26SIAT-1032-Experimental Frequency-Based Substructuring for Full-Vehicle NVH Characterization in Electric Vehicles

The area of electric vehicles (EV) has fully arrived with almost every OEM enhancing electric vehicles in their portfolio. However, regarding its business potential numerous challenging engineering questions have risen. Especially vehicle NVH development needs to be rethought as masking noise from classical internal combustion engines (ICE) are gone. At the same time the frequency content of electric engines falls in the best human audible range, creating high potential for annoying tonal acoustic issues. With NVH design requirements now pushed up into the kilohertz range, many classic development strategies fail or lack efficiency. VIBES Technology’s answer to this challenge is what we call Hybrid Modular Modelling (HMM). This modelling strategy combines test-based and numerical simulation throughout the vehicle development cycle. Using best of both worlds, HMM allows accurate virtual (part / system) design and optimization on full vehicle level. Here HMM is based on the latest research achievements in the field of transfer path analysis and dynamics sub-structuring. Part of HMM is our virtual structural modification (VSM) technique, which allows OEM to take away rework on prototype measurements with different HW components to optimize the overall performance. Indeed, using a single prototype measurement, VSM allows a virtual optimization based on a single full vehicle measurement, modelling “1000+” variants thereof with part changes using CAE models or simple analytic ones. In this paper the technique is illustrated on a full vehicle, explaining the concept and workflow as well as the underlying key technologies.