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A multi-point hypoid gear mesh model based on 3-dimensional loaded tooth contact analysis is incorporated into a coupled multi-body dynamic and vibration hypoid gear model to predict more detailed dynamic behavior of each tooth pair. To validate the accuracy of the proposed model, the time-averaged mesh parameters are applied to linear time-invariant (LTI) analysis and the dynamic responses, such as dynamic mesh force, dynamic transmission error, are computed, which demonstrates good agreement with that predicted by single-point mesh model. Furthermore, a nonlinear time-varying (NLTV) dynamic analysis is performed considering the effect of backlash nonlinearity and time-varying mesh parameters, such as mesh stiffness, transmission error, mesh point and line-of-action. Simulation results show that the time history of the mesh parameters and dynamic mesh force for each pair of teeth within a full engagement cycle can be simulated.

Due to the design of lightweight, high speed driveline system, the coupled bending and torsional vibration and rotordynamics must be considered to predict vibratory responses more realistically. In the current analysis, a lumped parameter model of the propeller shaft is developed with Timoshenko beam elements, which includes the effect of rotary inertia and shear deformation. The propeller shaft model is then coupled with a hypoid gear pair representation using the component mode synthesis approach. In the proposed formulation, the gyroscopic effect of both the gear and propeller shaft is considered. The simulation results show that the interaction between gear gyroscopic effect and propeller shaft bending flexibility has considerable influence on the gear dynamic mesh responses around bending resonances, whereas the torsional modes still dominate in the overall frequency spectrum.

This paper describes an active sound tuning (AST) system for vehicle powertrain response. Instead of simply aiming to attenuate cabin interior noise, AST system is capable of reshaping the powertrain response based on predetermined vehicle sound quality criteria. However, conventional AST systems cannot yield a balanced result over the broad frequency range when applied to powertrain noise. It is due to the fact that existing systems are typically configured with the filtered-x least mean square (FXLMS) algorithm or its modified versions, which has inherent frequency dependent convergence behavior due to large dynamic range of secondary path (the electro-acoustic path from the control speaker to the error microphone). Therefore, fast convergence can only be reached at the resonant frequencies.

Current powertrain active noise control (ANC) systems are not sufficient enough to track the fast engine speed variations, and yield consistent convergence speeds for individual engine order such that a balanced noise reduction performance can be achieved over a broad frequency range. This is because most of these ANC systems are configured with the standard filtered-x least mean squares (FxLMS) algorithm, which has an inherent limitation in the frequency-dependent convergence behavior due to the existence of secondary path model (electro-acoustic path from the input of control loudspeaker to the output of monitoring error microphone) in the reference signal path. In this paper, an overview is given first to compare several recently modified FxLMS algorithms to improve the convergence speed for harmonic responses such as eigenvalue equalization FxLMS (EE-FXLMS) and normalized reference LMS (NX-LMS) algorithms.

Active noise control systems have been gaining popularity in the last couple of decades, due to the deficiencies in passive noise abatement techniques. In the future, a novel combination of passive and active noise control techniques may be applied more widely, to better control the interior sound quality of vehicles. In order to maximize the effectiveness of this combined approach, smarter algorithms will be needed for active noise control systems. These algorithms will have to be computationally efficient, with high stability and convergence rates. This will be necessary in order to accurately predict and control the interior noise response of a vehicle. In this study, a critical review of the filtered-x least mean square (FXLMS) algorithm and several other newly proposed algorithms for the active control of vehicle powertrain noise, is performed. The analysis examines the salient features of each algorithm, and compares their system performance.

High speed, precision geared rotor systems are often plagued by excessive vibration and noise problems. The response that is primarily excited by gear transmission error is actually coupled to the large displacement rotational motion of the driveline system. Classical pure vibration model assumes that the system oscillates about its mean position without coupling to the large displacement motion. To improve on this approach and understanding of the influences of the dynamic coupling, a coupled multi-body dynamic and vibration simulation model is proposed. Even though the focus is on hypoid geared rotor system, the model is more general since hypoid and bevel gears have more complicated geometry and time and spatial-varying characteristics compared to parallel axis gears.

