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Hybrid drivetrain systems are becoming increasingly prevalent in Automotive and Commercial Vehicle applications and have also been introduced for the 2009 Formula1 motorsport season. The F1 development has the clear intent of directing technical development in motorsport to impact the key issue of fuel efficiency in mainstream vehicles. In order to promote all technical developments, the type of system (electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, etc) for the F1 application has not been specified. A significant outcome of this action is renewed interest and development of mechanical hybrid systems comprising a high speed composite flywheel and a full-toroidal traction drive Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). A flywheel based mechanical hybrid has few system components, low system costs, low weight and dispenses with the energy state changes of electrical systems producing a highly efficient and power dense hybrid system.

This paper summarizes results from the author's work on friction in dry sliding contacts in the presence of vibration. A number of idealized models of smooth and rough contacts are examined. It is shown that vibration can cause up to a 10% reduction in average friction even with continuous contact. A larger reduction in friction occurs when there is intermittent contact loss. This is found to be true for both elastic and plastic contacts, and for adhesive and plowing mechanisms of friction. The results of this work are compared and validated with measurements from experiments. The results presented are fundamental, but applicable to machine components with contacts including brake systems.

The RFID on Parts Project Team has recently completed and approved Spec 2000 Chapter 9, “RFID on Parts”. Once approved by the ATA e-Business Steering Group, this standard will allow for archiving and sharing part history information directly on RFID tags using the User Memory Bank. Using a structure similar to a File Storage System, this standard organizes tag data in a structured and indexed system so that information can be shared among all members of the supply chain. Now that high memory, passive tags are becoming available, when used in conjunction with the “RFID on Parts” standard, they make it possible to tag parts not just with an identification number, but with birth records, a full history of maintenance activities and user archives. Since end users and maintenance organizations will no longer need to rely solely on information retrieved from a centralized database, new processes and efficiencies can be realized.

Complexity and nonlinearity of engines makes precise first principle engine models often difficult to obtain, as for instance for emissions. System identification is a well known possible alternative, successfully used in several automotive applications. In most cases system identification is concerned with the estimation of the unknown parameters of a known set of equations. Unfortunately, for many engine subsystems, there is no sufficiently precise or real time suitable model. This paper presents a sequential algorithm which allows to derive real time suitable models on line by a combination of model structure hypothesis of increasing complexity and an associated optimal input design and selection process. This paper introduces the method and shows its use both for a rather simple and a very difficult engine identification task, a dynamical model of the airpath of a Diesel engine and a dynamical model of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

Compliance with tighter emission regulations has increased the proportion of parasitic weight in commercial vehicles. In turn, the amount of payload must be reduced to comply with transportation weight requirements. A re-design of commercial vehicle components is necessary to decrease the vehicle weight and improve payload capacity. Side rails have traditionally been manufactured from high strength steels, but significant weight reductions can be achieved by substituting steel side rails with 6013 high strength aluminum alloy side rails. Material and stress analyses are presented in this paper in order to understand the effect of manufacturing process on the material's mechanical behavior. Metallographic and tensile test experiments for the 6013-T4 alloy were performed in preparation for residual stress measurements of a punching operation. Punched holes are critical to the function of the side rail and can lead to high stress levels and cracking.

In 2006, there were approximately 23,500 rear-end crashes involving heavy trucks (i.e., gross vehicle weight greater than 4,536 kg). The Enhanced Rear Signaling (ERS) for Heavy Trucks project was developed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to investigate methods to reduce or mitigate those crashes where a heavy truck has been struck from behind by another vehicle. Visual warnings have been shown to be effective, assuming the following driver is looking directly at the warning display or has his/her eyes drawn to it. A visual warning can be placed where it is needed and it can be designed so that its meaning is nearly unambiguous. FMCSA contracted with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to investigate potential benefit of additional rear warning-light configurations as rear-end crash countermeasures for heavy trucks.

