Search Results

In today’s rapidly evolving automotive world, reduction of time to market has prime importance for a new product development. It is critical to have significant front-loading of the development activities to reduce development time while achieving best in class performance targets. Driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulators have shown significant potential for achieving it, through real time subjective feedback at preliminary stages of the vehicle development. Recent advances in technology of driving simulators have enabled quite accurate representation steering and handling performance, also good prediction on primary ride and low frequency vibrations. In conventional damper development, the definition of the initial dampers tuning specifications typically requires a mule vehicle, or atleast, a comparable vehicle. However, this approach is associated with protracted iterations that consume substantial time and cost.

In this study, the benchmarked-based statistical Light Weight Index (LWI) technique is developed for predicting the world in class optimum weight. For these four statistical Lightweight Index numbers are derived based on the geometrical dimensions. This strategy is used for the target setting. To achieve the target, the Value Analysis approach for Cargo assembly is to redesign and make Refresh Cargo assembly. The organization also benefited directly by reducing the inventory cost and transportation costs because of the deletion of parts and minimizing the assemblies. Vehicle power-to-weight ratio and fuel economy also improved based on cutting weight. The complete case study with details has been mentioned in the work. The weight benefit led to an increase in the profit margin and caters to the difficulty because of the daily increase in the price of raw materials.

Phosphating is the most preferred surface treatment process used for auto body sheet panel before painting due to its low-cost, easy production process, good corrosion resistance, and excellent adhesion with subsequent paint layer. There are different phosphating processes used for ferrous metal like zinc phosphating, iron phosphating, di-cationic & tri-cationic phosphating, etc. Among these phosphate coatings, the best corrosion resistance and surface adhesion are achieved by tri-cationic phosphate coatings (zinc-nickel-manganese phosphate). Many new technologies of phosphating are evolving. Key drivers for this evolution are increasing demand for higher corrosion resistance, multi-metal car body processing in same phosphating bath and sustainability initiatives to reduce the carbon footprints. We have evaluated two of these recent technologies.

Nowadays, tractors are frequently used with front-end loaders, dozers and backhoes to cater to various non-agricultural and construction application needs. These applications require frequent shifting of gears due to the constant need for a tractor's forward/reverse direction of motion. Hence, the tractors are fitted with a power shuttle transmission (PST) to cater this need. Power-shuttle transmission (PST) development is a design process that incorporates multiple disciplines such as mechanical, hydraulics, controls and electronics. This paper presents a simulation-based approach to model the power shuttle transmission of the tractor. Firstly, individual components of PST are modelled in detail and then integrated with the complete tractor model. For this, GT-Suite has been used as a simulation platform.

In automotive product development, design and development of the chassis plays an important role since all the internal and external loads pass through the vehicle chassis. Durability, NVH, Dynamics as well as overall vehicle performance is dependent on the chassis structure. Even though passenger vehicle chassis has a ladder frame or a monocoque construction, small commercial vehicle chassis is a hybrid chassis with the cabin welded to the ladder frame. As mileage is critical for sale of SCVs, making a light-weight chassis is also important. This creates a trade-off between the performance and weight which needs to be optimized. In this study, a parametric beam model of the ladder frame & the cabin of the vehicle is created in COMSOL Multiphysics. The structure has been parameterized into the long member & crossmember geometry & sections. The model calculates the first 12 natural frequencies, global stiffness, and weight.

The cabin cool down performance is influenced by heat load, AC system components and Air handling components. The air handling components are AC duct, vane and vent. Design of AC duct vane plays a crucial role in the airflow directivity in cabin which enhances the cabin cool down performance. Simulations are carried out by rotating the vanes manually and requires post process for every iteration. It leads to more time consuming and more number of simulations to achieve the target value. Research articles focusing on automation and optimization of vane articulation studies are scanty. Thus, the objective of this work is to execute the vane articulation study with less manual intervention. A parametric approach is developed by integrating ANSA and ANSYS FLUENT tools. With Direct Fit Morphing and DoE study approach from ANSA delivers the surface mesh model for the different vane angle configurations.

The SAE J1100 based standard cargo volume index methods and predefined luggage objects are very specific to United States population. The European luggage volume calculation and standard luggage calculations are primarily based on DIN and ISO standards. Luggage volume declaration by manufacturers are based on any of these methods. The calculations are complicated and there is a possibility of declaring different values for similar luggage compartments. The major purchase decision of vehicle is based on its luggage capacity and current methods are very limited to make an intelligent decision by a customer. Market specific customer usage patterns for luggage requirements and protecting them in vehicle architecture upfront in concept stage is important to retain the market position and buying preference of customers. The usage patterns is collected from customer clinics and marketing inputs.

