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With the ever-decreasing timescales and increased performance requirements afforded to OEM’s, it has become essential that NVH suppliers provide optimum palliative solutions that comply with a vehicles acoustic targets. The acoustic effect of any palliative treatment attached to a vehicle body system depends on its ability to attenuate noise energy passing through or radiating from the system or its interaction with reflected sound from other areas. Acoustic performance uses targets relating to sound insertion loss (SIL) and / or sound absorption and these are identified to the component supplier by the OEM at the “request for quotation” (RFQ) stage. For many potential suppliers, especially those with a limited portfolio of material options, success or failure is quite straightforward. However, the problem occurs when the material and processing opportunities cover wide parameters and the available combinations and permutations are extensive.

The authors previously presented at SAE 2015, the use of acoustic diagnostic network algorithms (Acoustic DNA) for the measurement and analysis of noise paths in motor vehicles. To further the understanding of the huge amount of data created in this method, especially by the end user or customer, a secure web based application platform has been engineered. The current paper presents operating aspects of the web based approach, including cyber security, multi device accessibility and intuitive user interface together with an innovative optimization toolbox from which both noise sources and vehicle body systems can be modified to be target compliant.

Acoustic Diagnostic Network Algorithms (DNA) are experimental methods that extract airborne acoustic characteristics from a motor vehicle and decompose this information into a set of networks from which the source, path and receiver noise sources and paths can be determined. Unlike traditional transfer path analysis Acoustic DNA takes the problem into the fine detail. It answers questions such as what, where and how does a vehicle's acoustic systems need to be changed in order to achieve any given objective. This paper describes the fundamental methodology and features together with how it has been implemented into a computer program that has been used successfully in over 50 vehicle projects within the Authors Research and Development group on a wide range of motor vehicles.

To maximise the benefits of SEA modelling, during vehicle development, requires accurate SEA models to be created and optimised quickly. Pelzer have created a program called Pexmet which is an interactive environment, tailored for rapid airborne transmission loss optimisation. This paper highlights the methodology, user interface and subsequent advantages of this approach and its unique ability to interact directly with designers who may have little formal training in SEA.