Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

www.elsevier.com/locate/apacoust

Structure-borne noise reduction in a truck cab

interior using numerical techniques
Amiya R. Mohanty*, Barry D. St. Pierre,
P. Suruli-Narayanasami
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI 48126, USA

Received 11 April 1996; received in revised form and accepted 12 March 1999

Abstract
A computer-aided-engineering (CAE) method is used for noise reduction in a truck cab
interior. The ®nite element (FE) and the boundary element method (BEM) are used to char-
acterize the acoustic ®eld of a truck cab interior in terms of the natural frequencies and the
mode shapes. Structural vibration responses of the cab are computed for excitations at the cab
mounts in a frequency range from 50 to 250 Hz. Interior noise levels at the driver's right ear
are determined using the boundary element method for excitations at the cab mounts. A panel
acoustic contribution analysis (PACA) is done to determine the structural areas of the cab
contributing most to the noise levels at the driver's right ear. Structure-borne noise is reduced
in the interior of the cab by selection and placement of sound absorbing material at the
appropriate locations in the cab, as determined by PACA. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.
Keywords: Noise; Truck; Numerical; Structure-borne; FEM; BEM

1. Introduction

Globally, customer appreciation and demand for quieter products has driven
noise control engineers to develop ecient and quieter products in a relatively short
time. In the automotive industry, noise has become an important attribute because
of the competitive market and increasing customer awareness. To have a viable
vehicle design in a short cycle time, computer-aided-engineering (CAE) methods are
being used extensively. This enables the analyst to perform numerous design iterations
and study their e€ects using a computer without manufacturing vehicle prototypes. In

* Corresponding author at present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of

Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, India.

0003-682X/00/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0003-682X(99)00018-3
2 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

the past, CAE techniques such as the ®nite element method (FEM) have been used
for durability (stress/fatigue) analysis and limited noise, vibration and harshness
(NVH) analysis. However, in recent years NVH related analysis has become rela-
tively easy and quicker with the emergence of new CAE methodologies like the
boundary element method (BEM) for acoustical analysis.
Use of the BEM has made it possible to predict the interior noise levels in cavities
[1,2]. However, the methodology has not been widely adopted like the FEM, which
in automobile design is mostly used for structural analysis. In this paper a study is
made to understand the physics and then use the BEM to predict interior noise in
the passenger compartment area and suggest methods to reduce the interior noise
levels due to structure-borne excitations.
Usually structure-borne noise in automobiles is predominant in frequencies below
250 Hz since the powertrain components of these automobiles have predominant
structural excitation levels up to a frequency of 250 Hz [3]. In the present study for
BEM model the mesh is ®ne enough to capture the modes of interest on the struc-
tural model, as well as the wavelength of the ¯uid in the acoustic medium. The size
of the boundary elements is determined by the geometry of the structure being
modeled and the structural or acoustical wavelength, whichever is smaller. For lin-
ear elements, at least four elements per wavelength are required [4]. For dynamic
structural analysis, the present FE model of the truck cab with all the major com-
ponents like the door, the steering column, the seat and the instrument panel has a
total of about 150,000 grid points. The FE model of the body-in-prime (BIP) cab
with the major structural components is shown in Fig. 1. This size of a FE model,

Fig. 1. Finite element model of body-in-prime cab.

 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 3

with six degrees of freedom at the majority of the grid points is quite a computa-
tional challenge, the Cray C-90 supercomputer is used for all the ®nite element and
the boundary element computations.
Two studies done for the NVH analysis of the cab are presented. In the ®rst study,
the acoustic modes of the air mass in the truck cab are determined. Then using the
boundary element method, the reduction in the noise levels inside the cab is pre-
dicted by using di€erent types of sound absorbing material in the cab. In the ®rst
part of the study a constant velocity of 0.1 m/s is used to provide a harmonic exci-
tation to the cab in a frequency range from 20 to 250 Hz. It is found that, by using
sound absorbing materials the sound pressure level (SPL) at the natural frequencies
of the cab air-mass can be reduced. A measure of the actual reduction in SPL, is
given in the following section.
In the second part of the study a method to reduce interior noise, due to structural
excitations at the cab side of the four mounts of the cab is developed using the FEM
and the BEM techniques. In this noise reduction methodology a panel acoustics
contribution analysis is performed to select appropriate locations for placement of
the sound absorbing materials in the cab for noise reduction [4].

2. Cavity acoustic modes and noise reduction

Here a comparison of the natural frequencies obtained by both the FEM and the
BEM are presented. In the FE method, a free response analysis of the cab air-mass
model is performed. In the BE method, a forced response analysis is performed on
the BE model of the cab.

