APPLICATION OF TRANSFER PATH ANALYSIS ON
VIBRATIONAL STUDY OF MOTOR CYCLE
T.Vinith Suthin Charley, Prasad Joshi, Dr. P.Sakthivel
Department of Nuclear Power Engineering
University of Springfield
Springfield, Nostate 12345, USA
{bart.simpson & homer.simpson}@uspringfield.edu
Abstract - Vibration is a major concern for human beings.
Prolonged vibration leads to increased stress and causes severe
health disorders. Motor cycle riders are subjected to whole
body vibration and hand arm vibration. These vibrations are
from various sources and those coming from the combustion
process taking place inside the engine cylinder and tire road
interaction are predominant of all vibrations in a motor cycle.
To ensure the ride comfort of a passenger/driver, it is essential
to study the transfer path analysis (TPA) as it plays a major
role in determining the various paths of vibrations from the
source to the receiver. For performing the transfer path
analysis (TPA), operating structure borne loads/forces at source
location is to be estimated. The objective of this project is to
estimate the operating structure borne loads/forces at the
source location and its vibration transfer to the target location.
Matrix inversion method is used to determine the operating
structure borne loads/force at the source. This method requires
determination of frequency response functions (FRF) between
the source and the target along with acceleration forces at the
receiver end. Experimental transfer path analysis (TPA) on a
motor cycle has to be carried out under static condition and on
Chassis dynamometer and the results are to be compared with
existing mathematical model of operating forces at the source.
Index Terms - Transfer path analysis, Matrix Inversion
Method, Hand arm vibration, Whole body vibration.
I. INTRODUCTION
Transfer path analysis (TPA) in motorcycle is essential
as humans are exposed to extreme vibrations which leads to
fatigue and causes many health disorders. It determines the
various transfer paths of vibration arising from structure
borne and air borne noise. Estimation of operating loads /
forces at the source location is crucial. In case of structure
borne loads, it could be estimated by the traditional methods
viz., mount stiffness method and matrix inversion method.
Mount stiffness method is used where soft mounts are used
between the source and the target. Matrix inversion method is
used where stiff mounts are used between source and the
target and this method involves determining the acceleration
forces at the receiver end and multiplying those with the
pseudo inverse of force-acceleration frequency response
function (FRF) matrix between all force inputs and indicator
responses [7].
A. Transfer path analysis
Department of Intelligent Robotics
University of Huaguoshan
Huaguoshan, Jileshijie Province, China
monkey.king@uhuaguoshan.edu.cn
Transfer path analysis is the concept of identifying,
characterizing and assessing sound transfer paths from source
to receiver [14]. Tire and the engine are the two major
sources of contribution of noise, and they result in the
transfer of acoustic pressure and vibration from source to
receiver [1]. They are classified as low frequency structure
borne and high frequency air borne noise [5]. The
contribution of air borne noise to interior noise lies in the
frequency range of above 500 Hz and is less than 500 Hz for
structure borne noise [1]. TPA methods are of three viz.,
classical, component based, transmissibility based [2]. A
typical transfer path analysis consists of the following steps
viz., operational measurement on source component,
determination of passive system characteristics by means of
FRF, identify interface loads, path contribution calculation
[2]. Determination of source plays a major role in transfer
path analysis. The sources chosen are the engine and tire.
There are two ways in which transfer path analysis is carried
out in a motor cycle. Firstly, frequency response function
(FRF) is determined by removing tire wheel assembly and
giving excitation using impact hammer or electro dynamic
shaker. Secondly, road test is performed [3]. Road test is
