AdMet 2012 Paper No.

VN 003

Noise &Vibration Measurement Techniques in Automotive NVH

Manasi P. Joshi, E. Ramachandran and N. V. Karanth

NVH lab, ARAI, Pune joshi.nvh@araiindia.com NVH lab, ARAI, Pune ramachandran.nvh@araiindia.com NVH lab, ARAI, Pune karanth.nvh@araiindia.com

Abstract: In todays highly competitive automotive world, Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) is one of the thrust areas most of the automotive OEMs are focusing on for providing better drive and vehicle comfort. For analysis of automotive vehicle and sub-assemblies for noise and vibration under different vehicle operating conditions call for specialized transducers and instrumentation. This plays an important role in the complete process for noise and vibration analysis. Main purpose of this paper is to look into the various types of transducers and instrumentation systems used for dedicated noise and vibration assessment involved in automotive NVH. Some of the critical requirements of the special transducers and instrumentation needed for laboratory and eld measurements are covered. This paper highlights special requirements of dedicated instrumentation/data acquisition systems for quantitative and qualitative assessment of critical NVH parameters. Measurement techniques for a few of the associated NVH parameters required for post-processing and analysis are included which provide brief review of signal processing and post processing tools. Also this paper covers guidelines to be followed while using the sensors, data acquisition systems and important parameters involved in analysis from Instrumentation point of view. Keywords: Noise, Vibration, Transducer, RPM, Sound Pressure level, Signal Processing

1. INTRODUCTION In our quest for a quiet living, noise from vehicular trafc has been drawing attention from communities worldwide. Various national and international regulatory authorities have been continuously reviewing and rening limits for vehicle noise for many years. Besides, lesser noise and vibration perceived in the vehicle lead to better drive comfort and less vibration fatigue to the passengers. In this context, automotive NVH has become a very signicant parameter in the overall development of new vehicles and their sub-systems. Pass-by noise of the vehicles governed by regulatory bodies as well as noise in the vehicle interior, power

train, sub-assemblies and different material treatments need careful investigation for effective noise renement activities. Since noise and vibration phenomena are dynamic in nature, its study necessitates use of specialized transducers making their selection, mounting and use very critical. Transducer is a device which converts one form of energy into another. Its response mainly depends upon its sensitivity, dynamic range, frequency response, linearity and physical parameters like dimensions, mass, etc. Today we have at our disposal, a variety of transducers, data acquisition systems and post processing tools, which are tailor-

made for automotive NVH analysis. We will be discussing various Noise and vibration measurement sensors, data acquisition systems, advanced sensors and their uses. 2. VIBRATION MEASUREMENT TRANSDUCERS A body is said to vibrate when it describes an oscillating motion about a reference position. Components of machines, vehicles and structures are frequently subjected to cyclic loads which lead to mechanical vibrations. In automotive NVH we are mainly dealing with rotating and reciprocating machinery vibrations. These structural vibrations occur as Linear/ lateral vibrations and Torsional Vibrations. Lateral vibrations are transmitted to body panels by differential mounts and torsional vibrations are carried to body by the vehicle structure itself based on the rotational phenomenon. Vibration transducers are mainly classied as Contact type and Non-contact type. For linear vibration measurements of the vehicle and engine, accelerometers are used which are contact type transducers. They are made from quartz crystals or other piezoelectric materials offering excellent long term stability, good high frequency response and small size.

Piezo Resistive (PR) type and Variable Capacitance (VC) type. For automotive NVH measurements we use Piezoelectric IEPE (Integrated Electronic Piezo-Electric) type accelerometers as they can be used with long lengths of commonly available connection cables. Its construction is based on a combination of seismic mass and piezoelectric material. They are designed both as compression and shear types depending on the direction of force exerted by the mass on the piezo element. Uniaxial Accelerometers are used for measurement along single axis while Triaxial accelerometers are used for measurement along the three co-ordinate axes.

