Prediction of interior noise by excitation force of the powertrain based on hybrid transfer path analysis

In the early design stage of a vehicle, simulation of interior noise is useful for assessment and enhancement of the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance. Traditional transfer path analysis (TPA) technology cannot simulate interior noise since it uses an experimental method. In order to solve this problem, hybrid TPA is employed in this paper. Hybrid TPA uses simulated excitation force as the input force, which excites the flexible body of a car at the mount points, while traditional TPA uses the measured force. This simulated force is obtained by numerical analysis of the finite element (FE) model of a powertrain. Interior noise is predicted by multiplying the simulated force by the vibro-acoustic transfer function (VATF) of the vehicle. The VATF is the acoustic response in the compartment of a car to the input force at the mount point of the powertrain in the flexible car body. The trend of the predicted interior noise based on the hybrid TPA corresponds very well to the measured interior noise, with some difference due to not only experimental error and simulation error, but also the effect of the airborne path.