Characterizing and Reducing Structural Noises of Vehicle Shock Absorber Systems

Noise and vibrations are very important aspects in overall customer perception of passenger cars. The optimal layout of the damper and the damper mount is a crucial criterion with respect to interior noise.

In this article, the damper and the damper mount are viewed as a vibrational system. The article shows how the damper module's vibrational properties can be optimized with the help of a system analysis. Measurement and analysis processes developed specifically for this purpose are explained. The application of damper simulations for noise reduction is presented.

Problems in assessing damper noise are discussed, and the use of artificial-head technology to analyze psycho-acoustic noise is presented. Examples are used to illustrate the process of acoustic damper optimization.