Cabin Sheet Metal Stiffness Corrections in SEA

Highly shaped sheet metal panels in automotive and heavy truck designs require the use of frequency-dependent stiffness multipliers in statistical energy analyses. This study reviews the use of correction factors determined from FEA, by counting modes within constant-percentage bands. The application of varied, ideal boundary conditions and extended sub-structure are presented as a means to improve model accuracy. Comparisons between measured body panel modal density and FEA provide insight for the FEA-based method, where results are compared to measured modal density determined from spatially averaged driving-point conductance.