Objective

To visualize the noise sources and transmission paths on a household vacuum cleaner.

Test Procedure

1. A surface mesh of the vacuum was generated.
2. The vacuum was operated.
3. Two patches of a 40-microphone array were used to capture acoustic pressure data close to the vacuum front and side surfaces.
4. Data was captured for 6 seconds each.
5. Acoustic pressure, normal acoustic intensity and surface velocity were reconstructed on the vacuum surface.
6. 3D Radiation Pattern was reconstructed in the field around of the vacuum.

Results

The following screenshot shows the reconstructed acoustic pressure spectrum at one point on the vacuum surface. It is evident that the sound pressure level at most of the frequencies is within 40-50dB but there are a few loud tonal sounds, up to 90dB.

The following screenshots show the acoustic pressure distribution on the 3D vacuum surface at 485HZ and 433Hz. At 485Hz, as at almost all frequencies the source is the air vent on the right side of the vacuum whereas at 433Hz and other tonal peaks, the noise source is the front canister.