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730247

A Study of Valve Train Noises

and a Method of Cam Design
to Reduce the Noises
Masanori Hanaoka and Sadafumi Fukumura
Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (Japan)

speed and the noise level. The instant when the valve opens or
valve train noises, and durability such as pitting of the cam and closes is monitored by means of a strain gage mounted on a
follower. One of the most important qualities of an automo rocker arm. See Fig. 2.
bile is quiet operation. Valve train noises produce a large part
Fig. 3 is an example of the record of the measurements made
THE CAM PROFILE design must consider valve behavior,

of the mechanical noises of an engine.

In this report, the authors show a variety of the test results
from tests conducted on valve train noises. The mechanism of

the valve train noises at low engine speeds are especially

studied. Further, a new method of cam profile design is

by the synchroscope.
VALVE TRAIN NOISES AT LOW ENGINE SPEEDS

Fig. 4 is an example of photographs of the oscilloscope

recommended in order to prevent irregular valve motion and

to reduce the noise.

screen, showing rocker arm stress and valve train noise. The
noise is filtered so as to show "A" characteristic. It is seen

NOISE TESTING METHOD

A sketch of test equipment is shown in Fig. 1. This equip

ment comprises an overhead cam type of valve train; one set

of a valve train with the cylinder head and cover; a driving

mechanism consisting of an electric motor driven by means
of a V-belt; and a microphone for coUecting valve train noises,
located 10 cm above the cylinder head cover.

Noise signals from the microphone pass through a filter and

are observed on an oscilloscope. They are also recorded by an
XY-recorder to analyze the relationship between the engine

that loud noises appear at the moment the cam nose pushes
up the follower, as well as at the instants when the valve
opens and closes. The loud noises at the moment when the
follower is on the cam lobe, which in this paper are called the
noises from the cam lobe, are greater in the case of an OHC
engine than those of an OHV engine.
Fig. 5 is the record of frequency analyses by means of
octave bandpass filters. The record consists of a group of
records taken when the cam rotates in a regular direction and
another group of records taken when the cam rotates in the
reverse direction.
ABSTRACT

At low engine speeds, predominant noises are valve train noises

that occur at the instant the valve opens and closes, and those
that occur while the follower is on the cam lobe. Valve noises

are caused by impacts, and their sound intensity is propor

tional to the impact speed. Follower noises are caused by
frictional vibrations due to metal-to-metal contact at points
where oil film thickness becomes zero. Irregular contact sur

faces increase these noises. Valve train noises at high en

gine speeds are caused by irregular valve behavior. The
profile of the new cam design is expressed by "n" th-order
Fourier series in 360 deg continuously, and has no high-order
harmonics that resonate with the natural frequency of the
train. Its wide parameter permits design of a most reasonable
acceleration curve. Valve motion is thus improved and noise is
reduced.

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NOISES WHEN VALVE OPENS AND CLOSES - The

natural frequency of the valve train that was tested is 1050 Hz,

noise when the valve opens is predominant at the frequency

band of 1 kHz.

that is, the lowest vibration mode whose node is located at the
cam shaft.

The noise that occurs when the valve opens is caused by

impact loads applied to the valve train. Fig. 5 shows that the

The noise when the valve closes is caused by the impact

between the valve and the valve seat. The spectrum of this
noise is in the higher frequency band of 2-4 kHz.
Correlation between the noise level and the speeds of the
valve when the valve begins to open or close is shown in Fig. 6.

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MAUSANORI HANAOKA AND SADIFUMI FUKUMURA

These valve speeds change when the cam rotation speed and

The photographs of the synchroscope screen in Fig. 8 shows

that cam X generates a louder noise when the valve closes and
when the follower is on the cam lobe than the regularly manu
factured cam, which is designated as cam O in Fig. 8. The

the ramp slope of the cam profile change.

The sound intensity rises in proportion to the valve speed.

The noises when the valve opens and closes are at the same
noise level respectively of the valve speeds, provided the cam

has such small ramp velocities as the conventional cam profile

has.

difference of the noise levels between cam X and cam O is

especially great around 2000 rpm. The difference is as much

as 6 dB.

