Parameters Used for Automotive Vehicles Concerning Acoustic Qualification/Quantification

This paper presents in a chronological way the main parameters used for automotive vehicles concerning acoustic qualification/quantification. We start with the loudness concept, pass by the “A” weighting philosophy and arrive to the sound level reduction including sound quality. We are able to show a lot of parameters, each one trying to match better the correlation between objective results and subjective evaluations. We mention several aspects regarding the human ear that make difficult the description of sound sensations through a single parameter. We emphasize also the absence of the exposure time in the parameters used to evaluate acoustic comfort. It is shown the large gap between the parameters used in lab and those applied in the legislations through some standards. Some conclusions are presented and the future related to acoustic parameters are discussed.