2.1. Cavity acoustic modes by FEM

In the FE method a normal mode analysis of the cab is performed. The commer-
cial FEM code MSC/NASTRAN is used for the FEM computations [5]. The cab
interior air mass is modeled as a ¯uid using bulk properties of speed of sound in air
and the density of air. In order to treat the air mass as ¯uid, the interior of the cab is
modeled with tetrahedral, pentahedral, and hexahedral solid elements. The model
has in total about 4000 solid elements. The seats present in the cab are also included
in the model. Ten acoustic modes of the air-mass are obtained in frequencies up to
250 Hz.

2.2. Cavity acoustic modes by BEM

In order to compare the natural frequencies obtained by the FE method with

those obtained using the BEM method, the following is done. A forced response
analysis is performed using BEM. From the modeshape plots obtained by normal
mode analysis using the FEM, a side panel in the right B-pillar of the cab is
observed to be an antinode point for almost all the modes. The corresponding
structural location in the BEM model is excited with a harmonic velocity of 0.1 m/s.
4 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

Then, due to this excitation at the antinode point, the interior SPL at the driver's
right ear (DRE) location is computed using the commercial BEM code COMET/
Acoustics. A frequency sweep is done from 20.0 to 250.0 Hz in steps of 1.0 Hz. The
frequency response at the driver's right ear is shown in Fig. 2. By picking the peaks
in the frequency response curve in Fig. 2 the natural frequencies of the cab acoustic
cavity are determined. A comparison between the FEM and the BEM results are
shown in Fig. 3. The seats in the BE model are modeled to be rigid, though they can
be modeled as porous with sound absorbing properties. In fact, in the BE model
except for the excitation point on the B-pillar all the boundary points have a rigid

Fig. 2. The acoustic frequency response of the cab interior at the driver's right ear: (a) magnitude, (b)
phase.
 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 5

Fig. 3. Comparison of natural frequencies calculated by FEM and BEM analysis.

boundary condition (that is, the boundary velocity is set to be equal to zero). It has
been found that by modeling the seats as porous, the cab acoustic modes do not
change signi®cantly, hence are not reported here. The BEM model has around 2000
elements in the boundary. Excellent agreement of the natural frequencies obtained
by the FEM and the BEM method is seen in Fig. 3.

2.3. Linearity studies on the acoustical BEM model

A linearity study is performed to check the linearity of the BEM model for the
cab. The amplitude of the excitation at the same anti-node point on the right B-pil-
lar is increased from 0.0001 to 1 m/s by factors of 10. The SPL at the driver's right
ear for the frequencies of 147, 179 and 247 Hz are shown in Fig. 4. It is seen that
with an increase in the amplitude of the velocity by a factor of 10, the SPL in the cab
increases by 20 dB. This is in agreement with the theory of linear acoustics where
pressure is proportional to velocity [6]. This study also serves as a test for the accu-
racy of the commercial BEM code used. Hence, the current numerical model is
appropriate for further acoustical analysis and SPL predictions in the cab interior.

2.4. Incorporating sound absorbing material to reduce interior noise

A region of high structural vibration response will contribute to a high noise level.
Structural modi®cation can be done to reduce the response levels. However, sometimes
6 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

Fig. 4. Linearity veri®cation of SPL variation with velocity change.

in the design process, due to durability and safety issues, it is not advisable to do
major modi®cations to the structure, rather treat the structure with constrained
layer damping or sound absorbing/barrier material to reduce the noise levels.
Usually at low frequencies the cab can be structurally ``silenced'' by adding mass, by
applying damping layers on panels and in general, reduce the vibration levels of the
cab. Reduced vibration levels lead to a reduction of the noise levels in the interior of
the cab. In the present study a comparative study of noise reduction brought about
at the driver's ear by di€erent sound absorbing materials is made. In the material
comparison presented here, the materials are placed in the roof of the cab. Fig. 5
shows the SPL at the driver's right ear for di€erent sound-absorbing materials in the
roof when the structural panel is excited with a velocity of 0.1 m/s. The average
noise reductions brought about by the materials A, B and C in the frequency range
from 50 to 250 Hz are 3.5, 5.2 and 7.8 dB, respectively.
The sound absorbing materials A, B and C are characterized by their normal
speci®c impedance values. The impedances of the sound absorbing material is used
as boundary conditions for the BE model in the previous section. The normal spe-
ci®c impedance of these materials can be measured in the laboratory. Usually, sound
absorbing materials have higher sound absorbing properties at higher frequencies.
There are test procedures developed using a personal computer based on the ASTM
(American Society for Testing of Materials) standards [7,8]. The normal speci®c
impedance for the three materials used are given in Fig. 6.
 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 7

Fig 5. SPL at DRE with di€erent types of materials in the roof of the cab.