NOISE FROM CAM LOBE - Fig. 5 shows that while the

The noise made when the valve closes increases because the

follower is on the cam lobe, the noise consists of the compo

ramp velocity of the closing side is higher at some places than

nent of the natural frequency of the valve train.

Compare the record taken when the cam rotates in a regular

direction with that of others when the cam rotates in a reverse

the designed velocity. The loud noise from the cam lobe is
caused by the chatter marks.

direction. The sources of noise on the cam lobe are located at

MECHANISM OF NOISE GENERATION AT LOW ENGINE

the same points of the cam profile. The noise from the cam

SPEEDS

lobe does not increase as much as the noises made when the

valve opens and closes, even as the engine speed is increased.

Fig. 7 shows the valve train noise at various engine speeds.

The sensitivities of the sound-level meter and the oscilloscope
are fixed.

EFFECT OF PROFILE ACURACY - A cam with

a polygonal profile was machined by increasing the

NOISES WHEN VALVE OPENS AND CLOSES - The sound

pressure "p," which is caused when the valve opens and

closes, is proportional to the impact velocity, which is de
pendent on the ramp velocity of the cam profile and the
rotating speed of the cam shaft. See Fig. 6.
On the other hand, energy equations are as follows:

grinding speed during the grinding operation. The valve train noise

was measured, using this cam shaft. Fig. 8 shows a comparison

of test results of this cam with those of a regularly

manufactured cam shaft. The tested polygonal cam, which is designated

as cam X in Fig. 8, is ir egular in its profile of the closing

ramp. This irregular waviness was found by measuring the cam

lift. Small chatter marks were also observed on the cam lobe
of this polygonal cam. These chatter marks were not

identified by measuring the cam lift. They were caused by the

vibration of the grinder. The chatter marks were no more than 5 m
in

The fact that sound pressure "p" and impact velocity "v"
are in direct proportion means that the acoustic energy and the

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METHOD OF CAM DESIGN

989

impact energy are proportional. They have a very good corre

where G, U, and W are nondimensional parameters and are

lation. This energy correlation shows that the noise when the

given by the following formulas:

valve opens and closes is generated by an impact.

When impact velocity becomes too high, the sound pressure
levels differ a little between those occurring when the valve

opens and those occurring when the valve closes. This differ
ference is caused when the coefficient of restitution changes

under a strong impact.

NOISE ON CAM LOBE - The noise on the cam lobe becomes

greater as the engine becomes warmer, and the noise level is

affected by the characteristics of the oil. As the engine speed
increases, the noise becomes relatively less than when the

valve opens and closes. These facts suggest that an oil film
has some connection with the noise from the cam lobe.

Oil Film Thickness - Convex surfaces, like rollers, have so

small a contact area when they contact each other that the
mean pressure is very high. However, there is in fact a toler

able oil film that protects the surfaces of the solids from wear
and scuffing. An oil film between the two solids is shown in
Fig. 9.
According to Dowson's elastohydrodynamic lubrication

theory (1)*, the minimum oil film thickness is given by the

following formula, which is reportedly consistent with the
experiment:

*Numbers in parentheses designate References at end of

paper.

Oil Film Velocity - The oil film velocity is the mean of the
surface velocities of the two solids and is given by

where U1 , U2 are surface velocities of the cam and the

follower, measured at the place where the minimum oil film
exists.

As stated before, the minimum oil film velocity hmln is the

function of oil viscosity , radii of curvature R1 and R2 of the
cam and the follower, respectively, and oil film velocity Uq.
The slower the oil film velocity, the thinner is the oil film.
The thinner oil film may cause a metal-to-metal contact of the
cam and the follower because oil film thickness and surface

roughness of the cam and follower decide whether or not a

metallic contact of the two solids occurs.

The point where the metallic contact of the cam and the
follower exists is one of the sources of the valve train noises.

If the Hertzian stress of the contact point is large, pitting

failure will result.

Mller (2) recommends the oil film velocity of a combina

tion of a cam and flat lifter to prevent the combination that

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990

causes pitting. The oil film velocity, when the cam nose con
tacts with the lifter, should be

MAUSANORI HANAOKA AND SADIFUMI FUKUMURA

Fig. 10 shows a comparison of the calculated oil film

velocity with the test results of the valve train noise. It is
apparent from Fig. 10 that during the time the follower is on
the cam lobe, the noise is generated at the point where the oil
film velocity becomes zero.

