A Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) model of a 510 liter capacity refrigerator is used to calculate the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) generated in a reverberation room. This is a reliable indicator of the vibroacoustic performance of the refrigerator and it is in some countries as a pre-commercialization test. The main contributions of the SEA model are, the characterization of the refrigerator structure (three-layer: HIPS, polyurethane foam and steel), and the modeling of important components such as internal chambers or ventilation gratings. The simulation results are successfully compared with laboratory measurements. The SEA model is then used to understand the vibroacoustic behavior of the refrigerator and to establish the most critical transmission paths and radiation mechanisms.

Statistical energy analysis continues to be an important framework of study that is helping appliance manufacturers to design quieter machines, particularly as household machinery has now moved into the living space with fashionable open kitchens and designs for small apartments. Precise SEA models depend on good estimates of coupling loss factors. There are several analytical, numerical and experimental approaches reported in the literature to help compute these CLFs; published results show good comparison when data are correlated with experimental measurements. Accurate CLFs estimations depend on many factors, amongst them we can mention the geometry of structural components, structure-to-structure type of coupling, material composition, type and number of cavities, quality of the appliance installation and noise source frequency range. This paper presents a survey of different methods that have successfully been used for CLFs estimation. The objective is to help the new product department in the task of defining a procedure to accurately model cabinets that are designed for domestic machinery. The authors layout a procedure that will be used for CLFs calculation of new equipment that is currently being developed by an appliance manufacturer.