Transient high-frequency elasto-acoustic response of a vehicular drivetrain to sudden throttle demand

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the high-frequency structural response of vehicular powertrain systems when subjected to sudden surge in output torque demand as in throttle tip-in from coast to drive condition. The lightly damped drivetrain system has many lash zones represented by low stiffness components and thin shell elements with large modal densities. The high-frequency noise and structural dynamic modes excited under impact conditions through low lash rate zones are of short transitory nature but a major concern to vehicle drivers and other road users alike. An investigation of the root cause of these transitory events requires state-of-the art signal processing techniques at reasonably high sampling rates. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the driveline clonk problem and establishes the relationship between this phenomenon and the low-frequency shuffle of the vehicle.