Use of SEA for Vehicle Target Setting and Efficient Realization of Vehicle Acoustic Goals

Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) is an established technique for predicting vehicle NVH. Since SEA is more sensitive to certain parameters such as material properties, damping, absorption, and treatment thickness and coverage than to fine details of geometry, using SEA is especially practical and can be particularly advantageous in the early design phase of a vehicle development project. Different concepts for various vehicle subassemblies such as dash, doors, roof, floor, etc., can be effectively evaluated for feasibility at a very early stage in the design process. Such concept studies can prevent design failures and can also be used to improve subassembly NVH target setting. An introduction to SEA and summary of the established use of SEA for vehicle NVH design and development are presented. A proposed methodology for application of SEA to vehicle design is presented, addressing model validation, contribution analysis, target setting, design sensitivity analysis, and optimization for different design concepts and proposed configurations of the vehicle and vehicle subassemblies. A concrete example of an SEA vehicle subassembly model and modeling considerations is presented, followed by a summary and set of conclusions.