By substituting typical values representing characteristics of

the conventional automobile engine as well as the value of the

oil film velocity expressed in terms of time, which is converted
from the value expressed in terms of radian in Eq. 9 to that in

Eq. 2, the minimum oil film thickness is obtained as shown

below:

AU test results, consisting of the case wherein the camshaft

rotates in the regular direction and the case wherein the cam
shaft rotates in the reverse direction, show that the noise from
the cam lobe, which occurs when the oil film velocity becomes

zero for the second time in a single cycle of the cam rotation,
is greater than that for the first time in the same cycle of the
cam rotation. The reason for this difference is that the cam

lobe gathers oil when it is away from the follower, and

squeezing the oil between the cam and the follower supports
the load when the oil film becomes zero for the first time.
From the test in which cams with different contact surface

These thicknesses are comparable to a sum of the surface

roughness of the cam and follower, which are those rough

nesses created during a run-in operation of the engine.

It is thus understood that the oil film between the cam and

the follower is a key to the solution of the problems of pitting

and noise when the follower is on the cam lobe.

Comparison with Experiments - Calculation reveals that

there are two points where the oil film velocity becomes zero
in a single rotational cycle of the cam. The result of the

roughnesses are used to measure the valve train noise, it is

observed that the cam with the rougher surface around the
cam nose makes a greater noise when the follower is on the
cam lobe.

From the foregoing it can be said that the noise from the
cam lobe is generated at the point where the oil film becomes
thinner than the sum of the surface roughnesses of the cam
and follower. At this point, metallic contact between the cam

calculation was confirmed by tests, including an electrical

and the follower takes place, whereby the friction vibration

(which is the source of the valve train noise) occurs.

resistance measurement between the cam and the follower,

VALVE TRAIN NOISES AT HIGH ENGINE SPEEDS

which proved that there were two points where metallic con
tact existed. In these tests it was also observed that the oil

film became more stable as the camshaft speed was increased.

The valve train noise level at high engine speeds increases

when there are irregular motions of the valve train, such as

"jump" or "bounce."
Fig. 11 isan example of the records of the XY-recorder surrounded
by records of the oscil oscope. It shows good correlation
between valve behavior and valve train noise. In

order to reduce the valve train noise, it is neces ary to control

the valve motion. Putting this another way, irregular valve
behavior can be detected by measuring the valve train noise.
The

differences between test results of two camshafts are clearly

seen in Fig. 11. The noise level of cam A rises steeply steeply

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METHOD OF CAM DESIGN

at 5200 rpm. At this speed, zero rocker arm stress appears

several times on the screen of the oscilloscope. This indicates
that "jump" has begun.
At 5400 rpm, the jump durations become longer, as seen in

991

train are cut off. The cam profiles are given by the following
functions:

the picture of the valve motion in Fig. 11. The curve of the

rocker arm stress fluctuates irregularly near the point where

the valve closes. This shows that the valve is closing in an
impinging way.

At 5500 rpm, the noise-level curve comes down to a valley.

The noise level decreases slightly. The stress curve shows that

there is a big "jump," but no impingement is caused by the

closing of the valve.

At 5600 and 6000 rpm, the impinging closing of the valve

occurs again, and the noise curves rise to peaks. Above 6000

rpm, the noise increases very rapidly. This is the result of

"bounce." The picture of 6200 rpm in Fig. 11 shows it
clearly. Also see Fig. 12.
A NEW METHOD OF CAM DESIGN

"n-HARMONIC CAM" - The camshaft operates as a cyclic

vibration source in the valve train. Therefore, it is reasonable

to design the cam in a 360 deg profile, including the base

circule, and to express the profile using cyclic functions.

Experimental know-how to design cam profiles for high

speed engines are described as follows:
1.The acceleration curve must be smooth.

2.The peak value of the plus acceleration must not be too

high.

3.The plus acceleration region must be broad.

The mathematical meaning of these conditions is the same
as the condition that the high-order Fourier harmonics must
be small.

