Investigation into effects of side-window rubber sealer on cabin interi-or noise due to external flow disturbances of vehicle

Abstract

Electric vehicles' rapid commercialization increases the relative importance of wind noise, especially for cabin interior noise. In this study, systematic numerical methods are developed to assess the wind noise insulation performance of side-window rubber seals in a design stage. First, the simplified automotive cabin model (SACM) is constructed to test the rubber seals' sound insulation performance due to external flow disturbance generated by jet flow. The pressure signals due to the jet flow are measured inside and outside the SACM. The difference between the two signals is used as sound insulation performance criteria, so-called insertion loss (IL). Second, a numerical methodology is developed to predict the IL. The surface pressure field on the side window due to jet flow is predicted by using the high-accurate Lattice Boltzmann Method. The predicted surface pressure fluctuations are applied as input load causing side-window vibration. The interior sound is then computed by using the calculated window vibration as input. The validity of numerical methods is confirmed by comparing the predicted results with the measured ones. Finally, the present methods' ability as a design tool is confirmed by comparing the IL of the pad-added rubber seal with that of the regular seal.