Experimental and simulation‐based modeling of a vehicle seat

Abstract

AbstractThe automotive industry must deal with significant challenges in the future. Consequently, predicting the Noise‐Vibration‐Harshness (NVH) in the early design and concept phase becomes essential. Especially dynamic seat behavior immediately affects ride comfort and hence customer acceptance. Therefore, it is necessary to have reliable finite element (FE) models for the simulation‐based prediction of the dynamic seat behavior. This study describes different aspects of the experimental‐ and simulation‐based modeling of a vehicle seat. The experimental modal analysis is used to characterize the seat system as well as the subsystem's seat backrest and frame. The structural dynamics of a seat depend on various sensitive parameters. We identified the dominant mode shapes below 100 Hz, which are lateral, fore‐and‐aft, and twisting modes. We could see that the seat backrest has a substantial mass influence. Besides, we showed that the twisting mode can be modified by varying cross‐direction stiffness. Thus, findings are utilized to improve the predictive power of simulation results.