Vibration and Fatigue Analysis of Vehicle Systems Using Component Modes

Comfort safety and economicalness of a vehicle system under development is significantly influenced by decisions made in the planning stage. During this stage simulation models of complete vehicle systems may be suitable to predict the dynamic behaviour of a vehicle and to avoid high costs of manufacturing and operation. In general, it is necessary to take into account different fields of engineering such as computer aided design, control system design, structural dynamics and vehicle system dynamics. This thesis focuses on vibration and fatigue analysis of vehilce systems. To perform improved stress-and-fatigue life calculations, dynamic loads are computed by means of multibody system analysis. An efficient procedure of stress calculation and evaluation based on realistic finite-element models allows for considering the most significant operating conditins as well as their frequency. Thus, the entire operating period of a vehicle system under development may be studied in an early stage of design by computer simulation