Structural Modification for Vehicle Interior Noise Reduction Using Vibration Response Sensitivity Analysis

A structural modification technique for reducing structure-borne noise of vehicles using a sensitivity analysis is suggested. To estimate the noises generated by the vibration response, a semi structure-acoustic coupling analysis was exploited. As a result of the coupling analysis, severe noise generating positions are identified whose vibrations should be cured through structural modifications. Formulation for the sensitivity analysis of those severe vibration responses with respect to the design changes is derived to enhance the vibration response. Special attention is given in this paper to the use of the experimentally measured vibration responses in the sensitivity analysis. As a result of the proposed method, the structural modifications can be peformed accurately by using experimental data instead of using the finite element method though the higher vibration modes are considered as long as the vibration measurement and acoustic mode calculations are accurate. Effectiveness of this method was examined using an example model by experiments.