Rattle Detection and Prevention for Door Module of a Car Using Hybrid SEA-FEM method

Nowadays the interior sounds quality has a great importance in the automotive industry since it is significant for the customer understanding of vehicle quality. Squeak and rattle (S&R) is a group of periodic interior noise that degrade the feeling of quality significantly. Squeak is a friction-induced noise due to comparative movement resulting from slip stick phenomenon between interfacing surfaces while rattle is an impact induced phenomenon that occurs when there is a relative motion between components or parts with a short loss of contact. To recognize and solve S&R problems the car manufacturers do both simulations and tests in laboratory for vehicles as well as subsystems. In this study, possible rattle sources are inves-tigated for the door trim of a car using clearance analysis by numerical simulation. Impact statistics and overall force level at potential rattle places are computed through random vibra-tion excitation analyses and then, overall acoustic response and loudness are calculated using hybrid Statistical Energy- Finite Element analysis (SEA-FEA). This procedure repeated for modified thicknesses of lower interior cover and inside connections.

Keywords:

Squeak and rattle , Door module , Sound quality , Numerical simulation , SEA-FEA method.