Fig. 6. Normal speci®c impedance of sound absorbing materials.

8 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

The ASTM E 1050 standard has been used for the acoustical property measure-
ment. The impedance tube used for the acoustical property determination as per the
ASTM E 1050 standard had an inner diameter of 35 mm and the microphone spa-
cing was 34.3 mm and the length of the tube was 900 mm. The materials A, B, and C
used in the present study were developed and tested for research purposes. Material
C has the highest absorption coecient and is at present not a commercially avail-
able material. However, it is shown in the present study that with better sound
absorbing materials the SPL can be brought down.

3. Structure-borne noise analysis

In the past it has been determined experimentally by researchers that in auto-

mobiles the structure-borne noise path is predominant in frequencies below 250 Hz
and the air-borne noise path is predominant at frequencies above 400 Hz [9]. In the
present study the primary focus is on the structure-borne noise contribution in the
cab interior.
For structure-borne analysis the frequency range of interest is determined by the
major sources of input energy. The excitation due to road conditions is typically
predominant at frequencies less than 25 Hz, and it is usually random in nature and
decreases rapidly with increasing frequency. The powertrain idle and its harmonics
have a strong excitation of frequencies below 250 Hz. As determined in the previous
section, there are ten acoustic modes of the cavity below 250 Hz. Thus, due to the
various excitations below 250 Hz, very strong acoustic resonances can occur in the
cab interior air mass. The objective of this study is to decrease the acoustical
response (SPL) at these resonant frequencies.
To determine the acoustical response, one must ®rst determine the velocity
response for the frequency range of 50±250 Hz on the structure of the cab by the
®nite element (FE) method and compute the interior SPL by the boundary element
(BE) method. The excitations for the velocity response using FEM are the accelera-
tions at the cab side of the cab mounts. This velocity response is then translated into
a boundary condition for the prediction of interior SPL by the BEM. Then by
proper incorporation of sound absorbing materials in the BEM model of the cab,
the SPL levels can be reduced.

3.1. Structural frequency response analysis

The primary path of structural energy into the cab is through its four cab mounts.
These mounts are used to provide vibration isolation for the cab by reducing the
transmission of energy into the cab. In a vehicle like a pickup truck, the cab is on
one side of the mount and the frame on the other. The vibration isolation char-
acteristics of the mount can be determined by knowing the vibration levels on both
sides of the mount as a function of frequency. In the present study, in order to
provide structural excitation to the structural FE model, an acceleration of 0.01 g is
input at the cab side of the cab mount in the vertical direction, at the four mount
 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 9

locations with a phase di€erence of 90 between them. From past experiences with
measuring the acceleration levels at the cab mount location on the cab side for
similar medium duty trucks, a value of 0.01 g is a representative value. In the present
simulation there are no inputs in the longitudinal and fore-aft directions since those
levels are orders of magnitude less than the vertical level. However, if needed, the
present FE model of the cab can easily be excited in the longitudinal and fore-aft
direction as well. The acceleration levels at the cab mount of the cab FE structural
model will be the forcing function. A frequency sweep is done with these constant
acceleration levels of 0.01 g in the range from 50 to 250 Hz. The velocity response is
then obtained on the entire structure of the cab as a function of frequency using the
commercial FE code NASTRAN [10].

3.2. Interior acoustics prediction due to structural excitations

The structural velocity obtained from the FE model frequency response analysis
is interpolated into the boundary grid points of the BEM model. This is done
through a translator program provided by COMET/Acoustics [4]. Then an interior
acoustics computation is done by using the direct BE method to determine the SPL
at the driver's right ear (DRE). Fig. 7 shows the SPL levels at DRE due to cab
mount excitations. The cab in this case has no sound packaging treatment. It is seen
from Fig. 7 that when the cab mount acceleration levels are constant over the entire

Fig. 7. SPL at DRE due to structural excitation at cab mounts of untreated cab.
10 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

frequency range of excitation of 50 to 250 Hz, the peaks of the interior SPL spec-
trum occur at the frequencies of 80.0, 120.0, 145.0, 210.0 and 240.0 Hz. From Fig. 2
it is seen that these peaks at the frequencies of 80.0, 120.0, 145.0, 210.0 and 240.0 Hz
are the acoustic cavity modes of the cab interior. In order to eciently bring down
the levels at these peaks a panel acoustic contribution analysis is done. Then sound
absorbing materials are placed at appropriate locations to reduce the response levels
at these frequencies.
The cab mounts play an important role in the structure-borne noise in a cab, since
they constitute the major path through which energy comes into the cab interior. An
increase in the acceleration levels by a factor of 10 times at the cab mounts will have
a corresponding increase in the structural velocities by 10 times. From Fig. 4 it is
seen that a 10 times increase in the structural velocity increases the interior SPL by
20 dB. So, adequate isolation at the mounts will be bene®cial to reduce structure-
borne noise.

