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The recent automotive industry trend towards electrification has created new challenges for NVH engineers. These challenges stem from new powertrain architectures and their complex interactions, the governing control strategies which aim to optimize energy management, and new unmasked sources of excitation. Additionally, vehicle manufacturers are attempting to reduce hardware testing in order to rapidly satisfy increasing production demand and to minimize its costs. Hence, to meet the above-mentioned challenges up front in the development process of Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (HEVs) while balancing competing design objectives of drivability, durability and NVH, a simulation-led design and optimization is required. NVH problems are often the result of mechanisms that originate through complex interactions between different physical domains (flow, electromagnetic, structural/mechanical, control logic, etc.) and the assembly of individual components into a complete system.

Automotive vehicles equipped with Cardan joints may experience low frequency vehicle launch shudder vibration (5-30Hz) and high frequency driveline moan vibration (80-200Hz) under working angles and speeds. The Cardan joint introduces a 2nd order driveshaft speed variation and a 4th order joint articulation torque (JAT) causing the vehicle shudder and moan NVH issues. Research on the Cardan joint induced low frequency vehicle shudder using a Multi-Body System (MBS) method has been attempted. A comprehensive MBS method to predict Cardan joint induced high frequency driveline moan vibration is yet to be developed. This paper presents a hybrid MBS and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) approach to predict Cardan joint induced high frequency driveshaft moan vibration. The CAE method considers the elastically coupled driveshaft bending and engine block vibration due to Cardan joint excitation.

Drivelines used in modern pickup trucks commonly employ universal joints. This type of joint is responsible for second driveshaft order vibrations in the vehicle. Large displacements of the joint connecting the driveline and the rear axle have a detrimental effect on vehicle NVH. As leaf springs are critical energy absorbing elements that connect to the powertrain, they are used to restrain large axle windup angles. One of the most common types of leaf springs in use today is the multi-stage parabolic leaf spring. A simple SAE 3-link approximation is adequate for preliminary studies but it has been found to be inadequate to study axle windup. A vast body of literature exists on modeling leaf springs using nonlinear FEA and multibody simulations. However, these methods require significant amount of component level detail and measured data. As such, these techniques are not applicable for quick sensitivity studies at design conception stage.

The chain link and sprocket tooth impact during a meshing has been identified as the most significant noise source in a chain drive system. This paper first presents the theoretical derivation of the chain drive natural frequencies and mode shapes using the equations of motion from a stationary undamped chain drive system. The theoretical derivation shows the existence of three types of chain resonances, namely the transverse strand resonance, the longitudinal chain sprocket coupled resonance and the longitudinal chain stress wave type resonance. The chain-sprocket meshing noise is amplified when the chain sprocket meshing frequency corresponds to any one of the above mentioned chain drive system resonances. These theoretical results are then validated by a chain drive system CAE model using ABAQUS to identify the chain drive system resonances.

Automatic transmission gear changes are transient disturbances in a non-linear system, during which the effective ratio of the transmission is continually changing. In addition, vehicle characteristics can very strongly influence customer perception of the shift event. Further, the interface elements between the vehicle and powertrain are often crucial in determining the quality of shift feel. This paper presents a validated CAE method that employs the ADAMS software to predict the intricate dynamics of the vehicle response due to transmission shift events. First principles of the transmission modeling elements are described. Model simulation results are compared to vehicle test data. A method to quantify the customer's perception of vehicle shift quality is discussed. Model simulation results for a FWD vehicle application are also analyzed.

A low-frequency vehicle shuffle can be excited when a reversal of torque occurs in a vehicle's drivetrain. It usually occurs during a throttle tip-in or tip-out event, or a static engagement shift event. This drivetrain shuffle vibration can introduce a vehicle fore-aft vibration that may affect the customer satisfaction of ride comfort and/or powertrain performance. Vehicle test data of the seat track acceleration from a 30 MPH wide-open-throttle tip-out event suggested a strong coupling between the CVT drivetrain shuffle and vehicle fore-aft vibration. An ADAMS based CVT model was developed and integrated into a full vehicle model for dynamic simulation of this vehicle shuffle issue. CAE DOE studies were performed to identify key vehicle and powertrain design parameters that could directly impact the vehicle shuffle vibration. Experimental tests were performed to verify the CAE design improvements of the CVT vehicle shuffle vibration.