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2005-01-2522

SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES

Case Study - Experimental Determination of

Airborne and Structure-borne Road Noise
Spectral Content on Passenger Vehicles
Larry G. Hartleip
General Motors Corporation

Timothy J. Roggenkamp
General Motors Corporation

SAE 2005 Noise and Vibration

Conference and Exhibition
Traverse City, Michigan
May 16-19, 2005

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Case Study - Experimental Determination of Airborne and
Structure-borne Road Noise Spectral Content on
Passenger Vehicles
Copyright © 2005 SAE International
ABSTRACT
Appropriate road noise levels are critical to perceived
quality in today’s highly competitive automotive industry.
Tire noise is often one of the dominant sources. In
order to provide effective noise control schemes it is
imperative to fully define the noise paths. In this paper,
a case study of an experimental lab method is
presented that allows definitive understanding of the
structure-borne and airborne spectral contributions of
tire noise. For this study, interior noise data were
collected using a 10 ft road wheel. Data were collected
for the front and rear tires. These measurements
contained both the structure-borne and airborne
contributions. The same test was performed with the
tire physically disconnected from the vehicle structure.
This measurement contained only the airborne
contribution. The structure-borne contribution was then
calculated as the difference in noise levels between the
two cases.
INTRODUCTION
Vehicle content needed to attenuate noise is typically
divided into structure-borne noise control strategies and
airborne noise control strategies [1]. These control
strategies are very dissimilar. Structure-borne noise
control strategies include structural designs, path
isolation, damping, or reduction of the structure-borne
source. Airborne noise control strategies include
absorption, transmission loss, and sealing for path
control, or reduction of the airborne noise source.
It becomes essential to understand the frequency range
as well as the structure-borne and airborne contributions
of a noise issue in order to provide effective noise
control solutions. There are a variety of techniques
available to the development engineer to better
understand a noise control issue. Some of these
techniques such as Transfer Path Analysis are most
2005-01-2522
Larry G. Hartleip
General Motors Corporation
Timothy J. Roggenkamp
General Motors Corporation
accurate when there is some prior knowledge of the
structure-borne and airborne contributions [2]. Many
other techniques such as holography and coherence
based methods do not differentiate between structure-
borne and airborne noise [3]. Therefore, a simple
technique to provide structure-borne and airborne
contributions from each corner of the vehicle would be
useful.
In this case study, a noise issue was identified in a
production vehicle. Binaural recordings were utilized to
determine that the source of the problem was high tire
noise levels in the 800 Hz region. Next, attempts were
made to define the dominant noise path at 800 Hz. Two
initial experimental studies yielded conflicting path
identifications: one indicated an airborne path and the
other indicated a structure-borne path.
The methodology presented in this paper was developed
to provide a definitive understanding of the structure-
borne and airborne spectral contributions of tire noise.
In addition, the methodology is used to determine if the
noise is biased from the front or rear of the vehicle.
This information greatly accelerates the development of
effective noise control remedies. This paper describes
the experimental methods used to achieve accurate,
repeatable results.
THE NOISE ISSUE
In this case study, an objectionable coarse road tire
noise issue was identified in a production vehicle.
Interior noise was measured on-road with an Aachen
Head binaural recording system on a coarse road
surface at the GM Milford Proving Ground (MPG). The
Artemis analysis system was then utilized to analyze the
data and prepare jury files for subjective listening
evaluation. The system was used to develop filters to
selectively reduce the amplitude of the peaks in the
noise frequency spectrum while a jury of listeners
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subjectively ranked the offensiveness of each peak. For any corner, the total corner contribution ( Pij2 ), can
The jury overwhelmingly selected the noise peak at 800
Hz as the most objectionable frequency in this road be considered a combination of airborne and structure-
noise spectrum (see Figure 1). borne components.

70
Pij2 = PSBij
2 2
+ PABij 2
A-WEIGHT SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re2e-5Pa)

2
where PSBij is the structure-borne contribution from any
60

2
given corner and PABij is the airborne contribution from
50 any given corner.

