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When collecting torsional vibration and other test data, many automotive testing departments utilise a combination of hardware and software tools whereby each tool is dedicated to a specific physical phenomenon. Following a series of measurements, the various data are merged for correlation and computer-aided analysis: a procedure which can be cumbersome and time-consuming. In addition, it can lead to errors when performing cross-channel time or phase analyses since all data will not necessarily have been collected on the same time base. In this paper, a portable pc-based data acquisition and analysis system is described which allows for reliable synchronised multi-channel acquisition and analysis of both torsional vibration and a variety of related signals.

Rotational analysis plays an important role in many automotive engineering areas, such as design and evaluation of drivelines, timing and auxiliary drives. Previous developments have tended to focus on the analysis of the mechanical rotation system, with particular attention being paid to the dynamic behaviour of one or more rotating shafts and its elements. The control of these mechanisms by electronic control systems has become increasingly more apparent in today's industry. This is especially the case for the camshaft of the combustion engine, as this is ‘phased’ for performance and emission purposes. The approach introduced here enhances the classical methods of driveline rotational analysis, by integrating the control unit strategy as an additional point of interest. This expands the analysis of the complete mechatronic system.

The Shadow Moiré fringe patterns are level lines of equal depth generated by interference between a master grid and its shadow projected in the surface. By a simple approach, the minimum error is of the order of the master grid pitch, that is, always larger than 0,1 mm resulting in a experimental technique of low precision. The introduction of a phase shift increases the accuracy of the Shadow Moiré technique. The current work uses the method of phase sifting to determine the three-dimensional shape of surfaces using isothamic fringe patterns and digital image processing. The current study presents the method and applies it to images obtained by simulation for error evaluation, as well as to a buckled plate obtaining excellent results. The method hands itself particularly useful to decrease the errors due to the interpretation of the Moiré fringes that can adversely affect the calculations of displacements in pieces containing many concave and convex regions in relatively small areas.

The necessity of a measurement of the torque exists in many car test stands. In a number of stands as the load for a engine the electrical machines are used. The torque of electrical machines is often measured approximately regarding the input current. Sometimes more complex estimations are applied, taking into account the field current for dc machines or a slip for ac machines. In the paper presented the opportunities of more exact measurement of the torque using information on current, voltage and shaft rotation frequency are analyzed.

This paper describes the results of an experimental investigation conducted to determine the proportion of methanol by volume in methanol-gasoline mixture. The suitability of a Fiber optic Raman spectrometer for in-situ measurement of percentage of methanol by volume in methanol-gasoline is demonstrated. The transformation of Raman spectra of gasoline into Raman spectra of methanol are observed and recorded as the percentage of methanol is progressively increased from 0 to 100%. The measured intensities at the characteristic Raman shift corresponding to gasoline are found to be inversely proportional to the volume of methanol in methanol-gasoline mixture. The results obtained in the form of series of Raman spectra are presented.

Road to rig problems exist as long as vehicles are being tested. Many approaches and methods exist to produce test cycles for rigs or test tracks, in order to produce viable results for the generation of statements concerning such crucial aspects as durability and fuel consumption. Modern model strategies again demand shorter–than–ever development periods, whilst meeting better–than–ever the needs and demands of special target groups. Therefore, the testing methods must also be refined, in order to gain a closer correlation to the customer's vehicle deployment. The approach introduced here makes use of real–world customer data for obtaining a closer look at how the vehicle is used by different customer groups, in different countries. The data is collected by small and unobtrusive dataloggers installed in customer vehicles. As these customers are using their own vehicles in everyday life, being unaware of the acquisition process, a database of real customer usage is generated.

To meet the requirement for higher performance engine bearings, the microgrooved bearings, that is the plain bearings with shallow circumferential grooves, have been developed. Recently, the performance of microgrooved bearings obtained experimentally have reported1)2). The authors calculated the bearing performance of the microgrooved bearings by elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory. In this paper, the authors described thecalculation method and the performance of the microgrooved bearings obtained theoretically.

The sense of touch, compared with the visual sense or the auditory sense, is difficult to describe with physical quantities. Since positive movements like pushing or friction depend on personal feeling, it is difficult to quantify. Despite few studies by the paint industry on the sense of touch, it has been studied extensively in the fabric and construction industries. For this study, first, we proposed a hypothetical formula based on literature research. Next, we carried out questionnaires for painted panels, researched physical quantities, and analyzed the results. Finally, we derived the world’s first formula (S) for quantifying the “soft feel” of painted panels. In addition, we surveyed the favorable feel in order to set target values for our formula. Paints are currently being developed using these values.

The effectiveness of the heated flash oven is a key process in most waterborne basecoat environments. If there is too much variation in the process stage, the quality of the surface finish can be dramatically affected. A new method was developed to set and maintain the process. The solution is comprised of infrared linescanners and a custom developed software package that performs math-based analysis. The data from the solution was validated and successful optimization of the heated flash oven was completed.

Optimization of the mechanical aspects of a heated conical oxygen sensor for desired performances, such as low heater power, good poison resistance, fast light-off, and broad temperature range, etc. was achieved with computer modeling. CFD analysis was used to model the flow field in and around a sensor in an exhaust pipe to predict the convection coefficients, poisoning, and switching time. Heat transfer analysis coupled with electrical heating was applied to predict temperature and light-off time. Results of the optimization are illustrated, with good agreements between modeling and testing.

