case with and without mirror.