Investigation of Gear

Ratde Phenomena
.Allred Rust, Franz K. 'Brandl & Ge!rhard E. Thien,
AVL List iGmbH, IGiraz,.Austrial
The acceptance by discerning customers of

noise character evaluation system. This is fol-

passenger cars is dependent upon both the actual

lowed by a correlation

noise level and the subjective noise character.

phenomenon

The subjective noise character itself can contain, among other features. undesirable
phenomena

noise

which become apparent at certain

analysis of the noise

recorded in the passenger

Finally, a comprehensive
the noise phenomenon

critical phenomenon

ar the source will be described.

ditions. Due to changes in the angular velocity

of the crankshaft,
condition

gear rattle under driving

occurs at the unloaded

splines. It is influenced
features,

gears and

by a combination

of

such as the inertia of the flywheel,

of

on the bare power unit

and the potential

mainly present under low speed, high load con-

investigation

ofkey parameters for reduction

points in the vehicle operating range. One such

is gear rattle, which is

corn-

partment with the noise at the source.

Introduction
Generally, the noise level of today' s passenger cars is of an acceptable standard, in term of
both the objective noise level and the subjective

noi e character. Legislative regulations limit the

objective noise level, The subjective noise char-

clutch, and all gears, the transmission drag, and

acter, which consists of more than simply the

the resonant. characteristics

of the driveline.

objective noise level, I. has to be ofhigh quality to

The effect on airborne noise is also influenced

meet the demands of discerning customers. Un-

by the characteristics

der these circumstances.

of the vibration transfer

paths from the gear teeth meshes

bearings to the transmission
lyze the interactions

Vi.B

shafts and

housing. To ana-

of these parameters,

it is

individual noise phe-

nomena can. become annoying.

although

the

objective noise levels are hardly affected. Such

a noise phenomenon

can arise from the gear

necessary to conduct both vehicle tests, either

rattle of a manual transmission.

on the road or with a chassis dynamometer,

and

either in neutral. or under drive condi tions.? Neu-

to investigate the bare engine-transmission

unit

tral rattle is generated at idle with the transmis-

The first part of the

sion in neutral and the clutch engaged .. Drive

reported in this article deals with

rattle occurs at the unloaded gear meshing points

in an anechoic test cell

investigations

the definition by conventional

noise phenomena

methods of the

in the passenger

which occurs

under driving conditions, usually at higher loads

compart-

and lower speeds. The annoying character of

ment and a parallel application of a ubjective

ranle noise is additionally intensified by the fact

that it occurs in the speed range where transmission noise is clearly audible, as it is hardly

100

masked by the engine noise due to the different

Q:I

....

",."

speed dependencies.

90

At very low speeds, transmission

..l

....

""
0

noi e can

be similar to or even higher than engine noise,

80

particularly in the ca e of a petrol engine instal-

'"

lation. However, the rate of noise increase with

1000

2000

4000

6000

Engine Speed f r/rnin

Fig. 1 Noise of D. petrol .:engine and transmission

(fu.llload, fifth gear).

30

GEAR

TECHNOLOGY

speed is higher for engine noise:3.6

[Iransm
[engine

a n2 _.> 6 dB/octave

an

3 ..

(1)

n5 ->9 ...15dB/octave (2)

I"" sound intensity

n "" speed
As shown in Fig. I, for a power unit with a 1

In Semi

On, Road
II 0 r--'-r.::--r--=-~-.
100 ~~-~~~~~

ltr, petrol engine, tile transmission noise is com-

9O~--I----'1-.::""""~~
80 b,....;:J5:tko,~....,......p."..JI:

pletely ma ked byengine

70

noi e at speeds above

2500 r/min, The results in Fig .. l were obtained

from noise analysis of the complete power unit

70

wrapped in lead.) The transmi sion noise was

"\1
Cu~1tPrf!r\

-I~~I
I

1''::'

I
0.2 0.5

I
.1

became

a curatedetermination

[00

mall for an

'

'I

Coil

",,;1;

~J.
2

1
BC
5 I o A Level

70 -I{.
flO I.U'

:~:.;
.~~..:..\_

50 0.2 O.S

1/3 Oeta ve Band Center frequency

ults, However, at speeds higher than 2500 rl

difference

Cl"", ,<> Geart!u.

r-~-r-~-T-~

50
30
20

min.llle

1.001--II-+k-.~;;.:::..=i_I~
90 I--II+~~,....::=I'.--i
V _,__
11"-

~~-t-~~~~

60 I -

40

a the difference between the e re-

nechnlc THI ,- til

....---.-...--r--__....

