Validation of Interior Noise Prediction Obtained using Statistical Energy Analysis and Fast Multipole BEM

Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) is an effective tool for evaluating the acoustic performance of a vehicle structure and sound package. SEA is typically used to predict both interior noise levels and to set noise reduction targets for various components. A typical full vehicle SEA model includes acoustic loads from airborne sources such as engine, tire and exhaust noise [1]. Each source is typically spatially compact (for example, a tire contact patch) but the source radiates sound that then propagates across the entire exterior surface of the vehicle. In order to characterize a source it is therefore necessary to know both the sound pressure level in the vicinity of the source and also the way in which sound from the source diffracts around the vehicle.

A companion paper has investigated the numerical prediction of the diffraction of acoustic sources around a vehicle using the Fast Multipole Boundary Element Method [2]. In this paper, the exterior loads predicted by the FMM BEM method are applied to a full vehicle SEA model and used to predict the interior noise within the vehicle. The results are compared with experimental measurements and good agreement is observed. Modeling guidelines and assumptions are presented and discussed.