Jeric A., Govekar E., Gradisek J., Grabec I.

A typical reciprocating compressor for domestic appliances consists of an operating unit mounted in a housing. The noise recorded outside the compressor is emitted by the operating unit inside the housing and transmitted to the outside via the housing. The elastic properties of the housing therefore play a crucial role in the noise transmission. In the article, noise of the compressor with and without the housing is recorded and analyzed. The elastic properties of the compressor housing are determined experimentally and by a finite element method. The results show that the dominant noise frequencies correspond to the dominant eigen-frequencies of the housing. Simple stiffening of the housing is shown to reduce the amplitude and change the frequency content of the noise recorded outside the compressor.