60 L-~_L-~_~~

and of the engine only (with the rransmi sion

calculated

110

II

. - ~

10

- k Ii 1-

--

IOO'll-Load (AI

25'l1- Load (B)

--

-----

75'l1: Load (01

50'1 l,Q~d IE)

--

load lei

Motored

(F)

of the tran mis ion nor e

level. For litis reason, the curve for rhe Iran misthe level at 2500 r/min using a slope of 6 dB!

Fig. 2 Comparison between read test and te t cell results (1500 r/min,
tbifld gear).
occurred could be limited to the speed range

octave. This article will consider

from low idle to 2000 r/min and to the load

sion noise was extrapolated

(as fine line) from

only drive

rattle phenomena. The analysis of a typical gear

range from about 25% to full load.

Origin Of Drive RaUI.e

rattle problem will be de eribed. This occurred

in a front wheel drive pa

enger car equipped

As described in Ref. 2, drive rattle originates

with a 1.1 Itr. petrol engine and five . peed

from teeth impacts at the meshes of unloaded

maaeal

gears after pas iag the backla h point. The im-

iran mi sian. and appeared

turbing component

a a dis-

pacts occur whenever the angular acceleration is

in interior noise.

high enough to make the inertia torque at the

Identifleatlen
an acoustic test cell with the bare engine-trans-

driven wheel greater than its drag torque:

.I.;t;:>
T
(3)
'I'
-dmg

mission unit. To ensure that the actual noise

.I' = moment of inertia of driven wheel

problem was treated on die bare power unit, the

,~= angular acceleration of driven wheel

rattle noi e was identified in the vehicle during

Tdrng

The basic investigations

were performed in

preliminary road tests ..To achieve thi: , a microphone wa located close

to

in the engine compartment.

was fixed to thegearbox

torque acting on driven wheel

Using this relationship" the true hold of gear

the gearbox. urface

rattle can be defined in terms of the critical

An accelerometer

angular acceleration, f crit, at which drive rattle

l10llsing and an artifi-

cial head measuring system 7po itio:ned at the

seat. A digital audio tape recorder

co-driver's

;;;;:drag

begins to occur:
~'crit = TdralJ
Therefore. rattle noise .isgenerated

(4)
when the

was used as a high quality signal storage device.

By comparative listening. the actual interior

angular acceleration reaches high values. This

noise. the airborne sound from the gearbox. and

time trace of vibration

the structural vibration ofthegearbox

via headphones

hou ing

-jhe gear rattle phenomena a

well a their typical range of engine operating

she frequency

acceleration

recorded

irnultaneously with the speed fluctuation measured atthe primary

shaft. econdary shaft. and

flywheel. Since the angular accelerationi

the

Fig. 2 hows

first derivative of the speed fluctuation (= angu-

spectra of airborne noise mea-

lar velocity). and since the hape of the speed

- could be identified.

condition

fact is demonstrated in Fig. 3a, representing the

.A!lflred IRust
is o project engineer for
acoustic research anddevelopment at A. VI..USI. HI'

"'orKs (1II.1I0;SI! anc/l';bra

I;(m of tllgilll! Iran missions, and vehicles.

and at the co-

fluctuation is similar to a sine wave. the maxi-

Flranz K., IBrandl

eat position during road re ts: then In

mum angula tr acceleration oceur during the zero-

cell, again do e to the gearbox, and at

crossing of the speed fluctuatlon. Within these

1 m from the power unit. The 25% load condl-

time periods, high peaks of structural vibration.

is tile Marillga of the Department of Acoustic Research ami Development

at A vt.u.