Fig. 1: Shear type Uni-axial Accelerometer Laser Doppler vibrometer, is a non-contact type vibration transducer very useful for high temperature applications and measurements on locations difcult to access. Velocity pickup possess good mid frequency response while displacement transducers are preferred for their good low frequency response. Torsional vibration measurements are carried out with non-contact type transducers mostly in laboratory. Fig. 2 : Tri-axial Accelerometer 2.1 Accelerometers Accelerometers are Active sensors. Accelerometers are used widely as their acceleration output is directly proportional to the applied force and hence there is no dependence of the forcing frequency on its output. They are classied as Piezoelectric Charge type i.e PE, Piezoelectric IEPE (Integrated Electronic Piezo-Electric) type, Selection Criteria : Accelerometers are selected mainly based on its sensitivity, mass, frequency response, dynamic range and operating temperature. Important considerations Accelerometer: while using

1. Mounting: Accelerometer mounting

can be done using metallic stud, quick-setting adhesives like Loctite, magnetic base, bees wax, manually held tips etc. The choice is mainly governed by surface area available for mounting, surface temperature, amplitude of vibration and nature of installation, i.e temporary or permanent. The mounting becomes very critical in some situations especially where amplitude and frequency of vibrations are high. 2. Test Conditions: 2.1. Location of accelerometer and surface on which it is mounted needs to be checked. Temperature of surface should be taken into consideration. For high temperature surfaces like engine components, high temperature accelerometers need to be used (Temperatures in the range of 200-6000C). 2.2. Electrical grounding of the surface may be required in certain conditions where electrical ground loops cause interference. 2.3. Size and dimensions of accelerometers must suit the selected applications. For modal testing light weight accelerometers must be used to avoid mass loading effect To carry out the modal testing of small structure like PCB, we need small mass accelerometer. 2.4. If long cables are to be used, suitable conditioner must be selected to minimize cable noise in signal. 2.5. Possible effect on accelerometer sensitivity when exposed to high temperature, humidity, strong magnetic elds and high shocks should be considered before their use. 2.6 Calibration check must be done for accelerometer before use. 2.2 Other Vibration Transducers 1. Laser Doppler Vibrometer: It is a noncontact type sensor. It is good for distant, difcult to access, high temperature vibration measurements. It measures vibration velocity over wide range of frequency. It uses low frequency vibration wave(0- 6 kHz) modulated on high frequency (50 MHz) carrier wave.

2. 2D and 3D Laser Scanning Vibrometers are used for non-contact vibration response measurement and recording in advanced modal analysis and engine vibration mapping. 3. Velocity pick up transducer and displacement transducer like Eddy current proximity probe are mainly used when frequency range of measurement is not very high. 4. Rotary encoders are used for angular vibration measurement. In this we connect a thin disc of equidistant angular slots to the test object when the beam of light passes through the slots, voltage pulses will be generated which will be counted and scaled as measure of angular velocity. It has very high resolution. 5. Toothed wheel with magnetic sensors are used in which Twist can be detected across any two members of the assembly. It is based on the principle of Ferro-magnetism in which change in magnetic eld gives a sinusoidal output voltage which is converted to TTL pulses. Direct measurements on components like ywheel, gear box etc can be done and is used for Torsional vibration analysis. 3. NOISE MEASURMENT TRANSDUCERS Sound is a propagating type of energy which consists of longitudinal/spherical/ cylindrical waves with compressions and rarefactions. Any unwanted sound is known as Noise. In automotive NVH, the noise investigation is mainly carried out as vehicle interior and exterior noise. Interior noise is due to radiation from the engine, intake system, and ancillary systems and from structural vibrations. Road and tyre noise, wind noise, exhaust system, brake system are the contributors for exterior noise. We usually express noise in terms of Sound pressure level as sound pressure is what human ear actually senses. To measure this noise we use measurement microphones which are different from commercial audio system microphones. Measurement microphones are passive sensors having very high sensitivity, upper frequency response and dynamic range which make them specialized. Acoustic eld is generally classied into Free eld, pressure

