Intercultural Differences in the Perception of HVAC Sound Quality in Car Cabins: From Conventional to Electric Vehicles

Massimiliano Masullo,Katsuya Yamauchi,Minori Dan,Federico Cioffi,Luigi Maffei

doi:10.3390/app112311431

Massimiliano Masullo, Katsuya Yamauchi + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app112311431

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Abstract

In electric-powered cars, the production of which is increasing, the HVAC system is responsible for most of the noise inside the car’s cabin, causing significant discomfort for passengers. Moreover, the noise produced by the HVAC affects the perceptible sound inside the car cabin, significantly impacting the perceived quality of the vehicle. It is thus essential to investigate and quantify people’s preferences concerning HVAC noise. Our previous research revealed differences in the HVAC noise between hybrid electric (HEV) and internal combustion engine (ICEV) vehicles. A subsequent factor analysis revealed that the adjectives used to describe the sounds can be grouped into two main dimensions: Aesthetic and Loudness. The present paper highlights the results of a listening test that aimed to identify possible differences in the perception of HVACs’ sound quality between Italian and Japanese subject groups, for ICEV and HEV, in different functioning conditions. Results revealed that the most remarkable difference emerges at high air flow rates, where the Japanese group perceived the quality of sound and annoyance, respectively, to be significantly lower and significantly higher than the Italian group.

Highlights

Car users have become increasingly demanding [1,2], asking for higher sound quality levels inside vehicles’ cabins
This paper presents the results of an intermediate step of the “Collaborative Research Project on HVAC sound quality inside cars cabins” between the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design of the Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” and the Department of Communication Design Science, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University
In line with the literature [29,30], previous research findings showed that [23,24] Aesthetics and Loudness represent the two main dimensions describing the perception of HVAC noise inside car cabins

Summary

Introduction

Car users have become increasingly demanding [1,2], asking for higher sound quality levels inside vehicles’ cabins. This paper presents the results of an intermediate step of the “Collaborative Research Project on HVAC sound quality inside cars cabins” between the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design of the Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” and the Department of Communication Design Science, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University. In this phase of the project, some of the previously collected binaural recordings were used to investigate, in two parallel listening tests in Italy and Japan [23,24], the possible differences in sound quality perceptions between two types of engines in Italian and Japanese populations

Materials and Methods

Subjective Questionnaire

Participants

Method

Discussion

15. Electric Surge