Vibroacoustic Analyses of Utility Terrain Vehicles

Unlike a passenger sedan, a UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle) has much more NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) problems because it is often driven on highly rugged outdoor road surfaces. Accordingly, the excitation forces from the rugged road surfaces are typically transient, unexpected, and highly intense. To minimize the NVH problems that driver and passengers may experience, the vibroacoustic characteristics of a full-size UTV must be thoroughly analyzed. This paper presents the vibration analyses of a full-size UTV. Specifically, modal analyses are applied to analyze the natural frequencies, natural modes, and damping coefficients of the steering wheel, driver floor panel, and driver seat rail. The critical resonance frequencies and resonance modes in these three areas that are critical to the driver's comfort level are determined. These results may be critically important for design modifications of a UTV to enhance the comfort level of a driver.