EURECA 2016 Conference Paper

Paper Number 2ME14

Enhancement of Vibration for FSAE Race Car

Driver
FARAH RAMAN DANIAL*

*
farahraman.danial@gmail.com

Abstract

In the recent years of automotive development, car manufacturers have been improving
Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) in their vehicles. Ride comfort, drivability and
stability are among vital factors in vehicle performances and customer satisfaction.
Equally important are the Formula Student race cars which students design, built and
race. The car usually runs on a motorcycle engine on a carbon steel spaceframe and is
capable of reaching more than 200 km/hr whilst weighing less than 350 kg. Many
researches were conducted to identify and reduce the vibration values on vehicles,
however since FSAE Race Cars do not function the same way, it is important to test,
measure and evaluate the vibration of the car. This paper presents the testing and
analysing stage of the engine mounting points of the Taylors Racing Team 2016 FSAE
Race Car.

Keywords: Vibration, FSAE Race Car, Fast Fourier Transform, Power Spectral
Density

1
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

1. Introduction

Vibration transmission to passengers can largely influence comfort, performance and

health [1]. Vibration that is up to 12 Hz can affect all of the human organs while any
values higher 12 Hz can have local effects [2]. In a vehicle, the internal combustion (IC)
engine is the main source of vibration and should be reduced in order to improve the
overall performance of the car and achieve passenger satisfaction. Hence, car
manufacturers have been finding ways to achieve satisfactory performance through the
development and optimization of Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) by reducing
the unbalanced forces and providing damping on the engine mounts [3].

Formula Student of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) is a student design competition

whereby students are required to design, built and race a small scaled formula one race
car which runs on a maximum of 600 cc engines. The Taylors Racing Team FSAE
2016 race car, TR 16, runs on a Yamaha R6 600 cc engine on an American Iron and
Steel Institute (AISI) 1010 Carbon Steel Spaceframe. As the engine is capable of
revving up to 17,000 rpm, produce a 2G downforce and reaching to maximum speed of
225 km/hr, the vibration frequency on the driver and the chassis structure is extremely
high. This is also due to the fact that the power to weight ratio is high as the weight of
a typical FSAE car can range between 250 350 kg.

Figure 1: Taylors Racing Team FSAE 2016 Race Car, TR16.

Various studies have been conducted in order to identify the amount of vibration on
different types of vehicles. Paddan and Griffin [4] studied the vibration of more than
100 different types of vehicles and have emphasized that the measurement of vibration
on a single vehicle could not be used to indicate the vibration of other vehicles of the
same category. Among the vehicles being tested in the study are cars, dumper, lift truck,
tractor and many more. In contrast, FSAE Race Cars are built with motorbike power
transmission and car dynamics and while most vehicles engine are mounted on the front
of the car, FSAE Race Car transmission is placed behind the driver.

Conti and Bretls work presented a new way to analyze rigid body on its mounts. This
was done by data acquired through an artificial excitation that was suspended to the

2
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

ground through mounts. This experiment was done to imitate the engine vibration on a
car mount. Results of this study is capable of giving outputs of suitable rigid body mass
and stiffness of the mounts [5]. However, the limitation of this vibration analysis was
done based on an artificial excitation and was suspended. Complementary to this, the
artificial excitation is not similar to the 4-cylinder engine of the Yamaha R6 and in the
FSAE Race Car engine is mounted directly to a chassis.

A study conducted by Chung-Ha and Clifford G.Smith presented a simplified method

to analyze the vibration amplitude of a 4-cylinder car engine when supported by
viscoelastic mounts [6]. Pistons, crankshaft and connecting rods are modeled as rigid
bodies whereas rubber mounts are modelled as spring and damping elements. In their
study, they are able to manipulate variables such as the location, orientation and
stiffness of the mount to reduce vibration in the engine design. Despite this, neither of
this study are similar to the construction of a FSAE Race Car in terms of the type of
engine and mounts.

It has been known that engine vibration is the main cause of driver discomfort and can
cause structural damage. Yet none of the studies presented are similar to the structure
of the race car. This is where the opportunity presented itself, as the study aims to reduce
the vibration frequency from the engine mounts to the entire chassis which indirectly
improves drivability whilst retaining the chassis structure. To achieve this, the vibration
on the engine and engine mounts are first recorded, analyzed and compared to the
Vibration Nomograph. From the results, multiple engine mounts will be modelled and
FEA analysis are conducted to identify the suitable engine mounts that can further
reduce the amount of vibration paths to the chassis and driver.

