Abstract
Keywords:
Diesel Powertrain Vibration Noise Combustion
Abstract:
Diesel vehicle sales in the European passenger car market are rapidly approaching 50% market share. This rise in penetration has been achieved because buyers are attracted by the fuel consumption benefits of diesel powertrains and are now able to select from a wide range of desirable products with excellent performance and levels of refinement competitive with gasoline powered products. In a highly competitive marketplace there is increasing emphasis on the development of appealing diesel products, with the dominant factor being powertrain NVH performance.
This paper starts with a description of a diesel vehicle NVH development process which has been applied to achieve a number of ‘best in class’ products in the marketplace. By identifying the key diesel vehicle NVH issues, focus is then made on the powertrain NVH development perspective. It focuses upon:
• Key powertrain NVH issues
• NVH target setting at a powertrain level
• Combustion system design & calibration optimisation
• Powertrain structural optimisation Case studies are drawn from a range of relevant powertrain NVH projects to illustrate the application of key supporting tools and technologies:
• Combustion noise analysis including noise source identification, characterisation and monitoring using a novel analyser system
• Combustion noise index development
• Combustion noise optimisation using a design of experiment approach
• Structural optimisation using structural attenuation prediction
The paper concludes with an insight into the future challenges in diesel powertrain NVH development that will be generated by increasingly stringent emissions requirements and a marketplace which will demand continuously improving levels of ‘diesel appeal’.