'lion indicate.

the beginning of gear rattle. Ob-

which. are caused by the ranle impacts. can be

viou :Iy. the gear rattle i a major contributor to

observed. The propagation time of typically 80

high-frequency

ms, for the vibration (ran. fer fromthe gearbox

sured first near the gearbox.

driver'
the te

good correlation

noise. which can be . een in the

between each diagram; thus,

the engine operating range in which gear rattle

housing is negligible.

At all engine speed of

1500 r/min, a time of 80 ms, corresponds

5

to a
e

PTE

Gerhard E. Thien
is rill' .Head of th Fluid
Dynamics and Noise Seclioll of rhl' ACI1!1S1ic Re
searcl: (/lId D velopment
Dt!pl. at i\ VI..List,

U B E 'R I 0 C T 0,8

E A

1 11112

:3'1

of some parameter

1\) Me.sued.

t~ I'" " I~~" I'

~_=::::_=:::.==~.
==:

200
0oo~'~

_2

.~

I'"
PC

_:~
&'4++""'1
~fV:' :1::::::'

_~~

(hlghpass

filtered at 3kHz)

The "primary" parameters which have an

;~:~~~~:~Itionat:

influence directly on the generation

180

360

S4Q

moments of

.,

720

on the

!
u

"'.

e,

1:1

E=

",,,

;.... E
-

E~
:> -

mental condition

Calcu Jared for Gear Me h 3

0.]0
'0.03
0.]5
0.]0
0.05

Iii ffi.E tJ,

----~
=tiri .ff8a j,lll. II
LI ~

---

720Crank

free-running wheel, A fourth parameter

not appearing in Eq. 4. but representing a funda-

B) Cllcllllled

o.rs

inenia of the free-running w.heel,

the angular acceleration, and drag torque acting

F1y"h ~I

Crank Ang]e - del!

:l:

of rattle

noise. can be found in Eq, 4. These are Ihe

-=' :4"~':-::'1~~::9~
S~colldary Shan

_~~Fr=of f-- f-31

0'

Key Parameters

lbratlon at Gearbox Housing

,.4

variations).

Impact

for the generation

of rattle

noise, is the tooth backlash. since zero backlash

At:

Loaded Flllnk

precludes any gear rattle. Further possibilities

for treating gear rattle are provided by "secondary" parameter acting on the propagation of

UII'loodedl Fl- nk

An le

rattle noise to the DIn ide of the tran mi

ion ..

Here the que lion arises whether Ihe direct air4

III Gear
_Gear
_Gear
.' Gear

og
Q.
.

Reduced
Backlash

Relluce .Inertia of
Free-R. Wheels

1-35%L

borne noi econtribution

Mesh 4

don component

Mesh 3
Mesh 2
Mesh I

(coming from the meshes via

transfer paths) is more significant in the radia-

(-50%)

tion of airborne noise from the surface of the

Fig. 3 - Measured nd calculated time' history or dri,ve rattle impaets (]500

rlmln, fuU load, fifth gear).
crank angle interval of less than one degree.
Some further interesting aspects can be seen
in Fig. 331. At first, the speed fluctuation

transmissicn

housing. To find an answer, the

.i asertion 10 S efthe gearbox housing wa .deter-

mined experimentally

using a loudspeaker exci-

tation inside the gearbox. A very high insertion

is

loss was measured so that the contribution of the

dominated by the second order frequency of the

direct airborne sound can be neglected, For ex-

engine speed due to the rotary force characteri

ample, at 1500 r/min engine speed. full load. and

tics of the four-cylinder

internal combustion

in fourth gear, more than 99% of the total sound

engine, For this reason, impacts occur eight

power being radiated frurmhesransmission

times per engine operating cycle on the funy

race originated from the structural vibrati.on com-

rattling transmission.

sur-

Secondly, the speed flue-

ponent. For thi . rea on, it is useful to con ider

tuations ofthe primary and secondary shaft are

ailly those econdary parameters which have an

greater than tho e of the flywheel. and they are

influence either on the vibration tran fer from

additionally

the gear me hes to the miter surface .of the

shifted in phase. As will be illus-

trated later, this fact i caused by a torsional

transmission or on the airborne sound radiation

resonance in the power train with the clutch as

from the transmission

the dominant torsional,

pring. Thirdly. at one

surface.