DOMINANT In this work, the total contributions from the right front
40

10 dB
NOISE
ISSUE
( )2
PRF , and right rear PRR 2
( )
, corners were measured
independently. In addition, the airborne contributions
30
2
from the right front PRFAB ( ) 2
, and right rear PRRAB , ( )
corners were measured. The structure-borne corner
(3  )
20

63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000
contributions from the right front 5)6% , and right rear
( )
1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz)
2
PRRSB , corners were calculated using Equation 2.
Figure 1: Vehicle interior noise SPL for a coarse road
noise issue in a production vehicle Assuming symmetry for each side of the vehicle, the
total sound pressure from the front or rear of the vehicle
After the frequency of the objectionable noise issue was can be calculated by multiplying Equation 2 by two or
identified, the next step was to determine if the issue simply adding 3 dB to the calculated level using a
was structure-borne or airborne. 2
reference of 4e-10 Pa . This concept can be applied
using the total contribution, the airborne contribution or
BASIC METHODOLOGY the structure-borne contributions.

Testing was moved from the road to a laboratory facility Using Equations 1 and 2 and assuming symmetry, the
featuring a road wheel with a coarse road surface. The total tire noise can be represented in terms of the
approach consisted of three steps. In the first step, the airborne and structure-borne components for the front
total tire noise is measured. In this measurement, both and rear of the vehicle as shown in Equation 3
the airborne and structure-borne noise contributions are
measured when the tire is attached to the vehicle. For PT2 = PABF
2 2
+ PABR 2
+ PSBF 2
+ PSBR 3
the second step, the tire and wheel were disconnected 2
from the vehicle and loaded using a fixture. The tire where PABF is the total airborne contribution from the
was accurately positioned in the wheelhouse of the 2
front of the vehicle, PABR is the total airborne
vehicle and the resulting noise was only from the 2
airborne contribution. In the third step, the structure- contribution from the rear of the vehicle, PSBF is the
borne noise contribution was calculated from the total total structure-borne contribution from the front of the
measured noise and the airborne contribution. 2
vehicle, and PSBR is the total structure-borne from the
rear of the vehicle. Of interest was the characterization
In this work, the contributions to the interior vehicle of the vehicle provided in Equation 3. In this format,
noise from each of the four tires were assumed to be engineering efforts can be prioritized in terms of the
incoherent. Therefore the total interior sound pressure vehicle content in terms of front / rear as well as
can be calculated by summing the contribution from airborne and structure-borne.
each corner on an energy basis
LAB FACILITY DESCRIPTION
PT2 = PLF
2 2
+ PLR 2
+ PRF 2
+ PRR 1
where Testing was performed on a single 10 ft diameter road
wheel. The surface of the road wheel was modeled
PT2 is the measured total sound pressure in Pascals ,
2 after a coarse road surface at the MPG. A tire fixture
2
with a rotating spindle and hub assembly was located
Pij2 is the contribution in Pascals from any given corner next to road wheel. The tire fixture was used to support
of the vehicle with i indicating left or right side and j the tire and wheel for the airborne portion of the test.
indicating front or rear [4] The tire fixture had the capability to apply a normal
force to the tire and wheel assembly. A custom-built
fixture was used to move the vehicle and to position it
on the road wheel. Vehicle interior sound pressure level
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was measured at the center of the passenger. Exterior
sound pressure level was measured at the rear of the
tire patch. Spindle acceleration was measured with an
accelerometer. Data were recorded on a DAT tape
recorder and analyzed with a 4-channel Hewlett-Packard
FFT analyzer.
TOTAL TIRE NOISE MEASUREMENT
In this test step, data were collected with the tire/wheel
assemblies attached to the vehicle, i.e. with the
suspension configured in exactly the same way as when
the vehicle is driven on-road. This measurement
represented total interior tire noise and contained both
the structure-borne and airborne contributions for each
wheel. Since lateral vehicle symmetry was assumed, it
was necessary to measure only one front tire and one
rear tire in order to calculate the total vehicle interior
noise for all four wheels.
TEST PROCEDURE
All tests were performed with the vehicle engine turned
off and the road wheel powering the tire. The tire was
powered for 10 minutes before each test. Testing was
performed at 35 mph.
After the total tire noise was measured for the right rear
tire, the same test was repeated for the right front tire.
A schematic cross-section of the PHASE 1 test setup on
the road wheel with both structure-borne and airborne
paths intact is shown in Figure 3.
TIRE
FIXTURE
ROAD
WHEEL

STRUCTURE-
The vehicle was initially positioned and secured with the BORNE PATH
right rear tire of the vehicle on the coarse road surface AIRBORNE
of the road wheel (see Figure 2). The vehicle location NOISE
and height, and the tire location and load were recorded
so that the vehicle and tire could be repositioned
accurately for the airborne portion of the test. Figure 3: Test setup to measure total tire noise
(structure-borne & airborne contributions)
TIRE/WHEEL
CONNECTED TIRE FIXTURE RESULTS
TO VEHICLE (not connected to
the tire/wheel)
Total Interior Tire Noise (Structure-borne & Airborne)

The total interior rear tire noise and total interior front
tire noise measured in this step of the test were summed
to obtain the total vehicle interior tire noise (see Figure
4).

