Abstract
Sound quality engineering in automobile noise applications has become more and more important under the current quiet driving condition because various noise components masked under high noise level can be audible in quieter driving situation. Many researches have been carried out for subjective and objective assessments on automobile sounds and noises. In particular, the interior sound quality has been one of research fields that can give high-quality feature to automobile products. Although many works related to the interior sound quality have been progressed or completed in foreign countries, limited research results are presented in the country. In the study, subjective assessments are first performed with 20 subjects to select perceptual adjectives suitable to the assessment of car interior noises during acceleration. The selected perceptual adjectives are employed as the assessment scales to evaluate the acceleration noises in questionnaire procedures using 35 subjects, for which several noises are created through digital filtering of the acceleration noises measured. Mean values and standard deviations for subjective assessment scores obtained by the questionnaire procedures are calculated and their reliability are also verified. Finally, various statistical analyses such as the correlation analysis and the factor analysis are carried out to reveal the interrelationship between the assessment scales and the spectrum components of the acceleration noises.