This paper discusses an enhanced active vibration control concept to suppress the dynamic response associated with gear mesh frequencies. In active control application, the control of dynamic gear mesh tonal response is essentially the rejection or suppression of periodical disturbance. Our active control experimental work shows that the existence of un-controlled harmonic result in the increase at these harmonics when applying direct control to the target mesh frequencies. To address this problem, the effect of the existence of un-correlated harmonic components in error signal when applying active control to suppress the target gear mesh harmonics is examined. The proposed adaptive controller that is designed specifically for tackling gear mesh frequency vibrations is based on an enhanced filtered-x least mean square algorithm (FXLMS) with frequency estimation to synthesize the required reference signal.

The analytic wavelet transform (AWT) is a wavelet transform that works much like a transient Fourier transform. Therefore the AWT enables utilizing advantages of both the wavelet transform and Fourier transform. A special form of AWT developed for transient vibration and acoustics signal analyses is applied to various engineering signals in this paper. Application examples include a general time-frequency (T-F) analysis, analysis of exposures to impulsive vibrations and noises, and estimation of reverberation times. Some new definitions such as the T-F noise reduction and frequency weighted time history are defined by taking the advantage of unique capabilities of the AWT. Possible automotive applications of these new concepts are briefly discussed.

The instability of a viscous liquid jet surrounded by a swirling air stream subject to a 3-D disturbance is predicted by a linear stability model. The effect of flow conditions, fluid properties and nozzle geometry on the disintegration of the liquid jet are investigated by conducting a parametric study. It is observed that the relative velocity between the liquid and gas phases promotes the interfacial aerodynamic instability. The predicted range of wave numbers in which asymmetric modes have higher growth rates than the axisymmetric mode and dominate the instability agrees very well with experimental data. The density ratio significantly enhances the instability as does the axial Weber number. Liquid viscosity inhibits the disintegration process and damps higher helical modes more significantly than the axisymmetric mode. It is observed that air swirl has a stabilizing effect on the liquid jet.

Sound transmission through a cylindrical double-walled shell lined with an elastic porous material is studied. Love's equation is applied to describe the shell motions coupled with acoustic wave equations. An interesting method is developed to simplify the analysis of the wave propagation in the elastic porous material, which reduces the model developed by Bolton et al. [2] based on the Biot's theory [1] to a simple one-dimensional wave propagation model. The results from the simplified model are compared with those from the Bolton's model and measurements. Solutions for the sound transmission through the cylindrical double-walled shell lined with an elastic porous material are obtained for various configurations using the simplified method, and compared with measured results. Advantages and limitations of the simplified analysis method developed are explained from the perspective of practical applications.

Automobile brake squeal has been experimentally studied in many ways over the past 65 years. A large body of published research and a substantial amount of unpublished work have attempted to experimentally define the variables involved with and describe the system dynamics initiating the friction-induced self-excited vibration. Much of this work has centered on pin on disk type test rigs used to characterize the contact mechanics and/or friction laws without considering the brake system influence. This paper describes a dynamometer designed and constructed to study brake squeal on a system level.

This paper is intended to describe some of the advances in automotive NVH research and applications based on recent developments in the Structural Dynamics Research Laboratory (SDRL) at the University of Cincinnati. State-of-the-art vibro-acoustic research capabilities and infrastructure ranging from advanced vibration modal analysis and spectral techniques for linear and nonlinear automotive systems to computational tools for structure-borne acoustic noise generation, transmission and synthesis problems are discussed. These systems have been devised with the intent of integrating a versatile set of experimental, computational and analytical approaches in order to be able to investigate a variety of crucial automotive NVH concerns. The materials will be grouped into three separate but closely related sets of applications consisting of (i) powertrain noise and vibration control, (ii) analysis and control vehicle system dynamics, and (iii) NVH and sound quality.

A multi-coordinate FRF-based inverse substructuring approach is proposed to partition a vehicle system into two or more substructures, which are coupled at discrete interface points. The joint and free substructure dynamic characteristics are then extracted from the coupled system response spectra. Depending on the actual form of the structural coupling terms, three forms of the coupling matrix are assumed here. The most general one constitutes the non-diagonal form, and the other two simpler cases are the block-diagonal and purely diagonal representations that can be used to simplify testing process and overcome computational problems. The paper is focused on the investigation of the durability of these three formulations when the input FRFs are noise contaminated. A finite element model of a simplified vehicle system is used as the case study.