eld and diffuse eld from measurement point of view. Based on this, microphones are mainly classied as below: 3.1. Free eld Microphone This type of microphones is generally used for single source by pointing them directly at the source at a specied distance, usually 1meter. It measures the sound pressure at the point of measurement, with minimum inuence of the microphone itself. This is useful while measuring noise in open areas, anechoic chambers where fairly accurate estimation of the noise generated by the source is needed, eg. Vehicle Pass by noise, tyre noise measurement. 3.2. Pressure eld Microphone This type of microphone measures the sound pressure that exists in front of the diaphragm with same magnitude and phase at any position in the eld. It is used in closed areas, cavities or pipes which are smaller in dimension than the wavelength. It measures the sound coming from the source in a direction pointing at the microphone. It is used for measurement of pressure in cavities, enclosures and for microphone calibration. 3.3. Random Incidence / Diffuse eld Microphone This type of microphone measures the sound in the diffuse eld. It is used for sound pressure measurements of church, big halls with hard walls or reverberation rooms. It usually has good Omni-directional Characteristics. Based on construction, microphones are classied as carbon, condenser microphone, piezoelectric and surface microphones. For NVH measurements Condenser microphones are widely used. It is having disk-shaped back-plate, isolated from the cylindrical metal housing at the end of which a metal diaphragm is stretched. This diaphragm and the front of the back-plate form the plates of the active capacitor which generates the output signal of the condenser microphone. It is having high and stable sensitivity hence preferred.

Selection Criteria 1. Microphones are mainly chosen based on the type of sound eld, sensitivity, frequency response, dynamic range and other physical parameters. 2. Microphone size in general governs its frequency response and sensitivity. Standard sizes available for selection include 1 inch, 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch microphones. Smaller diameter microphones usually have lower sensitivity and higher upper frequency limit. Applications Condenser microphones are used for sound pressure level measurement. It can be used in Sound Intensity probes as a pair of 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch microphones along with preamplier. In advanced technique like beam forming and near eld acoustic holography microphones are used in array. Surface microphones are used for acoustic-fatigue testing of aero planes, wind-tunnel measurements, mediumto high-level measurements, measurement in conned spaces etc.

Fig. 3: Different dimension (Diameter) microphones and Condenser Microphone

Important considerations Microphones: 1.

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Mounting of microphone should be done very carefully. It should be placed at the recommended distance as specied in the standard from source and use with protective cover like windscreen. Cable length must be checked to avoid noise problem in signal. Microphones must be carefully handled as a short fall or mechanical shock can damage its thin diaphragm Correct type of microphone must be used as per the acoustic eld conditions Check whether the microphone is externally polarized which requires external polarization voltage or prepolarized. Avoid use of the microphone at high temperature, humidity, vibrations, and magnetic elds. Calibration check must be done before using the microphone.

requiring better accuracy and for operation at longer distances on rotating or reciprocating machine parts. 3. Contact type Tachoprobes based on vibration measurement and capacitance variations are also used commonly for engine speed measurements. 4. Other sensors like V-Box or Radar are also used for vehicle speed acquisition. 5. Magnetic pick up sensors are also used for RPM acquisition. The sensors are usually supplied with dedicated conditioning unit with provision of generating TTL pulse output which can be fed to data acquisition system. 4.2. Data Acquisition Systems A typical data acquisition system consists of transducers / sensors with necessary signal conditioning, multiplexing and data handling data conversion, data processing, data transmission, and storage and display systems. To optimize the characteristics of systems, sub-systems are added or combined together. Generally analog signals are acquired and converted into digital form for processing and displaying the desired result. Generalized data acquisition systems have the following functional blocks:

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4. OTHER TRANSDUCERS AND ACCESSORIES 4.1 Tachometers Tacho sensors are used to acquire the speed of rotating machines; in automotive NVH, this is usually done by measurement of engine speed in rpm at different driving conditions. Here simultaneous acquisition of RPM is performed along with acoustic and vibration data at different engine speeds. Based on the types and adaptability of mounting arrangement and surface temperature, tacho sensors are selected. A few of these are listed below: 1. Optical sensor: The Optical Sensor is capable of detecting a reected pulse from a target pasted with Reective Tape or high contrast color differences (such as black and white) at specied distances. Mounting of sensor is a critical parameter. 2. Laser tacho probe: Some specially designed Laser tacho probes are also used for contact-free speed measurements

Fig. 4: Functional Block diagram of Data acquisition system For NVH applications we use high end data acquisition systems having following capabilities: 1. Multichannel data acquisition systems where large no. of sensors can be connected and data can be acquired in real time. Normally 4-100 channel modular data acquisition systems comprising of multiple hardware frames which can be synchronized.