The "n-harmonic cam" expresses the cam profile of 360 deg

with "n"-th order Fourier series, so that the higher-order
harmonics that resonate to the natural frequency of the valve

The camshaft generated as the n-harmonic cam profile

showed satisfactory results on the valve motion and the valve
train noise at high engine speeds.
PHILOSOPHY OF CAM PROFILE DESIGN - The designed
cam profile should be backed theoretically so that the profile
is the best one under the given conditions:

1 . The maximum valve lift Ymax and the event angle ? ?r are
the two design parameters that have the most effect on engine

performance.
2.The balance of the spring load and the inertia force of the
valve train controls the behavior of the valve when the engine

rotates at high speed. It is advisable to design the acceleration

curve so that the margin load of the spring may become con
stant.

3.It is well known, as mentioned before, that the cam

profile with the smaller high-order Fourier harmonics controls

the valve motion better at high engine speed.

4.The cam profile at the ramp position, especiaUy the

ramp velocity, is one of the most important factors that
control valve train noises.

The "n-harmonic cam" is advantageous for the cam profile

function in that it satisfies the many requirements mentioned
above.
CALCULATION RUNS BY A COMPUTER

1 . The technique of the least squares approximation is used

to equally fulfill many demands. By this method, a cam pro
file that minimizes the integral calculus of the error under

certain weighting factors is obtained.

2.The search for the cam profile should be easy. The
designer has only to feed in minimum data; then the whole

cam profile (cam lobe, ramp and base circle) is produced.

The submitted data must have clear physical meaning.
THE INPUT DATA TO A COMPUTER - For the purposes
of this calculation, input data comprise the following informa
tion:

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992

MAUSANORI HANAOKA AND SADIFUMI FUKUMURA

Each of these data has its physical meaning, so it is very easy

to change the parameters and redesign the cam profile. Fig. 13

is an example of the profile of the "n-harmonic cam."

DESIGN PROCEDURE - The minimum necessary conditions
to restrict the cam profile are shown in Table 1, where velocity
conditions are given only in the ramp position. The accelera
tion is controlled only by the cam nose where the angle varies
from 0 to ???a. See Fig. 14. It is possible to add other condi
tions if they are desired.
Determining the Acceleration Condition - If the inertial

force of the valve exceeds the spring load, the valve jumps and
the valve train noise increases.

It is preferable to use such an acceleration curve so that the

inertia force curve may run parallel to the spring load curve.

The following notations are used:

When the spring load and the inertial force balance,

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METHOD OF CAM DESIGN

Solving this differential equation,

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If the engine rotating speed rpm is used, co can be replaced

by rpm:

The acceleration condition is fixed by the following four

parameters:

When X = O the boundary conditions are

1.Engine rotating speed, rpm.

2.Maximum compression load of the valve spring, Pmax

3.Equivalent weight of the valve train estimated on the
valve side, Mv.

and, from Eqs. 15 and 16,

4. Spring rate of the valve spring, K.

The value of Pmax
max is sometimes estimated to be less than a
practical value when the designer takes the deviation or the

creep of the spring into account.

Calculation ofLeast Squares Approximation - Coefficients of
the "n-harmonic cam," Ai, are sought so as to minimize the

integral values of the square of the deviation of the calculated

cam profile from the eight targets listed in Table 2, which also
gives the weighting factors. The rating function of the error is

If the characteristic functions of the "n-harmonic cam"

given by Eqs. 11-13 are substituted in Eq. 21, then

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994

In order to minimize the function E, each partial differen

tial should be

The number of the partial differential equations with respect

MAUSANORI HANAOKA AND SADIFUMI FUKUMURA

If a "polydyne cam" is used, the motion of the mass at the

end of the valve train is the same at a designed engine speed as
the required displacement curve, which is synthesized by the
polynomial approach. But there is no guarantee that the re
quired polynomial curve is the best one.
The dyne phase modification is also applicable to the n
harmonic cam:

to the coefficients Ai are n + 1 . The unknown quantities

A0 An are also n + 1 . So, all coefficients Ai can be ob
tained by solving this linear equation system.
If a designer wishes to make the error at one position 1/10,
he multiplies the weighting factor at that point by 10.
Dyne Phase Modification - When designing a "polydyne

