Random Incidence Sound Absorption Measurement of Automotive Seats in Small Size Reverberation Rooms

Random incidence sound absorption measurements of automotive components such as floor carpets, seats, headliners and hoodliners are important during the design and development of noise control treatments in a vehicle. Small volume reverberation rooms [1]1 have been widely used in practice to determine the absorption properties of those components. The SAE Acoustical Materials Committee has organized a task force to develop a standard procedure for measuring random incidence sound absorption properties of flat samples, as well as automotive components in small reverberation rooms. Statistical analysis and correlation study between large reverberation rooms and small reverberation rooms of flat samples using data acquired from a recent round robin study were reported in SAE Paper 2005-01-2284 [2, 3]. Based on data acquired in the same round robin tests, this paper investigates the measurement precision of random incidence sound absorption measurements of automotive seats using small reverberation rooms.