Paper presented at ISMA 23, 16-18 September, Leuven, Belgium

Strategy for transfer path analysis (TPA) applied to vibro-acoustic systems at medium and high frequencies
Juha Plunt Ingemansson Technology AB, Box 276, SE-401 24 Gteborg, Sweden e-mail: juha.plunt@ingemansson.se

Abstract
Transfer path analysis is fairly well established for estimating and ranking individual noise or vibration contributions at a point coupled interfaces between vibration source systems receiving passive vibro-acoustic systems. The method involves indirect experimental determination of all relevant forces acting at these DOFs and the determination of all transfer functions between response in points of interest and these forces. The modes of vibro-acoustic systems are increasingly sensitive to small details with increasing mode order and the amplitude and phase of transfer functions become inherently uncertain when the modal overlap of these higher modes becomes larger than 1. Ordinary TPA then becomes practically useless, since the phase and amplitude of contribution vectors will no longer be reasonably stable at any particular frequency. This paper illustrates how to modify the TPA to expand its usefulness into the frequency range where modal overlap becomes considerable. A practical example is given for a medium frequency range periodic noise problem in a passenger car. contributions to as well as the total response (e.g. the sound pressure at a specific point), are obtained as illustrated in Figure 1. It is well known that significant variations in vibro-acoustic transfer properties occur between individual products that are manufactured to be identical. Magnitude variations in the order of 5-8 dB are usual and typical for narrow-band transfer functions at medium and higher frequencies obtained in serial production of road vehicles, aircraft, ships, appliances etc. The modes of vibro-acoustic systems become increasingly sensitive to small variation in details and manufacturing tolerances (see e.g. [4], [5] [6] and [7]) with increasing mode order. The amplitude and phase of transfer functions become inherently uncertain when the overlap of these higher order modes becomes large (MOF > 1). The modal overlap factor, MOF, is defined as

1. Introduction
Experimental transfer path analysis (TPA) is a fairly well established technique [1], [2] for estimation and ranking of individual low-frequency noise or vibration contributions via the different structural transmission paths from point coupled powertrain or wheel-suspensions to the vehicle body. TPA is also used to analyse the structureborne transmission paths into vibration isolated truck or tractor cabs etc. Each degree of freedom (DOF) acting at each interface point between a vibration source system and a receiving, passive vibro-acoustic system is a separate transfer path in TPA. TPA can also be performed analytically, using FE-models or specialised system analysis software, see e.g. [3]. The TPA method involves: 1) an indirect procedure for the experimental determination of the force components acting at the coupled DOFs and 2) the determination of all transfer functions between response in points of interest (e.g. at the drivers ear) and these forces. These shall be measured with the receiving subsystem disconnected at all the DOFs included in the TPA analysis while all other connections shall remain in place. Assuming that the structure is linear and time invariant and that the forces and transfer functions have been determined, partial
1

MOF ( ) = n( )

(1)

where is the loss factor and n() is the average modal density, and is the angular frequency.

2. Theoretical details
Classic (traditional) TPA: The traditional transfer path analysis (TPA) is based on the following superposition principle that is valid for linear, time-invariant systems. The individual path contribution to the sound pressure (or vibration response) in point m from a force acting in point n in direction k is given by

pmnk ( ) = H mnk Fnk ( )

Figure1. The principle of transfer path analysis As an example, Figure 2 [5] shows the same force to sound pressure FRF measured in about 100 nominally identical cars directly after the cars have left the production line.

(2)

where pmnk is the (complex) sound pressure spectrum Hmnk is the (complex) frequency response function (NTF) of the receiving system when decoupled at interfacing DOFs Fnk is the complex force spectrum The total response (e.g. sound pressure) is then obtained as
pm ( ) =

n =1, k =1

N ,3

mnk

( ) =

n =1, k =1

N ,3

mnk

( ) Fnk ( )

(3)

if only the translational DOFs are included in the measurements. The determination of operating forces for each DOF is done indirectly, and can be performed in two different ways for the traditional, low frequency TPA. The first and most common method is to use resilient connecting elements as force transducers, provided that the complex dynamic transfer stiffness of these is known for the different DOFs. The forces are obtained as Figure 2. Magnitudes of structure-borne FRFs for the drivers seat microphone in 99 cars [5]. Consequently, the ordinary TPA formulation which assumes that the frequency response functions have stable amplitude and phase becomes much less useful in practice under significant modal overlap conditions, since the contribution phasors will no longer be reasonably stable at any particular frequency. In addition, rotational degrees of freedom, that are normally neglected, may become increasingly important contributors to the resulting total noise or vibration response at higher frequencies.

