Thesis work In-situ sound power determination by indirect acoustic load estimation

About this opportunity - Background

Innovation starts with being curious. At Volvo Cars we believe that being curious and truly committed to understanding people is the key to future success. We are looking for driven and motivated students interested in pursuing their master thesis within Vehicle Engineering during the spring term 2026.

At Vehicle Engineering our responsibility spans the entire chassis interior climate body & exterior functions mechanical Integration and a range of vehicle attributes with impact on design and customer experience of our complete product. Across these domains and all development cycles we will lead an effective delivery operation on complete level in close sync with other Engineering units functions and stakeholders across the company.

This thesis work is within the area of Climate & Thermal NVH at Vehicle Attributes.

Background & Motivation

The sound power of a noise radiating component (e.g: electrical AC compressor) is measured in the acoustically controlled facility by the supplier. Understanding of the radiated sound power of a similar component on a benchmark vehicle is usually challenging due to unavailable control nodes of the addition benchmark vehicles are usually leased for a short period of time with minimal mechanical changes allowed.

Objective

The main goal of this project is to investigate a test method to determine the sound power of an operating component in-situ. This can be achieved by estimating the acoustical loads (volume velocities) on the component by the air borne TPA (transfer path analysis). The new test method will facilitate data collections on noise radiation components on benchmark vehicles which will lead to refinement of system/component sound power requirements.

Scope of the thesis work

The focus of this work should be on physical testing where a known noise source is measured with different transfer path setups in the laboratory i.e: noise source situated in different constraint environment different indicator microphone positions and numbers. This will allow better understanding of the boundary conditions on estimating the acoustical loads by the different setups thus determining the sound power of the noise source.

What youll bring

Required: Good knowledge in acoustic measurements and analyses. Independent curious and fast learner.

Duration

Tentative proposed thesis work period: 19th January 2026 to 26th of June 2026 (dates can be flexible with /- 7 days)
The duration for this thesis work is 20 weeks.
30 ECTS (Master academic credits) in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University
This thesis is to be conducted by 1 Student or 2 Students working in pair (preferred).