Case Study: CNH Industrial cuts wheel loader noise qualification time from 1 year to 3 months with Hexagon Actran

Actran helps reduce time to qualify wheel loader for tough new noise standard from 1 year to 3 months

CNH Industrial, a global manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, faced a stringent new noise regulation in a key Latin American market that required a significant 6 dB(A) reduction from their wheel loader. The primary challenge was the immense time and cost of relying solely on physical prototyping and testing to identify and remedy the main noise source, which was identified as the cooling fan. This traditional process could take a year and offered limited data, hindering their ability to quickly develop an effective solution.

Using Hexagon's Actran acoustic simulation software, CNH engineers could virtually test numerous fan and muffler designs by altering their computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. This process identified an optimal fan design that operated at a lower speed to meet the noise target while maintaining cooling performance. Hexagon's solution enabled CNH to achieve compliance with the new standard in just three months, a fraction of the estimated year it would have taken through physical testing alone, and successfully integrated Actran into their standard product development process.

CNH Industrial

Panos Tamamidis

Global Manager