WINTERHUR -Automotive component specialist Autoneum has launched Ultra-Silent Tune, a new lightweight technology for underbody systems that significantly reduces external tire rolling noise while ensuring a quiet and comfortable driving experience inside the vehicle.
Developed using its experience of chamber resonators to enhance its sound-absorbing properties, Ultra-Silent Tune is also said to meet high sustainability standards.
Silence and resource efficiency are key trends in the development and optimization of electric vehicles. On the one hand, ever stricter emissions regulations worldwide are increasing demand for components that reduce noise pollution while helping vehicle manufacturers meet their sustainability targets. However, the absence of noise from the combustion engine in e-cars amplifies the disruptive effects of other noise sources in the passenger compartment. With Ultra-Silent Tune, Autoneum says it is presenting a new lightweight and particularly environmentally friendly technology for underbody shields that reduces tire rolling noise both outside and inside the vehicle, thus improving not only acoustic performance but also driver comfort in electric cars.
Autoneum’s Ultra-Silent Tune technology owes its sound-absorbing performance to acoustic chambers of different shapes and sizes. The chambers are created by applying an embossed polyester foil to the side of the Ultra-Silent underbody shield facing away from the noise source: they capture the sound waves emitted by the car tires, modulate them according to their respective geometry and reflect them back onto the porous carrier material.
Compared to conventional single-layer underbody shields, whose acoustic performance is mainly determined by the noise-reducing properties of the product side facing the tires, Ultra-Silent Tune exploits both sides of the component, which significantly improves its acoustic absorption. Autoneum therefore makes innovative use of the proven concept of traditional chamber absorbers, reducing exterior tire rolling noise by a significant 0.5 to 1.0 dBA*.
Moreover, Ultra-Silent Tune combines optimized acoustic performance with the sustainability benefits of Autoneum’s particularly eco-friendly Pure technology Ultra-Silent. In addition to the high proportion of recycled PET fibers, underbody shields made from Ultra-Silent Tune can be manufactured from 100% polyester and therefore be fully recycled at the end of vehicle life.
Furthermore, the thickness of the multilayer construction can be flexibly adapted to the packaging spaces of different vehicle models.
Underbody shields made from Autoneum’s new Ultra-Silent Tune technology are already in pre-development at various vehicle manufacturers in Europe
