Vehicle rattle prediction using a computer model

Processing vibration displacement data of elements of a vehicle computer aided engineering (CAE) model 12 to predict vehicle rattles. A vehicle model is divided into a plurality of elements 44, 46, 48, 50 and grids 32, 34. Displacement data, including magnitude and phase data for each element as a function of vibration over time, are provided, 14. The element-grid pairs which contact due to vibration are then determined using the displacement data, and the contact velocity for each contacting element-grid pair is estimated, 16. Rattle for each contacting element pair is determined, as a function of velocity, using rattle criteria 18, to generate a rattle index indicative of rattle severity. A mapping showing the severity of rattle at each location of the vehicle model is generated using the rattle indices, 20. Vehicle manufacturers can thus simulate the rattle, squeak and other noises associated with different vehicle designs prior to actually building vehicles incorporating the vehicle designs.