Experimental study and simulation of a hydraulic engine mount with fully coupled fluid–structure interaction finite element analysis model

Abstract Non-linear properties of a generic hydraulic engine mount (HEM) are identified and characterized by experiment and simulation approaches. The experimental methods for obtaining static and dynamic performances of the HEM are presented. The characteristics of two configurations of the take-apart HEMs (one is with an inertia track and a free decoupler and the other one is only with an inertia track) and their rubber springs are studied. The relations between static stiffness of an HEM and its rubber springs in three orthogonal directions are investigated. The influences of preload, excitation amplitudes and frequencies on the dynamic stiffness of an HEM are verified. The effects of the free decoupler on dynamic characteristics of the HEM are studied by comparisons of the test results of the two HEMs. The dynamic fluid pressure and the temperature in the upper chamber of an HEM are measured under different excitation conditions. A fully coupled fluid–structure interaction (FSI) and finite element analysis (FEA) model for simulation of HEMs is developed in this paper, which can be used to simulate the static and dynamic performances of the HEMs with only stress versus strain relations of the rubber materials, the fluid physical parameters and the HEMs sizes. The simulated results of one HEM with the proposed model are given, and the results match well with the measured data, or in coincidence with the working mechanisms of HEMs.