Prediction of the side panel vibrations on the washing machines by the elastic multi-body modeling

摘要

It is important to predict the vibration behavior of a washing machine at an early design phase. Especially,the side panel vibrations contribute considerably to the total sound power level of the washing machines at lowfrequencies. In the present study, an elastic multi-body system model is used to predict the spectral vibrationcharacteristics and the overall vibration levels of the mid-point on the side panel of a washing machine withsufficient accuracy, between 0 to 400 Hz. The components of the washing machine are modeled with lumpedand distributed finite element models and a coupled rigid-elastic multi-body system is established. Eachdistributed sub-component characteristics is validated through experimental modal analysis. The vibrationbehavior of the lumped connecting elements is modeled through the experimental methods. Finally, theComponent Mode Synthesis Method in the ADAMS program is used to establish the overall vibration model ofthe washing machine. The comparison of the calculated and the measured vibration response on the mid pointsof the side panels exhibited good agreement.