Squeak Noise Prediction of a Door Trim Panel Using Harmonic Balance Method

Squeak and rattle noise in a vehicle’s interior is perceived as an annoying sound by customers. Since persistent noise (e.g. engine, wind or drive train noise) has been reduced continuously during the last decades, the elimination of sounds, which have their origin in the vehicle’s interior components, is getting more important. Therefore, noise prediction based on simulation models is useful, since design changes can be realized at lower costs in early virtual development phases. For this task, linear simulation methods are state of the art for the identification of noise risk, but in general without knowing if a sound is audible or not. First approaches have been developed based on the Harmonic Balance Method to predict squeak noise and assess their audibility. This paper presents vibroacoustic measurements at a door trim panel for squeaking and non-squeaking configurations. Vibrations are excited harmonically by a force controlled low noise shaker. The system response is measured in a semi-anechoic chamber by acceleration sensors and audibility is assessed. Additionally, a 3D finite element model is built and the Harmonic Balance Method using a dry friction law is applied to predict the acoustic behavior. Finally, the simulation results are compared to the measurements. A good agreement between simulation and experiment can be observed.