Mode selection of modal expansion method estimating vibration field of washing machine

• The vibration and noise of a washing machine were estimated using the modal expansion method (MEM).
• New mode selection method was proposed and applied to the MEM.
• The vibration and noise derived by the two types of mode selection methods and MEM were compared.
• New mode selection method shows more reasonable results in the estimation of vibration and noise.

This paper is about a study estimating the vibration and radiated noise of a washing machine by using a mode selection-applied modal expansion method (MEM). MEM is a technique that identifies the vibration field from a portion of eigenvectors (or mode shapes) of a structure, and thus, the selection of the eigenvectors has a big impact on the vibration results identified. However, there have been few studies about selecting the eigenvectors with respect to the structural vibration and radiated noise estimation. Accordingly, this paper proposes the use of a new mode selection method to identify the vibration based on the MEM and then calculate radiated noise of a washing machine. The results gained from the experiment were also compared. The vibration and noise results of numerical analysis using the proposed selection method are in line with the measured results. The selection method proposed in this paper corresponds well with the MEM and this process seems to be applicable to the estimation of various structure vibrations and radiated noise.