The transfer path analysis method on the use of artificial excitation: Numerical and experimental studies

Transfer path analysis (TPA) method is a powerful tool used to study the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) behavior of mechanical systems. With the development of detecting and testing technology, more powerful and accurate tools for vibration and noise troubleshooting are required. The classical TPA works as the system is disassembled, and thus it is very time-consuming and the boundary conditions are not correct anymore. These topics makes classical TPA still an active research area. In this paper, a TPA method on the use of artificial excitation is presented. In the method artificial excitation is applied on the active part for providing sufficient incoherent forces to improve the estimation. The known force is applied on the passive part for establishing a relationship between the responses and loads. The advantages of this method are that it estimates the uncoupled transfer function of the passive part on the basis of in situ measurements, without disassembling the system. The proposed method is validated by numerical and experimental case studies. Some remarks and practical aspects are discussed.