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Toyota Motor Corporation has developed an innovative 10-speed longitudinal automatic transmission called the Direct Shift-10AT. The Direct Shift-10AT is a significant contributor to the excellent dynamic performance of the Lexus LC500. A wide gear spread with close gear ratios allows for rhythmical shifting, smooth and powerful acceleration from a standing start, along with quiet and relaxed high- speed driving due to low engine speeds. The lock-up area is expanded to a wider range of vehicle speeds (excluding low-speed regions such as when starting off), by the adoption of a multi-plate lock-up clutch, a newly developed torque converter, and a high-precision controller. As a result, the shift control can match the driver's intended operation more directly because the main cause of the response delay (transient changes in engine speed (flare)) is eliminated. Furthermore, fuel economy is improved due to the adoption of low friction clutches.

Emission regulations in many countries and regions around the world are becoming stricter in reaction to the increasing awareness of environment protections, and it has now become necessary to improve the performance of catalytic converters to achieve these goals. A catalytic converter is composed of a catalytically active material coated onto a ceramic honeycomb-structured substrate. Honeycomb substrates play the role of ensuring intimate contact between the exhaust gas and the catalyst within the substrate’s flow channels. In recent years, high-load test cycles have been introduced which require increased robustness to maintain low emissions during the wide range of load changes. Therefore, it is extremely important to increase the probability of contact between the exhaust gas and catalyst. To achieve this contact, several measures were considered such as increasing active sites or geometrical surface areas by utilizing substrates with higher cell densities or larger volumes.

In recent years, the automotive manufacturers have been working to reduce fuel consumption in order to cut down on CO2 emissions, promoting weight reduction as one of the fuel saving countermeasures. On the other hand, this trend of weight reduction is well known to reduce vehicle stability in response to disturbances. Thus, automotive aerodynamic development is required not only to reduce aerodynamic drag, which contributes directly to lower fuel consumption, but also to develop technology for controlling unstable vehicle behavior caused by natural wind. In order to control the unstable vehicle motion changed by external contour modification, it is necessary to understand unsteady aerodynamic forces that fluctuating natural wind in real-world environments exerts on vehicles. In the past, some studies have reported the characteristics of unsteady aerodynamic forces induced by natural winds, comparing to steady aerodynamic forces obtained from conventional wind tunnel tests.

With advancement of aeroacoustic wind tunnels and CAE technology, aeroacoustic cabin noise in steady flow has been improved. On the other hand, passenger comfort is also impacted by aeroacoustic noise in unsteady flow. There have been comparatively few studies into this area, and the mechanism remains unclear. Considering the future proliferation of autonomous driving, drivers will pay more attention to cabin noise than previously, and aeroacoustic noise is expected to become more prominent. Thus, the reduction of fluctuating aeroacoustic noise is important. Most of the previous research relied on road tests, which don’t provide reproducible conditions due to changing atmospheric and traffic conditions. To solve these problems, research using devices that generate turbulence are being conducted. However, the fluctuations of flow generated in previous studies were small, failing to simulate on-road conditions sufficiently.

The aim of this study was to investigate the sacroiliac joint injury mechanism. Two test configurations were selected from full scale car crashes conducted with the WorldSID 50th dummy resulting in high sacroiliac joint loads and low pubic symphysis force, i.e. severe conditions for the sacroiliac joint. The two test conditions were reproduced in laboratory using a 150-155 kg guided probe propelled respectively at 8 m/s and 7.5 m/s and with different shapes and orientations for the plate impacting the pelvis. Nine Post Mortem Human Subject (PMHS) were tested in each of the two configurations (eighteen PMHS in total). In order to get information on the time of fracture, eleven strain gauges were glued on the pelvic bone of each PMHS. Results - In the first configuration, five PMHS out of nine sustained AIS2+ pelvic injuries. All five presented sacroiliac joint injuries associated with pubic area injuries.

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is widely used to develop engine combustion. Especially the in-cylinder spray calculation is important in order to resolve the issues of direct injection gasoline engines (e.g., particulate matter (PM) and oil dilution caused by fuel wetting on the cylinder walls). Conventional spray calculation methods require fitting based on measurements of spray characteristics such as penetration and droplet diameter (i.e., the Sauter mean diameter (SMD)). Particularly in the case of slit nozzle shapes that widen from the inlet to the outlet to form a fan-shaped spray, fitting the shape of spray is a complex procedure because the flow inside the nozzle is not uniform. In response, a new calculation method has been developed that eliminates the need for spray shape fitting by combining calculations of the Eulerian multiphase and the Lagrangian multiphase.

