Design of Folding Seat Tubs for NVH

Recently introduced “Stow-'n-Go” feature in minivans provides the option of folding the 2^nd and 3^rd row seats flat into a special compartment. These special storage compartments, or “tubs”, are designed under many challenging and competing design requirements, one of which is noise and vibration. In this study, both experimental and analytical tools are used to study the NVH performance of seat tubs considering different materials, constructions and damping treatments. The challenge of balancing stiffness and damping in a tight packaging space is augmented by the minimum weight and cost requirements. The details of material selection process for the minivan tubs are presented considering different materials and damping treatments. Various design alternatives considered during the optimization of weight, packaging space, and NVH performance are discussed. Results of the component and the vehicle testing are complemented with SEA modeling.