In emerging markets like India, manual transmission vehicles are still most preferred & contributes to 85% of passenger vehicle sales due to its cost benefit. However, customer expects good NVH behavior for comfortable driving experience in the vehicle to maneuver effortlessly in the highly congested traffic conditions in India. Clutch & its hydraulic release system in manual transmission of IC engines are the significant components which affects the NVH behavior & maneuverability of the vehicle and the driver comfort significantly. This paper focuses on the clutch pedal vibration & groan noise concern observed during clutch pedal actuation in high power density SUV vehicle developed for Indian market. The vehicle had highly efficient & light weight engine which has high engine axial vibrations. Axial vibrations are caused due to engine firing impulses & crankshaft bending causes flywheel axial movement.

Agriculture machinery industries have always relied on conventional product development process such as laboratory tests, accelerated durability track tests and field tests. Now a days the competitive nature seen in industry concerns need to enhance product quality, time to market and development cost. Utilization of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) methods not only provide solution but also could play key role in tractor development process. The objective is to assess the performance of virtual simulation model of mid segment farm tractor using Multibody System Model (MBS) for predicting the durability loads on virtual proving ground test tracks. Multibody simulation software MSC ADAMS is used to develop a virtual tractor model. Durability test tracks and simulation is carried out as per company testing standards. Data measurement is done using Wheel Force Transducer (WFT) to study front and rear spindle forces and moments to evaluate the virtual model performance.

Due to recent advancements in interior noise level and the excessive use of different grade leathers and plastics in automotive interiors, squeak noise is one of the top customer complaints. Squeak is caused by friction induced vibration due to material incompatibility. To improve costumer perception, interior designs are following zero gap philosophy with little control on tolerances leading to squeak issues. Often manufacturers are left with costly passive treatments like coatings and felts. The best option is to select a compatible material with color and finish; however, this will reduce the design freedom. Material compatibility or stick-slip behavior can be analyzed with a tribology test stand. However, this test is performed on a specimen rather than actual geometry. There were instances, when a material pair was found incompatible when tested on a specimen, but never showed any issue in actual part and vice versa.

There is a higher demand for quieter tractors in the agri-industry, as the continued exposure to noise levels have disastrous effects on operator’s health. To meet the world-wide regulatory norms and to be the global market leader, its mandatory to develop the comfortable tractor which meets homologation requirements and customer expectations. Typically, Operator Ear Level (OEL) noise has been evaluated in the test, after First Proto has been made. This approach increases cost associated with product development due to late changes of modifications and testing trails causing delay in time-to-market aspect. Hence, there is a need to develop the methodology for Predicting tractor OEL noise in virtual environment and propose changes at early stage of product development. At first, full vehicle comprising of skid, sheet metals and Intake-exhaust systems modelled has been built using Finite Element (FE) Preprocessor.

The automobile industry strives to develop high-quality vehicles quickly that fulfill the buyer’s needs and stand out within the competition. Full utilization of simulation and Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) tools can empower quick assessment of different vehicle concepts and setups without building physical models. Vehicle execution assessment is critical in the vehicle development process, requiring exact vehicle steering system models. The effect of steering system stiffness is vital for vehicle handling, stability, and steering performance studies. The overall steering stiffness is usually not modeled accurately. Usually, torsion bar stiffness alone is considered in the modeling. The modeling of overall steering stiffness along with torsion bar stiffness is studied in this paper. Another major contributing factor to steering performance is steering friction. The steering friction is also often not considered properly.

Body-over-Frame is the primary type of construction used in SUVs, pick-ups, and other commercial vehicles in India. In this type of construction, the body, engine, suspensions etc. are mounted on the ladder frame. Since the frame acts as the skeleton of the vehicle, optimal design of frame at the concept stage of the vehicle program is critical for meeting all structural performance targets. Frontloading of these targets aids in architecture development and reduces future design modifications. The natural frequency response from the frame directly affects the NVH performance of the vehicle. This paper focuses on frontloading the natural frequency targets by performing concept-level simulations on the ladder frame even before creation of 3D concept data. A parametric beam model is created based on the reference vehicles. The beam model has been validated with correlation of more than 85% compared with CAE and physical testing outputs of existing vehicles.