However, the scope of this paper is limited to only experimental analysis. This is
because of the time period of this study consist of building the 2016 FSAE Race Car.

2. Research Methodology

2.1 Design of Engine Mounts

Emphasis is made on how the unbalanced forces from the engine transfers vibration
paths to the engine supporting members which result to structure borne vibrations.
Ideally, engine mount system should isolate engine vibration. Engine mounting system
has been developed by concentrating on the improvement of frequency and amplitude
dependent properties [7]. As there were no emphasized being made on the damping of
engine vibration, the design of engine mount for the FSAE Race Car is only to achieve
its primary function to support the weight of the engine.

Figure 2 below shows the design of the engine mount on TR16. The design is done to
mimic the placement of the Yamaha R6 engine on the bike as shown in Figure 3. This
is to ensure that the engine weight is well distributed to the mounts and the engine
center of gravity is within the support base.

3
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

Figure 2: Side view of the engine mount on the TR16 chassis

Figure 3: Engine placement of the Yamaha R6 2006 model [8]

Once the design is finalized, the engine mounts are fabricated using the AISI 1010
Carbon Steel with an outside diameter of 26.9mm and thickness of 2.3mm. The
supporting members are welded directly to the chassis using the metal inert gas (MIG)
welding. Final result of the fabrication is shown below in Figure 4 below. Additional
bracing support made out of steel thickness of 3mm is used in order to support the
weight of the engine as shown in the green box in Figure 4.

4
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

Figure 4: Finalized engine mounting on TR16

2.2 Accelerometer Setup and Instrumentation

In this experiment, the vibration before and after mount was recorded.
A portable Integrated Electronic Piezoelectric (IEPE) Brel & Kjr type 4507
B accelerometer is utilized as the measurement device. In order to achieve
accurate results, the transducer mounting is one of the most important factor.
Bad mounting practice can lead to inaccurate results with a severely reduced
usable frequency range [9]. The primary requirement is to attach the
accelerometer as close as possible to the mechanical contact. Therefore, as
recommended by [9], a little grease is applied on the mounting surface of the
accelerometer and its mounted using a thin double adhesive tape. The usage of
grease improves frequency response.

The accelerometer is mounted onto two different locations, the engine mounting
that is connected to the chassis and on the engine cylinder head. This is to
observe the amount of vibration that is reduced from the engine to the engine
mounts. The placement of the accelerometer is shown in the figures below:

5
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

(a) (b)

Figure 5(a) Placement of accelerometer on the engine cylinder head 5(b)

Placement of accelerometer on the engine mount

2.3 Data Acquisition and Analysis

Measurements are taken when the car is on idle, ranging between 4000-5000 rpm.
The data was recorded over a period of 20 seconds, 2.5 kHz span and a sampling
frequency of 5 kHz. For continuous signal, Hanning window with 50% overlap was
implemented for Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. FFT analysis is used to analyze
the vibration of the engine as it is capable of breaking down the original time-based
waveform collected by the accelerometer into each magnitude, frequency and phase.
FFT is also capable of identifying the fluctuating signal in a dynamic response [10].
Hence, this would be useful to identify any mechanical shocks that occurs on either
placement of the accelerometer.

Another type of analysis that is performed is Power Spectral Density (PSD). PSD is
capable of identifying random vibrations due to motion that occurs at different
frequencies at the same time. PSD works by taking the frequency bin in FFT and
multiply it to the complex conjugate resulting in real values of the amplitude [10].
Therefore, PSD is more useful than FFT for random vibration analysis as it is capable
of normalizing the frequency bin width.

Once the vibration analysis is conducted, the results are then compared to the Vibration
Nomograph. Acceptable values of vibration in responds to undamped single degree of
freedom system are displayed on the vibration nomograph. The values are displayed in
terms of displacement, velocity and acceleration amplitude against frequency of
vibration [11]. The vibration acceptable levels are recognized by the International
Standard of Organization (ISO). This is shown in the Figure 6 below.

