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The Process FMEA and Control Plan program introduces the basic concepts behind this important tool and provides training in how to conduct an effective PFMEA. First, the course explains what a PFMEA is and how it improves the long-term performance of your products, services and related processes by addressing process related failures. The role of the PFMEA in the overall framework of Quality Management System Requirements is explained as well as the role of the PFMEA in the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process. Additionally, the differences and relationships between the DFMEA and PFMEA are well defined.

This course is offered in China only and presented in Mandarin Chinese. The course materials are bilingual (English and Chinese). Currently in the industry, especially within China, product requirement development is more of an experience-based process rather than a scientific methodology. This course addresses this issue and provides a more process-driven method for better requirement development through the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methodology.  Real industrial examples are used to demonstrate how to systematically convert the voice of the customer data to engineering specifications using QFD.

The concept of a Quality System’s approach to business has been employed successfully and sometimes not so successfully for several decades. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been supplying standards that list the key elements/clauses and requirements for building and implementing Quality Systems for over 30 years. These standards are based on the relatively simple concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM), essential principals of management, and a “Process” approach. These standards have been revised several times over the years to make them more realistic and user friendly.

During this DFMEA Overview and Application course, participants will be introduced to important FMEA concepts, the basic theory behind the concepts, then discuss how these concepts can be applied to the customer's design FMEA activities. Participant activities include: reading assignments, group discussions, exercises, building Block Diagrams as a group, and beginning a DFMEA on a customer’s product.

This course is verified by Probitas as meeting the AS9104/3A requirements for Continuing Professional Development. Advanced product quality planning (APQP) is essential to improving the way companies develop products and services.  It is a standardized, universally accepted fundamental business strategy. This strategy is applicable to all types of organizations including manufacturing and service companies, schools, hospitals, and governmental agencies. The aim of APQP is to enable the organization to produce products and provide services focused on satisfying customer’s needs, wants, and expectations.  

Design of Experiments is a statistically based, structured approach to product or process improvement that will quickly yield significant increases in product quality and subsequent decreases in cost.  Products and processes can be designed to function with less variation and with less sensitivity to environmental factors or customer usage. While still maintaining high quality from a customer's viewpoint, products and processes can utilize lower cost materials and methods.  Specifications can be opened-up with wider tolerances while still maintaining high quality for customers.  

Design of Experiments (DOE) is a methodology that can be effective for general problem-solving, as well as for improving or optimizing product design and manufacturing processes. Specific applications of DOE include identifying proper design dimensions and tolerances, achieving robust designs, generating predictive math models that describe physical system behavior, and determining ideal manufacturing settings. This course utilizes hands-on activities to help you learn the criteria for running a DOE, the requirements and pre-work necessary prior to DOE execution, and how to select the appropriate designed experiment type to run.

RMS (Reliability-Maintainability-Safety-Supportability) engineering is emerging as the newest discipline in product development due to new credible, accurate, quantitative methods. Weibull Analysis is foremost among these new tools. New and advanced Weibull techniques are a significant improvement over the original Weibull approach. This workshop, originally developed by Dr. Bob Abernethy, presents special methods developed for these data problems, such as Weibayes, with actual case studies in addition to the latest techniques in SuperSMITH® Weibull for risk forecasts with renewal and optimal component replacement.

Concerned with fuel consumption and emissions, especially public transportation in urban areas, the ELFA electric drive system has been developed for hybrid bus applications. This modular system provides bus manufactures a cost effective solution with a maximum degree of design flexibility. Presenter Joshua Nelke, siemens industry inc.

This session will explore connector concerns related to the needs of Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers and problems/opportunities from a connection system supplier perspective. It will look at differences in requirements for the global market, and their relation to local requirements. Presenter Robin D. Reed, Deutsch Industrial/LADD Industries

Dramatic changes in transportation are coming. Cities and states looking to be at the forefront and reap the benefits, need an engaged and informed citizenry. Hear how the SAE Demo Day in Tampa supported Florida's AV initiatives and can benefit states nationwide.

In May 2018, SAE International in partnership with THEA and leading AV technology companies gave citizens in Tampa a chance to test ride the future. The event included a pre- and post-ride survey, a ride in an automated vehicle, interactive displays and engagement with industry experts. See highlights of the event and feedback from participants.

Abstract Truck platooning comprises a number of trucks equipped with automated lateral and longitudinal vehicle control technology, which allows them to move in tight formation with short following distances. This study is an initial step toward developing an understanding of the occupant injury risks associated with the multiple sequential impacts between truck platoons and roadside safety barriers, regardless of whether the crash is associated with a malfunction of automated control or human operation. Full-scale crash impacts of a tractor-trailer platoon into a concrete bridge guardrail were simulated for a specific Test Level condition according to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) standards. The model of the bridge barrier was developed based on its drawings, and material properties were assigned according to literature data.

