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The reliability of engine valve springs is a very important issue from the point of view of warranty. This paper presents a combined experimental and statistical analysis for predicting the fatigue limit of high tensile engine valve spring material in the presence of non-metallic inclusions. Experimentally, Fatigue tests will be performed on valve springs of high strength material at different stress amplitudes. A model developed by Murakami and Endo, which is based on the fracture mechanics approach, Extreme value statistics (GUMBEL Distribution) and Weibull Distribution will be utilized for predicting the fatigue limit and the maximum inclusion size from field failures. The two approaches, experimental and theoretical, will assist in developing the S-N curve for high tensile valve spring material in the presence of non-metallic inclusions.

A description is provided detailing the results of the quality function deployment process used to identify customer needs and requirements. Through this process two primary project goals were developed consisting of integrating an electrical-solenoid actuated device into existing space constraints and providing cost reduction alternatives. A static and dynamic analysis was initially required to find the boundary conditions of the external forces imposed on the existing pneumatic device while being subjected to multiple pallets impacting the stop block assembly. Further static analysis was conducted to find the internal forces imposed on the stop arm subassembly in order to properly size the electrical solenoid. Subsequent research into various solenoids led to two solenoid manufacturers evaluated by means of a design evaluation matrix.

Control of annoying noises such as buzzes, squeaks and rattles (BSRs) is particularly important for complex products such as automobiles. This importance has become even more significant as electric vehicles become more popular, eliminating much of the ambient background vehicle noise. A customer's perception of the durability and solidness of a vehicle is based largely on sensory responses such as sound. Recent advances in beamforming technology have the potential to change the way BSR audits and vehicle development testing are done. This paper introduces the application of spherical beamforming technology to BSR testing and provides test results showing the localization accuracy of a rigid spherical array system in a vehicle cabin.

To stay competitive, new products require faster development time at low cost and good quality. Defense as well as commercial industries are forced to use analytical tools to stay competitive in a tough market. The use of simulation tools and approximation techniques in evaluating product performance during the early stages of the product development has a major impart on the product development efficiency, effectiveness, and lead time. Building physical prototypes of complex systems is expensive and it is difficult and time consuming to develop them. It is extremely beneficial to know as much as possible about the product performance and to optimize its dynamic characteristics before the first physical prototype is built.

All-wheel drive (AWD) vehicle performance considerably depends not only on total power amount needed for the vehicle motion in the given road/off-road conditions but also on the total power distribution among the drive wheels. In turn, this distribution is largely determined by the driveline system and its mechanisms installed in power dividing units. They are interwheel, interaxle reduction gears, and transfer cases. The paper presents analytical methods to evaluate the energy and, accordingly, fuel efficiency of vehicles with any arbitrary number of the drive wheels. The methods are based on vehicle power balance equations analysis and give formulas that functionally link the wheel circumferential forces with slip coefficients and other forces acting onto an AWD vehicle. The proposed methods take into consideration operational modes of vehicles that are tractive mode, load transportation, or a combination of both.

An ergonomics study was conducted in a mock-up with a fixed steering wheel position. Drivers adjusted the seat and pedals to a comfortable position. A three-dimensional coordinate measurement machine (CMM) was used to measure the comfortable position of 21 participants. Proven test methods were used to collect the posture data. A model is described to assist in seat and pedal placement for cockpit design.

A vehicle’s exterior fit and finish, in general, is the first system to attract customers. Automotive exterior engineers were motivated in the past few years to increase their focus on how to optimize the vehicle’s exterior panels split lines quality and how to minimize variation in fit and finish addressing customer and market required quality standards. The design engineering’s focus is to control the deviation from nominal build objective and minimize it. The fitting process follows an optimization model with the exterior panel’s location and orientation factors as independent variables. This research focuses on addressing the source of variation “contributed factors” that will impact the quality of the fit and finish. These critical factors could be resulted from the design process, product process, or an assembly process. An empirical analysis will be used to minimize the fit and finish deviation.

The dynamics of an AWD vehicle is determined by the interactions between the vehicle's wheels and the tire contact surface. Understanding and controlling these interactions drives the vehicle mobility and energy efficiency. In this paper new issues related to tire slippage control are addressed. The paper analytically demonstrates that two tires on the same axle with the same rotational speeds can have different slippages when the normal reaction and inflation pressure vary due to motion conditions. Hence, a new method is proposed to control the rotational velocity of the wheels in a way that provides the same slippages of the tires by accounting for changes in the normal load and tire inflation pressure. This approach is especially beneficial for vehicles with individual (electric) wheel drives which can be individually controlled by introducing the proposed algorithm for controlling both the vehicle linear velocity and the tire slippages.

The experimental methods focused on utilizing the newly developed NOVA induction heating and hardening manufacturing process as an adapted method to produce high performance engine valve springs. A detailed testing plan was used to evaluate the expected and theorized possibility for fatigue life enhancement. An industry standard statistical analysis method and tools were employed to objectively substantiate the findings. Fatigue cycle testing using NOVA induction-hardened racing valve springs made of ultra-high tensile material were compared to data for springs with traditional heat treatment and those with standard processing. The results were displayed using Wöhler and modified Haigh fatigue life diagrams. The final analysis suggests that NOVA processed springs have a seemingly slight, yet significant benefit in fatigue life of 5 - 7% over springs processed through a competing method.

