Research aims to calm your car's rattling

Purdue mechanical engineering doctoral student Janette Jaques attaches a sensor to a car seat headrest mounted to a hydraulic shaker. As the seat is shaken, sensors record vibration data used to validate results from a computational model that simulates the vibration. The goal is to silence rattling and squeaking noises in a car's headrest and other components, a major source of consumer dissatisfaction that automakers would like to eliminate. Credit: Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger