An experimental study of infrasound associated with passenger cars
by S.D. Haddad, C.T. Marks
International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD), Vol. 10, No. 1, 1989

Abstract: During the last two decades there has been much interest in the effects of infrasound on people. This is partly due to assessments made by some scientists that infrasound could cause side-effects such as intestinal irritations, throbbing in the head, nervous breakdowns, certain allergies and other unpleasant phenomena of modern life found in industrial cities. With the possible effects on road safety this paper describes measurements of infrasound intensity in European passenger cars. It was found that infrasonic sound pressure levels (ISPL) were proportional to vehicle speed, window opening and vehicle size. Also driving with a fitted roof rack tended to increase ISPL by as much as 20 dB. It was also found that under most adverse driving conditions ISPL never exceeded 110 dB which is below the threshold to degrade human performance. It seems therefore that the original significance placed on infrasound in cars was overestimated.

Online publication date: Mon, 26-May-2014

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com