A spectral-based substructuring approach applying linear frequency response functions (FRF) is proposed for improving the accuracy of simulating the dynamics of coupled systems. The method also applies a least square singular value decomposition (SVD) scheme to overcome the inherent computational deficiency in the basic substructuring formulation. The computational problem is caused by the magnification of measurement errors during any one of the matrix inversion calculations required for this method. The primary objective of applying this approach is to examine the possibility of analyzing higher frequency response that is normally not possible using conventional modeling technique such as the direct finite and boundary element, and lumped parameter techniques. In this study, additional concepts are also evaluated to quantify the limitations and range of applicability of the proposed substructuring approach for simulating the vibration response of complex powertrain structures.

Acoustic array techniques are presented as alternatives to intensity measurements for source identification in automotive and industrial environments. With an understanding of the advantages and limitations described here for each of the available methods, a technique which is best suited to the application at hand may be selected. The basic theory of array procedures for Nearfield Acoustical Holography, temporal array techniques, and an Inverse Frequency Response Function technique is given. Implementation for various applications is discussed. Experimental evaluation is provided for tire noise identification.

In highly reverberant enclosures, the identification of noise sources is a difficult and time consuming task. One effective approach is the Inverse Frequency Response Function (IFRF) method. This technique uses the inverse of an acoustic FRF matrix, that when multiplied by operating pressure response data reveals the noise source locations. Under highly reverberant conditions the deployment of a sound absorbing body is especially useful in reducing the effects of resonant modes that obscure important information in the FRFs. Without the absorption, the IFRF method becomes practically difficult to perform in these environments due to poor conditioning of the FRF matrix. This study investigates the feasibility of using Boundary Element and Finite Element Methods to establish the frequency response functions between selected panel points and microphones in the array.

The perturbed boundary condition (PBC) model updating procedure has been developed to correct the finite element model [1]. The use of additional structural configurations adds more experimental information about the system and so better updating results can be expected. While it works well for simulated examples, practical limitations and additional requirements arise when it is used to update engineering structures. In this paper, the merits and the practical limitations of the techmques will be discussed in depth through the updating of a simulated system where the “measured” data is generated by computer and a real test structure where the experimentally measured data is noisy and distorted due to leakage. Useful suggestions and recommendations are drawn to guide the model updating of practical engineering structures.

Present order tracking methods for solving noise and vibration problems are reviewed, both FFT and re-sampling based order tracking methods. The time variant discrete Fourier transform (TVDFT) is developed as an alternative order tracking method. This method contains many advantages which the current order tracking methods do not possess. This method has the advantage of being very computationally efficient as well as the ability to minimize leakage errors. The basic TVDFT method may also be extended to a more complex method through the use of an orthogonality compensation matrix (OCM) which can separate closely spaced orders as well as separate the contributions of crossing orders. The basic TVDFT is a combination of the FFT and the re-sampling based methods. This method can be formulated in several different manners, one of which will give results matching the re-sampling based methods very closely.

As the drive to make automobiles more noise and vibration free continues, it has become necessary to analyze transient events as well as periodic and random phenomena. Averaging of transient events requires a repeatable event as well as an available trigger event. Knowing the exact event time, the data can be post-processed by re-sampling the time scale to capture the recorded event at the proper instant in time to allow averaging. Accurately obtaining the event time is difficult given the sampling restrictions of current data acquisition hardware. This paper discusses the ideal hardware needed to perform this type of analysis, and provides analytical examples showing the transient averaging improvements using time scale re-sampling. These improvements are applied to noise source identification of a single transient event using an arrayed microphone technique. With this technique, the averaging is performed using time delays between potential sources and microphones in the array.

A proposed multi-coordinate spectral-based inverse substructuring approach is applied experimentally to examine the vibration transmissibility through chassis mounts. In this formulation, the vehicle system is partitioned into two substructures. One substructure comprises of the chassis and suspension, while the second one is the body structure and other attached components. The approach yields the free substructure dynamic characteristics that are extracted from the measured coupled system response spectra. The resultant free substructure transfer functions are verified by comparison of the re-synthesized results to the actual vehicle system measurements. A real life vehicle setup is utilized to demonstrate the salient features and capabilities of this approach, which includes the ability to compute the main structure-borne paths, dynamic interactions between the chassis and body, and interior noise and vibration response.