Elastic foundation effects on the dynamic response of engine mount systems

Abstract

This paper discusses flexible foundation effects on the dynamic response of engine mount systems using computer simulation techniques. The dynamic flexibility of the foundation is represented by a finite element modal model, and the equations of motions are derived for the engine mount system and foundation, which are coupled together. The developed computational method is applied to a Jeep-type passenger car, and the natural frequencies and forced vibration responses of an engine mount system can be simulated accurately. It is shown that the flexibility of the vehicle frame structure may have significant effects on the dynamic response of the engine mount systems, especially near the natural frequencies of the vehicle frame structure, and by applying the proposed method to the optimization routine it is also shown that improved optimization results can be obtained by considering the foundation flexibility.