Abstract Reliability analysis of a large-scale system under random dynamic loads can be a very time-consuming task since it requires repeated studies of the system. In many engineering problems, for example, wave loads on an offshore platform, the excitation loads are defined using a power spectral density (PSD) function. For a given PSD function, one needs to generate many time histories to make sure the excitation load is modeled accurately. Global and local approximation methods are available to predict the system response efficiently. Each way has their advantages and shortcomings. The combined approximations (CA) method is an efficient method, which combines the advantages of local and global approximations. This work demonstrates two methodologies that utilize CA to reduce the cost of crude or separable Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) of linear dynamic systems when the excitation loads are defined using PSD functions.

Abstract This article analyses the flow field between two 1/8-scale Generalized European Transport System (GETS) models which are placed in a two-vehicle platoon at close distances. Numerical simulations using the lattice Boltzmann method together with a wind tunnel experiment (open jet facility, OJF) were executed. Next, to balance measurements, coaxial volumetric velocimetry (CVV) measurements were performed to obtain information about the flow field. Three intervehicle distances, 0.10, 0.45 and 0.91 times the vehicle length, were tested for various platoon configurations where the vehicles in the platoon varied in terms of front-edge radius and the addition of tails. At the smallest intervehicle distance, the greatest reductions in drag were found for both the leading and trailing vehicles. The flow in the gap between the two vehicles follows an S-shaped path with small variations between the configurations.

Abstract This study proposes a method for the rapid detection and location of cavity defects in ballastless track structures of high-speed railways in service. First, the propagation law of air-coupled ultrasonic Lamb waves in the ballastless track structure is studied. Theoretical calculation results show that the ultrasonic Lamb wave group velocity of the A2 mode in the track plate is 4000 m/s. Then, the excitation and reception methods of the air-coupled ultrasound are studied. Theoretical and experimental results show that the A2 mode Lamb wave can be generated by the 3.8° oblique incidence of the ballastless track structure. Finally, an experimental system for air-coupled ultrasonic testing is constructed. A pair of air-coupled ultrasonic probes is used to provide excitation and reception Lamb wave signals at an inclined angle of 3.8°, 20 mm away from the surface of the track plate, and 40 mm/step along the scanning direction.

Abstract To gain a better understanding of the characteristics of corrugation, including the development and propagation of corrugation, and impact of vehicle and track dynamics, a computational model was established, taking into account the nonlinearity of vehicle-track coupling. The model assumes a fixed train speed of 300 km/h and accounts for vertical interaction force components and rail wear effect. Site measurements were used to validate the numerical model. Computational results show that (1) Wheel polygonalisation corresponding to excitation frequency of 545-572 Hz was mainly attributed to track irregularity and uneven stiffness of under-rail supports, which in turn leads to vibration modes of the bogie and axle system in the frequency range of 500-600 Hz, aggregating wheel wear. (2) The peak response frequency of rail of the non-ballasted track coincides with the excitation frequency of wheel-rail coupling; the resonance results in larger wear amplitude of the rail.

Recent fluctuation in oil prices has generated interest in fuel-efficient vehicles, especially their aerodynamic profile. The literature indicates that turbulent wakes that form at the rear end of the vehicle contribute to vehicle drag in a major way. Minor studies have addressed the effects of rear-end wall angle to the drag force through effecting the wake behind the vehicle; however, this study assesses the reduction of drag using angular side walls. A previous simulation of external airflow over Ahmed's body was investigated, utilizing the k-ω SST models. Different angles of side walls were analyzed, and a maximum 36.85% reduction in drag coefficient was achieved using an angular rear side wall. The turbulent model was validated and the effectiveness of angular rear side walls thus proven. The study then simulated the flow for a road vehicle model to investigate the real world effect of angular rear side walls.

Road vibrations cause fatigue failures in vehicle components and systems. Therefore, reliable and accurate damage and life assessment is crucial to the durability and reliability performances of vehicles, especially at early design stages. However, durability and reliability assessment is difficult not only because of the unknown underlying damage mechanisms, such as crack initiation and crack growth, but also due to the large uncertainties introduced by many factors during operation. How to effectively and accurately assess the damage status and quantitatively measure the uncertainties in a damage evolution process is an important but still unsolved task in engineering probabilistic analysis. In this paper, a new procedure is developed to assess the durability and reliability performance, and characterize the uncertainties of damage evolution of components under constant amplitude loadings.

This paper describes the development and testing of a Dynamic Vibration Absorber to reduce frame beaming vibration in a highway tractor. Frame beaming occurs when the first vertical bending mode of the frame is excited by road or wheel-end inputs. It is primarily a problem for driver comfort. Up until now, few options were available to resolve this problem. The paper will review the phenomenon, design factors affecting a vehicle's sensitivity to frame beaming, and the principles of Dynamic Vibration Absorbers (AKA Tuned Mass Dampers). Finally, the paper will describe simulation and testing that led to the development of an effective vibration absorber as a field fix.