Increasing numbers of vehicles equipped with downsized, turbocharged engines have been introduced seeking for better fuel economy. LSPI (low speed pre-ignition), which can damage engine hardware, is a potential risk of the engines. We reported that engine oil formulation affects frequency of LSPI events, and formulating magnesium detergents into oil is a promising option to prevent LSPI events. From the viewpoint of achieving better fuel economy by engine oil, lowering viscosity is being required. However, it causes reduced oil film thickness and will expand boundary lubrication condition regions in some engine parts. Hence, a technology to reduce friction under boundary lubrication becomes important.

A CVT belt is composed of multiple elements and layered rings. Each of these component parts generates loss, including relative slippage caused by the geometrical relationship between the elements and innermost ring layer. An effective way of increasing CVT efficiency is to reduce this slippage. However, since the relative slippage also controls whether the rings transmit constant torque at all times, reducing the slippage will also have an effect on the torque transmission performance of the rings. Therefore, to improve CVT efficiency by reducing the relative slippage, it is first necessary to analyze the changes to torque transmission. However, this slippage is a phenomenon of the inner portion of the belt and it is extremely difficult to identify the internal thrust force when actual load is applied. This paper describes experiments carried out to analyze the changes in each torque transmission ratio when the relative slippage between the elements and innermost ring layer changes.

Torque loss reduction at differential gear unit is important to improve the fuel economy of automobiles. One effective way is to decrease the viscosity of lubricants as it results in less churning loss. However, this option creates a higher potential for thin oil films, which could damage the mechanical parts. At tapered roller bearings, in particular, wear at the large end face of rollers and its counterpart, known as bearing bottom wear is one of major failure modes. To understand the wear mechanism, wear at the rolling contact surface of rollers and its counterpart, known as bearing side wear, was also observed to confirm the wear impact on the tapered roller bearings. Because gear oils are also required to avoid seizure under extreme pressure, the combination of a phosphorus anti-wear agent and a sulfurous extreme pressure agent are formulated.

This paper presents a custom integrated circuit (IC) on which circuit functions necessary for “Active Hydraulic Brake (AHB) system” are integrated, and its key component, “Current-to-Digital Converter” for solenoid current measurement. The AHB system, which realizes a seamless brake feeling for Antilock Brake System (ABS) and Regenerative Brake Cooperative Control of Hybrid Vehicle, and the custom IC are installed in the 4th-generation Prius released in 2015. In the AHB system, as linear solenoid valves are used for hydraulic brake pressure control, high-resolution and high-speed sensing of solenoid current with ripple components due to pulse width modulation (PWM) is one of the key technologies. The proposed current-to-digital converter directly samples the drain-source voltage of the sensing DMOS (double-diffused MOSFET) with an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter (ADC) on the IC, and digitizes it.

In this paper, we consider smart charging and vehicle-to-home (V2H) technologies for plugin electric vehicles coordinated with home energy management systems (HEMS) for automated demand response. In this system, plugin electric vehicles automatically react to demand response events with or without HEMS’s coordination, while vehicles are charged and discharged (i.e., V2H) in appropriate time slots by taking into account demand response events, time-ofuse rate information, and users’ vehicle usage plan. We introduce three approaches on home energy management: centralized energy control, distributed energy control, and coordinated energy control. We implemented smart charging and V2H systems by employing two sets of standardized communication protocols: one using OpenADR 2.0b, SEP 2.0, and SAE standards and the other using OpenADR 2.0b, ECHONET Lite, and ISO/IEC 15118.

The aerodynamic stability of energy-saving, lightweight, and low-drag vehicles is reduced by crosswind disturbances. In particular, crosswinds cause unsteady motion in vehicles with low-drag body shapes due to aerodynamic yaw moment. To verify fluctuations in the unsteady aerodynamic forces of a vehicle, a direct measurement method of these forces in a crosswind test was established using inertial force and tire load data. The former uses an inertia sensor comprised of a gyro, acceleration sensor, and GPS sensor, and the latter uses a wheel force sensor. Noise in the measurement data caused by the natural frequency of the tires was reduced using a spectral subtraction method. It was confirmed that aerodynamic data measured in the crosswind test corresponded to wind tunnel test data. Numerical expressions were defined to model the unsteady aerodynamic forces in a crosswind.

An experimental study on reducing aerodynamic drag and improving fuel economy through vehicle platooning was conducted to develop an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) with good fuel economy of the entire vehicle-based transportation society. The objectives of the present study are to achieve a simple and quick approach to estimating the aerodynamic drag reduction rates of vehicle platooning. This paper reports the prediction formula, including the conditions of various types of vehicles in multiple-vehicle platooning, based on the power law of a free turbulent axisymmetric wake and on-road experimental results. Note, the prediction formula in this study does not fully include the effect of various type of wake deficit patterns due to rear shape of vehicle and atmospheric wind. Therefore, continuous study is needed to examine the applicable limit.

