Chats with the Experts

Composites design, analysis and manufacturing has traditionally taken place separately, without collaboration between teams or tools. This slow and sequential process involves one team working while two teams wait for the project to be handed-off. Come speak with Composites expert Rani Richardson about the future of collaborative design solutions for the auto industry and learn how the ability to share ideas, results, and processes in real time can shorten the development lifecycle and result in a superior product.

Design uses computational models which quantify functional input-output relations. Because these models are inexact approximations of the physical world, we must quantify our confidence in the models such that the designs obtained using the simulations will perform as expected when produced. Model validation refers to computing the correct simulation model while model verification is related to computing the simulation model correctly. Computational models are validated by assessing the degree of agreement between model prediction and test data. The fidelity in model predictions can be improved either by statistically calibrating a number of model parameters or building a correction model using test data. Either case should consider the inherent uncertainty in model calibration parameters and the tests used in the validation process. We will briefly review the statistical methods to computer model validation, including frequentist and Bayesian approaches, elaborate on the significance of V&V in automotive design and discuss relevant theoretical and implementation issues and philosophies.

To quantify material and loading variability is the key element in performing fatigue reliability analysis. The emerging techniques to characterize statistical fatigue properties and to extrapolate the rainflow cycle counting matrix will be addressed. The characterization of statistical fatigue properties is referred to the determination of the stress-life and the local strain life curves associated with a specific reliability/confidence level. And the purpose of rainflow cycle extrapolation is to predict the rainflow cycle matrix for a much longer time period based on a short-term load measurement as well as to estimate the rainflow cycle matrix for the single most damaging customer usage condition based on a set of several customer usage data.

The reliability demonstration test plans for product design verification will also discussed, which will include the commonly accepted approaches to determining the quantity of test samples required and the test time that must be tested to meet the reliability program objectives.

Life Cycle Assessment is a methodology that assess the environmental impacts of a product or service from raw material extraction through disposal. It a credible, robust, scientific methodology used by industry, governments, NGOs and academics to understand which options are more sustainable. In this Chat about Life Cycle Assessment, you will have the opportunity to ask questions about all facets of LCA.

Lise Laurin founded EarthShift in 2000 to support businesses in their endeavor to reduce environmental impacts. She brings to this effort over 20 years in industry, with roles in manufacturing engineering, R&D, and marketing. For the last ten years, she has been working at various levels of capacity building within the areas of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA), and Total Cost Assessment (TCA), providing software tools, training, and consulting. Lise chairs the AIChE's TCA Roundtable. She is a member of the board of advisors of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment, member of the SETAC North American Life Cycle Assessment Steering Committee, a Technical Advisory Group Member, CarbonFund.org, and a member of the IEEE, AIChE, MRS and AIHA. She began her professional life as a process engineer at Intel. She holds a BS in Physics from Yale University.

The automotive supply chain has undergone dramatic changes over the past couple of years. The current Recession has changed the look of not only the automotive companies but the entire supply chain from Tier 1 to tier X. The supply industry was being squeezed from two directions before the recession. Cost cutting from the OEM's, commodity prices for raw materials, as well as social contracts and employment levels have reduced profit margins to the point where basic survival was problematic. The recession has changed much of that with the shedding of thousands of jobs, the closure of many suppliers who did not have the cash to sustain themselves and drive from OEM's to reduce the supply base. The surviving companies now have the proposition of having more cash, are vying for increased business with less competition and are now struggling to increase production capacity as the economy improves. The general trend now seems to be more consolidation in the supply chain with a drive to acquisition and merger as well as more vertical integration to improve control and costs. The supply chain has had the opportunity now to reduce structural costs with high social entitlements and have learned to do more with less. This trend will probably continue for the foreseeable future.

As vehicles become more and more electronically complex, it is becoming ever increasingly challenging for manufacturers to develop diagnostic methods to quickly and accurately diagnose vehicle issues. New electronic technologies continue to perplex automakers and consumers. In addition, increased government and industry regulations and standards increase the need for vehicle electronic control systems. This panel, comprised of industry experts, will address questions on how to meet these demands from a vehicle diagnostic perspective and how to support the dealership technician while controlling costs.

What is the role that both thermoset and thermoplastic composites will have in the federal government fuel economy requirements for the automotive industry? It is becoming very clear that in-order for OEM's to meet and or exceed said requirements, reducing the weight of the entire vehicle line must be accomplished. In the past fuel economy requirements have been met by power train improvements and small weigh reduction actions. This strategy will no longer be able to provide the improvement necessary. For those of us who have been working in the area of light-weighting, this upcoming challenge is our chance to shine. The weight reduction composites offer to the industry can no longer be ignored. With all this being said, it is now time for composites to step up and be counted - this means being included in areas of the vehicle other than body panels and under hood applications.

