Vibration response prediction for a vehicle transmission system using first-order and second-order iterative embedded sensitivity analysis

In product manufacturing and test environments, engineers must predict how mechanical components vibrate after their mass, damping, and stiffness are modified. It makes predicting the changes in vibration response of the modified system relative to that of the original system be very important. Embedded sensitivity functions have been proved to have a good performance to realize optimal design modifications for reducing linear vibrations in certain frequency ranges. And it's also a good way to evaluate the vibration characteristics of a nonlinear system based on the statistical method. Here, two techniques to predict the forced response of mechanical components for local changes in properties were presented based on a first-order multi-step iterative prediction and a second-order iterative embedded sensitivity analysis. The two methods were applied in a single DOF model to determine the accuracy of the predictions. They were also applied in a vehicle transmission system model. The study results provided a guidance for NVH engineers acquiring local optimal vibration response characteristics according to the proposed technique.