6
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

Figure 6: Vibration Nomograph [11]

3. Results and Observations

3.1 FFT Analysis for Before and After Engine Mount

Figure 7: Signal Measurement at the engine cylinder head

7
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

Figure 8: Signal Measurement at the engine mount

Figure 9: FFT Analysis at engine cylinder head

8
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

Figure 10: FFT Analysis at engine mount

Figure 7 and 8 demonstrates the results of signal measurement of acceleration

against time for both engine cylinder head and engine mount whereas Figure 9 and 10
shows the FFT analysis for vibration measurement at the engine head and mount. As
the accelerometer is placed exactly at the engine cylinder head, it can be seen that the
signal measurement shows a harmonic motion. Harmonic motion is the motion due to
the acceleration of a body that is directly proportional to the displacement from
equilibrium but in opposite direction [12]. This is true due to the rotation of the
crankshaft hence movement of the engine piston in the engine head. The change in
reciprocating and rotating components of the engine causes the harmonic motion.
However, results have also shown that the harmonic motion on the engine mount tend
to be more random than engine cylinder head itself. A possible cause for this might be
due to the design of the engine mounting point. Another essential point to be discussed
is the vibration amplitude at the engine is higher than vibration amplitude at the engine
mount. This is possibly due to the fact that some of the vibration has been transferred
to other parts of the engine and mounting points.

FFT Analysis results for engine cylinder head shows that there might be a
mechanical shock occurring at 200 Hz whereas the same shock is occurring at the
engine mount at much earlier frequency. The amplitude where the shocks are happening
are at very concerning values. Referring to the Vibration Nomograph in Figure 6, at a
frequency of 200 Hz, the machine vibration severity at a level of unsatisfactory is at
10m. The shock that is occurring at the engine head is at 1.4 x 10-3 and at engine mount
is 1.4 x 10-5, showing both values are at unsatisfactory level. The cause of the shock
however has not been identified.

9
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

3.2 PSD Analysis for Before and After Engine Mount

Figure 11: PSD Analysis at engine cylinder head

Figure 12: PSD Analysis at engine mount

The PSD analysis for both mounting points is corresponding to the same values
as the FFT Analysis. There are shocks occurring at the same frequency level with the
same amplitude. As measurements are taken when the car is on idle around 4000-5000
rpm, frequency at where the shocks are happening is at a very dangerous level for the
structure of the car as well as the driver. This is a possibility that this value can increase
as the car is running on different speed and riding conditions.

10
EURECA 2016 Conference Paper
Paper Number 2ME14

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, results have shown through signal measurements, FFT and PSD analysis that
the current engine mounting point design is not suitable for the Yamaha R6 engine. The
amplitude at lower frequency has shown that it is at an unsatisfactory level according to the
Vibration Nomograph. As this measurement is taken at idle condition, this value is at a
concerning level as the car is capable of revving up to 12,000 rpm at races for a long period of
time.

Foundational to this, engine is the main source of vibration in a vehicle. It is crucial to test and
measure the vibration caused by the engine and how it can affect the structure and ride comfort
for the drivers. AS FSAE Race Car is not similar to commercial vehicles, the awareness of
Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) amongst FSAE Competitors is important in order to
build a safe car not just for the drivers but as well as the structural integrity.

References

[1] M. Griffin, Handbook of Human Vibration, San Diego: Academic Press Limited, 1990.

[2] Y. P. A. S. H. R. I. Hostens, "A study of vibration characteristics on a luxury wheelchair and a

new prototype wheelchair," Journal of Sound & Vibration, vol. 266, pp. 443-452, 2003.

[3] K. P. T. Ramachandran, "Review on Internal Combustion Engine Vibrations and Mountings,"

International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Emerging Technologies, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 63-
73, 2012.

[4] G. P. a. M. Griffin, "Evaluation of Whole Body Vibration and RIde Comfort in a Passenger Car,"
International Journal of Acoustics and Vibration, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 143-149, 2009.

[5] P. a. B. J. Conti, "Mount Stiffness and Inertia Properties from Modal Test Data," ASME Journal
of Vibration and Acoustics, Stress and Reliability in Design, vol. 111, pp. 134-141, 1989.

[6] C. G. S. Chung-Ha Suh, "Dynamic Simulation of Engine-Mount Systems," SAE International,

pp. 561-572, 1997.

[7] N. G. N. R. V. D. Yunhe Yu, "Review of automotive vehicle engine mounting systems,"

Mechanism and Machine Theory, vol. 36, pp. 123-142, 2001.

[8] Brick7, "The Motorcycle Search Engine," Brick 7, South Africa, 2010.

[9] B. &. Kjr, "Vibration Transducers and Signal Conditioning," Brel & Kjr Sound Vibration
Measurement A/S, 1998.

[10] R. N. Bracewell, "The Fourier Transorm," Scientific American, pp. 86-95, 1989.

[11] S. S.Rao, Mechanical Vibration, Miami: Prentice Hall, 2011.

[12] P. Nolan, "Farmingdale University," [Online]. Available: www.farmingdale.edu/faculty/peter-

nolan/pdf/UPCh13.pdf. [Accessed 31 October 2016].

11