70.0
A-WEIGHT SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re2e-5Pa)

60.0

ROAD 50.0

WHEEL
EXTERIOR
MICROPHONE 40.0

10 dB Vehicle Total
Figure 2: Test setup to measure total rear tire noise 30.0 Rear Tire Total Contribution

(structure-borne & airborne contributions) Front Tire Total Contribution

20.0

63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000
In the airborne measurement phase of this case study, a 1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz)
special tire fixture would be positioned beside the car to
support the tire. Although the fixture was not used in the
total noise test phase, it was placed in the same position Figure 4: Total interior tire noise for the vehicle
near the road wheel as planned for the airborne test compared with the tire noise contributions from the
phase. This was done so that the geometry of the front and rear tires (includes structure-borne &
exterior sound field around the tire and vehicle would be airborne noise)
replicated for both phases of the test.
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Lab versus On-road Correlation the tire inside the wheelhouse but physically
disconnected from the vehicle. The same test schedule
Total vehicle interior tire noise measured in the lab is performed earlier to measure total tire noise was
plotted versus the interior noise measured on-road in repeated for this phase of the test.
Figure 5. Total interior tire noise data collected in the
lab exhibited accurate correlation with the on-road data. TEST PROCEDURE
80.0

Preparing for the airborne measurements required three

A-WEIGHT SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re2e-5Pa)

70.0
steps. In the first step, the right rear tire and wheel
assembly was physically disconnected from the vehicle
60.0
structure by removing it along with all of the suspension
and brake components that had connected it to the
50.0
vehicle structure.

40.0 The tire and wheel assembly were then attached to a

10 dB tire fixture that allowed it to be accurately positioned and
Lab/Road Wheel Data
30.0
loaded on the road wheel.
On-Road Data

20.0
A special fixture with large caster wheels was designed
10.0
and fabricated (Figure 7) to support the vehicle once the
63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000 tire and suspension were removed. This special fixture
1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz) was used to transport the vehicle back to the road wheel
and to carefully re-position it back over the road wheel
in the same location as the earlier measurement. The
Figure 5: Lab versus on-road total interior noise levels
height of the vehicle was set and the right rear corner of
the vehicle was supported by an isolation pad. The
Multi-axial spindle acceleration was also measured in other corners of the vehicle were supported by the
the lab and on-road. A typical level of correlation original tires.
between the on-road and laboratory measurements is
shown in Figure 6.
0.0

-10.0
Lab/Road Wheel Data
On-Road Data
ACCELERATION (dBre1m/s^2)

-20.0

-30.0

-40.0

10 dB
-50.0

-60.0

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600
Frequency (Hz)

Figure 6: Typical lab versus on-road spindle

acceleration measurements Figure 7: Special fixture designed for moving the
vehicle after the tires were removed

The relative positions of the vehicle and right rear tire

were now the same as the earlier test, with the tire
AIRBORNE TIRE NOISE CONTRIBUTION located inside the wheelhouse. Unlike the earlier test
however, all of the physical connections between the
The goal in this phase of testing was to eliminate the vehicle and the tire had been eliminated.
structure-borne tire noise paths and measure only the
airborne tire noise. This was accomplished by
physically removing all of the suspension and brake
components that connected the tire to the vehicle
structure. The tire and wheel assembly was then
supported in its original position on the road wheel with
a tire fixture. The vehicle was then positioned and
supported in its original position on the road wheel with
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CALCULATION OF THE STRUCTURE-BORNE

TIRE NOISE CONTRIBUTION

Structure-borne tire noise was calculated by subtracting

the measured airborne tire noise from the measured
TIRE total tire noise. The calculated interior structure-borne
FIXTURE
tire noise contributions are shown in Figure 10.
ISOPAD

ROAD 70.00

WHEEL

A-WEIGHT SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re2e-5Pa)

