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A study on sound quality of vehicle engine sportiness using factor analysis

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Abstract

For those who enjoy driving, the “sportiness” the engine sound is an important point to consider. However, owing to its abstractness, there is no absolute definition of what sportiness sounds like. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a sound quality index capable of objectively evaluating the sportiness of engine sound based on sound quality research. Objective measurements included the process of recording the sound in the car interior under wide-open-throttle acceleration conditions for 4 vehicles, producing 13 evaluation samples by using various filters based on the recorded data, and calculating the sound metrics of each sample. Subjective evaluation was jointly carried out by 23 evaluators and a semantic differential method was used to find adjectives that could explain the concept and preference for sportiness. The developed index was validated by examining the correlation coefficient through a new sample group. Furthermore, the necessity of factor analysis was also determined.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Institute of Advanced Machinery and Design at Seoul National University (SNU-IAMD) and Daedong Movel System Company, Korea.

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Correspondence to Yeon June Kang.

Additional information

Jae Hyuk Park is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Seoul National University. He received his B.S. degree from the Inha University in 2012. His research areas are acoustics and vibration and sound quality analysis.

Hansol Park is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Seoul National University, from which he received B.S. degree. His research areas are analytical estimation and quantitative assessment of sound and vibration from industrial products.

Yeon June Kang is a Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Seoul National University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Seoul National University in 1988 and 1990, respectively. He also received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Purdue, West Lafayette in 1994. His research interests include acoustical materials, automotive NVH, sound quality and Korean bell.

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Park, J.H., Park, H. & Kang, Y.J. A study on sound quality of vehicle engine sportiness using factor analysis. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 3533–3543 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0805-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0805-0

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