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This paper presents the results of an experimental study conducted to evaluate the effects of four material characteristics and two driver characteristics on the perception of automotive interior materials. The perceptual characteristics of the materials were measured using two sensing conditions, namely, visual sensing only and combined visual and tactile sensing. The experiments were conducted using the Taguchi's L16 orthogonal array with seven independent variables, namely material type, surface roughness, compressibility, driver's age, driver's gender, and sensing method. Twenty-four subjects participated in the experiments. Each subject was asked to evaluate four treatment combinations and provide ratings using seven 5-point semantic differential scales. In addition, physical measurements were made on surface roughness, coefficient of friction, and compressibility.

In the report, a new version of machine with DC stator excitation is discussed. A brushless one phase electrical machine has a very simple design. Rotor has no windings. In generator mode operation, stator has one winding for DC stator excitation and one output winding. In motor mode operation, there is only one sensor of rotor position and one phase H-bridge inverter. One phase machine is symmetrical. Like in dc machines, it is possible to realize here: shunt, series, and separate excitation. In motor mode, the speed control is possible by vary armature (output winding) voltage, varying current excitation, and varying resistance in armature circuit. Simplicity construction and flexibility control opportunities can find for this machine wide application in vehicles. Motor, with series excitation, leads a torque-speed characteristic that is useful for transport power circuit applications. One phase machine is the basic for design of two and three phase machines.

The field regulated reluctance machine is perspective for automotive transport electric drives. In this machine, the switching of a stator current is done in function of a rotor position. The massive salient rotor of the electric machine does not contain windings. The stator is fulfilled in the body and iron of serial ac induction motor. The stator winding sections, which conductors lay above between rotor poles intervals, serve as a excitation winding, and others sections, which conductors lay above rotor poles, the role of a armature winding. In most cases, the optimal winding current waveform is distinct from the sine waveform. For a case of use separate current sources for each phase, the ideal is rectangular waveform. At the rotation of the motor, the each stator section winding pass from a zone of “excitation” to a zone of “armature”. The stator has finite number of phases.

Among the various high strength steels available today, boron steels are finding increasing applications in bumper beams and other crash resistant structures, primarily for their high strength. However, to overcome the forming difficulty at room temperature and to achieve the microstructural changes needed for high strength, manufacturing of boron steel parts is done under hot forming conditions. In this study, the effect of three principal bumper design parameters, namely depth, thickness and corner radius on the formability of a hat section bumper beam was considered. Using a forming simulation program, 27 different combinations of these three design parameters were examined for forming limits, failure types and failure locations. The bumper beams were also examined for energy absorption in pendulum impact tests. Recommendations are made for the design of boron steel bumper beams based on both impact energy absorption and formability.

The internal combustion engine gradually concedes the positions of traction unit. The electric drive including the electric motor, electro-generator, and diesel installation, comes on its change. The vector pulse control system of the wound rotor induction motor drive can be one of the perspective variants of such electric drive. The speed control of wound rotor induction motor with thyristor converter, assembled on base of three phase bridge circuit, is considered in report. The entrance circuits of the converter are connected to AC generator through motor stator windings, and converter output circuit (on the side of the dc voltage) connected to a two rotor windings connected in series. The third rotor winding can be connected in parallel or remain free. The stator magneto-motive force is created by switching thyristors. Magneto-motive force is rotating discretely with a step of 60 degrees.

The concept vehicle under study was equipped with a rear twist beam suspension. Apart from designing and analyzing the twist beam for structural integrity, the effects of its directional stiffness values on vehicle dynamic behavior had to be taken into account. The twist beam suspension was initially modeled using beam elements to offer more parametric freedom, followed by DOE and optimization for the target suspension kinematic and compliance (K & C) performances within MBD environment. The data obtained from DOE within the MBD environment, such as the mounting locations, geometrical requirements, etc. were the critical inputs to structural definitions used for constructing the FE model. The resulting FE suspension subsystem was then evaluated for full vehicle performances using typical cornering maneuvers within MBD.