FRF Based Experimental – Analytical Dynamic Substructuring Using Transmission Simulator

Abstract: In dynamic substructuring, a complex structure is divided into multiple substructures that can be analysed individually and these individual component responses are coupled together to obtain the global response of the whole structure. Dynamic substructuring can be performed on substructure models that are identified either experimentally or analytically. For dynamic substructuring to be successful, it is very essential to have the precise information of the connection points or the interfaces between the substructures. The method has been extensively used with analytical models in most of the available standard finite element software packages where the information about all degrees of freedom is known. However, it is difficult to get the information about all connection degrees of freedom from the measurements and experimental substructuring is thus limited in its use compared to analytical substructuring. In order to overcome these difficulties, the Transmission Simulator method commonly also known as Modal Constraints for Fixture and Subsystem method can be used. In this method, an additional fixture called Transmission Simulator which is available both physically and analytically, is attached to the substructures at the interfaces and their respective responses are measured. The substructures could be analytical as well as experimental. The coupling is done by constraining the transmission simulator on the substructures to have the same motion and the effect of the transmission simulator is later removed from the coupled structure by subtracting the analytical transmission simulator model. This method has been successfully implemented for Component Mode Synthesis and Frequency Based Substructuring for structures with multiple connection points at a single location. In this thesis work, frequency response function based experimental–analytical dynamic substructuring using the transmission simulator is performed on a rear subframe and rear differential unit assembly of a Volvo XC90 car where the differential unit is connected to the subframe at three locations. The aim of this work is to verify the Transmission Simulator Method for multiple location connection points using the frequency response functions and build confidence on the methodology in order to be used for future work at Volvo Car Corporation.