Analysis of vibration characteristics of a full vehicle model using substructure synthesis method

Abstract

The finite element (FE) method is generally used to model and simulate the physical behavior of large structures, such as passenger vehicles or aircraft. However, FE analysis involves a very large computation time and cost for developing the analysis model Therefore, the vibration characteristics of large structural systems are often analyzed using the component mode synthesis (CMS) method, which is one of the substructure synthesis methods. In this study, the vibration characteristics of passenger vehicles are analyzed by using the substructure synthesis method. A passenger vehicle model, which includes a vehicle body, suspension systems, and a sub-frame, is presented. The physical components of the vehicle system are modeled as equivalent substructures using the Craig-Bampton method of CMS. The vibration characteristics, such as the natural frequencies and mode shapes and frequency response, of the vehicle system are determined. The effects of variations in some design parameters on the vibration characteristics of the full vehicle model are also investigated.