Noise Measurements and Characterization of Automotive Dampers

This paper presents the key issues regarding the measurement of damper (shock absorber) noises, including the type of microphones, the locations of microphones, the mini-anechoic chamber design considerations, selection of a shaker, and the observations gathered from conducting damper noise measurements in the Monroe Auto Equipment Company. The characteristics of two typical noises, a mechanical/click noise and a swish noise, generated by the dampers are discussed in detail. In addition, the functional features of a complete digital signal processing system, including A/D (analog-to-digital) and D/A (digital-to-analog) converters for the damper's noise and vibration measurements, are discussed in the paper.