Low-frequency dynamic analysis of automotive door weather-strip seals

Automotive car door weather-strip seals play an important role in the vibro-acoustic isolation of passenger compartments. The research on weather-strip seals is mainly focused on the sound transmission characteristics of the joint, while the structure-borne vibration transmission characteristics of the component have received little attention. Previous research has shown the value of the non-linear finite element (FE) method for the static analysis of the mechanical characteristics of weather-strip seals, and defined relevant seal performance factors that are considered in door weather-strip seals design.This study concerns the low-frequency dynamic analysis of the mechanical characteristics of the weather-strip seals, and focuses on the detailed modeling of the structure-borne transmission characteristic of the component. The structure-borne transmission characteristic of the weather-strip seals is an important performance factor to be considered in door weather-strip seal design for NVH applications.In operating conditions, when the car door is locked on the car body, the weather-strip seal can be considered subjected to a small-amplitude vibration superimposed on the seal compression level determined by the door–body gap distance. A detailed non-linear FE model of the weather-strip seal is used to simulate the seal structure-borne transmission characteristic as a function of compression and frequency. A setup is built to measure the material properties used in the numerical simulation, and to experimentally validate the structure-borne transmission characteristics of the weather-strip seal.