performed by running motorcycle on chassis
dynamometer/on-road. The effect of whole-body vibrations
on rider is measured by placing accelerometers at handle bar,
seat and footrest and readings are taken for different speeds
[4,6]. Each transfer path transmits force in three orthogonal
directions (X, Y, Z) the number of structural transfer path
from two tires while performing transfer path analysis are six
during tire noise determination [5]. Transfer path analysis
consists of measured or calculated loads, transfer functions
and the sum of these contributions refers to total contribution
that can be compared with measurement at the target.
Operational loads cannot be measured directly, transfer path
analysis involves measurement of operational loads from
other quantities. In a vibro-acoustic system, target responses
are of acoustic pressures perceived by the driver and
passenger ears and vibrations noticed in the steering wheel. It
can be of structural (acceleration, velocity or displacement)
as well [8].
B.Experimental data acquisition procedures Vehicle
preparation
 For data acquisition in a vehicle, the transfer paths and
the target response location has to be determined. The goal of
TPA is to determine the force inputs generated from the
driveline and to find the contribution of each of these forces
at the target response location. To simplify the analysis,
exhaust hangers in a vehicle are disconnected during the
operating condition. The remaining transfer path locations
are affixed with tri-axial accelerometers. Each transfer path
location is assumed to transmit force in three orthogonal
directions [9]. Number of forces to be estimated depends on
the summation of all transfer path locations multiplied with
force transmission in three orthogonal directions
C. Operating condition measurement
The operating data is obtained from chassis
dynamometer. The vehicle is placed on the dynamometer and
is operated at different speeds with various throttle position
and the data’s are obtained. Also, data’s are obtained for
several fixed speed [9].
D. Frequency response function
The FRF represents the target response for a unit load at
a transfer path, if all other loads are zero. For FRF to be
valid, all transfer paths should be considered. If some transfer
paths are not taken into account, the total contribution at the
target differs from the calculated contribution. The difference
will be equal to the number of missing transfer paths. For the
FRF’s to be correct, the vehicle should be in free-free
suspension mode i.e, tires are removed from the vehicle. Also
the engine has to be isolated, hence forces in the other
transfer paths are zero [8]. This isolation avoids parasitary
cross coupling effects in the passive system FRF’s [10]. The
results obtained with engine mounted in the vehicle are of
big quality risk. FRF’s should be measured in cold conditions
and operating condition data’s has to be measured in warm to
hot condition, since FRF’s can depend on temperature [8].
E. Frequency response function measurement
The FRF between the input forces and the indicator
response (receiver) is achieved by giving an excitation at the
receiver end and measuring the response at the load path
interface (reciprocal measurements) [7] and is performed
using an impact hammer [11] or a shaker [12]. This method
saves time and assures consistency [10]. Impacts are made at
each transfer path location in three orthogonal directions and
FRF measurements are taken inside a silent enclosed area
[11]. The FRF’s require that power train and suspension
components are to be removed. This ensures free boundary
condition at the path interface. It is preferred that force inputs
given by the impact hammer at the transfer path location is
similar to that of operating forces at the transfer path location
during operating condition. Impact testing FRF
measurements is measured using LMS Cada-X Fourier
Monitor Impact Testing ASM. Impacts are given at
individual transfer path location in three orthogonal
directions and repeated the same for 10 readings and the
average is taken for each FRF measurement. The FRF at the
