The concept of sound quality (SQ) has been used in the U.S. automotive industry since the 1980’s.... more The concept of sound quality (SQ) has been used in the U.S. automotive industry since the 1980’s. Early studies were part of an effort to understand why some vehicles sounded better (and sometimes quieter) than other vehicles even though they had a higher A-Weighted sound pressure level (SPL). This led to the use of juried tests and many measures other than Aweighted SPL to quantify noise. The first studies were often dedicated to developing SQ methodologies and were generally focused on the evolving tools of sound quality in an effort to show how they could be used to solve problems. Sound quality has matured over the years and the principles of SQ are now used in nearly all aspects of automotive NVH in the U.S. The latest trend in sound quality is the development of virtual environments to simulate driver and passenger noise before prototype vehicles are available. Introduction Sound quality is used in nearly every area of automotive noise control in the U.S. Everything from engin...
In this study seat covers made from textiles, leather and vinyl were evaluated for noise absorpti... more In this study seat covers made from textiles, leather and vinyl were evaluated for noise absorption. The textiles included woven velours, pile knits and flat wovens. The noise absorption of the covers and the corresponding seat assemblies was tested by the reverberation room method per ASTM C423. The effect of different foams was also tested. For the leather and vinyl covers, the effect of perforation was evaluated. Test results showed distinctive differences between textiles and leather/vinyl with cloth seats having superior noise absorption. Even among the textiles, there are significant differences. Core foam densities affect the characteristics as well.For pile fabrics (woven velours and pile knits), the size of the pile fibre does not affect the acoustic characteristics of the seat. Also, no significant difference was observed between a bonded seat and a conventional (cut and sew) seat. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 492369.
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