skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Acoustic Metasurface-Aided Broadband Noise Reduction in Automobile Induced by Tire-Pavement Interaction
The primary noise sources of the vehicle are the engine, exhaust, aeroacoustic noise, and tire–pavement interaction. Noise generated by the first three factors can be reduced by replacing the combustion engine with an electric motor and optimizing aerodynamic design. Currently, a dominant noise within automobiles occurs from the tire–pavement interaction over a speed of 70–80 km/h. Most noise suppression efforts aim to use sound absorbers and cavity resonators to narrow the bandwidth of acoustic frequencies using foams. We demonstrate a technique utilizing acoustic metasurfaces (AMSes) with high reflective characteristics using relatively lightweight materials for noise reduction without any change in mechanical strength or weight of the tire. A simple technique is demonstrated that utilizes acoustic metalayers with high reflective characteristics using relatively lightweight materials for noise reduction without any change in mechanical strength or weight of the tire. The proposed design can significantly reduce the noise arising from tire–pavement interaction over a broadband of acoustic frequencies under 1000 Hz and over a wide range of vehicle speeds using a negative effective dynamic mass density approach. The experiment demonstrated that the sound transmission loss of AMSes is 2–5 dB larger than the acoustic foam near the cavity mode, at 200–300 Hz. The proposed approach can be extended to the generalized area of acoustic and vibration isolation.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1741677
PAR ID:
10300032
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Materials
Volume:
14
Issue:
15
ISSN:
1996-1944
Page Range / eLocation ID:
4262
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. null (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT Tire-pavement interaction noise (TPIN) is one of the main sources of exterior noise produced by vehicles traveling at greater than 50 kph. The dominant frequency content is typically within 500–1500 Hz. Structural tire vibrations are among the principal TPIN mechanisms. In this work, the structure of the tire is modeled and a new wave propagation solution to find its response is proposed. Multiple physical effects are accounted for in the formulation. In an effort to analyze the effects of curvature, a flat plate and a cylindrical shell model are presented. Orthotropic and nonuniform structural properties along the tire's transversal direction are included to account for differences between its sidewalls and belt. Finally, the effects of rotation and inflation pressure are also included in the formulation. Modeled frequency response functions are analyzed and validated. In addition, a new frequency-domain formulation is presented for the computation of input tread pattern contact forces. Finally, the rolling tire's normal surface velocity response is coupled with a boundary element model to demonstrate the radiated noise at the leading and trailing edge locations. These results are then compared with experimental data measured with an on-board sound intensity system. 
    more » « less
  2. null (Ed.)
    Abstract Hydroplaning is a phenomenon that occurs when a layer of water between the tire and pavement pushes the tire upward. The tire detaches from the pavement, preventing it from providing sufficient forces and moments for the vehicle to respond to driver control inputs such as breaking, accelerating, and steering. This work is mainly focused on the tire and its interaction with the pavement to address hydroplaning. Using a tire model that is validated based on results found in the literature, fluid–structure interaction (FSI) between the tire-water-road surfaces is investigated through two approaches. In the first approach, the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) formulation was used. The drawback associated with the CEL method is the laminar assumption and that the behavior of the fluid at length scales smaller than the smallest element size is not captured. To improve the simulation results, in the second approach, an FSI model incorporating finite element methods (FEMs) and the Navier–Stokes equations for a two-phase flow of water and air, and the shear stress transport k–ω turbulence model, was developed and validated, improving the prediction of real hydroplaning scenarios. With large computational and processing requirements, a grid dependence study was conducted for the tire simulations to minimize the mesh size yet retain numerical accuracy. The improved FSI model was applied to hydroplaning speed and cornering force scenarios. 
    more » « less
  3. Low-frequency and 1/f noise are common measurement limitations that arise in a variety of physical processes. Mitigation methods for these noises are dependent on their source. Here, we present a method for removing 1/f noise of optical origin using a micro-cavity Fabry–Pérot (FP) interferometer. A mechanical modulation of the FP cavity length was applied to a previously studied opto-mechanical sensor. It effectively mimics an up-conversion of the laser frequency, shifting signals to a region where lower white-noise sources dominate and 1/f noise is not present. Demodulation of this signal shifts the results back to the desired frequency range of observation with the reduced noise floor of the higher frequencies. This method was found to improve sensitivities by nearly two orders of magnitude at 1 Hz and eliminated 1/f noise in the range from 1 Hz to 4 kHz. A mathematical model for low-finesse FP cavities is presented to support these results. This study suggests a relatively simple and efficient method for 1/f noise suppression and improving the device sensitivity of systems with an FP interferometer readout. 
    more » « less
  4. The sensitivity of aLIGO detectors is adversely affected by the presence of noise caused by light scattering. Low frequency seismic disturbances can create higher frequency scattering noise adversely impacting the frequency band in which we detect gravitational waves. In this paper, we analyze instances of a type of scattered light noise we call ‘Fast Scatter’ that is produced by motion at frequencies greater than 1 Hz, to locate surfaces in the detector that may be responsible for the noise. We model the phase noise to better understand the relationship between increases in seismic noise near the site and the resulting Fast Scatter observed. We find that mechanical damping of the arm cavity baffles led to a significant reduction of this noise in recent data. For a similar degree of seismic motion in the 1–3 Hz range, the rate of noise transients is reduced by a factor of ~50. 
    more » « less
  5. null (Ed.)
    Membrane-based acoustic metamaterials have been reported to achieve 100% absorption, the acoustic analogue of photonic black-hole. However, the bandwidth is usually very narrow around some local resonance frequency, which limits its practical use. To address this limitation and achieve a broadband absorption, this paper first establishes a theoretical framework for unit cells of air-backed diaphragms, modeled as an equivalent mass-spring-dashpot system. Based on the impedance match principle, three different approaches are numerically investigated by tuning the cavity length, the static pressure in the cavity, and the effective damping of perforated plates. A prototype with polyimide diaphragm and 3D printed substrate is then fabricated and characterized using an acoustic impedance tube. Preliminary experiments show the feasibility to achieve an absorption bandwidth of ∼200 Hz at center frequency of 1.45 kHz. This work pays the way for developing a sub-wavelength light weight broadband acoustic absorber for a variety of applications in noise control. 
    more » « less