3  Evaluation of the Vibratory Properties of the Engine

The response of the structure to the internal forces, the structural mode shapes and the resonant frequencies are some of the vibratory properties that are useful to the design engineer. The finite element method is now generally regarded as a reliable tool for modelling the vibratory behaviour of elastic structures (see, for example, Zienkiewicz (1977)) and there is continued development of methods for the calculation of the excitation and response. The application of such methods to engine blocks is considered in Croker, Lalor and Petyt (1979), Lalor and Petyt (1982) and Tyrrell and Croker (1987).