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NVH data acquisition systems are having real time data acquisition capabilities which is determined on the number of channels x bandwidth. Modern data acquisition systems offer TEDS (Transducer Electronic Data Sheet) compatibility by which sensor data gets detected automatically. For vehicle noise and vibration measurement, many systems incorporates and vehicle CAN bus capability. They are usually operated through PC loaded with dedicated software for acquisition, pre and post processing of data. Data processing software have capabilities for Constant Percentage Bandwidth (CPB), Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), Order tracking analysis, Sound intensity mapping for noise source identication, Modal analysis, Reverberation time measurement and calculation of sound absorption coefcient transmission loss etc. They also have Data & Model Import/Export options from/ to simulation software thus easing many of the NVH renement activities. The systems have built in batteries and can be powered through vehicle battery also making in-vehicle measurements convenient. These systems have to be rugged and have protection for environmental parameters like temperature, shock and rain.

these systems have scalable hardware and customizable software capabilities including exhaustive data handling features. Important considerations for selection and use of Data Acquisition Systems: 1. Selection of the system conguration is very important considering faster technology obsolescence. Present and future requirements of channel counts should be given due weightage. System should be handled with due care and caution. Though most of the systems are ruggedized and have environmental protection, careful handling of the input ports and connectors is a must. For PC congured systems, proper software installation on the recommended operating system is important. Battery operated systems need proper care by way of periodic recharging/ replacement cycles of the batteries.

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4.3. Impact Hammers 1. This is a commonly used force excitation device usually used with different impact tips and a force transducer (load cell) mounted next to it. Load cells of different sensitivities as per the force rating of the hammer are used for measurement of force excitation. It is used to provide input energy to the system over very short contact times by generating an impulse (transient signal). The tip and size of hammer decides the frequency range of excitation. Used extensively in modal testing.

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Applications Data acquisition systems are used extensively for vehicle, automotive subassemblies and component level noise and vibration measurements. Tailor-made systems addressing specic automotive NVH applications such as pass-by noise, interior noise analysis, modal testing, transfer path analysis, acoustic material testing, torsional vibration measurement, sound quality assessment and analysis etc. are available from many manufacturers. Most of

Fig. 5 : Impact Hammer

4.4. Electromagnetic Shaker: 1. 2. It works on the principle of electromagnetic induction. By using different types of electrical inputs to the driving coil like sine, swept sine, random, pseudo random, burst random etc, corresponding motion can be generated. Mainly electromagnetic, hydraulic and pneumatic shakers are used depending on the frequency range and force requirement in modal analysis and in transfer path analysis.

accelerometers use an electromagnetic shaker (more often two are used depending on the frequency range of calibration) driven by a power amplier and precision signal generator. The amplitude of vibration is kept constant by incorporating a closed loop feedback. 3. Impact hammers are calibrated with the help of known reference mass and calibrated vibration sensor. For different DAQs automated hardware checks are implemented for calibration. Apart from periodic calibration of transducers and hardware, eld calibrators are very frequently used nowadays during measurements (especially for large channel noise and vibration data acquisition at site) for performance check of the complete measurement chain including transducers, cables and DAQ. Frequency of actual calibration for sensor should be predened and usually sensors are calibrated annually and in few cases once in two years.

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4.5. Sound Level Meter 1. 2. 3. Sound level meters (SLM) are used for sound pressure level measurement. It is a handheld instrument having one or two measurement channels. For onsite noise measurement requiring overall sound levels to be recorded, sound level meters are widely used because of portability and user friendly operation. Some high-end SLMs have capability to measure vibration as well as sound intensity.

