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In automobiles, front axle assembly is a main load bearing member and houses steering linkages. Front axle assembly has two main parts namely axle beam and axle arm, interconnected by a kingpin. This kingpin allows the rotation of axle arm during steering events. To avoid metal to metal contact between axle arm and kingpin, bushes are housed on the top and bottom half of the axle arm & in axle beam. Due to radial load and steering rotation, as a weak member, bushes will wear out faster. This affects the proper functioning of steering mechanism. Hence, the bushes need to be evaluated prior to its implementation in vehicle. In general, bushes are evaluated using Pin-On-Disc test as a comparative study, but it does not simulate exact boundary conditions as in vehicle. Next option is vehicle level validation but leads to more testing time and cost. Hence, as an optimized solution, the same vehicle operating conditions can be replicated in component level testing.

In the modern automotive sector, durability and reliability are two terms of utmost importance and relevance. The ever improving standards and cut throat competition has led to customers expecting highly reliable products at low costs. Any product that fails within its useful life leads to customer dissatisfaction and affects the OEM’s reputation. To eradicate this, all automotive components undergo stringent validation protocol, either in proving ground or in lab. Multipurpose bracket is one of the most important and critical aggregate in the vehicle assembly. It encompasses various mounting components such as FUPD bracket, steering mounting bracket, front spring front bracket, cab mount bracket, cab tilt cylinder mounting bracket, front cross member, footstep bracket and bumper. All these components experience various degrees of vibration and fatigue during its running period.

As technology gets upgraded every day, automotive manufacturers are paying more attention towards delivering a highly reliable product which performs its intended function throughout its useful life (without any failure). To develop a reliable product, accelerated combined stress testing should be conducted in addition to the conventional design validation protocol for the product. It brings out most of the potential failure modes of the product, so that necessary actions can be taken for the reliability improvement. This paper discusses about the field failure simulation and reliability estimation of automotive headlamp relays using accelerated combined stress testing. To analyze various field failure modes, performance and tear down analysis were carried out on the field failure samples. Field data (i.e. electrical, thermal and vibration signals) were acquired to evaluate normal use conditions.

In the present scenario, delivering right product at the right time is very crucial in automotive sector. Today, most of the OEMs have started to produce FBS (Fully Build Solution) such as oil tankers, mining tippers and two-wheeler carriers based on the market requirements. During product development phase, all automotive components undergo stringent validation protocol either in on-road or laboratory which consumes most of the product development time. This project is focused on developing validation methodology for two-wheeler carrier structure (deck) of a commercial vehicle. For this, road load data were acquired in the typical routes of customers at different loading conditions. Roads were classified as either good or bad based on the axle acceleration. To shorten the test duration, actual road load data was compressed using strain based damage editing techniques. The spectrum and transmissibility of acceleration signals at the decks were analyzed to select a deck for validation.

Due to the emerging technologies and globalization, expectations of the customers on commercial vehicles are getting increased over the period. It is an important duty of an OEM to deliver a perfectly configured product to suit the customer requirements. When it comes to configuration of a vehicle, engine power is one of the key factors which indicate the performance of that vehicle. There is a tough competition between every OEM to increase the engine power for enhancing the overall operational performance. One method to increase power is to improve its volumetric efficiency. This is achieved with help of turbocharger and Charge Air Cooler (CAC). CAC improves volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air-charge density. Any failure on CAC leads to lower the volumetric efficiency and increase in turbocharger loading. This paper deals with the validation of CAC assembly using different test conditions by analyzing potential failure modes against the field issues.

In the present scenario, delivering the right product at the right time is very crucial in automotive sector to grab the competitive advantage. In the development stage, validation process devours most of the product development time. This paper focuses on reducing the validation time for damper (shock absorber) variants which is a vital component in commercial vehicle suspension system. New test facility is designed for both performance test and endurance testing of six samples simultaneously. In addition, it provides force trend monitoring during the validation which increases the efficiency of test with an enhanced control system. This new facility is also designed to provide side loading capability for individual dampers in addition to the conventional axial loading. The key parameter during validation is control of damper seal temperature within the range of 70-90°C. A cooling circuit is designed to provide an efficient temperature control by re-circulating cold water.

Automotive business is more focused towards delivering a highly durable and reliable product at an optimum cost. Anything falls short of customer expectation will ruin the manufacturer’s reputation. To exterminate this, all automotive components shall undergo stringent testing protocol during the design validation process. Nevertheless, there are certain factors in the field which cannot be captured during design validation. This paper aims at developing a validation methodology for engine oil sump by simulating field failure. In few of our vehicles, field failure was observed in engine oil sump near the drain plug location. Preliminary analysis was carried out to find the potential causes for failure. Based on the engine test bed results, multi frequency swept sine testing was carried out in laboratory. Field failure was simulated in the lab test and the root causes for failure were found out.

In the modern automotive sector, durability and reliability are the most common terms. Customers are expecting a highly reliable product but at low cost. Any product that fails within its useful life leads to customer dissatisfaction and affects the reputation of the OEM. To eradicate this, all automotive components undergo stringent validation protocol, either in proving ground or in lab. This paper details on developing an accelerated lab test methodology for steering gearbox bracket using fatigue damage and reliability correlation by simulating field failure. Initially, potential failure causes for steering gearbox bracket were analyzed. Road load data was then acquired at proving ground and customer site to evaluate the cumulative fatigue damage on the steering gearbox bracket. To simulate the field failure, lab test facility was developed, reproducing similar boundary conditions as in vehicle.