Use of Statistical Energy Analysis in Vehicle NVH Design Cycle

Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) is used to predict high-frequency acoustic and vibration response in vehicle NVH design. Early in the design cycle prototype hardware is not yet available for testing and the geometry is still too poorly defined and changing too quickly for Finite Element Analysis or Boundary Element Analysis to be an effective NVH analysis tool. For most of the concept phase and early design phase, SEA uniquely offers the ability to virtually predict the main noise transfer paths and to support target setting for component and full vehicle NVH design. At later stages of the design process, SEA combines with NVH testing to provide more accurate predictions and to provide guidance for more efficient testing.

This paper describes the established uses of SEA in the vehicle industry and presents an overview of the NVH design cycle and how SEA is used to support NVH development at different stages. The synergy between SEA analysis and full-vehicle and component-level NVH testing is discussed. The types of testing that most effectively validate the SEA models and the methodology for validating the models are presented. Case studies for several vehicle NVH applications are presented with examples of the use of SEA prediction and validation measurements. Overall advantages, limitations, and use of SEA to increase the efficiency of the NVH development test effort are summarized.