Backlash. In accordance

with experience,:!

gear meshing point, more than one impact can

the computational analysis indicated only a small

occur at a given maximum angular accelera-

effect from backlash on gear rattle (Fig. 3b).

tion. This is evident from Fig. 3.1.where the

Within the limits of current

results were obtained

from the transmission

equipped - apart from the gear engaged - with

only one free-running

wheel.Jn this case all the

effect of backlash

tooth flanks can never

.100

unrealistic

of

However,

e contact and impact

loadedgear

simulation

the

gear rattle. since the

other flanks. Uafornmately,

mesh. A computer

tolerances,

is insignificant.

zero backla h prevent

impacts could only originate from the one un-

zero backlash

for other reason , except where ~[

gear rattle in the fully equipped transmission

can be provided by an additional device such as

system. carried out in parallel to the experimen-

an anti-rattle plate.2

tal investigation,

confirmed this fact and indi-

Drag Torque. For lower rattle noi e, the drag

cated typically several impacts per rever alof

torque of the free-running

tooth loading. and characterized

crea ed as shown in Bq. 4. Two major compe-

elastic collisions.

the impacts as

Fig. 3b shows the result of

some of these calculations

32 GE,t,R TECHNOLOGY

or the structural vibra-

(including the effect

wheel. bas to be in-

nents contribute lathe drag torque.the

friction

due to the lubricant (viscosity, oil depth) and the

drag torque in the bearing of the free-running

work, only the

For this

wheel. W:ilthimthe experimental

. trated by a 30% increase of the flywheel inertia.

The re ult isa

dear

reduction of the . peed

bearing drag torque was investigated.

fluctuation over the whole peed range. but par-

purpose, the radial clearance between fre -run-

ticularly at the resonant. speed. The possibility of

ning whee Iand shaft (via the intermediate needle

moving the resonant

bearing) was reduced by 40% on all gears. No

operating speed range was mvestigated by means

effect on ratrle noise could be found. From the

of a soft. clutch (with 27~ less stiffness) a well

computational

analysis it wa concluded that to

a bya progressively

speed out o:f the lower

stiff and highly damped

be effective, the drag torque must be increa ed

clutch. Both clutch di ks were te ted in cornbi-

to a certain extent so that condition

nation with the heavy flywheel. giving theresults

longer

atisfied.

(3) is

DO

If the drag torque increase

in Fig. 4b.. [t transpiredthat

it is impos ible,

remains belowthis limit, then the impact energy at the one t:ooth flank decrea es, but in-

below the lowe. I. operating range; i.e., to obta:in

creases at the opposite flank. Clearly the 40%

an overcritical condition which would have been

reduction

the best solution. On the other hand, the stiff

of the radial clearances

did not in-

withilnpracticallimits,

I.Oslttift the resoaarn speed

crea e the drag torque beyond the limit.

clutch drastically reduces the . peed fluctuation

Angular A celeration. Benefits can be obtained from reducing the angular acceleration

input to the tran mission approaching the rattle

acting on the free-running

continue

wheels.

here are

However, tile rattle condition now

threshold.

up to higher

peeds, and the overall

somepossibiliries for lowering the angular ac-

noi e character becomes rougher in tile higher

celeration.