The integration of finite element (FE) and multibody system (MBS) algorithms is necessary for accurate vehicle dynamic modeling and simulations. This presentation discusses the integration of small and large deformation FE/MBS algorithms. The approaches discussed allow for accurate modeling of complex geometric shapes of the vehicle components. For small deformation problems, the floating frame of reference (FFR) formulation is used. This formulation is implemented in most commercial MBS computer programs used by automotive industry. FE computer programs are used as preprocessor to MBS computer programs in order to capture the dynamic coupling between the rigid body motion and the elastic deformations. The integration of large deformation FE/MBS algorithms, on the other hand, is based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). ANCF finite elements can be used to develop a non-incremental solution procedure that correctly captures large displacements including rigid body motion.

This chat will explore the latest developments in vehicular emissions regarding regulations, engines, NOx control, particulate matter reductions, and hydrocarbon and CO oxidation in the face of proposals for up to 70% tightening of fleet average light-duty criteria emissions likely to be proposed in California for ~2016-22. CO2 regulations in both the heavy- and light-duty sectors will also tighten and impact diesel engines and emissions, probably long into the future.

With the tremendous regulatory and economic pressures on the automotive industry, the need for innovation is higher than ever. Many large OEM and supplier organization have their own internal processes. But how do they reach outside and how do the 'outside' companies get visibility within our industry. A panel discussion group will be led by a moderator and will include from MIT Enterprise Forum, University of Michigan, and several innovators on the verge of making it in our industry.

Performance requirements for new defense systems are increasing. There is continuous pressure to reduce the development time and cost of future sophisticated defense systems. Modeling and Simulations (M&S) is proving to be an effective tool to develop better military vehicles at reduced time and cost. This presentation covers examples of past and present Modeling and Simulation capabilities used in support of military vehicles development. It covers examples for structural analysis, blast simulation, controls simulations, thermal analysis, and signature modeling. Comparisons of test and simulation predictions are provided. It also provides author's view of future trends and needs in the area of Modeling and Simulation.

Bob Welge is a Manager/Engineer for advanced technology and new concept development programs. His area of specialization is Aerodynamics and he is currently Chief Engineer at Robert's Engineering Development. Bob is the author of 31 professional papers and reports and co-author of the text "Applied Computational Aerodynamics" (AIAA). Bob has received several industry/government awards, lectured at UCLA, University of Illinois and Cal Tech and served on NASA's Aeronautics Advisory Council. He is an SAE Fellow, Associate Fellow AIAA, member of the SAE Motorsports Engineering Committee, Activity Chair for Motorsports on the SAE Land and Sea Group and member of the SAE Engineering Meeting Board. He has a Master of Science Degree from UCLA.

Powertrain electrification is a promising technology for improving automotive fuel economy. Control system design plays an important role in managing energy flow through the vehicle, and electrified powertrains afford more degrees of freedom to optimize the overall system. Significant interest has surrounded this topic in recent years. This chat will review the energy management problem as applied to electrified powertrains and discuss some of the recent advances in this field.

Using gasoline-like fuels in diesel engines enables both NOx and smoke to be reduced even at high loads. The optimum fuel for such CI combustion could be a low-quality gasoline (e.g. RON around 85 and low volatility). While significant work is needed to translate lab results into a practical power plant, the prize is big - a simpler, cheaper engine with diesel-like efficiencies and low emissions running on lower-quality fuels that might be easier to manufacture.

Under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2009 (RFS-2), companies that refine or import fuel are required to incorporate increasing amounts of renewable fuels. Only advanced renewable fuels providing a 50% or higher life cycle reduction in carbon that have an EPA approved production path are eligible. This chat will overview volume requirements and show how biodiesel represents a low-cost option for meeting RFS-2 requirements.

Applications of Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) for automotive structures brought a unique opportunity to reduce an average car weight, to improve fuel economy and safety. At the same time it resulted in new challenges for product design, stamping process development and associated R&D and manufacturing activities. Thanks to ongoing efforts of the R&D community as well as Steel and Automotive Industries, all drivers of today's manufactured cars can benefit from the presence of AHSS in the automotive structures.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is exploring the development and deployment of a fully connected transportation system. As part of this effort, the U.S. DOT has established a Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) Technology Test Bed that is a real-world, operational environment that offers the supporting vehicles, infrastructure, and equipment to serve the needs of public and private sector testing and development activities. Come hear the latest updates on the V2V and V2I Technology Test Bed and connected vehicle research including the an expansion within the Detroit area that will include Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) and Geometric Intersection Description (GID), and extensions outside of Michigan. The V2V and V2I Technology Test Bed is available for anyone to use in testing their safety, mobility and environmental applications, services, and components in an environment using interoperable equipment consistent with the U.S. DOT's connected vehicle research program.