Modeling of Nonlinear Elastomeric Mounts. Part 2: Comparing Numerical Model and Test Results

This paper presents the continuation of the modeling work described in a companion paper “Modeling of Nonlinear Elastomeric Mounts. Part 1: Dynamic Testing and Parameter Identification” by the same authors. That paper discussed a dynamic test procedure and an optimization methodology to identify and model an elastomeric mount as a non-linear lumped parameter structure. This paper discusses a numerical modeling methodology to confirm or improve the agreement between the dynamic test results and the input-output relationship of the analytical model generated in the companion paper.

In this paper, the model developed in the companion paper and the model parameters are input into a dynamic simulation model using a commercial simulation package. The model is then run to produce the numerical force-versus-displacement (F-x) curves of the mount. The numerical F-x curves are compared with the F-x curves obtained from the experiments. The comparison shows good agreement between the two sets of results, indicating that the model represents the elastomeric mount with accuracy.

The paper also discusses the effect of different optimization objective functions on the accuracy of the parameter estimation and the simulation results.