Search Results

This paper discusses approaches to properly design aluminum axles for optimized NVH characteristics. By effectively using well established and validated FEA and other CAE tools, key factors that are particularly associated with aluminum axles are analyzed and discussed. These key factors include carrier geometry optimization, bearing optimization, gear design and development, and driveline system dynamics design and integration. Examples are provided to illustrate the level of contribution from each main factor as well as their design space and limitations. Results show that an aluminum axle can be properly engineered to achieve robust NVH performances in terms of operating temperature and axle loads.

Overall transmission error (OTE) of gear system has been a main focus of gear dynamics study. The input-output transmission error (TE) depends heavily on mesh phasing conditions. Only reducing loaded transmission error (LTE) of a single gear mesh is not enough to ensure good NVH performance in a multiple gear mesh system. In order to predict OTE during bevel gear design instead of just analyzing single mesh TE, a new bevel gear OTE calculation method will be presented in this study. Based on single mesh parameters including loaded and unloaded TE or mesh stiffness, the OTE of a differential gear set can be calculated without building a complete system model. The effect of phasing on system OTE shows that different tooth combination can have significant effect on dynamic performance which should be considered during design.

The need for improved axle NVH integration has increased significantly in recent years with industry trends toward full-time and automatic four wheel drive (4wd) systems. Along with seamless 4wd operation, quiet performance has become a universal expectation. Axle gear-mesh noise can be transmitted to the vehicle passenger compartment through airborne paths (not discussed in this paper) and structure-borne paths (the focus of this paper.) A variety of mounting configurations are used in an attempt to provide improved axle isolation and reduce structure-borne transmission of gear-mesh noise. The configuration discussed in this paper is a 4-point vertical mount design for an Independent Front Drive Axle (IFDA). A significant benefit of this configuration is improved isolation in the range of drive torques where axle-related NVH issues typically exist.

This paper presents the principles of robustness design of axle system dynamics to reduce vehicle system related axle gear whine. Through examining the physics of the axle gear noise, the influence of the system dynamics are identified as two parts, i.e., the dynamics mesh force generated at the gear meshing per unit gear mesh motion variation; and the force transmissibility from mesh to the axle housing, and then further to the bracket attachments. The noise sensitive design parameters are identified and discussed. Component design requirements are proposed to minimize the system resonances in the typical gear mesh frequency range. The use of FEA models for system understanding and further design tuning is illustrated.

The installation of various liners into the propeller shaft tube is a traditional driveline NVH treatment to attenuate driveline vibration. The most commonly used liners include rolled paper, C-cut cardboard, corrugated cardboard, etc. These traditional liner treatments are expected to provide damping to the driveline system to reduce the vibration levels. However their added level of damping and effectiveness to the driveline system are limited, particularly when dealing with driveline gear mesh vibration and noise. This paper presents a novel type of liner treatment - tunable liners. The liner is designed such that it functions as a tuned dynamic vibration absorber. Through proper design of the liner, it can be tuned for bending and torsion modes at the same time. The liner design parameters and their impact on the frequency tuning are analyzed and studied through both physical testing and FEA analysis.

For any combustion engine, balance has always been important regardless of types of cylinder layout. One of the disadvantages of the inline four engines is the second-order unbalanced forces, which leads to high-frequency excitation of vehicle’s structure and consequent internal noise. Balance shaft modules (BSM) are often used in inline-four engines, to reduce the second-order vibration and mitigate engine imbalance. Balance shafts are often running at light load and high-speed condition which could induce both gear rattle and gear whine from the BSM gear set. Typically, scissor gear set is used between crankshaft and BSM to reduce the gear rattle noise. However, a poor scissor gear design could easily lead to unpleasant gear whine noise. There is an increasing trend to shorten development cycles and reduce cost using simulation models. This paper discusses an analytical method to simulate gear whine and rattle generated by engine BSM.

The American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. driveline dynamometer provides immense value for experimental validation of product NVH performances. It has been intensively used to evaluate product design robustness in terms of build variations, mileage accumulation, and temperature sensitivity. The current driveline dynamometer input motor system has multiple torsional modes which create strong coupling with test part gear mesh dynamics. Mechanical Engineering seniors at Lawrence Technological University designed, fabricated, and validated a mechanism to decouple the driveline dynamics from the driveline dynamometer dynamics. The student-designed decoupler mechanism is presented with experimental validation of effectiveness in decoupling driveline dynamometer dynamics from the driveline under test.

With fast pacing development of automobile industry and growing needs for better driving experience, NVH performance has become an important aspect of analysis in new driveline product development especially in hybrid and electric powered vehicles. Differential bevel gear has significant role in the final drive. Unlike parallel axis gears such as spur or helical gear, bevel gear mesh shows more complicated characteristics and its mesh parameters are mostly time-varying which calls for more extensive design and analysis. The purpose of this paper is to conduct design study on a differential bevel gear unit under light torque condition and evaluate its NVH characteristics. Unloaded tooth contact analysis (UTCA) of those designs are conducted and compared for several design cases with different micro geometry to investigate their pattern position and size variation effects on NVH response.