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Heavy trucks are produced with a great variety of vehicle configurations, operate over a wide range of gross vehicle weight and sometimes function in extreme duty environments. Frontal crashes of heavy trucks can pose a threat to truck occupants when the vehicle strikes another large object such as bridge works, large natural features or another heavy-duty vehicle. Investigations of heavy truck frontal crashes indicate that the factors listed above all affect the outcome for the driver and the resulting damage to the truck Recently, a new chassis was introduced for on-highway heavy truck models that feature frontal airbag occupant protection. This introduction presented an opportunity to incorporate the knowledge gained from crash investigation into the process for developing the crash sensor's parameter settings.

In the present study, the exterior air flow over convertibles together with the interior flow in the passenger compartment has been calculated using the commercial CFD program STAR-CD. The investigations have been performed for a SLK-class Mercedes with two occupants. The computational mesh consists of about 3 million hexahedra cells. The detailed informations of the calculated flow field have been used to elaborate the characteristic flow phenomena and increase the physical understanding of the flow. The influence of different geometrical modifications (variations of roof spoiler, variations of the draft stop behind the seats etc.) on the flow field and the air draft experienced by the occupants has been analyzed. To proof the accuracy of the numerical results, wind tunnel experiments in a full scale and 1:5 scale wind tunnel have been carried out for the basic car model as well as for several geometrical variations.

A look at the various past achievements in the field of passenger car safety raises the question whether any dramatic steps towards its improvement can still be expected. Will progress be confined to the optimization of existing systems or does the future hold new substantial safety steps? This paper elaborates on the issue that the time available before a potential accident occurs can be used to improve the safety of occupants and other involved road users. Accident analysis confirms that this is feasible for about two-thirds of all accidents. The recognition of an imminent collision bears a noteworthy potential for accident prevention, reduction of accident severity and injury severity. The former boundary between active and passive safety thus fades continually. Based upon this it is possible to describe vehicle safety by a comprehensive approach encompassing seven escalation levels.

In the present study, the thermal comfort in a convertible has been evaluated using the in-house program TEKOS. The investigations have been performed for a SLK-class Mercedes with two occupants. The computational mesh consists of about 3 million hexahedra cells. TEKOS has been adapted to open driving conditions. The influence of the air-conditioning system and of different draft stops on the thermal comfort has been investigated in an autumn case. The study has shown, that in a basic case without draft stop and air conditioning the evaluation results in very poor thermal comfort values at the whole body, especially at unclothed parts of the body. If a draft stop and maximum heating is regarded, almost all parts of the body are close to the comfort range except of the head region. With TEKOS it is possible to quantify the influence of different parameters on the thermal sensation in convertibles with the advantage of an objective thermal evaluation.

Suspension systems have a major effect on the handling characteristics of a vehicle, particularly ride comfort and handling safety, and thus substantially determine its character. Their increasing significance is reflected by the greater value that ever more demanding customers attribute to the properties ride comfort and handling safety. Now that the potential of conventional, passive systems is largely exhausted, adaptive and active systems open up new possibilities, e.g.: the suppression of rolling and pitching movements, handling and ride height independent of load, handling characteristics and ride height adaptable to situation and customer requirement. The DaimlerChrysler active suspension and damping system (Active Body Control – ABC) manages to resolve the conflict of aims between handling safety and ride comfort which afflicts conventional fixed suspension systems, and as a result offers greater freedom of layout whilst enabling optimization of both target criteria.

Today's interior systems engineer has been challenged with providing cost-effective instrument panel design solutions to meet NHTSA's new FMVSS 208 front crash regulations. Automotive manufacturers are in continuous search of newer methods and techniques to reduce prototype tests and cost. Analytical methods of predicting occupant and structural behavior using computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis has been in place for quite some time. With the new FMVSS 208 regulations requiring both 5th and 50th percentile occupant testing, CAE analysis of predicting occupant response has become increasingly important. The CAE analyst is challenged with representing the barrier test condition, which involves the structure and the occupant moving at velocities of 25, 30 and 35 mph. Representing the cab kinematics in high-speed impacts is crucial, since capturing the vehicle intrusion and pitching should be made part of the input variables.

One of the world's most noble and high quality automobile brands is being revived: Maybach Aestetics, poise, perfection and technical brilliance founded the reputation of the magnificient Maybach sedans and convertibles, whose “Zeppelin” flagship, with a length of around 5.50 metres, was once the most prestigious German passenger car on the road - “an automobile which fulfills every last desire with refined elegance and power”, as the luxury automobile brand's brochure stated in 1934. DaimlerChrysler now feels obliged to live up to these high standards. As cornerstones of this vehicle concept, focus was placed on the topics of design, comfort, spatial availability, safety, exclusiveness and extra-ordinary performance. A major role was given to the powertrain in order to meet outstanding driving comfort and agility.

In the present paper, first results of an extensive and ongoing parametric study are shown. The objective of the parametric study is to clarify the influence of relevant flow and geometrical parameters on the microclimate and thermal comfort of the occupants. Flow parameters included in the study are air mass fluxes, velocity magnitude, air temperature and inflow direction at the vents. Geometrical parameters of interest are number, location, area and shape of the air vents as well as geometrical details of the passenger compartment itself. The parametric study is performed numerically on the basis of a computational model for a passenger compartment of a Mercedes E-Class sedan. The numerical method used has been published earlier and consists of a system of three programs for simulating the flow and temperature field in the cabin, the heat transfer and radiation and the thermal sensation of the occupants.

The development of electronic intelligence and the continually increasing intensive knowledge of driving dynamics make it possible nowadays to conceive intelligent vehicle systems and to make such systems available for series production, which are capable of substantially enhancing the active safety of commercial vehicles. Through the implementation of advanced subsystems, which can be integrated as software packages into the basic electronic braking system, it will be possible to expand the possibilities of introducing assistance systems, which are capable of both, helping and relieving the driver from stress in critical situations. The driver will be relieved of all duties which could divert his attention or cause severe stress. As a consequence, the active safety of commercial vehicles will be considerably increased.

The complexity of electrical/electronic vehicle systems mandates a systematic approach to the development of vehicle control, infotainment or comfort functions as well as the integration of these functions in an in-vehicle network consisting of several dedicated bus systems and according gateways. Due to reduced time-to-market, the integration has to be performed in a virtual environment. The classical Digital Mockup (DMU) addresses the physical integration of EE systems as mechanical components. However, functional aspects play a dominant role in EE vehicle systems. For this reason, functional integration defines a multi-view, mixed-level approach to the description, transformation, verification and integration of vehicle functions under consideration of the physical vehicle integration.