First the output speed fluctuation of

speed range due to the high damping of the

the engine depend. on, among other thing . the

cluteh, which weakens the vibration isolation

moment of inertia of the engine flywheel. The

between crank haft and primary shaft in the

properties ofthe clutch disk also lJ'ongly influ-

mid-frequency range. Thccffectofthe

encethe

on the airborne noise radiated from the whole

input of speed fluctuation into the

echanges

Fi-

power of 1500 r/min, Since the frequency range

i.e., its ge-

above 1 kHz is most significant for gear rattle

determines the "local"

noise, the range of drive rattle is haded only

angular acceleration of each free-running wheel,

above l.kH.z in this figure. It indicates the great

The tor ional resonance onhe driveliae

benefit to noise reduction

transmission

due

to

torsional resonance

nally, the transmission arrangement;

ometry and gearrat.io,

.8

ystern

which is obtained

wa found to 'be the key feature. affecting drive

when the torsional resonance i .suppressed. By

rattle. Fig. 4a shows the driveline re onance at

chance. at 1500 r/rnin engine speed, the speed

full lead conditions. The peed fluctuation at the

flucnration is the arne for both the oft and the

rattle thre hold is plotted to iHuslrate the range

pectra nearly

'of drive rattle (shaded area). Here the speed

fluctuation is defined as a percentage ratio ef the
difference between the maximum and minimum

instantaneous speed

to

clearly illustrates the procedure for the elimination of drive rattle. Tile La k is eitherto rai e the
rattle threshold above the maximum

peed fluc-

tuation .or to lower the maximum

peed fluctua-

tion below the rattle thresholdor

to move both

limits simultaneously.

A)

the mean peed. Fig. 4a

hl Fig. 4a the rattle thresh-

old i nearthe spe-ed fluctuation of the flywheel,

and the rattle condition

disappears

speed due to the ..vibration

at higher

Original CO!ldition

. t.'!
I

,,,.

R"

Iii:,

..,..
"':l
'U

,I>.,

...'

Engine Speed = r/rm;"

1000

1500

2000

Engine Speed - r/min

isolation" effect

between flywheel and primary shaft. This occurs

theoretically - for
al. frequencies

a simple mass-spring system -

greater than v2x re onant fre-

113 Octave Band Center Frequency

C) Effect on Noise

quency. In Fig. 4b the effect of a lower speed

fluctuation

output from the engine is demon-

Fig. 4 - Characteristics

= lUii

of dri\'eUne '~orsiomll resunanee (rourth gear I..

S 'E P T ~ M B E RIO

r 0 B E

1 8 11.2

33

coincide in Fig. 4c. The gear arrangement in the

transrni

sion was found to be disadvantageous

the free-running

wheels Nos. 3 and 4 on the

secondary shaft - would give a far better start-

with respect to gear rattle. As shown in Fig. 5,

ing position for low gear rattle. Are-designed

the original design (with the free-running wheels

transmission

of third and fourth gear placed

and it could not be tested, but the benefits for

011

the primary

was not available

as hardware.

shaft) results in a very non-uniform

distribu-

low gear rattle noise in terms of a high rattle

tion of the local angular acceleration.

It favors

threshold are evident in Fig. 5 due to the more

gear rattle particularly at the free-running wheels

even distribution

Nos. 3 and 4, because

values of the local angular acceleration.

acceleration

occurring

of the high angular

at these wheels .. The

situation does not change even when the moments of inertia. of the free-funning

wheels are

and much [ower maximum

Inertia Of Free-Running Gear Wheel. There

are three effect

on gear rattle arising from the

moment of inertia of the free-running

wheels.

taken into account (Fig. 5. right side). A re-

The fir ,t and mo

design of the gear arrangement

on the rattle threshold. The rattle threshold is

- placement of

important one is its influence

high if the inertia torque and, consequently,

Gear Arrangement:

J=32

the

inertia of each free-running wheel is low accord-

Modified

ing to Eq, 4. The second effect is its influence on

the characteristics

of the tooth impact, and the

third one is its effect

011

the driveline torsional

resonance. To test these effects the free-running

Secondar
Shaft

wheel of the second gear was selected, although

the free-running wheels Nos. 3 and 4 were found
to be the most prone to gear rattle (d. Fig. 5).
However, the wheels 3 and 4 could not be pre(l

= Momem or Inertia or Free-running

Angular Aeeclerauon

E
Z

,- 1000 I----.......j.-I-----I

'g

"

~
;

0.5

used for this test. Its original inertia was about

0.4

three times greater than that of wheel Nos. 3 or

4(cf. Fig ..5). Two samples ofa low-inertia wheel

0.3

"

No.2 were prepared for experimental purposes ..