60.00

AIRBORNE
NOISE
50.00

Figure 8: Test setup to measure the airborne tire noise

40.00

contribution
10 dB
Vehicle Structure-borne Noise
30.00
Rear Tire Structure-borne Contribution
After the airborne tire noise was measured for the right Front Tire Structure-borne Contribution

rear tire, the same test was repeated for the right front
20.00

tire. A schematic cross-section of the test setup with the 63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000
structure-borne tire noise path eliminated is shown in 1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz)
Figure 8.
Figure 10: Calculated structure-borne interior tire noise
for the vehicle compared with the calculated structure-
borne contributions from the front and rear tires.
RESULTS

Airborne Tire Noise

The airborne rear tire noise and airborne front tire noise SUMMARY
were summed to obtain the airborne total tire noise for
the vehicle (see Figure 9). The data measured and calculated using the method
described in this paper can be organized in several ways
70.00
to enhance the understanding of the contributors to tire
noise. The total interior noise compared with the
A-WEIGHT SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re2e-5Pa)

60.00
structure-borne and airborne contributions is shown in
10 dB
Figure 11. The total interior noise compared with the
front and rear interior noise contributions is shown in
50.00
Figure 12. The total vehicle tire noise and its
decomposition into structure-borne front, structure-borne
40.00
rear, airborne front, and airborne rear tire noise
contributions are shown in Figure 13.
Vehicle Airborne Tire Noise

Rear Tire Airborne Contribution

30.00

Front tire Airborne Contribution

20.00

63 80 100 125 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1000 1250 1600 2000
1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz)

Figure 9: Airborne interior tire noise for the vehicle

compared with the airborne tire noise contributions
from the front and rear tires
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70.00

From these results, it can be seen that the interior road

A-WEIGHTED SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re20e-5Pa) 10dB noise in the frequency range of interest is rear dominant
60.00
airborne noise. Using this information, engineering
priorities could be established to identify the appropriate
vehicle content to reduce the interior road noise levels.
50.00

The test method developed and presented in this paper

40.00
was successful to definitively quantify the contributions
to the total interior noise. Road noise in this vehicle is
Total Vehicle dominated by structure-borne content below 250 Hz,
30.00
Structure-borne Contribution and by airborne content above 500 Hz. The 800 Hz
Airborne Contribution noise issue was clearly dominated by airborne noise
from the rear tires. These results lead engineering
20.00
efforts to focus on both source and path improvements
               
to improve interior road noise. The tire supplier was
1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz)
requested to reduce the 800 Hz noise radiated from the
tire. Areas of further investigation to improve airborne
Figure 11: Total interior tire noise compared with the noise attenuation included body sealing, sound
structure-borne and airborne tire noise contributions transmission loss, and interior absorption.
70.00
A-WEIGHTED SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re20e-5Pa)

10dB

60.00
CONCLUSIONS

A methodology was proven effective to decompose

50.00
interior tire noise into the front and rear contributions as
well as the structure-borne and airborne contributions. It
40.00
was shown that the noise issue was related to airborne
noise contributions from the rear of the vehicle. These
Total Vehicle results were used to prioritize engineering work and
30.00
Rear Tire Contribution improve vehicle performance.
Front Tire Contribution

20.00

               
1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Alan Tidbury for his

Figure 12: Total interior tire noise compared with the encouragement and technical advice, Brandon Faughn
front and rear tire noise contributions for his technical assistance throughout the project and
70.00
the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for their support and
the use of their road wheel facility.
A-WEIGHTED SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL-dB(re20e-5Pa)

10dB

60.00
REFERENCES

50.00
1. Baranek, ACOUSTICS, (American Institute of
Physics), 1986
2. S.M. Dumbacher and D.L. Brown, Practical
40.00
Considerations of the IFRF Technique as Applied to
Total Vehicle Noise Path Analysis and Acoustical Imaging, Proc.
th
30.00
Structure-borne Rear of the 15 IMAC, Feb. 1997
Airborne Rear
3. D.E. Newland, RANDOM VIBRATIONS AND
Structure-borne Front
Airborne Front
SPECTRAL ANALYSIS, Longman Inc, 1984
20.00
4. L.L. Beranek and I.L. Ver, NOISE AND VIBRATION
                CONTROL ENGINEERING, (John Wiley and Sons),
1/3 OCTAVE FREQUENCY (Hz)
1992

Figure 13: Total interior tire noise compared with the

structure-borne rear, airborne rear, structure-borne
front, and airborne front tire noise contributions