cam," the inertia forces, return spring load, and elasticity of

the system are taken into account. The basic equation is

A dynamically modified ?-harmonic cam is also the n

harmonic cam whose coefficients are changed. For the modi
fied n-harmonic cam,

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METHOD OF CAM DESIGN

Ai = coefficients of the n-harmonic cam required as the

motion of the end mass of the valve train

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of the cam profile which resonate with the natural frequency

of the valve train. The n-harmonic cam has no resonating

Fig. 15 shows an example of coefficients of the n-harmonic harmonics in wide engine speed ranges because it has no
Fourier harmonic of higher-order than "n." On the other
cam of both the modified and the original cam.
hand,
the polydyne cam has its merit only around the speed
The dyne phase modification reduces higher-order harmonics
for which the cam is designed.

Asymmetric Cam Profile - An automobile engine cam does

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996

MAUSANORI HANAOKA AND SADIFUMI FUKUMURA

that the amplitude is greater in the case of the polynomial cam
than in the case of the n-harmonic cam. This is the effect of
using a continuous function throughout 360 deg and of the
difference of the higher-order Fourier harmonics between the
two cams.

CONCLUSIONS

not necessarily need an asymmetric profile. If a cam profile

with large asymmetry is required, however, the n-harmonic
cam is calculated by adding "sin" series:

1. The valve train noise that occurs at low engine speed

when the valve opens and closes is caused by the impact. The
sound pressure is proportional to the impact velocity.
2. The cam profile accuracy and surface finish, even such
small chatter marks or waviness in the cam contact surface as
not to be detected by an accurate cam lift measurement, affect
the sound pressure of the noise that occurs when the follower
is on the cam lobe.
3. The valve train noise on the cam lobe is caused by the
friction vibration that occurs when the cam and follower make
a metallic contact.
4. The test results show that the source of the noise on the
cam lobe is located at the point where the oil film velocity
becomes zero.
5. Valve train noise at high engine speed increases proportionally with the irregular motions of the valve.
6. The "n-harmonic cam" is recommended as a n e w design
method for the following reasons:
(a) There are no higher-order Fourier harmonics that
resonate with the natural frequency of the valve train.
(b) It has so many more degrees of freedom that the
acceleration curve around the cam nose can be designed most
reasonably.
(c) The submitted data have clear physical meanings for
such parameters as valve lift, velocity, and acceleration;
therefore, it is easy to find the best cam profile.
7. The actual valve motion of the "n-harmonic c a m " is
superior to that of the polynomial cam because
(a) " J u m p " does not occur until higher engine speed.
(b) The elastic vibration of the valve train generated by
impact is less.

REFERENCES
E X P E R I M E N T A L RESULTS O F V A L V E M O T I O N S

1. Dowson and Higginson, "Elasto-Hydrodynamic LubricaThe fourteenth order n-harmonic cam was manufactured
tion" 1966.
for an O H V engine with pushrods in order to compare with a
2. Mller, "Der Einfluss der Schmierverhaltnisse a m
polynomial cam that had the same cam lift and the same
Nockentrieb." M T Z , Vol. 27 (1966), No. 2, pp. 58-61.
event angle. Fig. 16 shows the spring load and the valve
3. Ishibashi and Yokote, "Effects of Surface Roughness and
inertia forces. The margin of the inertia force of n-harmonic
Running-in upon Pitting Fatigue in Rolling Contact Surface,"
cam is larger than that of the polynomial cam.
First Report. Trans. J S M E , Vol. 35, No. 277 (1969), pp.
Fig. 17 is the photograph of the synchroscope data of the
1929-1939 (in Japanese).
valve lift and strain curve of the rocker arm. W h e n using an
4. Sato and Hanaoka, " C a m Design for High Speed Internal
n-harmonic cam, "jump" appears at higher engine speed. See Combustion Engines." The Toyota Engineering, Vol. 18, N o .
also Fig. 18. Fig. 19 is the enlarged photograph of the syn4 (1967), pp. 333-341 (in Japanese).
chroscope data.
5. Stoddart "Polydyne C a m Design." Machine Design
If the wave of the rocker arm strain is compared, it is found (Jan.-Mar., 1953).