Synthesizing nonstationary, non-Gaussian wheeled vehicle vibrations

This paper presents a novel technique by which non-Gaussian vibrations are synthesized by\ud generating a sequence of random Gaussian processes of varying root-mean-square (rms)\ud levels and durations. The technique makes use of previous research by the authors which\ud shows that non-Gaussian vibrations from wheeled vehicles comprise of a sequence of\ud Gaussian segments. Synthesis is achieved by creating a modulation function which is then\ud applied, by means of a purposed-designed amplifier module, to a Gaussian random signal\ud itself generated by a standard laboratory random vibration controller. This technique yields\ud nonstationary, non-Gaussian random vibrations that statistically conform to the desired\ud spectral and statistical (rms) distribution functions and are typical of those generated by\ud wheeled vehicles. Results from experiments using such a Statistical Vibration Synthesizer\ud system demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and its relevance for evaluating the\ud effects of nonstationary random vibrations on consignments and passengers alike. \ud Paper presented at the 11th International Forum for Road Transport Technology (IFRTT) Heavy Vehicle Transport Technology (HVTT)symposium