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NVH labs at Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers have in the past 15 years implemented testing techniques to validate the NV performance of their products. Validation tests are most often conducted to check compliance of the product to vehicle OEM specifications, less often to truly assess NV performance. Vehicle OEM specifications are sometimes outdated, narrow in scope and require lab-type of conditions, i.e. anechoic or hemi-anechoic environment, fixed microphone position and specific operating conditions. Tier 1 and 2 suppliers often find themselves in a situation in which they have to transport lab tests to the plant floor, as they are requested by their customer to ensure 100% shipped quality. In order to do so, they are faced with several technical and commercial challenges as vehicle OEM specifications often have no provisions for plant-floor boundary conditions and cycle time requirements.

During the development of an automotive acoustic package, valuable information can be gained by visualizing the acoustic energy flow through the Front-of-Dash (FOD) when a sound source is placed in the engine compartment. Two of the commonly used methods for generating the visual map of the acoustic field include Sound Intensity measurements and array technologies. An alternative method is to use a tracked 3-dimensional acoustic probe to scan and visualize the FOD in real-time when the sound source is injecting noise into the engine compartment. The scan is used to focus the development of the FOD acoustic package on the weakest areas by identifying acoustic leaks and locations with low Transmission Loss. This paper provides a brief discussion of the capabilities of the tracked 3-D acoustic probe, and presents examples of the implementation of the probe during the development of the FOD acoustic package for two mid-sized sedans.