COMPUTER OPTIMIZATION OF ENGINE MOUNTING SYSTEMS

Engine mounting system tuning by experimental methods used during vehicle development is a very time consuming process. The degree of system optimization achieved relying on this approach alone is highly dependent upon the development engineer's experience, the allowable flexibility in modifying the system late in the vehicle program and the available time before the vehicle is scheduled for production. This situation should be helped if the initial mounting configuration provided to the development activity is near optimum. Defining a near optimum initial mounting configuration is not an easy task by any means due to the complex nature of the powerplant inertia properties, the packaging constraints on the mount locations, as well as the individual mount rate ratio limitations imposed by manufacturability. The objective of this paper is to present the computer simulation and optimization methods developed to simplify and expedite the process of defining an optimized mounting system configuration satisfying the user defined goals for system dynamic characteristics. Also, discussed are the general design considerations and constraints for engine mounting systems.