Abstract
The vehicle seat rattles or, in general, BSR (buzz, squeak, and rattle) noises are one of the major issues, which are directly linked to the NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) quality of the vehicle. Predicting and improving the seat BSR noise in early design phase is still challenging. This is mainly due to the complexity, nonlinearity and uncertainty of the impact mechanism at joints contributed to the rattle. Here, it is shown that there is a strong link between the seat structural dynamics and the seat rattle noise so that the seat rattle noise can be predicted and controlled from the seat structural analysis in early design phase. Accordingly, two experiments are designed for this study. The first experiment is set up to characterize the seat resonant frequencies and its corresponding structural mode-shapes. The second experiment is designed to measure the seat-radiated noise when it goes under vibration excitation. Alternatively, a concept CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) model of the seat is developed and the seat structural dynamics is characterized by using this analytical model. The model is developed to allow designing the seat-structure modifications as well as examining the effects of the modifications on the rattle noise. Comparisons of the results of the simulation and experiment validate the developed CAE model. The results confirm that by changing the seat resonant frequency, the rattle noise and in general BSR noise can be improved or controlled accordingly. Consequently, for the seat system which has an identifiable structural dynamics, the BSR noise can be managed and controlled in early design phase by using the seat CAE model.
Highlights
The vehicle seat is one of the major components that have potential to be a source of annoying BSR noise [1]
Development of a robust analytical method for improving the BSR in the vehicle components has always been challenging. This is mainly due to the complexity, nonlinearity, and uncertainty of the dynamics of the impact or sliding mechanisms at joints contributed to the BSR. Some vehicle components such as door trims exhibit a wide range of critical frequencies with no proper global mode shapes and their BSR may happen in a wide excitation frequency band [11]
This paper shows that the seat rattle noise can be predicted and controlled in early design phase by characterizing and controlling the seat structural dynamics
Summary
The vehicle seat is one of the major components that have potential to be a source of annoying BSR (buzz, squeak, and rattle) noise [1]. Controlling BSR is becoming essential with the trend toward using lightweight materials combined with the increase in number of the seat sub-components such as electronic gadgets [2]. According to a market survey, squeaks and rattles are the third most important customer concern in cars after three months of ownership [3]. BSR is generally caused by loose or overly flexible elements under excitation. The main causes of the BSR are structural deficiencies, incompatible material pairs, and poor geometrical design [4] [5]
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