A few aspects of aircraft noise were evaluated. These were (i) methods of subjective evaluations, (ii) effects of equalization and (iii) the effects of cognitive aspects. In the first paper, sorting algorithms were used instead of conventional paired comparison method in order to reduce the number of pairs in the evaluation of subjective judgments. The quick sorting algorithm method revealed more than 99% correlation coefficient with paired comparison method although the method used N*log(N) evaluations instead of N(N-1)/2. In the second paper, equalization effects on perception were evaluated in two steps, first with stationary aircraft sounds and second with non-stationary aircraft sounds. The first experiment examined the effects of stationary sound segments respect to three different angle positions of the aircrafts relative to the observer (78.7°, 90° & 101.3°), two different SNR conditions (sounds having original broadband plus tonal components versus control broadband sounds having no tonal components) and two different flight conditions (arrival and take-off). Subjects were asked to scale five perceptual attributes (loudness, annoyance, hardness, power and pitch) using Borg CR100 scale. The angle condition showed highly significant effects on annoyance and hardness. Maximal effects were found at an angle of 78.7°. The SNR revealed a significant impact on loudness, power and pitch. The second experiment analyzed the effects of tonal components and the problem of appropriate equalization. The spectrum of the signals was modified in two steps (buzz-saw, isolated BPF tone). Further EPNL-equalization, A-, B-, C-, D- and spectral broadband equalizations were applied to the synthesized sounds. Annoyance, loudness, hardness and pitch in the isolated tone conditions showed significantly stronger effects than the buzz-conditions on the perceived judgments. The EPNL-equalization led to a lower degree of differentiation between the spectral conditions compared to B- and C-level equalization. In the third paper, the effects of aircraft sounds on children’s cognitive performance were investigated. Impact of aircraft noise on children cognition was found significantly higher in reading comprehensions than in basic mathematics and problem solving tests. It seems children are very sensitive to the modifications in the aircraft noise but further studies are necessary to compliment such a finding.

The door closing action is a recurrent situation when using a vehicle, and its sound is therefore a common sensation, which would elicit pleasant feelings. Sensory pleasantness is an important aspect in terms of customer’s perspective, and it can be a contributing factor when deciding to buy or not a specific vehicle. The first contact between a prospective customer and the automobile usually happens in car salons or at the car retailer. The initial impression of the vehicle might be sight-based, and the door may commonly be the first physical contact. Depending on the car brand and type, doors differ in terms of mass, structure, dimension. Furthermore, there are differences regarding the latching system and the door sealing structure, in terms of material and construction. The closing sound produced when slamming the door is related to all these parameters. Auditory pleasantness can be described by characteristics of the sound that are described through psychoacoustics. Loudness, sharpness, roughness, and tonality are important auditory parameters to objectively describe this complex sensation. The aim of car doors would be to generate an enthusiastic, low-pitched, and saturated sound, which would elicit feelings of solidity, robustness, and security. On the other side, a metallic, high-pitched, fragmented sound could be a source of annoyance and produce feelings of insecurity and cheap vehicle.The present work aims to provide a broad picture on the mechanics and acoustics of door closing for automobiles. In specific, the closing sound was evaluated in relation to the door gaskets and their sealing performance over time. The sealing performance was analyzed in energy and force terms. The door closing motion was studied as a quasi-static problem, as well as a dynamic problem, where the former is related to the latching capability of the door, the latter is connected to the slamming action. The measurement results include the sealing performance trend from fresh to aged gaskets. From these measurements, the rubber non-linear behaviour could then be evaluated from a sound quality perspective. The acoustic analysis revealed inconsistencies of the psychoacoustic parameters in the description of the hearing sensations. Spectral analysis was also implemented to capture the door closing phenomenon, and the Wavelet transform emerged as the method with the highest resolution in the description of the sound wave progression.Several measurements were performed in order to assess all the established points, and methods were implemented for the sealing stiffness analysis and the acoustic analysis. The severe transiency of the door closing event was put in evidence. The stiffness analysis method showed also potential in helping to adjust the end of line tuning of the vehicle. Finally, benchmarking was included in the project, which enabled comparisons with competitor cars. / Dörrstängning är en återkommande händelse när ett fordon används, och ljudet bör därför ge ett positivt intryck och korrekt information till brukaren. Ett behagligt intryck är en viktig aspekt ur kundens perspektiv och kan vara ett var flera bidragande faktorer när beslut tas om att köpa eller inte köpa ett fordon. Den första kontakten mellan en potentiell kund och bilen sker vanligtvis i bilsalonger eller hos bilhandlare. Det första intrycket av fordonet kan vara visuellt, och dörren är ofta den första fysiska kontakten. Beroende på biltyp och fabrikat skiljer sig dörrarna åt när det kommer till massa, struktur och dimensioner. Dessutom kan det finnas skillnader i låssystem och dörrtätningskonstruktion såsom i både material och utformning. Stängningsljudet som uppstår när dörren slås igen är relaterat till alla dessa parametrar. Ett ljuds upplevda behaglighet i det beror på ljudets egenskaper, som beskrivs med hjälp av psykoakustik. Ljudstyrka, skärpa, råhet och tonalitet är viktiga auditiva parametrar för att objektivt beskriva detta komplexa intryck. Målet med bildörrar bör vara att generera ett dovt och mättat ljud, för att framkalla känslor av soliditet, robusthet och säkerhet. Å andra sidan kan, ett metalliskt, högfrekvent och skramligt ljud vara en källa till irritation och ge känslor av osäkerhet och låg kvalité.Syftet med detta arbete är att ge en övergripande beskrivning av dörrstängning och akustiken kring detta. I synnerhet utvärderades stängningsljudet i förhållande till dörrpackningarna och deras tätningsprestanda mätt över tiden. Tätningsprestanda analyserades i energi- och krafttermer. Dörrens stängningsrörelse studerades både som ett kvasistatiskt problem och som ett dynamiskt problem. Det förstnämnda är relaterat till dörrens låsningsförmåga, medan det sistnämnda är kopplat till smällar i dörren. Mätresultaten visade hur tätningsprestandan förändras över tiden. Gummits icke-linjära beteende har också utvärderats med ett ljudkvalitetsperspektiv. En spektralanalys genomfördes av ljudet från dörrstängningar och Wavelet-transformen visade sig vara den lösning som gav bäst kvalitet. Flera mätningar utfördes för att bedöma alla fastställda punkter och metoder infördes för analysen av tätningens styvhet och för den akustiska analysen. Den kraftiga transiensen i dörrstängningen kunde ses i resultaten. Styvhetsanalysen visade även hur den utvecklade metoden skulle kunna bidra till att justera fordonets end-of-line inställningar. Slutligen ingick benchmarking i projektet vilket möjliggjorde jämförelser med konkurrentbilar.