MINIMIZING THE ENGINE-INDUCED HARSHNESS BASED ON THE DOE METHOD AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF THE FULL VEHICLE NVH MODEL

An efficient procedure for minimizing the engine-induced harshness based on NVH analysis results of a full vehicle model was developed in this study, taking stiffness and strength constraints into account. Although extensive research may be found in the literature in the field of engine support system optimization, no other studies have considered the compliances and resonances of the structure of the vehicle. In the present paper, NVH analysis results of the whole vehicle were used in an optimization procedure to suppress the transmitted vibration. A procedure was developed to minimize the transmitted accelerations to the mid-point of the driver's seat rail. A DOE-based response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to determine the optimal solution. Natural frequencies of the body, suspension, and other subsystems were taken into consideration in determining the optimal solution. NVH analysis was performed for two types of inputs: (a) vertical vibration due to vertical unbalanced forces and (b) torsional vibration due to oscillations in the Output torque of the engine.