<;

The first was extremely

::l

~
500

,;;r

~
~
~----~-++-++-__l
fJJ

10

!-

.s"

"

0.2

.:'!!
t:

....
~~ ..~ ..~ ..~w.~a

Srructual

Vibralion

s-.;

90

w-~

~ 80
0

Ig
~
I

v.,-::.oJ

...~

~~\

70 I---+--I--I-----I-~

Hend al Co-Driver's

a ~ '10 I---+-~L.:::fo./....-----!~;\--l
d::l"l 30'---I-+--+""+..~-tt--!
I~"eo
-g 20 Annoying
~
g

6OL- __ ..J....-.JL-....1.._---1_....l

0.2

0.5

1/3 Octave Band Center Prequency

Original
With Ribs
With Constrained

10
- kHz

]QFrcquency

Seat

GEAR

TECHNOlOGV

of the resonant speed. This speed shift, however,

Band...!

not be installed

together

with the extremely

light wheels for technical reasons. The com-

bined.effect (i.e .. in combination with the heavy

flywheel and damped stiff clutch) on noise is
ABC

.......

Level of
'"
0.2 0.5
11
2
5]0
Annoying
Band
113 Octave Band Center Frequency kl-I'z

illustrated

in Fig. 4cas

the lowest spectrum

defining the threshold of rattle noise. The cornputational simulation of a 50% reduction of the
inertia of the free-running

wheels confirmed

the noise reducing effect as shown in Fig. 3b.

Layer

Fig. 6 - Effed or various improvements (road test, 1500 rlmin, fun load,
fourth gear).

34

be seen in Fig, 4b,. which shows a clear up-shift

ning wheel No, 2, but also to an equal extent by

"7110
~~60,
?:- 100I---+----,I---+---I--l;;!
';' SO
l--'.. k:=1,---+-lHI---I

low-inertia

the removal of the sliding : leeve, which could

Interior Noise

(Left Ear or Artilicnl

15%. The effect of the extremely

is not only caused by extremely light free-run-

B) Effect of Combined Measures

on Interior Noise
Vehicle

(al Gearbox Housing)

al

the final vehicle tests, was reduced in inertia by

wheel on the torsional driveline resonance can

.Fig 5 - Effect of gear arrangement on local rattle cOltdiUion(assuming a

speed nuctnation input of 0.5% at ~500 r/min).

light with an inertia

reduction of 38%. The second version, used for

~--c~~~~~A-~>
'3
w

A) 'Gearbox. Vibration Wilh Increased

Slrllclurc Attenuation

because of their

small size. Therefore, the larger wheel No.2 was

Inertln Torque

[500 .

pared as low inertia wheel

Wheel in 10.5 kgm2).

Moreover

it can be seen that the impacts de-

crease in magnitude

and increase

with a gain in its overall effect.

