Abstract
Vehicle hood modal analysis is an essential step in the design and development process of a hood system. It involves studying the dynamic response of the vehicle’s hood structure under different operational conditions and helps in designing a proper geometry that can withstand durability and fatigue. There are many parameters in the hood system that can influence its modal response as: hood stiffness, body stiffness, equipment stiffness and position and others. Our paper summarizes some research on this topic and then provides a case study on a numerical modal analysis of a steel hood on body with and without maintain bumpers. The resonant frequencies, mode shapes, global and local displacement responses are presented for each of the selected configurations. The influence of the maintain bumpers on the dynamic response of the hood is highlighted and conclusions are made for each of the computed configuration. Finally, the paper presents a general view of the future studies on hood modal response.