target location is measured simultaneously. This process is
repeated for all transfer path locations [9].
II METHOD USED FOR FORCE/LOAD ESTIMATION
The equation of total response function can be solved if two
quantities are measured viz., internal operating forces acting
on the path and frequency response function or noise transfer
function which is the ratio of output response to input
response [11]. There are three ways to identify the forces.
A. Direct measurement
This method directly measures the operating forces
acting at the interface by placing load cells or force sensors
at the source location. But this method is impossible due to
space constrain [14,7] and also induces important changes to
the overall dynamic behavior of the system [8] since this
method is not possible without modifying the vibro-acoustic
characteristics of the system [14].
B. Indirect measurement Mount stiffness method
This method is used when source side and receiver
side components are connected by flexible or elastic mounts
and the relative displacement of mounts gives the effective
force acting through the mounts [14,7].
Where,
Fi (ω) = mount force
Ki (ω) = mount stiffness profile
aai (ω) and api (ω) = active and passive side mount
accelerations [7].
This method is a fast method but requires knowledge on
accurate mount stiffness data of the connecting element that
determines the path [7,11]. This method doesn’t involve any
input assumption, hence no errors are introduced when
neglecting an important transfer path [10].
C. Matrix inversion method or inverse force identification
method
This method identifies the operational loads/forces
acting on the path from nearby acceleration indicator
responses at the receiver end and multiplying with the pseudo
inverse of force acceleration FRF matrix between the input
loads and the indicator responses [7] and this method is used
when the transfer paths are very stiff compared to the
receiving structure [11]. When the experiment is performed
on a system without disassembling the source and the
components, matrix inversion method becomes direct
inversion method and gives unique operational forces [11].
The matrix inversion and force identification are frequency
dependent. The number of acceleration indicator responses
should be greater than the number of forces. The major
drawback of this method is that, large number of FRF
measurements have to be done to build the full matrix and is
a time consuming method. Another drawback is, the forces
acting on the structure (receiver) has to be analysed
simultaneously because all forces causes motion/deformation
throughout the structure [10]. Missing a transfer path leads hammer when the vehicle is in stationary condition.
to wrong results of all paths [8]. The operational forces are Operating condition test is carried out by placing the vehicle
obtained as follows over chassis dynamometer and giving an impulse at the front
and rear spindle when the vehicle is in running condition.
Contribution of individual transfer paths to the total structure
borne vehicle noise are found out from the TPA results
thereby identifying the critical paths for the critical
frequencies [3]. The motorcycle chosen for TPA analysis in
our project is BAJAJ CT 100.
Where,
TABLE I .BAJAJ CT 100 SPECIFICATION
𝑓i = internal operational forces at path i
𝑥̈ij / 𝐹i = accelerance between the acceleration at point j and Vehicle specification
the applied force at transfer path i 𝑥̈i = operational Engine 100 cc 4 stroke air cooled
acceleration at point i [11]
The first step in this method is measuring indicator Max Torque 8.1 Nm@ 5500rpm
accelerations at multiple locations in the receiver side during
operating condition and the second step is determination of Max Power 5.8 kW@ 7500rpm
FRF matrix [10]. In this method, singular value Transmission 4 speed gear box
decomposition is implemented to compute pseudo-inverse of Kerb Weight 115 kg
rectangular matrix. This decomposition decomposes the Wheels Type Alloy
matrix into three separate matrices viz., two unitary matrices Tyre Type Tube
and a diagonal matrix of singular values [13].

