Detailed FEV study shows the way to major vehicle mass savings
Significant vehicle mass reduction—up to 20%—is achievable if weight reduction is pursued as part of a "full-vehicle approach," according to a study by FEV Inc. released Dec. 13. The company used a 2010 Toyota Venza for its research because that model was used in an earlier, related study. The comprehensive phase-two study by FEV was conducted for the U.S. EPA. The previous study, by Lotus Engineering (go to www.sae.org/mags/aei/8512 to read more), was conducted for the International Council on Clean Transportation. That study did not address mass savings from the powertrain to the extent the new one does, nor did it use advanced CAE tools to judge the impact of mass-savings measures on safety, according to FEV. In both cases, the mass savings were to be achieved with no degradation in safety or other parameters. The new study shows that the body-in-white and closures offered the most mass reduction at 68.32 kg (150.62 lb), followed closely by suspension. Total mass savings of 18.3% (312 kg/688 lb) was achieved, and at a cost savings of $148 from manufacturing efficiencies.
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Advanced CAE tools were used as part of the comprehensive study that resulted in a report of 890 pages.
Wireless EV charging advances with Evatran testing program
The City of Raleigh is the first municipality nationwide to join a special program to test wireless electric vehicle charging technology. It joins six other participants to date in the second phase of Evatran's so-called Apollo Program launching early in 2013 to further demonstrate the company's technology, which it brands Plugless Power. Its second-generation "production-intent" model will be used in this phase, with three of the 20-30 total units to be installed in Raleigh municipal parking lots. Evatran will retrofit two Nissan Leafs and one Chevrolet Volt in the city's fleet for use with the charging system. Five prototype wireless charging units were used in the first phase of the Apollo Program, which involved six partners (among them Google and Hertz, which are also participating in the second phase). In a separate matter, the company said it will begin distributing its Plugless Power units in the spring; they will be the first wireless charging units available to individual Leaf and Volt owners.
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Two prototype wireless charging stations are located at Evatran's technology center in Morrisville, NC.
BMW and Boeing to collaborate on carbon-fiber materials
Two heavyweights in the automotive and aerospace industries are joining minds on lighter materials. BMW and Boeing on Dec. 12 announced they would do joint research on carbon-fiber recycling and share knowledge about the material and its manufacture. As part of the collaboration agreement, the two companies will also share carbon-fiber manufacturing process simulations and ideas for manufacturing automation. BMW in 2013 plans to introduce two models from its new i brand (i3 battery-electric and i8 plug-in hybrid) featuring bodies made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft is made up of 50% carbon fiber. The collaboration is the first ever between the two companies.
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The bodies of BMW's i brand models will use carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. (Patrick Ponticel)
All passenger vehicles to be equipped with black boxes under NHTSA rule
Although about 96% of today's passenger vehicles already are equipped with black boxes (formally called event data recorders, or EDRs), NHTSA (U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is proposing to require their fitment to all new light passenger vehicles of less than 8500 lb. The rule would take effect Sept. 1, 2014. Information collected would pertain to vehicle speed, braking, crash force, engine throttle, airbag deployment, and seatbelt usage. The proposal includes the same standardized data-collection requirements established by NHTSA in 2006 for EDRs that are voluntarily installed by automakers and mandates that automakers provide a commercially available tool for copying the data. In keeping with NHTSA's current policies on EDR data, the EDR data would be treated by NHTSA as the property of the vehicle owner and would not be used or accessed by the agency without owner consent. The agency expects the rule, if adopted, to cost automakers $20 per vehicle. It will accept public feedback on its proposal for the next two months at http://www.regulations.gov.
Top 100 Global Innovators list includes seven automotive companies
The automotive industry was more than twice as innovative in 2012 than it was in 2011, according to the 2012 Top 100 Global Innovators list compiled by the IP & Science unit of Thomson Reuters. The full report released Dec. 4 listing the awards and describing the selection methodology is available here. Automotive companies on the Top 100 list are Delphi, Ford, Honda, Jatco, Renault, Toyota, and Valeo. Of those, only Ford acknowledged the honor in a press release, saying that its engineers and researchers "have come through recently with nearly 500 patents granted for hybrid-electric vehicle technology." Ford's developments related to improving vehicle fuel efficiency have also yielded more than 25 patent applications for the controls for Auto Start-Stop, 125 patents for EcoBoost engine technology, as well as the SmartGauge instrument cluster and EcoGuide driver coaching system. Ford credits much of its innovation to its Employee Patent Incentive Awards; invention submissions are up 60% since its launch. Companies that do business in the automotive industry but are listed under non-automotive categories in the Top 100 include Eaton, Denso, General Electric, Goodyear, Michelin, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Scania, and Siemens.
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Ford's hybrid vehicle development group helped put the automaker among the Top-100 Innovation leaders. Ming Kuang, Technical Leader, Vehicle Controls, Electrification Research and Advanced Engineering, has helped grow Ford’s hybrid patent portfolio from 10 in 2000. His name is on 40 of Ford’s nearly 500 hybrid-related patents.