This paper illustrates a new and cost effective approach to the design and manufacture of intelligent sensors and control electronics that reliably operate up to 300 Degrees Centigrade. A description of this Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology for creating both the sensors and integrated circuits is provided. Measured results that demonstrate the inherent reliability of this technology at high temperatures are presented. Representative distributed control architectures and applications such as engine control units; valve position sensors and exhaust gas recirculation sensor electronics are illustrated. A new, SOI-based, 32-bit microprocessor powerful enough to form the “core” of an advanced engine control unit is described.

Proper lubrication of moving parts is a critical factor in internal combustion engine performance and longevity. Determination of ideal lubricant change intervals is a prerequisite to ensuring maximum engine efficiency and useful life. When oil change intervals are pushed too far, increased engine wear and even engine damage can result. On the other hand, premature oil changes are inconvenient, add to vehicle maintenance cost, and result in wasted natural resources. In order to determine the appropriate oil change interval, we have developed an oil condition sensor that measures the electrical properties of engine oil, and correlates these electrical properties to the physical and chemical properties of oil. This paper provides a brief background discussion of the oil degradation process, followed by a description of the sensor operational principles and the correlation of the sensor output with physical and chemical engine oil properties.

This paper presents the structure, operation principle, and fabrication process of a novel type of flow-velocity sensor. Like the well known classical Pitot (Prandtl) tube, it realizes flow velocity detection by measurement of the pressure difference between stagnant fluid pressure in front of the sensor and static pressure in the flow around the sensor. This difference results in a deflection of a diaphragm suspended boss, that serves as the counter electrode of an integrated capacitor which is directly exposed to the fluid to be measured. Experimental results in the wind tunnel and in the gasoline direct injection experimental set-up confirm the sensor's operation principle and show good time response.

Internet privacy regulation has an enormous potential to impact the automotive industry financially. Automotive companies rely on Internet data collection to market directly to consumers successfully, advertise merchandise and services, and expedite a number of internal operations. Government legislation would inevitably require significant changes in these data collection methods and consequently produce large compliance costs. On the other hand, consumer distrust and business loss to the more stringently regulated European Union can also produce significant costs, if Internet privacy regulation is not more effectively enforced. The current method of enforcement, self-regulation, has been highly criticized despite considerable improvement from industry. Many privacy advocates are actively seeking legislation to remedy the problem.

Longevity is one of the great achievements of the twentieth century. This paper will explore ways that elderly people can employ technology to enhance their independence, loosely termed “ElderTech.” ElderTech is designed to establish a sustained, long-term investment in research and development (R&D) for technologies that can provide the largest growing population, Americans over the age of 65, with the tools to ensure active aging (maintaining independence, self-reliance, and an enhanced quality of life). It will also promote aging in place (in the home); and will address and ease Medicare's financial burden on the federal government. ElderTech is aimed to establish a technology framework that will ensure that the United States (U.S.) is ready to meet the needs of its older Americans.

A key to shortening the design cycle is to shorten the initial or conceptual design phase. An enabling technology towards this goal is an architecture called the Design Support System (DSS), which is based on the virtual prototype concept. The DSS combines knowledge with hardware and software into a system that is a model for the design process. It produces a virtual prototype of the design and maintains an intelligent design document, which is automatically updated during the design process. A design domain dependent version for automotive design, known as “Automobile Design Support System” (AutoDSS) was developed in the CADTECH Research Lab at the University of Washington.

A Failure Mode, Effect and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) is a methodology used to define, identify and eliminate known and or potential failures in order to enhance the product's reliability and quality. The Criticality Analysis plays an important role in FMECA. A method defines the failures' priority to find the most risk area. Traditionally, in automobile industry, the criticality assessment is based on the severity (S), frequency of occurrence (O), detection (D) of an item failure. The priority of the problems is articulated via the Risk Priority Number (RPN). This number is a product of the occurrence, severity and detection, i.e., the method assumes that the occurrence, severity and detection have same importance. Additionally, the component and system can only be in either of the two states: functioning or failed. However, it does not represent reality. In fact, failure mode is of fuzzy conception.

An adaptive cruise control (ACC) system has been developed by using an electronically controlled vacuum booster for smooth brake control and millimeter-wave radar that operates effectively even in rainy weather. The headway control unit was designed based on an analysis of driving behavior characteristics and achieves natural vehicle behavior that does not seem strange to drivers. This paper presents an outline of the system along with the results of simulations and driving tests. The effectiveness of the system was evaluated with a driving simulator and in vehicle tests, and the results verified that it reduces the driver's workload.

This paper describes the safety evaluation results from a Field Operational Test (FOT) of an Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system. The primary goal of this evaluation was to determine safety effects of the ICC system. Safety surrogate measures were established and examined for normal driving situations as well as for safety–critical situations. It was found that use of the ICC system in the FOT was generally associated with safer driving compared to manual control and is projected to result in net safety benefits if widely deployed.

A Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar using only in-phase channel is advantageous for automotive applications. In this radar, we have to search the pairs of beat frequencies in an up-chirp mode and a down-chirp mode for multiple targets similarly to conventional FMCW radar. However the number of combinations to search pairs is larger than that for the conventional FMCW radar. Therefore, false targets by mistaking the combination of these pairs increase. In this paper, we propose a novel signal processing algorithm to reduce the false targets. We extract only the beat frequencies of the relative moving targets using the differential of the frequency power spectra of the up-chirp mode and the down-chirp mode. We can reduce choosing incorrect pairs by separating stationary targets and moving targets. We have conducted some simulations to confirm the capability of the proposed algorithm.