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Nowadays, the interior vehicle noise due to the exterior aerodynamic field is an emerging topic in the acoustic design of a car. In particular, the turbulent aerodynamic pressure generated by the air flow encountering the windshield and the side windows represents an important interior noise source. As a consequence PSA Peugeot Citroën is interested in the numerical prediction of this aerodynamic noise generated by the car windows with the final objective of improving the products design and reducing this noise. In the past, several joint studies have been led by PSA and Free Field Technologies on this topic. In those studies an efficient methodology to predict the noise transmission through the side window has been set up. It relies on a two steps approach: the first step involves the computation of the exterior turbulent field using an unsteady CFD solver (in this case EXA PowerFlow).

At high cruising speed, the car A-pillars generate turbulent air flow around the vehicle. The resulting aerodynamic pressure applied on the windows significantly contributes to the total cabin noise. In order to predict this particular noise contribution, the physic of both the flow and the cabin needs to be accurately modeled. This paper presents an efficient methodology to predict the turbulent noise transmission through the car windows. The method relies on a two-step approach: the first step is the computation of the exterior aero-dynamic field using an unsteady CFD solver (PowerFLOW); the second step consists in the computation of the acoustic propagation inside the cabin using a finite element vibro-acoustic solver (ACTRAN). The simplified car cabin of Hyundai Motor Company, studied in this paper, involves aluminum skin, windows, sealant, inner air cavity and acoustic treatment inside the passenger compartment (porous material, damping layer).