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It has been noted that there are consistent differences between sideline sound levels measured on the two track types used for standardized motor vehicle passby testing: i.e., ISO and SAE surfaces. When the two-microphone transfer function method was first used in conjunction with a two parameter ground model to characterize the acoustical properties of these asphalt surfaces it was found that there were significant acoustical differences between the ISO and SAE surfaces. However, it was also noted that environmental conditions, e.g., wind and temperature gradients, affected the estimates of surface properties obtained by using that method. In the present work, a ray tracing algorithm has been used to model the effects of environmental refraction on short range propagation over asphalt, and a physically-based single parameter ground model has been used to characterize the asphalt surfaces.

A simple mathematical model was developed and experimentally validated to evaluate how the materials and construction of an automobile tire affect its vibration-radiated noise performance. The mathematical model uses Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) with modal joint acceptance formulations for wavespeed and radiation efficiency of orthotropically-stiffened and pressurized cylindrical shells. Experimental validation of the model included wavenumber decomposition to determine the dispersion characteristics of an inflated, non-rolling tire in the laboratory. The model is used to conduct a preliminary study into how the various tire constituent materials and construction parameters influence the vibration-radiated noise performance.