Fnk ( ) = k nk ( )( x nk1 ( ) x nk 2 ( ))

(4)

where knk is the complex transfer stiffness [8] for mount n in direction k xnk1 is the displacement at the source side xnk2 is the displacement at the receiver side The second method is to use inversion of the measured FRF matrix between structural response on the receiver side and forces acting at all interfacing DOFs. This matrix is then combined with operational measurements of vibration on the receiver side in order to back-substitute force estimates by matrix inversion.

This matrix inversion method has to be used when the transfer paths include rigid connections or the mounts are very stiff compared to the receiving structure, since the relative displacement across the mount becomes too small. The forces are obtained as

The first step is then to redefine the contribution to the sound pressure (or vibration response) at a receiver point m from a force acting in point n and in direction k as
~ ~ 2 ( ) = H 2 ( ) F 2 ( ) p mnk mnk nk

(6)

F1 H 11 M = M F H N M1

H 12 L H 1N O M L L H MN

x &&1 M && xM

(5)

where the number of responses M can be larger than the number of force DOFs N. The complex phasors are summed at each frequency and a vector diagram is practical to use for analysing the ranking and interaction of contributions at any particular frequency. Powerful commercial tools with numerous graphical presentation features are also available [2] for this type of analysis, see the example in Figure 3.

where the H() is a notation for a frequency averaged frequency response function (typically from 5% bandwidth up to 1/3rd octave) around the frequency considered. Observe that the force and response are still treated at discrete frequencies. Depending upon the strategy used for the transfer path ranking, an alternative may be to use the maximum FRF values in the frequency bands (the worst case scenario) instead of the average. The total mean squared sound pressure at point m is then obtained by summation of the uncorrelated path contributions as
~ 2 ( ) = pm p ~
N ,3 2
mnk

( )

(7)

n =1, k =1

Figure 3. Example of vector graph showing transfer path contributions at a specific rpm for the 3rd order component and path contributions as function of rpm [2]. Mid- and high frequency range TPA: The contribution analysis can be expanded into the mid and high frequency range (modal overlap factor > 1) by: 1) considering FRFs in sufficiently wide frequency bands and 2) to use energy related quantities at the receiver locations. Both or either one of these modifications to the ordinary TPA can be applied in order to obtain more stable and relevant path contributions in the mid- and high frequency ranges.
3

As pointed out in e.g. [7], the spatially averaged squared response, which is proportional to the receiving system energy, is a much more stable quantity in the frequency region with modal overlap than the point-to-point frequency response function, see the example in Figure 4 [7]. The second step for obtaining even more stable path contributions is therefore to measure the space averaged frequency response function at the receiving location. The forces Fnk are still acting at the specific point interface locations while the response <pmnk> is measured at L points in a domain around the receiving point m. For a homogenous receiving system (like an acoustic space or an unstiffened plate), the energy related, space average squared frequency response function is calculated for each force component as
2 2 < H mnk ( ) >= H mnklk ( ) l =1 L

(8)

and Equation (6) becomes

~ ~ 2 ( ) = H 2 ( ) F 2 ( ) p mnk mnk nk

(6)

Equation (7) can then again be used to calculate the path contributions and the total mean square response. The analysis may be carried out for each fre-

quency point (see Figure 4) or for an arbitrary frequency band.

