In the competitive automotive market, the performance of turbochargers is constantly being pushed towards their theoretical optimum. One of the key components of the turbocharger is the rotor-bearing system, which determines the friction losses and noise output and furthermore affects the overall turbocharger efficiency, reliability and cost. In order to fulfil the demands of the automotive market, developing methods to optimize the rotor-bearing system is the focus of this study, where particular attention is paid to taking into account the product-to-product variations that are inevitable in cost-effective mass-produced parts, as well as the variations in turbocharger operating conditions.

First, a model of the rotor-bearing system was developed to predict the rotordynamic response over the operating range. The model is constructed in a step-by-step fashion, starting with a simple test case: a Laval rotor supported by plain journal bearings. As the behavior of the rotor-bearing system varies over its rotation speed range, run-up simulations were performed by a time-transient multi-physical model. In this model, several sub-models are coupled: a rotordynamic sub-model, a thermo-hydrodynamic submodel and a thermal network model.

Once a satisfactory correlation was found between numerical simulation results and measurement results, the test case progressed to a Laval rotor with floating ring bearings instead of plain journal bearings. Correspondingly, the bearing model was extended to include the dynamics of the floating ring and its two oil films. The resulting run-ups showed a response consisting of a critical speed, an oil whirl and an oil whip.

Analysis of a turbocharger rotor-bearing system was subsequently performed, showing a more complex response, consisting of multiple critical speeds and the co-existence of sub-synchronous whirling modes. The effect of the rotor-bearing operating conditions, unbalance configuration, the thrust bearing and the bearing cylindricity were investigated. Most of the trends are correctly predicted by the model, however the correlation between measurement results and simulation results was clearly inferior to the case of the Laval rotor, most likely due to the uncertainties in the actual turbocharger geometry and the actual unbalance distribution.

Lastly, an optimization of a Laval rotor-bearing system was performed. The resulting robust optimum design ensures optimum rotor-bearing performance, even at the most severe operating conditions and even if all manufacturing tolerances represent the worst case scenario. Particularly the uncertainties in rotor unbalance and oil supply temperature were found to have a significant influence on the optimum design.

Sound and vibration have a defining influence on our perception of product quality. They are especially well-known aspects in the automotive industry; a branch which sees, besides safety and driving comfort, ever-increasing expectations of the acoustic experience. After all, a smooth and silent driving experience appeals to a feeling of premiumness, a connotation no longer reserved to the top segment in the industry. While traditional combustion engines are gradually getting replaced by hybrid or full-electric drive-lines, other electromechanical (so-called mechatronic) systems make their entrance. As a consequence, the sound experience shifts from low-frequent engine roar to high-frequent humming and whining – a yet unfamiliar experience that calls for redefinition of the soundscape. To support such change, it is necessary that sound and vibration aspects can be considered in an early phase of development by means of simulations. This poses a true challenge: although state-of-art numerical modelling techniques can simulate the low-frequent dynamics fairly well, they often fail to provide reliable answers for the higher acoustic frequency range.

This thesis presents techniques that aim to implement measurements of structural dynamics and active vibration sources into development processes. By characterising the passive and active dynamics of yet available components by means of measurements and combining those with numerical models, a hybrid simulation emerges that may provide answers to high-frequent problems in an early phase of development. This hybrid simulation is facilitated by use of Experimental Dynamic Substructuring: a methodology that determines structural dynamic aspects of complete products based on individually measured components.Part one of this thesis presents a variety of methods for simulation and substructuring that form the basic toolbox for generation, analysis, coupling and decoupling of dynamic models. Pivotal is the experimental approach, which means that dynamic models are obtained from measurements rather than numerical modelling efforts. To transform such measurements into a model that is compatible for coupling with other (numerical) models, the virtual point transformation is proposed. This method considers measured responses and applied forces around (user-chosen) points as locally rigid displacements and forces. Doing so, every connection point of a component can be described by three translations and three rotations with respect to a global reference frame, perfectly suited for substructuring. At the same time, the quality of the measurement and transformed frequency response functions can be quantified objectively using the proposed consistency functions. Altogether, the virtual point method bridges the gap between experimental and numerical modelling activities and enables us to exploit substructuring effectively for complex high-frequency systems.

Part two presents a comprehensive study of Transfer Path Analysis (TPA); a collection of methods that contemplate a vibration problem as a source, transmission and receiver. A general framework for TPA is presented by re-interpreting eleven methods from the perspective of substructuring. It is shown that these methods can be categorised into three families, that in turn differ in the nature of characterisation of the source. The component-based TPA is regarded the most promising family, which allows to characterise a source independent of the environment in which it has been measured. The vibrations of the active source can be replaced by equivalent force spectra that, multiplied with the (simulated) FRFs of the assembled vehicle, predict what this source would sound like in the vehicle. Several practical methods are discussed to determine such equivalent forces: from forces measured against a blocked boundary, using free velocities, based on measurements on a compliant test bench or using the so-called in-situ and pseudo-forces methods. For further generalisation, a notation is presented that governs the abovementioned principles and facilitates the application and comparison of component-based TPA methods. In particular, it is shown that controllability and observability – concepts adopted from control theory – are strongly related to TPA; proper understanding of these principles yields interesting opportunities for analysis and simulation.

The developed methods have been applied to analyse the vibrations of the electric power-assisted steering (EPS) system, which is reported on in part three. It is demonstrated that the virtual point transformation is able to determine accurate FRFs in a frequency range up to 6000 Hertz. Substructuring is applied to simulate the FRFs of a vehicle by applying the principle of substitute coupling, which employs a substitute beam during measurement in the vehicle to represent the dynamic effects of the steering system to couple. For the purpose of characterisation of the steering system’s excitations, several testing environments are discussed: a stiff test bench, more compliant test benches and the vehicle itself. Each configuration is accompanied by a specific method for source characterisation, for which it is demonstrated that the equivalent forces are indeed an environment-independent description of the active excitations of the steering system. It is shown that these forces can be used for the prediction of sound and vibrations in the vehicle. The presented applications offer, with understanding of substructuring and TPA theory, insights in the practical aspects of the methodology. This opens interesting opportunities for early-phase development of sound and vibration.