In this study, a new nonlinear correlation between Brinell hardness and ultimate tensile strength is proposed. The correlation factor in this case is higher than that found in the current literature. The ultimate tensile strength is replaced by an equivalent hardness expression in the Modified Universal Slopes Method. This change results in fatigue parameters that are predicted using hardness, true fracture ductility, and modulus of elasticity. This new fatigue life prediction approach is compared with the original Modified Universal Slopes method and experimental data in literature. This method is valid for steel with hardness that ranges from 150HB to 660HB. The results show that this method provides better approximations of the strain-life curves when compared with the Modified Universal Slopes and experimental data.

To evaluate traction and velocity performance and other operational properties of a vehicle requires data on some tire parameters including the effective rolling radius in the driven mode (no torque on a wheel), the effective radii in the drive mode (torque applied to the wheel), and also the tire longitudinal elasticity. When one evaluates vehicle performance, these parameters are extremely important for linking kinematic parameters (linear velocity and tire slip coefficient) with dynamic parameters (torque and traction net force) of a tired wheel. This paper presents an experimental method to determine the above tire parameters in laboratory facilities. The facilities include Lawrence Technological University's 4x4 vehicle dynamometer with individual control of each of the four wheels, Kistler RoaDyn® wheel force sensors that can measure three forces and three moments on a wheel, and a modern data acquisition system. The experimental data are also presented in the paper.

The modification of the Talon Roof Carrier, by E-Z Load Technologies, into a bicycle carrier, simplifies the loading and unloading of bicycles onto the rack. A modification of the slide rail system decreases weight and bulkiness, allowing easier installation. A redesign of the attachment method of the rack to the roof improves compatibility with the manufacturer-installed roof rack. Mounting the bicycle to the rack is less challenging with the addition of a bicycle carrier platform. The ease of raising and lowering the rack is increased with a more reliable and user friendly locking mechanism. Added paralleling plates eliminate binding, ensuring smooth motion.

Traction control is an electronic means of reducing the wheel spin caused by the application of excessive power for the valuable grip. Wheel spin can result in loss control of the car, reduce acceleration and cause tire wear. In the front wheel tire the loss grip is experienced as underwater, where the front of the car ‘pushes’ forward, not turning as much as the driver has exposed by turning the tearing. In the rear wheels slip causing oversteer, where the rear of the car swings around, turning much sharper than the driver anticipated. The result of all these problems is that the driver starts loosing control of the vehicle, which is undesirable. With the new design of the Traction Control System, the amount of the wheel slippage is precisely controlled. In racing, this means corner can be taken constantly quicker, with system applying the maximum power possible while the driver remains in total control.

Thermal management systems (TMS) of armored ground vehicle designs are often incapable of sustained heat rejection during high tractive effort conditions and ambient conditions. During these conditions, which mainly consist of high torque low speed operations, gear oil temperatures can rise over the allowable 275°F limit in less than twenty minutes. This work outlines an approach to temporarily store excess heat generated by the differential during high tractive effort situations through the use of a passive Phase Change Material (PCM) retrofit thereby extending the operating time, reducing temperature transients, and limiting overheating. A numerical heat transfer model has been developed based on a conceptual vehicle differential TMS. The model predicts the differential fluid temperature response with and without a PCM retrofit. The developed model captures the physics of the phase change processes to predict the transient heat absorption and rejection processes.

Formula SAE is a Student project that involves a complete design and fabrication of an open wheel formula-style racecar. This paper will cover the suspension geometry and its components, which include the control arm, uprights, spindles, hubs, and pullrods. The 2002 Lawrence Technological Universities Formula SAE car will be used as an example throughout this paper.

Lawrence Technological University's 1998 SAE Formula car needed a high performance differential assembly. The performance requirements of a competitive SAE Formula car differential are as follows: Torque sensing capabilities Perfect reliability High strength Low mass Ability to withstand inertia and shock loading Small package Leak proof housing Ability to support numerous components With these requirements in mind an existing differential was selected with the capability for torque sensing. This differential lacked the desired low mass, support, internal drive splines, and proper gearing protection. The differential was re-engineered to remedy the deficiencies. The internal gearing from the selected differential was used in an improved casing. This casing and it's position in the car, reduce the number of side-specific parts required as well as improving the performance. The new design significantly reduces the size and mass of the assembly.

Recently, composite materials/structures are getting increasingly used in the automotive and aerospace industry. Defects issue is commonly associated with the use of composite materials/structures. Reliable Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) of composite structures is still challenging due to the existence of small size defects. In this research, a hybrid approach is used to accurately determine small size internal defects. In this hybrid approach, X-Ray Computed Tomography is used as a reference to accurately determine all defect locations, then a digital shearography method is used to conduct fast NDE for in-line testing. The critical shearographic NDE parameters such as shearing angle, shearing distance and loading amount are determined and optimized based on the X-ray CT scan result. From the comparison of X-ray CT scan results and digital shearography NDE results, the detection rate of digital shearography for defects with a size of larger than 1mm is from 91.91% to 97.30%.

The initiative of this paper is focused on improving the heat dissipation from the pressure wheel of a laser welding assembly in order to achieve a longer period of use. The work examines the effects of different geometrical designs on the thermal performance of pressure wheel assembly during a period of cooling time. Three disc designs were manufactured for testing: Design 1 – a plain wheel, Design 2 – a pierced wheel, and Design 3 – a wheel with ventilating vanes. All of the wheels were made of carbon steel. The transient thermal reaction were compared. The experimental results indicate that the ventilated wheel cools down faster with the convection in the ventilated channels, while the solid plain wheel continues to possess higher temperatures. A comparison among the three different designs indicates that the Design 3 has the best cooling performance.