-30 [ ] -40 -50 -60 -70 -80 -90 -100 0 200 400 600 frequency [Hz] 800 1000

complex dynamic transfer stiffness of these is known for the different DOFs in the frequency range of interest. The operating forces are obtained by Equation (4). The use of the matrix inversion method for force determination becomes questionable due to the uncertainties in the transfer function measurements this frequency range

Hydraulic Actuator Structural load frame

LMS Cada-X Vibco mon. MTS Servo Controller HP 3562A 2-ch FFT Electrodyn. shaker Concrete block HP 3565A front end

Hydraulic power unit

-10 -20 -30 -40 -50 -60 -70 -80 0 200 400 600 frequency [Hz] 800 1000

Isolator under test

Figure 5. Test rig for high-frequency, large and small amplitude resilient element testing. Laboratory measurements of the dynamic transfer stiffness of resilient elements in the audible frequency range have recently been standardised by ISO [8]. Figure 5 shows a special test rig that is used by Ingemansson and is designed to cover a large frequency range as well as a wide range of dynamic amplitudes. Very small amplitudes are provided by using electro-dynamic shakers for excitation. Large vibration amplitudes are provided by standard hydraulic actuators. Static preload can always be applied. Rotational degrees of freedom can also be measured. It is especially important to obtain the dynamic transfer stiffness data for the resilient elements at relevant operating conditions in order to be able to perform a high quality TPA,. This means e.g. that the static pre-loading shall be correct as well as the used dynamic amplitudes. Figure 6 gives a spectacular example of measured transfer stiffness for an isolator showing a large dependence of dynamic amplitude.

Figure 4. a) Variation of FRF levels between points on two subsystems, calculated for an ensemble of Lplates. b) Variation of spatial average velocity level in the receiving plate of the L-plate ensemble. Combined local parameter variations. standard deviations: 2% for eigenfrequencies and 20% for the logarithm of modal damping [7].

3. Practical considerations
The determination of the transfer functions can be performed directly by applying known forces one by one to the different DOFs or to measure the transfer functions reciprocally by applying excitation at the receiver positions, see e.g. [9]. The determination of the operating forces for each DOF in the mid and high frequency range by using resilient connecting elements as force transducers is straightforward, provided that the

Freq Resp: Hyx 2:1 Freq Resp: Hyx 2:1 1E+07 EU2/EU1

IS2AFRF1.63 IS2AFRF2.63

Mag (Log)

10000 5 Hz (Log) 5 kHz

Figure 6. Example of measured axial (compression) transfer stiffness (N/m) for an off-the shelf isolator using two different dynamic displacement amplitudes ( 0,03 mm, --- 0,01 mm).

4. A practical example
A mid-frequency tonal automotive noise problem is used as an application example of the presented mid-high frequency TPA approach. Interior power steering pump noise is transmitted from the hydraulic system to the car body structure through numerous structural transfer paths, involving resilient rubber elements. Typically tonal noise components in a frequency range of 200-600 Hz can be present.
80 75 Averaging band 70 65
dB

Applying the traditional TPA procedure that assumes amplitude and phase stability for the transfer functions will therefore result in phasors varying considerably in length and direction for very small changes in frequency. Due to the large modal overlap in the frequency range of interest, the variability of the FRFs is also expected to be quite large between individual cars. The TPA results will then not necessarily represent most of the produced cars. Instead of using the actual FRFs at each frequency point, a frequency averaged frequency response function is calculated over a moving 10% frequency band. The amplitudes of the noise contributions from individual transfer path including the DOFs of interest are used, while the relative phases between the components are omitted. Figure 8 illustrates a typical ranking diagram that presents the magnitudes of these individual path contributions.

Transfer Path Contributions, Hydraulic PS system, 10:th order at 1500 rpm

60,0 55,0 50,0 45,0 SPL, dBA re. 20 Pa 40,0 35,0 30,0 25,0 20,0 15,0 11,0 10,0 Firewall - X Firewall - Y Firewall - Z Bushing, rear, L - Y Engine mount,R - X Engine mount,R - Y Bushing, rear, R - X Bushing, rear, R - Y Bushing, front, L - Y Bushing, front, R - Z Bushing, front, L - Z Engine mount,R - Z Bushing, rear, R - Z Bushing, front, L - X Bushing, front, R - X Bushing, front, R - Y Engine mount,L - Y Engine mount,L - X Bushing, mid, L - X Bushing, mid, L - Y Bushing, rear, L - X Bushing, mid, R - X Bushing, mid, R - Y Bushing, mid, R - Z Engine mount,L - Z Bushing, rear, L - Z Bushing, mid, L - Z Total to Body 10,5 19,5 24,4 19,8 25,3 22,0 18,1 19,8 16,5 17,8 15,2 21,6 22,0 16,5 Present bushings Modified bushings 56,0 52,1 57,8

