Recent solutions for noise & vibration control in vehicles

The automotive industry is more aucl more facing the problem of reducing the weight of the vehicle but guaranteeing an equivalent level of comfort in terms of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). Improvement of vehicle noise and vibration without affecting other performances is proving to be extremely difficult if not impossible with state-of-the-art technology. Besides advanced passive material systems, active or smart concepts are being increasingly considered for the NVH optimization of vehicles. However, to overcome contradicting requirements traditional design and material choices must be revisited. Frequently, new technologies in the fields of smart materials and active control provide potential solutions although they have mainly been proved in the laboratory. This paper addresses various passive and active measures for NVH control with a focus on smart structures. Based on selected NVH challenges in automotive engineering, some principle active measures are be ing described and examples given from past and on-going research projects. The paper will be concluded with a discussion on current research activities addressing bottlenecks of smart structure technology.