Nonlinear numerical and experimental study on the second-order torsional and lateral vibration of driveline system connected by cardan joint

In this article, a nonlinear dynamic model with five degrees-of-freedom for a four-wheel-drive vehicle driveline connected by a cardan joint, including dynamic intersection angle, nonconstant velocity, and additional moment caused by the cardan joint, is established by using the Lagrange method to analyze the driveline coupling vibration in both torsional and lateral directions. High-order Runge–Kutta algorithm is applied to solve the differential equations and to calculate transient responses of the driveline rotors under acceleration condition. The color maps and second-order vibration of the driveline are acquired by frequency spectrum analysis and order tracking analysis, respectively. The second-order vibration and noise of the driveline and vehicle interior caused by the cardan joint is validated by vehicle experimental results and reduced effectively by decreasing intersection angle of the cardan joint under the operational condition. Moreover, application of a flexible coupling instead of the cardan joint significantly reduces the second-order vibration but simultaneously generates low-level third-order vibration.