3.3. Panel acoustic contribution analysis

Knowing the SPL at the DRE as a function of frequency as shown in Fig. 7, the
next problem is how to reduce the levels? By bringing down the peaks at the fre-
quencies of 80.0, 120.0, 145.0, 210.0 and 240.0 Hz, the overall level can be sig-
ni®cantly reduced. This level can be brought down by treating the cab with sound
absorbing materials. In order to most e€ectively treat the cab with sound absorbing
materials, a panel acoustics contribution analysis (PACA) is done so that di€erent
parts of the cab can be ranked in terms of the most contributing to the least con-
tributing to the SPI, at a particular location [9,11]. In order to do PACA the BEM
model of the cab is split into groups of elements known as panels constituting the
backpanel, roof, windshield, ¯oor, left-door, right-door, seat and the remaining ele-
ments of the cab model.
The polar plots in Fig. 8 shows the contribution of the various panels of the cab to
the sound pressure in pascals relative to the total pressure at the same location for
both treated and untreated cab, at the ®ve frequencies discussed above. From Fig.
8(b)±(e) it is seen that the backpanel and the roof (labeled 1 and 2) contribute to the
total pressure in a positive way, so the overall level can be brought down at the
frequencies of 120.0, 145.0, 210.0 and 240.0 Hz by lowering the structural response
of the roof and the backpanel of the cab. However from Fig. 8(a) it is seen that by
treating the roof and the backpanel of the cab the overall response will increase, as is
shown in Fig. 8(f). The reductions brought about in the overall sound pressure level
at the DRE by treating the roof and the backpanel is shown in Fig. 8(g)±(j).
Sound absorbing material type A, impedance properties of which are given in Fig.
6, is used to treat the roof and the backpanel of the cab. The SPL at the DRE for
both the treated and the untreated cab are shown in Fig. 9.
The peaks at frequencies of 120.0, 145.0, 210.0 and 240.0 Hz have been lowered by
judiciously placing the sound absorbing materials as understood from a PACA.
However, as stated earlier [Fig. 8(a) and (f)], the response level at 80.0 Hz increased
in the treated cab. An increase in the response at a few other frequencies is also
 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 11

Fig. 8. Panel contribution for untreated and treated cab: (a) and (f) 80 Hz; (b) and (g) 120 Hz; (c) and (h)
145 Hz; (d) and (i) 210 Hz; (e) and (j) 240 Hz.
12 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

Fig. 8 (continued).
A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 13

Fig. 8 (continued).
14 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

Fig. 8 (continued).
A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 15

Fig. 8 (continued).
16 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17

Fig. 9. Comparison of SPL at DRE for treated (roof and backpanel) and untreated cab.

noticed. This is because the contribution from the roof and back panel have nearly
opposite phase as the total pressure. Their contribution actually reduces the total
pressure. When treatment is applied to these panels their contribution is reduced
causing the total pressure to increase. In the above example an overall reduction of
1.5 dB is obtained for the frequency range of 50.0 to 250.0 Hz. The computations
are done with a frequency resolution of 5.0 Hz.

4. Conclusions

A successful CAE methodology has been demonstrated to predict the interior

noise in a prototype truck cab due to structure-borne excitations by using FEM and
BEM. Cab mounts play a very important role in noise control, since they are the
major paths through which structure-borne energy enters the cab and in turn pro-
duces noise. A reduction of acceleration level across the cab mounts by 10 times
produces a 20 dB change in the interior SPL. Measured acceleration levels at the cab
mounts can be used to excite the structural model and then predict interior noise by
the above methodology.
Sound absorbing material can be judiciously selected and placed in the inner sur-
faces of the cab to reduce noise levels. Panel acoustic contribution analysis can be
used e€ectively to rank the surfaces of the cab which contribute most to the interior
SPL.
 A.R. Mohanty et al. / Applied Acoustics 59 (2000) 1±17 17

5. Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ford Motor Company for granting permission to
publish the results from the current studies and would also like to thank the
COMET support group of Automated Analysis Corporation for their help in get-
ting the large computer models to successfully run on the Cray at Ford. The authors
also would like to thank the referees for their helpful and constructive comments
and suggestions.

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