4.7. Low Noise Cables For connecting microphone and accelerometer to the data acquisition system, shielded low noise cables are used having BNC / Lemo type connectors. This helps in better noise immunity even when longer cables are used. Cross LAN cable, RS 232, and USB cables are generally used for communication of data acquisition system with PC. 5. SIGNAL CONDITIONING AND DATA PROCESSING TECHNIQUES Signal conditioning provides electrical signal proportional to transducer output which can be used for display and further analysis. It provides scaling of signal, special lters for parameter conversion and remove unwanted noise from signal. Basically Time (Overall level), Frequency analysis (FFT, CPB) and Order analysis are the three commonly used data analysis techniques in NVH. 1. Overall analysis: This is the most fundamental and commonly used analyzer for investigation of noise

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4.6. Calibrators 1. Portable eld Calibrators are quite often used to check the sensor operational condition as recommended by many standards. For microphones, calibrators use very accurate sound sources having 94dB or 114 dB SPL @ 1000 Hz or piston-phones 124 dB @ 250 Hz. For accelerometer calibration, vibration exciters producing 1g acceleration @ 160 Hz are very popular for onsite calibration check as it is quicker. 2. For laboratory calibration of microphones, precision sound sources with specially designed acoustic couplers driven by variable frequency signal generators are used for calibration of the sensitivity and frequency response of the microphones. Laboratory calibration of the

and vibration. It makes use of an online integrator to compute the overall energy content of the time signal (root mean square value).It employs linear or exponential averaging of the sound or vibration signal. 2. FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) Analysis: It is used for narrow band frequency analysis. In this the algorithm is usually implemented using PC based software. It provides high frequency resolution and fast processing of signal with the currently available computational resources. It is mainly used for vibration signal analysis. It processes the data with the help of anti-aliasing lters and various windowing techniques CPB (Constant Percentage Bandwidth) Analysis: It is used for 1/1 octave, 1/3rdOctave, 1/12th Octave analysis. Its main application is in analysis of noise signals, the lter bandwidth so chosen to represent frequency selectivity of human ear.. It implements ltering using a bank of parallel digital lters using dedicated hardware or a combination of hardware and software. It is used mainly for real time data analysis. Order Analysis: For rotating machinery most of the physical events are related to the rotational speed and its harmonics. This rotational speed harmonic is called as an Order. It looks at events in terms of the rotational speed and not time or frequency. Vehicle and Power train noise and vibration data analysis for varying speed conditions is carried out using order analysis. Frequency response function (Transfer Function): It is the transfer function in frequency domain which determines relations ship between input and output independent system parameters. FRF is mainly used in frequency domain measurements and dynamic testing. Impulse response function (Transfer Function): It is the transfer function in time domain which determines relationship between input and output for a given system.

Noise Mapping: This technique is used mainly for noise source identication which is crucial for development activities for noise reduction. To locate and quantify the noise sources, sound intensity mapping, near eld acoustic holography, beam forming techniques are used. They help in identifying noise sources and quantify contribution of various sub-systems.

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Fig. 6: Different types of plots in Signal Processing 6. ADVANCED ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES 6.1. Acoustic Holography Technique: Near eld acoustic holography (NAH) issued for visualization of acoustic radiation from multiple sources as a color map. In this technique instead of measuring the data at all planes of propagation, the acoustic eld is reconstructed above and below the hologram plane. Transient and Non stationary noise mapping can be done with holography which cannot be done using sound intensity technique. It characterizes all sound eld descriptors like pressure and intensity as a function of time or RPM. It is useful for real time data analysis. It outputs a time sequence of snapshots of a selected acoustical parameter in a calculation plane parallel to

