NVH Analysis Techniques for Design and Optimisation of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

The constantly increasing fossil fuel prices, the need to reduce transport-generated CO2
emissions and traffic noise and the striving to improve urban air quality have prompted
the automotive industry to focus efforts on development of fuel efficient vehicle
technologies. Amongst these technologies the development of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) is considered as most promising in solving both the
economic and ecological concerns. To be competitive such vehicles must have an
acceptable Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) behaviour, not only inside the vehicle,
but also outside with the requirement to guarantee safety of weaker road users such as
two-wheelers and pedestrians. Most of the NVH design and problem-solving knowledge
gathered since many years has concentrated on internal combustion vehicles and so there
is a need to develop novel analysis techniques for vehicles with these new drives. It is
significant that after many years spent in reducing noise one big challenge is now become
the generation of sound by vehicles.