The Design of an Acoustics Laboratory for Off-Highway, Heavy Truck, and Recreational Vehicles 2003-01-1680

The new Blachford Acoustics Laboratory was designed specifically for acoustical testing of large vehicles, such as off-highway machines, recreational vehicles, and heavy trucks. While there are many automotive and architectural test laboratories for which a new laboratory can be based, there are very few acoustics laboratories capable of testing these larger vehicles. However, by drawing on the experience with the previous Blachford Laboratory, several off-highway manufacturers' test facilities, and the newer automotive manufacturer and supplier laboratories, a functional and cost effective design was developed. This design features indoor and outdoor test areas, including a large hemi-anechoic chamber equipped with a chassis dynamometer, a reverberation room with several transmission loss openings, work rooms, office areas, and a 10 meter radius outdoor drive-by pad. Special design considerations included door size, component test opening dimensions, dynamometer axle and floor loading capabilities, cooling and exhaust extraction flow rates, and special electrical connections. In addition, the site chosen for the laboratory also provided many challenges.