A method for identification of object impact location and bumper stiffness curve is presented in this paper. The method calculates an offset distance of object impact based on intrusions obtained from three accelerometers mounted in the bumper fascia. The method also evaluates a center strength based on an absolute sum of acceleration. A characteristic line has been introduced in a two-dimensional domain consisting of intrusion-based offset and center strength. When test data are projected onto the characteristic line, an improved object impact location can be achieved. An intrusion curve over offset distance is obtained for impact tests striking at different locations with the same object and same speed. Then, a bumper stiffness curve can be identified by taking a reciprocal of the intrusion curve. This study shows a bumper stiffness curve can be used for an impact object classification for the pedestrian protection system.

This paper presents an integrated design method for active trailer steering (ATS) systems of articulated heavy vehicles (AHVs). Of all contradictory design goals of AHVs, two of them, i.e. path-following at low speeds and lateral stability at high speeds, may be the most fundamental and important, which have been bothering vehicle designers and researchers. To tackle this problem, a new design synthesis approach is proposed: with design optimization techniques, the active design variables of ATS systems and passive design variables of trailers can be optimized simultaneously; the ATS controller derived from this approach has two operational modes, one for improving lateral stability at high speeds and the other for enhancing path-following at low speeds. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, it is applied to the design of an ATS system for an AHV with a tractor and a full trailer.

Torsional stiffness properties were developed for both a 53-foot box trailer and a 28-foot flatbed control trailer based on experimental measurements. In order to study the effect of torsional stiffness on the dynamics of a heavy truck vehicle dynamics computer model, static maneuvers were conducted comparing different torsional stiffness values to the original rigid vehicle model. Stiffness properties were first developed for a truck tractor model. It was found that the incorporation of a torsional stiffness model had only a minor effect on the overall tractor response for steady-state maneuvers up to 0.4 g lateral acceleration. The effect of torsional stiffness was also studied for the trailer portion of the existing model.

A truck-trailer combination is modeled using ADAMS/Car from MSC Software for handling and ride comfort performance simulations. The handling events include a double lane change and lateral roll stability. The ride comfort performance events include several sized half-rounds and various RMS courses. The variables for handling performance evaluation include lateral acceleration, roll angles and tire patch normal loads. The variables for ride performance evaluation are absorbed power and peak acceleration. This study considers the trailer spring stiffness, anti-roll bar and jounce bumper gap as the design variables. Through DOE simulations, we derived the response surface models of various performance variables so that we could consider the performance sensitivities to the design variables.

The ride performance potentials of a prototype torsio-elastic axle suspension for an off-road vehicle were investigated analytically and experimentally. A forestry vehicle was fitted with the prototype suspension at its rear axle to assess its ride performance benefits. Field measurements of ride vibration along the vertical, lateral, fore-aft, roll and pitch axes were performed for the suspended and an unsuspended vehicle, while traversing a forestry terrain. The measured vibration responses of both vehicles were evaluated in terms of unweighted and frequency-weighted rms accelerations and the acceleration spectra, and compared to assess the potential performance benefits of the proposed suspension. The results revealed that the proposed suspension could yield significant reductions in the vibration magnitudes transmitted to the operator's station.

In this paper, we are interested in developing a robust tire-force estimator for heavy duty vehicles. We use a combined model of the articulated vehicle: a yaw plane model for the chassis motion and a vertical plane model for the axles. In the proposed method, we make use of the on-board available sensors to which low-cost sensors are added. In order to optimize the sensors configuration, a robust exact differentiator is used in order to obtain accelerations from the measured velocities. Once the differentiation is obtained, the model is inverted to determine the unknown input forces. The approach is validated by comparing the estimation results to those given by the software simulator prosper .

The advancements made in modeling and parameter identification of nonlinear isolation components in the underlying investigation confirm the importance of accurate Multibody Dynamics modeling of these components for reducing vibration and/or improving ride comfort. Considering dynamic stiffness and loss angle characteristics, the proposed nonlinear isolation component uses the Bouc/Wen hysteresis model for excitation amplitude dependency and a transfer function for excitation frequency dependency. Various combinations of Bouc/Wen hysteresis parameters result in different shapes for hysteresis loops and allows for modeling a wide range of soft and stiff isolator characteristics. The effect of the proposed isolation component on ride studies is illustrated by simulating a maneuver on a road profile using the OpenCRG road description with SimXpert Motion Workspace and Adams/Car. Tire belt dynamics are captured by adding a rigid ring part to the PAC2002 tire model [ 1 ].

