Tech Briefs
Automotive and Transportation Technology in Europe
 Dan Hancock, Chief Executive Officer of the Fiat-GM Powertrain joint venture, is serving as President of ATT. |
An all-encompassing, annual automotive conference similar to the SAE World Congress will be held in Europe this October. Like the SAE World Congress, the Automotive and Transportation Technology Congress & Exhibition (ATT) will draw participants and attendees from around the world.
The event will address technologies affecting automotive engineering and, befitting its European venue, will also explore the future of mass transportation. ATT will be held October 1-3 in Barcelona. Manufacturing, supply chain, ITS technologies, and other issues ancillary but pertinent to automotive engineering will be discussed as well.
SAE is partnering with Messe-Düsseldorf to hold the event, which is an evolution of the former ISATA conference. Although experienced in conducting trade shows, the German company needed help to engineer a complete conference highlighted by a sound technical program. SAE's expertise in conducting a technical program featuring high-quality, peer-reviewed technical papers/proceedings fit the bill. SAE has been active in Europe conducting other specialized automotive technical activities, usually in partnership with sister automotive technical societies. It brings global event organizing experience, good supplier and vehicle manufacturer contacts, and support and technical publishing expertise to ATT.
Nearly 500 papers were offered; about 300 were selected and will be presented in one of 73 sessions, which are categorized into one of nine technical tracks (see table).
In addition to the papers, the conference will feature plenary sessions each morning. The plenary session that opens the conference on the morning of October 1 will feature senior, high-profile executives from automakers and suppliers as well as politicians and legislators with a particular focus on the automotive and transportation industries. One of the speakers will be Dan Hancock, Chief Executive Officer of the Fiat-GM Powertrain joint venture and President of the 2002 ATT. The plenary sessions on the following mornings will feature three or four high-level industry executives; each will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
According to event organizers, ATT will "focus its efforts on building OEM attendance, which will result in a cost-effective direct marketing opportunity for automotive suppliers." About 50 companies are expected to exhibit their products and capabilities.
The goal of SAE, Messe-Düsseldorf, and other cooperating organizations "is to build on the past successes of ISATA and bring a high-quality technical program and exhibition to the attendees and the automotive community," said Hancock. In addition, "Everyone is urged to take advantage of the many wonderful networking opportunities designed into the three-day event," he said.
Being a first-time event, ATT has no attendee profile. Organizers believe the attendance profile will roughly track that of the SAE World Congress, which attracts close to 50,000 annually.
Cooperating organizations include the Sociedad de Tecnicos de Automocion (STA) of Spain; Gepipari Tudomanyos Egyesulet (GTE) of Hungary; Institution of Mechanical Engineers - Automobile Division - (IMechE) of the UK; and Osterreichischer Ingenieur-und Architekten-Verein (OIAV) of Austria.
- Patrick Ponticel
For more and updated information, visit the ATT website at www.attce.com
Parker infiltrates vehicles
 Beginning next year, Ford's diesel vehicles will include the Racor fuel-conditioning module (RFCM) from the Racor Division of Parker Hannifin. |
The evolution in diesel-engine design from mechanical to electronic fuel-injection systems requires a high level of filtration as well as consistent fuel pressure and fuel delivery regardless of engine speed. To address the requirements of high-pressure fuel-injection systems, Parker Hannifin Corp.'s Racor Division has developed and patented the RFCM, a fuel-conditioning module.
The RFCM is a high-efficiency fuel filter/water separator that can be specified with a broad range of options including a roller-cell electric fuel pump, fuel pressure and thermal control module, fuel heater, and vacuum indicator to monitor element restriction. An electronic water-in-fuel sensor is standard. A specially engineered version of the RFCM will be installed on Ford diesel vehicles beginning next year. Racor is also currently shipping versions of the RFCM to DaimlerChrysler for its diesel engines.
 Some of the advantages that Racor cites for its heavy-duty combination precleaner/filters are reduced downtime; a wide range of applications and flow rates; and extended filter, turbocharger, and engine life. |
Racor has also recently launched several new precleaning engine-air-filtration products. The precleaners consist of powder-coated steel housings with static vanes and a rustproof rotor mounted on dual ball bearings. Air enters the system through a pre-screen that removes large debris. It then flows through static vanes, causing the air to spin. As the air spins, centrifugal force separates dust, dirt, insects, rain, and snow from the air stream. The swirling air drives a high-velocity rotor that acts as a blower excavating contaminates through special discharge ports in the side of the unit. According to Racor, the end result is that only purified air flows to the air-filter elements.
Racor is offering two heavy-duty combination precleaner/filters, the AFCS dynamic and AFPP static precleaner/filters. Combination systems require only one connection to the engine air intake. The airflow for the AFCS ranges from 1500 to 21,000 L/min (53 to 741 ft3/min), and the AFPP ranges from 1500 to 6000 L/min (53 to 212 ft3/min). The precleaners are self-powered and self-cleaning.
- Jean L. Broge