This paper presents typical flow structures around a 60%-scale wind-tunnel model of a Formula One (F1) car, using planar particle image velocimetry (PIV). The customized PIV system is permanently installed in a wind tunnel to help aerodynamicists in the development loop. The PIV results enhance the understanding of the mean velocity field in the two-dimensional plane in some important areas of the car, such as the front-wheel wake and the underfloor flow. These real phenomena obtained in the wind tunnel also help maintain the accuracy of simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) by allowing regular checking of the correlation with the real-world counterpart. This paper first surveys recent literature on unique flow structures around the rotating exposed wheel, mostly that on the isolated wheel, and then gives the background to F1 aerodynamics in the late 2000s.

Vehicles equipped with in-wheel motors (IWMs) are capable of independent control of the driving force at each wheel. These vehicles can also control the motion of the sprung mass by driving force distribution using the suspension reaction force generated by IWM drive. However, one disadvantage of IWMs is an increase in unsprung mass. This has the effect of increasing vibrations in the 4 to 8 Hz range, which is reported to be uncomfortable to vehicle occupants, thereby reducing ride comfort. This research aimed to improve ride comfort through driving force control. Skyhook damper control is a typical ride comfort control method. Although this control is generally capable of reducing vibration around the resonance frequency of the sprung mass, it also has the trade-off effect of worsening vibration in the targeted mid-frequency 4 to 8 Hz range. This research aimed to improve mid-frequency vibration by identifying the cause of this adverse effect through the equations of motion.

The use of hybrid, fuel cell electric, and pure electric vehicles is on the increase as part of measures to help reduce exhaust gas emissions and to help resolve energy issues. These vehicles use regenerative-friction brake coordination technology, which requires a braking system that can accurately control the hydraulic brakes in response to small changes in regenerative braking. At the same time, the spread of collision avoidance support technology is progressing at a rapid pace along with a growing awareness of vehicle safety. This technology requires braking systems that can apply a large braking force in a short time. Although brake systems that have both accurate hydraulic control and large braking force have been developed in the past, simplification is required to promote further adoption.

A dynamics model considering series rigidity was constructed to examine suspension friction, which has a major effect on ride comfort on paved roads. The friction characteristics of the bushings, ball joints, and shock absorbers are expressed with series elastic elements such as arm rigidity and the spring constant of the oil seals. It was confirmed that the calculated values for the overall spring constant and damping coefficient of the suspension virtually matched values measured in a 4-post shaker test. In addition, the results of analysis using this dynamics model confirmed that the degree of friction affects both the damping coefficient and the spring constant of the suspension, especially when the series rigidity is high. Also highly rigid friction has an adverse effect on sprung motion in frequency ranges above 15 Hz. After suspension enhancements were adopted based on these findings, 4-post shaker tests confirmed that sprung motion above 2 Hz improved..

A highly anti-corrosive organic-inorganic hybrid paint for automotive steel parts has been developed. The inorganic component included in the paint is silicon dioxide (SiO2), which has the capability to passivate zinc. By application of the paint on a trivalent chromatetreated zinc-plated steel sheet or a trivalent chromate-treated zinc-nickel-plated steel sheet, high anti-corrosion protection can be provided to steel materials. Particularly in the case of application over a zinc-nickel-plated steel sheet, 0 mm corrosion depth after a cyclic corrosion test (CCT) of 450 cycles was demonstrated.

Conventional CFD-based shape optimization technology that uses parametric shape modification and optimal solutions searching algorithms has the two problems: (1) outcome of optimized shapes depend on the selection of design parameters made by the designer, and (2) high computational costs. To resolve those problems, two innovative inverse analysis technologies based on the Adjoint Method were developed in previous study: surface geometry deformation sensitivity analysis to identify the locations to be modified, and topology optimization to generate an optimal shape for maximizing the cost function in the constrained design space. However, these technologies are only applicable to steady flows. Since most flows in a vehicle (such as engine in-cylinder flow) are transient, a practical technology for surface geometry sensitivity analysis has been developed based on the Transient Adjoint Method.

Improving vehicle fuel economy is a central part of efforts toward achieving a sustainable society, and an effective way of accomplishing this aim is to enhance the engine thermal efficiency. Measures to mitigate knocking and reduce engine cooling heat loss are important aspects of enhancing the engine thermal efficiency. Cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is regarded as a key technology because it is capable of achieving both of these objectives. For this reason, it has been adopted in a wide range of both hybrid vehicles and conventional vehicles in recent years. Cooled EGR has the potential to achieve further lower fuel consumption if the EGR ratio can be increased. Fast combustion is an important and effective way for expanding the EGR ratio. The engine combustion enhancement can be categorized into measures to improve ignition characteristics and methods to promote flame propagation.