III. METHODOLOGY A. Static test

Fig. 1 Illustration of road excitation onto the vehicle

In this paper, application of transfer path analysis (TPA) on a

motorcycle is carried out for obtaining the transfer function Fig. 2 Vehicle freely suspended by ropes after removing front and rear tires
or Frequency Response Function (FRF) and acceleration
responses. Frequency Response Functions (FRF) are obtained
by giving an excitation at front and rear spindle of
motorcycle under static condition. Acceleration responses are
obtained by operating the motorcycle on chassis
dynamometer. Source, indicator points and target location
have to identified for carrying out the transfer path analysis.
The condition to be followed while listing the indicator
points is that, number of indicator points should be more than
the number of source paths. Source paths are the one which
creates input loads into the system. Indicator points are those
that characterizes how the vibration is transferred from the
source to target location. The target points are those, where
an unwanted vibration is perceived. Static test is carried by
giving an impulse at the source paths using an impulse
 Fig.5 Static test setup

The static test is performed by identifying the source paths,

indicator points and target points of the motor cycle. The test
is performed in 4 different runs viz., Run 1, Run 2, Run 3,
Run 4. Firstly, the tires were removed and motorcycle is
suspended freely in order to get accurate results. The tri-
axial accelerometer sensors were placed at the indicator and
target points. The excitation was given on front and rear
spindle of motor cycle. An impulse hammer was used in
order to give excitation at the source paths viz., front spindle
and rear spindle. In order to get good coherence, double
hitting of the hammer should be avoided. The Frequency
Response Function (FRF) were obtained using Seimens LMS
SCADAS data acquisition unit. The detailed procedure for
static test is as follows,
Fig. 3 Simcenter software coupled with DAQ system
1. Remove the rear and front tire of motorcycle and suspend
the motorcycle with ropes in order to get accurate results.
2. Identify the source path, indicator points and target points.
3. Segregate the 5 measurement points in each set as 16
channels can only be connected to DAQ for taking one set
of readings.
4. Mount the tri-axial accelerometer sensor at measurement
points for each run as given in table 2 and add sand bag to
compensate passenger weight over the rider seat.
5. DAQ is interfaced with simcenter software.
6. Impact is given by hammer on rear spindle and front
spindle
in X, Y, Z direction separately and waveforms are
obtained
in simcenter software.

B. Source paths, indicator, target points

TABLE II. Source, Indicator and Target Points
Fig.4 DAQ
SOURCE PATHS INDICATOR POINTS TARGET POINTS

Swing arm Right handle

Rear Frame Left handle

Rear Spindle Front frame 1 Right foot of rider

Front frame 2 Left foot of rider

Front Spindle
Engine mount 1 Right foot of co-rider

Engine mount 2 Left foot of co-rider

Front suspension column Rider seat

Rear body Co-rider seat

TABLE III . Tri-axial accelerometer location under different runs

C. Tri-Axial Accelerometer Sensors Location in different
Runs SR.NO RUN 1 RUN 2 RUN 3 RUN 4

1. Rear Right foot of rider Front frame 1 Front

spindle suspension
column

2. Front Left foot of rider Front frame 2 Right foot of

spindle co-rider

3. Swing arm Right handle Engine mount 1 Left foot of

co-rider

4. Rear body Rear frame Engine mount 2 Left handle

5. Rider seat Rider seat Co-rider seat Co-rider seat

Fig. 6 Run 1
Fig. 8 Run 3

Fig. 7 Run 2
Fig. 9 Run 4
 Fig.13 Run 4 tri-axial accelrometer sensor location in Bajaj CT 100

Fig.10 Run 1 tri-axial accelrometer sensor location in Bajaj CT 100

D. Operating Condition ( chassis Dynamometer)

Fig.11 Run 2 tri-axial accelrometer sensor location in Bajaj CT 100V Fig. 14 Setup of vehicle on chassis dynamometer under running condition

Fig.12 Run 3 tri-axial accelrometer sensor location in Bajaj CT 100 Fig.15 Vehicle placed over chassis dynamometer

Fig.16 Waveform obtained under spectral testing in simcenter software
The transfer path analysis for Bajaj CT 100 bike in operating
condition is performed on chassis dynamometer and the
results are obtained in simcenter software. The experiment is
performed in 4 different runs similar to static test. The
tri- axial accelerometer sensors are placed at the indicator
and target location. The results were taken in runup condition
i.e from running the motorcycle from 0 to 900 rpm. In order
to get good coherence, the results are taken for 30sec. The
data from tri-axial accelerometer sensor was obtained using
seimens LMS SCADAS data acquisition unit. The detailed
procedure is as follows :
1. Load the vehicle on chassis dynamometer and hold it
firmly
with the help of ropes.
2. Segregate the 5 measurement points in each set of as 16
channels can only be connected to DAQ for taking one set
of
readings.
3.Mount the tri-axial accelerometer sensor at the
measurement
points for Run 1 as mentioned in table 2.
4. Run the bike in idle condition from 0 to 900 rpm.
5. Record the results in spectral testing in simcenter software.
6. The bike is operated in 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear and results are
recorded.
7. The 2nd gear corresponds to 300 rpm, 3rd gear corresponds
to 600 rpm, 4th gear corresponds to 900 rpm of roller used
. in chassis dynamometer.
8. The similar process is carried out for remaining runs viz.,
Run 2, Run 3, Run 4.
IV. CONCLUSION
The acceleration responses of vehicle when it is subjected to
operating condition are obtained . Operating structure borne
loads could be estimated by multiplying the pseudo inverse
of FRF with acceleration responses.
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