Sound quality engineering intends to create specific impressions and emotions of the sound of a car. The quality of sound is well described for cars with an internal combustion engine. The characteristics of the interior car sound are described by two dimensions which are 'refinement' and 'powerfulness'. The new emotions coming up with new sounds of e-cars pose the question, whether a new description is necessary. First evidence show a new dimension called 'futuristic'. To investigate the sound characteristics of e-cars a new semantic differential has to be developed, which allows the investigation of the affective quality of these sounds by subjective ratings of adjective pairs. A reduction of an extensive sample of adjective pairs was achieved by the ratings of experts concerning the suitability of each adjective pair. In laboratory tests, conventional and electric cars will be rated by the remaining 46 bipolar adjectives. By applying a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) the dimensions of judgment can be extracted. These investigations have to be done in listening experiments, the quality criteria of which, such as objectivity, reliability and validity, have to be maintained. Therefore, advantages and disadvantages of laboratory versus field experiments were extracted and discussed. The selection of a laboratory test situation allows highly controllable and repeatable conditions. As is the case with psychology, there are also measurement techniques with advantages and disadvantages in acoustic engineering. Standardized measuring procedures can be conducted in laboratory testing, e.g. pass-by measurement. By using a roller test bench it is possible to generate test sounds under controlled and therefore highly reliable conditions. The driving situations remain the same with the same run-ups and constant speed situations. Many mediator and confounding variables can be checked in this highly controlled environment. But there are also restrictions, for example a 'periodic sound effect' due to the structure surface of the rollers. This effect may influence the subjective ratings of test persons and should be evaluated more precisely. Apart from the sound design of e-cars the noise impact on the environment must be considered in more detail. Once more, the methodology for prognosis and assessment needs substantial revision. For example, the mandatory calculation method of noise maps is only based on ICE-cars of the seventies. Therefore, the noise impact of e-cars is predicted by using a line source in a typical urban scenario. As a result of a 3 dB noise reduction, which corresponds to a halved traffic volume, can be exemplified, if ICE cars are fully replaced by e-cars at 30 km/h. Therefore, a holistic approach is also needed in terms of acoustics to reveal the characteristics and to benefit from the potential of e-mobility. However, harmonization will be necessary within and between the fields of engineering and social sciences, otherwise a reasonable connection of what can be done in technology and what is expected to be done by society might be missed.


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    Title :

    Sound characteristics of electric cars - Perception and impact


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2012


    Size :

    13 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 11 Quellen


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Storage medium


    Language :

    English




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