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the measurement plane, combining time and space resolution principles. Measurement is done with help of microphone array which performs simultaneous acquisition. It is very useful technique as it can do the mapping for large sources and interprets the data faster than sound intensity technique. 6.2. Beam forming Beam forming is very similar to a camera, in the sense that the array of microphones behaves as a lens. By varying the distance between the array and the object, sound elds can be determined for objects of many sizes with a wider frequency range and bandwidth. Beam forming is widely used in applications for exterior vehicle noise (outdoor, indoor) or wind-tunnel applications (exterior and interior). It provides a directional source map from the position of the array with a useful opening angle of 60. 6.3. Transfer Path Analysis: Transfer Path Analysis or TPA system is used to identify and evaluate structure borne and airborne energy transfer routes / paths from excitation source to receiver. It quanties the various sources and their paths and gure out which ones are important, which are contributing to the noise issues and which one are cancelling others. It mainly consists of Data Acquisition System having more number of channels, Noise Measurement sensors (Microphones) and Vibration measurement sensors (Accelerometers) for measuring different transfer functions including tacho sensors for speed measurement. 6.4. Sound Quality Analysis Sound quality and Psycho acoustic evaluation with the help of jury testing in listening rooms provide correlation for measured and human perceived sound from different noise sources. This technology has become important in interior cabin noise assessment, sound quality of engines etc. It plays vital role in introducing engine noise to electric vehicles which is inherent and quiet. To quantify the phenomenon called Harshness, sound quality is useful. It helps in analysis of

different parameters required to overcome the harshness. 6.5. 3D Laser Vibrometer It is a latest technology used for distant, difcult to access, high temperature locations vibration measurements. It consists of scanning mirrors. It measures the velocity signal. It does very fast measurement and interpretation of data. 8. Wavelet Analysis (Multi Resonance Analysis) In MRA different frequencies are analyzed with different time windows. In this analysis bank of high pass and low pass lters is provided. Wavelet transformation is a form of MRA. Wavelet analysis is of Continuous and discrete type wavelet analysis (CWT and DWT). Both CWT and DWT operate on digitized time signals. CWT provides continuous range of scales. DWT provides discontinuous frequencies, the level of discontinuities determined by the number of lters applied. 7. GOOD MEASUREMENT PRACTICES 1. Thorough knowledge of the noise and vibration generation mechanism will make it easy to choose the correct transducer and appropriate data acquisition system. Selection of transducer, transducer mounting and handling should be done with proper care for accurate measurement and results. Before using any transducer or measuring device, calibration check must be done. Routing of cables is critical to minimize noise in the signal. Important considerations while using the transducers are mentioned above which must be followed for better use of it. As these transducers are very costly because of their precision and manufacturing process, different parameters like ageing of transducer,

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frequency of calibration should be followed as per data sheet from supplier. Ultimately proper usage and storage of transducer will increase its functional life. Hence check points before measurement and while doing the measurements must be followed rigorously as practice. 8. FUTURE TRENDS 8.1 Particle velocity (p-u) probes This is the advanced technique for sound intensity measurement. It measures particle velocity directly. The size of the p-u probe is small which is good for small cavity measurements. It is having wide range frequency response (20 Hz 20 KHz). 8.2 Multi eld Microphones Multi-eld Microphones are ideal for any situation in which the nature of the sound eld is unpredictable, or the direction of the dominant noise source is difcult to pinpoint or shifts over time. These measurement microphones can guarantee accurate measurements in free or diffuse sound elds at any angle of incidence. 8.3 MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) Accelerometer Although these type of accelerometers have been developed in the mid 90s for general purpose applications research is ongoing for development of these sensors for NVH applications. These sensors are currently used in cameras, laptops, smart phones and vehicle air bags etc.

9. CONCLUSION An attempt was made in this paper to review various transducers and signal conditioning used in automotive noise and vibration measurements. Also few of the more frequently used signal analysis tools and techniques for NVH applications along with advance techniques and future trends were also discussed. It covers some of good measurement practices to be followed while using sensors and data acquisition systems. 10. REFERENCES 1. Li Tan, Digital Signal Processing Fundamentals & Applications Bruel and Kjaer Primers for Measuring Sound and Measuring Vibrations. Bruel and Kjaer Handbook Microphones and Accelerometers on

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