Experimental and Numerical Study of Wind Noise Caused by Cowl Area on Volvo XC60

Other conference contribution, 2015

The paper presents a detailed experimental and numerical study of aerodynamically pro-duced noise which occurs due to turbulent structures created by the cowl cavity and side mirror. The study aims to answer the question about how much turbulence in the cowl area contributes to the overall wind noise level on Volvo cars. Measurements were car-ried out at the Volvo wind tunnel on a Volvo XC60. Configurations considered were: rear view mirror On/Off with the cowl cavity open/closed. The results discussed in this paper include intensity probe measurements in the flow as well as standard measure-ments in the car. The experimental results are compared to numerical data, which are presented as isocontours of lambda2 criterion and pressure fluctuations.