Many structural factors contribute to automotive noise, whether the vehicle is electric or has an internal combustion engine. In a webinar this week titled, “The Art of NVH Attenuation,” an attendee asked Dr. Pranab Saha, a consultant and expert in acoustics, noise, and vibration control: “Do electric vehicles (EVs) produce unwanted noises at higher frequency than conventionally powered cars?”
Dr. Pranab Saha, Principal Consultant, Kolano and Saha Engineers, Inc.: The EV model spins at high revolutions per minute (RPM), like 10,000 RPM plus. There is very little broadband noise, but mostly pure tone. So, as it moves to higher and higher RPM, that pure tone noise could be a high frequency noise as well, although it doesn't stay there all the time.
[The EV] has a simple gearbox system where the gear noise dominates. There is also a high-frequency inverter noise which could be somewhere in the range of 10,000 Hz. Therefore, the inverter noise is the most critical noise that you don't have at that high frequency in the IC engine.
Watch the entire presentation: The Art of NVH Attenuation.
Kolano and Saha Engineers, Inc. is an independent engineering consultancy based in Waterford Township, MI.