Towards Automotive NVH Enhancement: Structural Dynamics Analysis of a Vehicle Wheel

The pneumatic tire is a key component of a vehicle since it transmits vibrations and disturbance from a typical road to the vehicle body structure. It is important to analyze dynamics of a tire to control the NVH (Noise, Vibration and harshness) level of a whole vehicle body structure. In this paper, a finite element of a whole wheel (including a rim and a tire) has been developed and a through dynamic analysis is done to find the resonance frequencies and corresponding mode shapes. These resonance frequencies and mode shapes can be used as the input parameters for BIW (Body-In-White) design in early design phases. It can significantly enhance dynamical performance of a vehicle body structure and at the same time reduce the manufacturing cost and time. Because a reliable and precise dynamic model of the tire gives the opportunity to have an optimized design in geometries and materials, here, we have developed a finite element (FE) model for the wheel and a comprehensive dynamic analysis is conducted