Virtual vibration testing of body and power unit mounted components (diesel engine EGR coolant rail)

Arabi, Samaneh (2016). Virtual vibration testing of body and power unit mounted components (diesel engine EGR coolant rail). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

As a part of the sign-off procedure for body and power unit mounted components, random vibration testing is carried out to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specification which the components must survive without damage. With the current move to minimise design and development costs and time-scales in the development of new vehicles, the use of CAE to validate system design through the use of virtual testing is becoming ever more important. The desire is therefore to develop computer aided analysis/numerical techniques that will replicate the vibration testing of body and power unit mounted components.

The research demonstrates the development of numerical analysis to replicate the vibration testing of a Diesel Engine EGR Coolant Rail. A Finite element model of the coolant rail with rubber hoses was developed. The rubber material properties were derived from a series of tests (tensile test, relaxation test and DMA test) and were modelled using visco-hyperelastic constitutive equations. In order to check the validity of the simulation results, a test rig was designed and developed.

In this research, the influence of the fluid dynamics on the vibration of a mechanical structure is also presented using the FSI method. A FE analysis was conducted to simulate the vibration behaviour of an EGR coolant rail consisting of a metal tube and rubber tubes at both ends of the metal tube with water inside it. The correlation study suggests a close agreement between the test and simulation results in terms of the prediction of the natural frequencies. This analysis enables design engineers to extract the natural modes and frequencies of vibrating parts with flowing fluid in order to investigate the failure modes and redesign brackets, supports, and fittings for desired strength.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):