Effect of sound insulation on noise reduction in an agricultural tractor cab

Tractor cab interior noise is a risk factor that degrades operators’ work performance and threatens their health; therefore, the noise must be reduced to ensure farmworkers’ safety and efficiency. Cab interior noise can be classified as structure-borne noise and air-borne noise. Structure-borne noise has been extensively studied. However, although air-borne noise greatly contributes to cab interior noise, detailed frequency-domain analyses have not been performed. In this study, the components of cab interior noise were identified in the frequency domain through an order analysis, which helped improve the sound insulation of the cab and reduce the effects of air-borne noise. A test was performed while driving a tractor on a chassis dynamometer in a semi-anechoic chamber for reproducible measurement and evaluation. The A-weighted sound pressure was transformed by a fast Fourier transform algorithm, and its order was tracked by the engine speed signal. In addition, a direct path was identified by acoustic images using a sound camera. The contributions of major noise sources were identified through an order analysis. We proved that air-borne noise significantly contributes to the interior noise of tractor cabs and that improvement of the cab sound insulation is an effective noise-reduction technique.