41,4 38,6 36,3 32,7 36,5 33,9 b 26,9 23,9 31,8

4,1

60 55 50 45 40

FRF

H1-estimator

Figure 8. Example of transfer path ranking at for one pump blade order at a specific speed. The mid and high frequency TPA was then used to exclude a large number of nonrelevant transfer paths and to test the effect of different possible modifications for the dominating paths, especially concerning changes of resilient element properties. This is basically the same way as traditional, lowfrequency TPA is used, except that cancellations due to opposite phase between paths are not taken into account. Phase is not stable when modes overlap.

Pa/N

35 30 25 20 0

X-dir, --- Y-dir, Z-dir

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 Frequency Hz

Figure 7. Example of measured noise-to-force transfer functions (dB re. 1 Pa/N). A typical frequency averaging band is illustrated. Figure 7 illustrates typical noise-to-force transfer functions measured at one connection point for force excitation in the three translational directions. As can be seen, the amplitude of the FRF varies considerably and rapidly with frequency. The variation of phase is also considerable (not shown here).

5. Conclusions

The traditional transfer path analysis using complex frequency response functions to represent individual paths will become increasingly unreliable at higher frequencies (larger modal overlap). It is suggested that a practical way to perform a transfer path analysis in the frequency range where the modal overlap of the transmitting vibro-acoustic system becomes considerable is to average the transfer functions over frequency and/or to apply spatial averaging at the receiving location. In practice, only the magnitudes of the path contributions, not the phase will be relevant in this frequency range. The experimental determination of dynamic transfer stiffness at relevant operating conditions and over a sufficiently broad frequency range is especially important for the quality and reliability of the transfer path analysis. It is also essential to point out that the same general considerations are equally valid for transfer path analysis based on FEM or BEM prediction models when applied to this frequency range. If statistical energy analysis (SEA) [10] models are used, the above mentioned averaging over frequency and space is usually inherently included.

Testing. Noordwiik, The Netherlands, 27-29 March 1996 (ESA SP-386, June 1996). [8] ISO10846-1/2 1997. Acoustics and Vibration Laboratory measurement of vibro-acoustic transfer properties of resilient elements. Part 1: Principles and guidelines. Part 2: Dynamic stiffness of elastic supports for translatory motion Direct Method. [9] Plunt J, Rignr L, Gabrielsson L.: Noise/Force Sensitivity Mapping for Vehicle Interior Acoustics using Reciprocity Techniques. Proc. Inter-Noise 95, p1101-1104, 1995. [10]Lyon R. H.: Statistical Energy Analysis of Dynamical Systems. MIT Press, 1975.

6. References
[1] Wyckaert K., Van der Auweraer H.: Operational Analysis, Transfer Paths Analysis, Modal Analysis: Tools to Understand Road Noise Problems in Cars. Proc. SAE Noise and Vibr Conf. 1995, p 139-143. [2] Transfer Path Analysis: The Qualification and Quantification of Vibro-Acoustic Transfer Paths. LMS International. Application Notes, 1995 [3] Plunt J., Kamph E. Fothergill D.: Dynamic Analysis and Acoustic Optimization of the Volvo Multi-Link Rear Suspension.. Proc. SAE Noise and Vibr Conf. 1989, paper 891142. [4] Schrder M. R.: Statistical parameters of the frequency response curves of large rooms. Journal of Audio Engineering Society, 35 (1987), pp 299-305. (Translated from German, orig. Acoustica 4 (1954), pp 594-600). [5] Kompella M. S., Bernhard B. J.: Measurement of the statistical variation of structural-acoustic characteristics of automotive vehicles. Proc. SAE Noise and Vibr Conf. 1993, paper 931272. [6] Fahy F. J.: Statistical energy analysis: a critical overview. Phil.Trans.R.Soc.Lond. A, 346 (1994), pp 431-447. [7] Plunt J.: Predictability limitations of vibration ransfer functions for structures with overlapping modes. Proc. Conf. Spacecraft Structures, Materials & Mech