Mitigating Vehicle Noise and Vibration with SIMULIA Simulation Software

Noise and vibration analysis is becoming increasingly important in virtually every industry. The need to reduce noise and vibration is increasing due to a range of reasons, including new environmental legislation, lightweight materials and constructions, detectability, fatigue, consumer expectations and competitive pressures.

In other words, vehicle noise and vibration can cause significant problems for both manufacturers and clients, however, simulation can be a valuable tool in mitigating these issues. 

Vehicle noise and vibration

How can simulation support vehicle noise and vibration?

There are various ways in which simulation tools can be used to identify, address, and eliminate vehicle noise and vibration before designers and engineers even reach the physical prototyping stage. These include: 

• Virtual Prototyping: By virtually modeling the entire vehicle and its components, simulation can be used to predict how they will respond to different loading and operating conditions. This can help identify areas of the car prone to vibration and noise and allow engineers to adjust the design before physical prototypes are built.
• Interior Modeling: Simulation can be used to model the acoustic properties of the vehicle’s interior. This can help predict how sound will travel through the cabin and identify areas where noise can be reduced. 
• Optimize the suspension system: Simulation can be used to model, evaluate and optimize suspension systems. This can help reduce vibrations transmitted to the vehicle body and the cabin, improving passenger comfort. By simulating different suspension configurations and testing them under various loading conditions, engineers can find the best design to reduce vibrations. 

It is essential to validate the simulation results with physical testing. This can be done by building vehicle prototypes and subjecting them to various loading and operation conditions. The development of the physical testing can be compared to results to ensure that the simulation

Unlocking the key to success with SIMULIA

SIMULIA is a powerful set of simulation software packages, this includes various tools specifically designed to help mitigate vehicle noise and vibration. 

• SIMULIA Abaqus: Abaqus, is a finite element analysis (FEA) software that can be used to model and analyze the structural behavior of a vehicle. This includes the ability to model the entire car, its components, and their interactions. This can predict how the vehicle will respond to different loading and operating conditions and identify areas where noise and vibration may be an issue. 
• SIMULIA Isight: Another tool SIMULIA offers is Isight, a process automation software that can optimize a vehicle’s design. Isight can help optimize the suspension system to reduce vibrations transmitted to the vehicle body and the cabin, improving passenger comfort. 
• SIMULIA Acoustics: SIMULIA also offers Acoustics, a simulation software used to model a vehicle’s acoustic properties. Acoustics can predict how sound will travel throughout the cabin and identify where noise can be reduced. It allows simulation of the acoustic behavior of the vehicle from the exterior and interior points of view 
• SIMULIA Wave6: Wave6 provides unique analysis methods for efficiently and accurately simulating noise and vibration across the entire audible frequency range. By integrating Wave6 into your design process you can ensure noise and vibration performance is built into your product at the design stage, which reduces the risk of discovering expensive noise and vibration problems during the physical prototyping process. 
• SIMULIA fe-safe: Finally, SIMULIA offers a tool called fe-safe which can be used to analyze the durability and fatigue of the vehicle. Fe-safe can predict how the car will hold up over time and identify areas where fatigue or damage may occur, which can help identify potential noise and vibration issues.
  

In Summary

In conclusion, simulation can be a powerful tool in mitigating vehicle noise and vibration. Using simulation to model the entire vehicle, its components, acoustic properties, and suspension systems, engineers can identify areas where noise and vibration can be reduced and adjust the design before physical prototypes are built. SIMULIA offers a comprehensive set of tools that can be used to model and analyze various aspects of a vehicle, which can be very beneficial when mitigating vehicle noise and vibration.