In the Sika Acoustic Test facilities Sika Engineers and application experts perform virtual and physical testing, analyze the results and propose solutions that deliver optimal weight-to-performance ratio for each specific application. The Sika Technology Centers have been designed to support the development, validation, and optimization of sealing, damping, bonding and reinforcing products and solutions.
Better start with Sika
With approved and innovative solutions for both, interior and exterior bonding allowing Sika partners faster and more effective production processes, Sika supports customers to guarantee a smooth and stable supply chain to the OEM. By collaborating on advanced acoustic systems in an early project stage, Sika helps customers enhance global projects with high performance as well as EHS-friendly products fitting specific requirements.
Acoustic Test Centers have a comprehensive range of material testing capabilities, which includes sound absorption, vibration damping and sound transmission loss. Additionally, noise and vibrations of full vehicles as well as subsystems can be evaluated.
The Sika Acoustic Test Centers in Europe and in the US have a comprehensive range of material testing capabilities, which includes sound absorption, vibration damping and sound transmission loss. Additionally, vehicle subsystems and full vehicles can be evaluated for noise and vibration using a full suite of hemi-anechoic and reverberation rooms.
The focal point of the Acoustic Test Center is the vehicle chassis dynamometer, housed in a hemi-anechoic environment. Full vehicle NVH testing under a controlled environment can be conducted. To demonstrate real-world driving performance, testing can be done either indoors with a variety of simulated road surfaces or on a dedicated test track.
The Acoustic Test Center also houses a scanning laser vibrometer for accurate and precise vibration measurement of vehicle panels, a vehicle body leakage tester to assess the effectiveness of acoustic baffles using airflow, and a purpose-built and equipped facility for subjective sound quality evaluation and analysis in support of product development as well as customer programs.
Electric Vehicles: Challenges of design and soundproofing
As the automotive industry undergoes radical changes, it faces major challenges. The lightweight construction, the multi-material design, and the static changes necessary to accommodate the battery call for new car body solutions. At the same time, interior soundproofing poses a greater challenge than before. Heat management, insulation, and fire protection are becoming even more crucial as the number of electronic components gets bigger and increasingly powerful batteries are used. The Sika Acoustic Test Center develops automated assembly concepts tailored to the customers’ production processes.
SikaSeal®, SikaBaffle® and SikaDamp® solutions
SikaSeal® and SikaBaffle® solutions use lightweight, preshaped, molded, extruded, and die-cut parts within the primary body structure to effectively block common noise transmission paths. SikaSeal® and SikaBaffle® product families include thermoplastic and elastomeric-based formulations. They are designed to be heat activated and expanded inside vehicle body cavities.
SikaDamp® is a wide product family based on elastomers, bitumen or butyl, which can also be coupled with an aluminum constraining layer. Designed for best-in class weight-to-performance ratios, while still providing industry-leading damping performance, SikaDamp® can be applied at any point during vehicle assembly or installed at the stamping location, even on oily surfaces.