A Technical Review on Existing Methodologies and Industry Practices for Powertrain Mounting System Development through Multi Body Dynamics

The main purpose of the powertrain mounting system is to reduce excessive motion created by the powertrain system as well as to isolate vibration and noise from being transferred to the main system There are two fundamental requirements which needs to be fulfilled by mounting system, those are static requirement and dynamic requirement. Where the static requirements states that it should support the whole weight of the powertrain system under sever driving conditions and to avoid the metal-to-metal contact between oscillating parts of engine and structure. Dynamic requirement states that it should efficiently isolate the vibration and unbalanced forces, furthermore it should allow the sufficient movement of powertrain so as it will not damage the structure of the chassis. The mounting system also plays a significant role in vehicle ride and handling, as it controls the motion of largest mass of the vehicle i.e., powertrain. Therefore, a great attention is being given to the analysis and optimization of the characteristics and behavior of mounting system at initial stages of PMS development. The analysis of mounting system at initial stage of PMS development refers to the investigation of RBM characteristics of powertrain for a particular mounting configuration. This paper discusses the existing design considerations and different methodologies used for analysis and evaluation of specifications of mounting system. In addition, the different parameters affecting the behavior of the mounts are reviewed in detail. The analysis and optimization procedure for powertrain mounting system through multi body simulation approach is described. A case study has been performed by modelling a PMS of a 3-wheeler vehicle using Adams vibration tool. The rigid body modal characteristics of PMS is analyzed and validated with testing results.