U.S. DOE reinforces its commitment to advanced batteries for EVs with new technology Hub
The U.S. Department of Energy on Nov. 30 announced it will establish a major advanced-battery research center on the campus of Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago. The Batteries and Energy Storage Hub, also called the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR). Establishment of the Hub is tied to the award of DOE funding of up to $120 million for a research team led by Argonne and consisting of additional national labs, universities, and private companies, the latter consisting of Dow Chemical Co., Applied Materials Inc., Johnson Controls Inc., and Clean Energy Trust. JCESR will integrate independent research being done by the participating entities into a coordinated effort. It is the fourth Hub established by the DOE since 2010 (the others address nuclear energy, building efficiency, and fuels derived from sunlight), and like the others it is modeled on the "strong scientific management characteristics of the Manhattan Project" and similarly renowned enterprises. Research will apply to multiple industries, not just automotive.
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Argonne scientist Ira Bloom examines a metallographic sample using an optical microscope to determine its microstructure in the laboratory's Battery Post-Test Facility. This information helps researchers learn what chemical and physical changes have occurred during the aging of battery materials.
Autodesk, IndyCar sign technology partnership
Autodesk and IndyCar have signed a three-year technology partnership that will give the participants in the IZOD IndyCar Series broad access to the former's cloud-based design and engineering software. The software offerings include Autodesk Product Design Suite, Autodesk Simulation 360, Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite, and Autodesk PLM 360. This capability will better enable the organization to come up with aerodynamic specifications for components that all race teams can agree on—reducing any advantages or disadvantages among teams and creating a more competitive and exciting racing environment, the companies said in a joint press release issued Nov. 29. IndyCar already employs Autodesk software within its operations for a variety of important functions—for example, AutoCAD is used to create detailed garage layouts before each event, which helps improve the logistics of load-in and load-out at venues. The same product is used in relation to sled crash testing.
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IndyCar's engineering and operations group will use Autodesk Digital Prototyping applications to design and engineer product innovations for chassis designs, parts, and components.
Motiv ePCS to power heavy electric trucks in Chicago
San Francisco Bay Area-based startup Motiv Power Systems has been chosen to supply its scalable electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) to the City of Chicago for 20 all-electric garbage trucks, under an exclusive five-year, $13.4 million contract. The City of Chicago operates 600 garbage trucks in total. The ePCS uses off-the-shelf batteries and motors that can be configured to power medium-duty to Class 8 heavy-duty EV trucks, weighing from 15,000 to 52,000 lb (6800 to 23,500 kg). This design approach can cut operating costs by 50% over an eight-year period, according to Motiv. The company, which was founded in 2009, has been validating its ePCS since March 2012 with an all-electric pilot bus. Funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission, the 20-passenger bus contains five battery packs (125 kW·h) providing a range of more than 120 mi (193 km) on a single charge. The Motiv EV refuse trucks planned for Chicago will use the same ePCS system as the pilot bus, but with a larger motor and 10 battery packs, and will also employ an electric motor to drive the hydraulics system. Motiv will work with partner Detroit Chassis to install the ePCS onto a standard refuse chassis; Loadmaster will provide the truck bodies. Weighing 52,000 lb (23,500 kg), the EV refuse trucks will reportedly have a range of more than 60 mi (97 km), with a total energy storage of 200 kW·h. (Go to www.sae.org/mags/sohe/11486 to read about another recent electrified refuse truck project.)
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Weighing 52,000 lb, the Motiv-powered electric refuse trucks in Chicago will have a range of more than 60 mi (97 km), with a total energy storage of 200 kW·h.
General Motors and partners open new plant in China
General Motors, SAIC, and Wuling Motors opened a new car plant Nov. 18 in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China. The three companies are partners in SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW). It was on the JV's 10th anniversary that the first car (a Baojun 630 midsize sedan) rolled out of the new $1.28 billion, 2-million-ft2 (200,000-m2) plant. Baojun is a passenger-car brand of SGMW. The joint venture also produces Wuling-brand minivans and minitrucks at other plants. SAIC holds a 50.1% stake in SGMW, GM 44.0%, and Wuling 5.9%. Annual capacity at the new plant is 400,000 units.
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A Baojun 630 midsize sedan was the first vehicle to roll out of the new SGMW plant Nov. 18.
Renewable-fuel levels to remain in place, EPA rules
The U.S. EPA on Nov. 16 announced that it has denied a waiver of the regulation requiring the production of renewable fuels. The governors of several states, as well as other parties, had petitioned the EPA to waive renewable fuel volume requirements for 2012 and 2013 because of concerns about the effects of drought on corn production and prices. In researching the request, EPA found that the body of evidence suggests there would be no impact on corn prices if the waiver were granted. Even if there were an impact, it would be very small and fall short of the "severe harm" waiver threshold set out in the Renewable Fuels Standard. That standard calls for the production of increasingly greater amounts of renewable fuels annually over the years 2008 through 2022. The required amount of ethanol or ethanol-equivalent renewable fuel for 2012 is 15.2 billion gal (57.6 billion L) and for 2013 it is 16.55 billion gal (62.6 billion L). The target for 2022 is 36.0 billion gal (136.3 billion L).
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Iowa State University is heavily involved in renewable fuels research.
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