UC Grad Student Research Focusing on Making Good Noise

University of Cincinnati mechanical engineering doctoral student Wael Elwali is working to eliminate noise in your car’s cabin.

Elwali, of UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, will present his latest findings on vibration issues and vehicular noise control at

INTER-NOISE 2012

, the 41st Proceedings of the International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering, held Aug. 19-22, in New York City. He will present a paper titled “Numerical Analysis of Active Vibro-Acoustic Control in an Enclosed Cavity.” Elwali is the principal investigator on a team including co-principal investigators Mingfeng Li, CEAS research associate, and T.C. Lim, Herman Schneider professor of mechanical engineering and CEAS interim dean.

The focus of Elwali’s research deals with vibration issues and vehicular noise elimination. “This study tries to apply forces at the vehicle structure such that it radiates noise inside the vehicle in such a way that this noise interferes with the unwanted noise and cancels it out,” Elwali explained.

As sound is a wave phenomenon, different sounds can interfere, in other words, he is creating noise in order to cancel noise. “My work contributes to the general objective of having a quieter car in which speech intelligibility is improved inside the vehicle,” he said. 

Although the concepts of noise control and vibro-acoustics have been around for quite some time, the type of noise control research Elwali is conducting is still in its computational and modeling stages and UC is among the few universities exploring this field.

Elwali, whose research is focused in the areas of mechanical vibration and Vibro-Acoustics and noise control engineering, hopes that future applications of this research will produce quieter cars. “My research is a step on a ladder to reach the achievement of an interiorly quiet vehicle,” Elwali said.  “The results of this research will help to build a noise control setup in a car.”

As a result of this research, Elawli has already published two journal papers and presented at a conference.

About the Congress

The congress is being held in conjunction with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Noise Control and Acoustics Division (ASME NCAD) annual meeting, is sponsored by the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE), and is being organized by the United States Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE-USA). The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and SAE International are also co-sponsoring the event.

There will be an extensive program of sessions on a variety of acoustics, vibration, and noise topics. As usual, a large exposition of vendors offering noise control materials, software, and measurement devices is being held as part of the event.

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