Differential evolution based identification of automotive hydraulic engine mount model parameters

Abstract

Hydraulic engine mounts are commonly used in automotive applications, and numerical models exist for performing full-vehicle noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) studies by means of multibody simulation. The parameters of these models are usually determined by the manufacturer from first-principle numerical calculations, or by means of direct testing of the individual components. This paper describes, instead, a four-step identification method developed to determine the parameter values of a specific hydromount numerical model, the Freudenberg hydromount equations, a set of highly non-linear piecewise-continuous differential equations. The identification procedure is based on two concepts, the first being the use of the differential evolution algorithm for determining optimal parameter values, while the second is the use of data obtained from a series of experimental tests of progressively higher displacement amplitude. Identified parameters provide models whose mean square errors between the calculated output force time history and the experimentally measured force time history are typically of the order of 1-2 per cent.