Many applications of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to commercial vehicles have used their corresponding diesel engine counterparts for their basic architecture. Here a review is made of the application to commercial vehicle operation of a robust 4 L, light-duty, 6-cylinder in-line engine produced by Ford Australia on a unique long-term production line. Since 2000 it has had a dedicated LPG pick-up truck and cab-chassis variant. A sequence of research programs has focused on optimizing this engine for low carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Best results (from steady state engine maps) suggest reductions in CO₂ emissions of over 30% are possible in New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) light-duty tests compared with the base gasoline engine counterpart. This has been achieved through increasing compression ratio to 12, running lean burn (to λ = 1.6) and careful study (through CFD and bench tests) of the injected LPG-air mixing system.

The application of stability systems on heavy vehicles clearly has numerous advantages, when the cost of the cargo, the service life of vehicles, and the vehicle potential for damage are taken into account. The primary objective of such systems is to assist the driver to maintain control in the face of uncertain driving conditions. The dynamic effects of such system, however, are not widely tested by the industry. The study presented in this paper will present an evaluation of the effects of full and partial stability systems on tractor-trailers using hardware-in-the-loop simulation. With the advancement of simulation capabilities that enables the repeatability of maneuvers, the study presented attempts to provide various deterministic “what-if” scenarios under various vehicle stability system combinations.

Electrically Powered Hydraulic Steering (EPHS) has provided value in passenger car applications by reducing power consumption at engine idle, providing only the required power during high speed lane-keeping, and allowing engine-off operation of vehicles with alternative power sources. This work discusses the design modifications made to use EPHS for medium duty commercial vehicle applications. Configuration options along with communication and diagnostic interface are discussed. Bench tests show the steady-state performance of the system. Experiments are done on a medium duty truck with the EPHS as the sole source of steering power to determine the speed of steer at various vehicle speeds. Finally, the power consumption for the EPHS system is compared to a conventional engine driven pump.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the concept of a heavy-duty tractor - motorized semi-trailer hybrid electric combination, which would have electric drive axles on the semi-trailer. The scope of the project included an analysis of the general concept of a power-driven semi-trailer, the positioning of the concept of the heavy-duty tractor - motorized semi-trailer hybrid electric combination in the general context of the technology, and the evaluation of the applicability of the concept for different duty cycles. Several transport activities were analyzed to determine specific duty cycles for heavy-duty vehicles: highway line haul and regional haul, construction haul, and off-highway hauling of raw materials, such as forestry transport with Class 8 and off-highway tractor-trailer combinations.

Air spring systems gain more and more popularity in the automotive industry and with the ever growing demand for comfort nowadays they are almost inevitable. Some significant advantages over conventional steel springs are appealing for commercial vehicles as well as for the modern passenger vehicles in the luxury class. Current production air spring systems exist in combination with hydraulic shock absorbers (integrated or resolved). An alternative is to use the medium air not only as a spring but also as a damper: a so-called air spring air damper. Air spring air dampers are force elements which could be a great step for the chassis technology due to their functionality (frequency selectivity, load levelling, load independent vibration behaviour, load dependent damping). Some of their design which avoid dynamic seals by the using of rubber bellows contribute to a better ride comfort.

The contributions of vibration sources in a gasoline direct-injection (GDI) engine are identified by simulating a two input-one output model. A partial coherence function between two inputs and one output was calculated to identify the contributions of the two inputs to the output. In order to evaluate the proposed method, a principle test was performed using a laboratory test rig. The results show that the model can be used to identify the contribution of each input to the output. Finally, this model is applied to the identification of the vibration source in a GDI engine.

With the introduction of advanced digital road maps, which include information on the slope and curve radius of the highways, predictive control for standard and hybrid commercial vehicles, based on these maps, is about to be released by the vehicle manufacturers. For example, intelligent predictive cruise control has been announced for introduction in 2012 by Scania and Daimler. In addition, hybrid commercial city buses like MAN's Lion's City Hybrid have already been implemented. But the question remains about the type of vehicle suitable for the implementation of predictive intelligent concepts, due to the high investment cost compared to the sometimes relatively low operating cost savings.