Frequency-Based Substructuring for Virtual Prediction and Uncertainty Quantification of Thin-Walled Vehicle Seat Structures

Dynamic substructuring enables the dynamic behavior analysis of intricate systems. In this context, the precise description of individual subsystem interfaces is crucial. Coupling components through virtual points is suitable, especially when it comes to experimental substructuring. The complex contact situations that arise from joint descriptions in thin-walled structures, like those found in vehicle seats, present a challenging task. This investigation aims to visualize the complex coupling of thin-walled structures by applying the virtual point transformation. Individual subsystems are analyzed through experiments and coupled using the Lagrange multiplier frequency-based substructuring to achieve this goal. For validation purposes, a completely assembled vehicle seat has been investigated. Identification of the connecting elements between the substructures is achieved using decoupling techniques. As a result, the stiffness of the sleeve can be determined through various approaches to decoupling and measurement configurations. However, the transfer functions obtained tend to be overestimated, especially for thin-walled structures. One of the main conclusions highlights the correlation between the number of virtual points and the resulting accuracy of the coupled transfer function results.