Evaluation of Engine Sounds of a Vehicle Equipped with an Active Noise Control System 2003-01-1511

A study has been carried out to identify the types of vehicle engine sounds that drivers prefer while driving at different locations and under different driving conditions. In the study, an active noise control system was designed to control the sound at the air intake orifice of a vehicle engine's first sixteen orders and half orders. The active noise control system changes the engine sound to quite, harmonic, high harmonic, spectral shaping and growl. In the first part of the study, videotapes were made of the road traversed, along with a binaural recording of vehicle interior sounds, and vibrations of the vehicle floor pan. Jury tapes were made up for day driving, night driving and driving in the rain during the day for each of the sites. Jurors used paired comparisons to evaluate the vehicle interior sounds while sitting in a vehicle simulator that replicated videos of the road traversed, and a binaural recording of the vehicle interior sounds and vibrations of the floor pan and seat. In the next part of the study, jurors drove the vehicle during the daytime and evaluated the vehicle interior sounds using semantic differential while the sound of the engine was changed using the active noise control system. The results show that harmonic sounds are favored during daytime driving and quieter sounds are preferred at night or during inclement weather.