Influence of Road Roughness Parameters on Low Frequency Interior Noise in Off-Road and Mid-Size Passenger Vehicles

In this paper, assessment and evaluation of vehicle low frequency interior noise, infrasound closer to the threshold of hearing and their potential effects on human health are presented. The vehicle interior noise of off-road and mid-size vehicles was measured while driving on three different asphalt road surfaces. The results indicate that the vehicle acoustic comfort factor (VACF) should be at lower level for a relatively high acoustical comfort. Furthermore, at constant vehicle speed, the kurtosis parameter value is greater in high roughness road surface and is proportional to vehicle speed for every kind of road surface. Kurtosis has inverse effect on the VACF value. The VACF for road surface with higher roughness is lesser than the VACF for smoother road surface at same vehicle speeds.