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Based on experimental analysis, the generation mechanism of abnormal exhaust noise which is characterized by an intermittent high frequency aetallic sound, is clarified by bench testing of a FWD vehicle. The noise is caused by large amplitude pressure waves (finite amplitude waves) in the exhaust pipe. They are amplified due to interference between reflected waves and subsequent waves from the engine, and are finally transformed into shock waves in the propagation process along the exhaust pipe, resulting in abnormal exhaust noise. By theoretical analysis of finite amplitude waves, the wave profile in the propagation process and the transition distance to the shock wave can be solved analytically where the assumptions of mass, momentum, and energy conservation are valid, until the moment of shock wave formation. The transition distance is a key parameter in analyzing the growth and existence of shock waves.

The exhaust system is often one of the main sources of vehicle noise. A new type of exhaust silencer made of porous sintered aluminum and installed at the end of the exhaust tube considerably reduces this noise, with no rise in back pressure. The mechanism of noise abatement is analyzed utilizing fluid dynamic analysis techniques. It is concluded that noise reduction results mainly from the fluid dynamic effects arising from the gas permeability of the material. Among these effects are the boundary layer control effect of the inner flow, flattening of the velocity profile, heat dispersion effect, decrease in turbulence of flow, smoothing of exhaust pulsation, contraction of the mixing region, and the resulting large decrease in the volume of the noise source. In regard to acoustical effect, the sintered metal can be thought of as Helmholtz resonators. The change in the end condition as an acoustic tube also reduces the peak level of acoustic resonance.