People today are spending more time in their vehicles than ever before, with longer and more traffic-filled commutes as well as more opportunity for travel. It is vital, therefore, that these vehicles are comfortable and quiet. Surveys of car owners consistently show complaints about excessive cabin noise as a top detractor from quality. Automotive manufacturers are well aware of these needs, and are placing greater emphasis on creating a comfortable cabin by reducing noise and vibration.

Designing a vehicle is a delicate balancing act. Consumers want an aesthetically pleasing car that performs well, but they also want to be able to ride in comfort. Engineers must come up with designs that are attractive but with a spacious cabin as well as a smooth and quiet ride.

A quiet ride is just as important as a smooth, comfortable one, for ease of conversation, voice commands, and music playback. Sources of cabin noise include wind, tires, climate control fans and the car’s engine.

Identifying noise and vibration sources early in the design process goes a long way towards saving money, time, and labor. Traditional methods of testing tend to be extremely costly and inconvenient for rapid design refinement – by the time a prototype arrives for physical testing, it is often too late to make major changes in the vehicle’s design. In addition, wind tunnels and other forms of physical testing cannot always replicate real-world conditions. A vehicle on the road may experience greatly different causes of noise and vibration than one in the testing lab.

Using simulation allows engineers to identify noise and vibration issues in the earliest stages of development and to modify their designs to improve performance well before creating any physical prototypes. SIMULIA offers multiple workflows for minimizing noise and vibration while reducing cost and development time. In a series of e-seminars, viewers will have the opportunity to learn more about these workflows and how designers and engineers are using them to balance design aesthetics with acoustic performance.

The two-part e-seminar series is entitled “Vehicle Noise and Vibration Simulation to Engineer Better Driving Experiences.” Experts discuss the benefits of using multidisciplinary simulation to improve the overall driving experience. The series includes:

E-seminar #1: Vehicle Noise and Vibration Overview

E-seminar #2: Designing Vehicles for Noise and Vibration

Watch now to learn more about vehicle noise and vibration and how simulation can mitigate them for a quieter, smoother and more comfortable ride.