In-Cabin Aeroacoustics of a Full-Scale Transport Truck

The noise generated by the flow of air past a transport truck is a key design factor for the manufacturers of these vehicles as the sound levels in the cabin are a significant component of driver comfort. This paper describes a collaboration between Volvo GTT and the National Research Council Canada to measure the in-cabin aeroacoustics of a full-scale cab-over tractor in the NRC 9 m Wind Tunnel. Acoustic instrumentation was installed inside the tractor to record cabin noise levels and externally to acquire tunnel background noise data. Using a microphone mounted on the driver’s-side tunnel wall as a reference to remove variations in background noise levels between data points, differences in cabin noise levels were able to be detected when comparing the tractor with different configurations. The good repeatability of the data allowed for differences of as little as 0.5 dB to be measured. A procedure to estimate the transfer function from the wall reference microphone to the cabin microphones was implemented which, though of limited success, provided insights into the acoustic environment of the test section. The main conclusion of this project is that aeroacoustic measurements can be carried out in the NRC 9 m Wind Tunnel in conjunction with an aerodynamic entry for full-scale transport trucks.