In the conceptualization phase of vehicle development, for achieving reasonable dynamics performance, proper selection of steering system meeting all the requirements is necessary. This requires accurate prediction of major steering performance attributes like steering effort, steering torque, Turning Circle Diameter (TCD), %Ackerman and steering returnability. However, currently available models majorly depend on Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)-analysis or physical trials which requires system detailing and the same cannot be used for early prediction of the steering performances in the concept phase. This paper aims to address this deficiency with the help of a new steering performance calculator. In the calculator, performance attributes namely steering effort, steering torque, TCD and %-Ackerman has been modelled with engineering calculations and other attributes namely steering returnability&precision has been modelled through machine learning techniques.

The given paper presents the main elements of frictional power loss distribution in an automotive axle for passenger car. For reference two different axles were compared of two different sizes to understand the impact of size and ratio of gear and bearings on power loss characteristics. It was observed that ~50% of total axle power loss is because of pinion head-tail bearing and its seals, which is very significant. Roughly 30% of total power loss is contributed by pinion-ring gear pair and differential bearings and remaining ~20% by wheel end bearing and seals. With this study the automotive companies can take note of the area where they need to focus more to reduce their CO2 emissions to meet the stringent BS6, CAFÉ and RDE emission norms.

Engine radiated noise has complex behavior as engine assembly consist different components, varying dynamic forces with wide range of speed. For open station tractor, engine noise is major contributor and hence needs to be optimized for regulatory norms as well customer comfort. The awareness about NVH comfort in domestic market as well as export market is increasing as customer have become more demanding. This forces OEM’s to put serious efforts to ensure the OEL noise / Engine noise is at acceptable levels. Identifying the optimized countermeasures to reduce the engine noise during the early design phase has a greater impact in reducing product development time and cost. This paper describes about a process that has been established for evaluating engine radiated noise and to improve the overall NVH performance.

With increase in demand for quieter product and reduction in masking noise, axle whine management plays a crucial role in the early product development process. Whine is tonal in nature and humans are more sensitive to tonal memory, hence this makes user to experience a very unpleasant ride which in turn results in bad product credibility. Dynamic mesh force excitation is the cause of the axle whine noise. Critical factors in consideration are gear micro geometry variability, misalignments, temperature of operation and resulting bearing pre-load, operating loads, and structural resonances that carry the excitation to the occupant’s ear. The variability associated with gear micro-geometry plays crucial role during optimization in the quest for robust gear design.

The stringent emission regulations coupled with tighter CO2 targets demand extreme optimization of the diesel engines. In this context, it is important to minimize the cylinder bore distortions in cold and hot conditions. The cold bore distortion is primarily due to the assembly forces applied by the cylinder head bolts whereas the hot distortion is a resultant of local metal temperatures and structural rigidity. The present work describes the extreme optimization techniques used to reduce the bore distortion of a modern high power-density (60 kW / lit) diesel engine, Moreover, the benefits of reducing the bore distortion are quantified in terms of cylinder system friction, blowby rate, oil consumption (OC) and ash loading rate of the diesel particulate filter (DPF). An optimized torque plate honing is used to reduce the bore distortion in cold conditions.

Transportation system is at the brink of revolution and many new ways of mobility are arising in the market to ease the pressure on the established transportation infrastructure. Many companies and governments around the world are exploring innovative options in the space of shared mobility to reduce the overall carbon footprint. To expedite the adoption of shared mobility in India, it is necessary to make such options comfortable and cost-effective. One of the most effective way to make shared mobility options cost effective is to comfortably increase occupancy per vehicle footprint. This paper aims to evaluate a novel method of occupant seating to identify the maximum number of passengers a vehicle can accommodate without significant impact on occupant comfort. It is assumed that shared mobility options are used for a short duration of commute, and hence the comfort of the seat can be marginally compromised to increase the total number of occupants.

Tractor weight transfer is the most common farm-related cause of fatalities nowadays. As in India it is getting mandatory for all safety devices across all HP ranges. Considering any changes in the weight from an attachment such as Rops, PTO device, tow hook and draw bar etc. can shift the center of gravity towards the weight. center of gravity is higher on a tractor because the tractor needs to be higher in order to complete operations over crops and rough terrain. Terrains, attachments, weights, and speeds can change the tractor’s resistance to turning over. This center of gravity placement disperses the weight so that 30 percent of the tractor’s weight is on the front axle and 70 percent is on the rear axle for two-wheel drive propelled tractors and it must remain within the tractor’s stability baseline for the tractor to remain in an upright position.