in number

Vibratioll Transfer. Signiflcant elements in

the vlbration transfer path from the me h to the
outer gearbox urface are the. haft bearing and
the structure attenuation of the gearbox, hou ing,
In Ref. 3 theeffect of the bearing de. ign is
de cribed with a gain in low noise of up to 4 dB.
Within the pre ent work. 'the influence of the
structure attenuation was investigated. From vibration measurements on the running transmission using a laser vibrometer, it wa found that at
frequencies above 2kHz the shat't vibration was
cared)' higher thai] the vibration at the gearbox.
housing indicating a very low intermediate truelure attenuation.
10 determine the potentia] for noise reduclion in term of the structure attenuation of the
gearbox hou sing two tests we re carried OlIJ t Fir t
the walls of the gearbox housing were damped
by means of a constrained layer. Secondly the
walls were uiffened by rib . Fig. 6a . hows that.
tile ribbing of the gearbox housing proved to be
\lery effectiee. The reductina in vibration velocity reached up to 5 dB. The application of the
constrained layer also improved the situation.
but to a mailer extent. Finally the combined
effect of everal measures (by succe sive addition of single measures) was tested in the
vehicle during road tests ..As call be een from
the noie levels (in the frequency band ignificant forthe rattle audibihly in the interior
nose) in Fig.6b, the combination of improved
gearbox housing (by ribs), increased flywheel
inertia, and reduced inertia of free-running
wheel NO'. 2 (second version) gave the best
results, so that the gear rattle in the vehicle
cabin wa no longer audible.
Conclusions
In automotive tran mis ions drive rattle is
excited by the angular aceeleration ari ing from
low frequency peed fluctuation caused by the
fluctuating torque output of the combustion ellgine due to its gas and inertia forces. Work to
eliminate gearrattle thre hold - expres ed by the
critical. peed fluctuation - above the actual max imum speed fluctuation. The rattle tare: hold depend upon the drag torque and the inertia of the
free-running gear wheels, as well as all.the local
angular acceleration. Therefore. the following
potential for improvement exist. The gear arrangement provide the opportunity to raise the
rattle threshold, The proper lay-out of the gear
arrangement at. the design stage is a powerful

tool to minimize gear rattle or at leastto provide

a good condition for later improvement . In thi
ca. e. the major item to be taken into account is
the wheel hafiarrangement. The great iafluence
of the c1riveline resonance requires a careful
treatment. of the clutch and the distribution of
lnertias. Since the resonance can hardly be
avoided. the solution will always be a compromise. Therefore much effort hould be concentrated on accompanying measure .such a a low
peed Ilnctuation output from the engine and a
high rattle thre hold of the transmission, Since
the vibration tran fer from the gear meshes to. the
outer surface hat a great effect on the rattle noise
emitted by a transmis ion. its structure attenuation has to be of a high level, There can be some
potential for improvement by stiffening or
damping the housing walls and thereby Increa ing the "audible" rsttlethre hold. 1.1
References.
I. Brandl, F. K.. Schiffbaenker, H. and Thien G.E. "A
Concept for Definition of Subjective Noise Character - as a Ba is for More Efficient Vehicle Noise
Reduction Strategies." Internoise Conference. Newport Beach, Dec. 1989.
2. Seaman, R. L., Johnson, C. E. and Hamilton, R.F.
"Component Inertial Effects on Transrniss ion Design." SAE 841686, Dearborn. Dec. 1984.,
3. Optiz ..H. "Noise ofGear ." Philosophical Transaction. oftbe Royal Society. London. Vol. 263 A, PP'
369-380, 1968-69.
4. Grover. E. C. and Anderton, D. "Nol e and Vibration in
Transmissions," Paper No.7. 2nd Int. Power Transmission Conference, Engineer's Digest. Vol. 32. No.
9. Sept. 1971
5. Austen. A. E, W. and Priede, T. "Noise of Automotive Diesel Engines; Its Causes and Reduction." SAE
[000. A, Detroit, Jail. 1965.
6. Wu,. T. and Case, J.[, "Effect of Operating Purameier on Bare Engine and Engine Contribution Noi e
Levels:" Noise Control ill Internal Combustion EIIgines .. Ed. by Baxa, John Wi,.ley & Sons, New York,
11982.pp. 48,
7. Genuit, K. "Investigation and Simulation of Vehicle Noise sing the Binaural Measurement Technique." SAE 870959. Traverse City. Apri.11987.
8. Fudala, G. J. Engle. T.C . and Karvelis, A. VA.
"Systems Approach to Reducing Gear Rattle." SAE
870396. Detroit, eb, ]987.

Acknow;ledgement:

Tire authors wish to thank all

the! F colleagues at A Vi., particularly Dr. H. .P. Huebl
from the FE-Clilcu/alion department, who colltributed to this project and paper b)t their works.
Reproducedfrom the Proceedings of tile Conference 0/1 Gearbox Noise' and Vibration. 1990. by
permission
of the Council of the lnstitution of
Mechallical
Engineers.
London, England.
The
article also appeared in lire April. /991. issue of
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