Search Results

“There's nothing new under the sun,” the old proverb says. But you only have to read a magazine, scan a periodical, listen to the radio, watch television, or glance at the multitude of ads that promise that such and such product is the latest trend or has up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology, to seemingly prove the old proverb wrong. However, old proverbs become old because they withstand the test of time. In this case, a hasty judgement should be withheld. Currently, as in the past, the above holds true for car radios as well. Whether in the United States, Europe, Canada or Latin America, the public has always been susceptible to last minute technological advances. It is curious then, that as far as car radio styling is concerned, their appearance has been typically rather conservative, and that it is only recently that styling has begun to change to be more in tune with the times.

This paper reports the analytical procedure developed for a simulation of knee impact during a barrier crash using a hybrid III dummy lower torso. A finite element model of the instrument panel was generated. The dummy was seated in mid-seat position and was imparted an initial velocity so that the knee velocity at impact corresponded to the secondary impact velocity during a barrier crash. The procedure provided a reasonably accurate simulation of the dummy kinematics. This simulation can be used for understanding the knee bolster energy management system. The methodology developed has been used to simulate impact on knee for an occupant belted or unbelted in a frontal crash. The influence of the vehicle interior on both the dummy kinematics and the impact locations was incorporated into the model. No assumptions have been made for the knee impact locations, eliminating the need to assume knee velocity vectors.

A cycle counting algorithm that will reduce a complex history into a series of discrete cycles is presented. The cycles determined by this technique are defined as closed stress-strain hysteresis loops of the type obtained from constant amplitude tests. Using the computer cycle counting algorithm, life predictions were made and compared with experimental results. These predictions were found to be typically within a ±3 factor of error. Also, the computer counting method was found to yield more accurate life predictions when compared to the histogram and range counting methods.

Although there was a safety awareness from the earliest days of the automobile, systematic approaches to designing for safety became more widespread after 1950 when large numbers of vehicles came into use in both the United States and Europe, and governments in both continents undertook a widespread highway development. Industry response to safety objectives and also to government regulation has produced a large number of safety enhancing engineering developments, including radial tires, disc brakes, anti-lock brakes, improved vehicle lighting systems, better highway sign support poles, padded instrument panels, better windshield retention systems, collapsible hood structures, accident sensitive fuel pump shut-off valves, and other items. A significant development was the design of the energy absorbing front structures.

There have been many articles published in the last decade or so concerning the components of an electronic stability control (ESC) system, as well as numerous statistical studies that attempt to predict the effectiveness of such systems relative to crash involvement. The literature however is free from papers that discuss how engineers might develop such systems in order to achieve desired steering, handling, and stability performance. This task is complicated by the fact that stability control systems are very complex and their designs and what they can do have changed considerably over the years. These systems also differ from manufacturer to manufacturer and from vehicle to vehicle in a given maker of automobiles. In terms of ESC hardware, differences can include all the components as well as the addition or absence of roll rate sensors or active steering gears to name a few.

A microcomputer-based, multichannel data acquisition system has been developed to acquire high frequency transient information typified by, but not limited to, automotive vehicle crash test applications. The system, which has been designed to be mounted on the test vehicle during a vehicle crash, will accommodate up to 240 channels. Each channel is comprised of a stand-alone microcomputer, memory for data storage, signal conditioning for piezoresistive transducers, automatic calibration and zero offsets, and programmable gain amplifier. The microcomputer is based upon a Motorola 6801/68701 microcomputer. The paper describes the design, development, and data processing characteristics of the prototype system.

This paper focuses on the role and significance of linear momentum and kinetic energy in controlling air bags aboard vehicles. Among the results of the study are analytic and geometric models that characterize crash behavior and control algorithms that quantify crash severity and identify crash configurations. These results constitute an effective basis for crash-data design and air-bag control.

Drivelines used in modern pickup trucks commonly employ universal joints. This type of joint is responsible for second driveshaft order vibrations in the vehicle. Large displacements of the joint connecting the driveline and the rear axle have a detrimental effect on vehicle NVH. As leaf springs are critical energy absorbing elements that connect to the powertrain, they are used to restrain large axle windup angles. One of the most common types of leaf springs in use today is the multi-stage parabolic leaf spring. A simple SAE 3-link approximation is adequate for preliminary studies but it has been found to be inadequate to study axle windup. A vast body of literature exists on modeling leaf springs using nonlinear FEA and multibody simulations. However, these methods require significant amount of component level detail and measured data. As such, these techniques are not applicable for quick sensitivity studies at design conception stage.

This paper describes the development of a new component test methodology concept for simulating NHTSA side impact, to evaluate the performance of door subsystems, trim panels and possible safety countermeasures (foam padding, side airbags, etc.). The concept was developed using MADYMO software and the model was validated with a DOT-SID dummy. Moreover, this method is not restricted to NHTSA side impact, but can be also be used for simulating the European procedure, with some modifications. This method uses a combination of HYGE and VIA decelerator to achieve the desired door velocity profile from onset of crash event until door-dummy separation, and also takes into account the various other factors such as the door/B pillar-dummy contact velocity, door compliance, shape of intruding side structure, seat-to-door interaction and initial door-dummy distance.

This paper provides an overview of the dual EGO sensor method for OBD-II catalyst efficiency monitoring. The processes governing the relationship between catalyst oxygen storage, HC conversion efficiency, and rear EGO sensor response are reviewed in detail. A simple physical model relating catalyst oxygen storage capacity and rear EGO sensor response is constructed and used in conjunction with experimental data to provide additional insight into the operation of the catalyst monitor. The effect that the catalyst washcoat formulation has in determining the relationship between catalyst oxygen storage capacity and HC conversion efficiency and its impact on the catalyst monitor is also investigated. Lastly, the effects of catalyst failure mode, fuel sulfur, and the fuel additive MMT on the catalyst monitor's ability to properly diagnose catalyst function are discussed.

This paper begins with a comparison of the automotive power supply and loads in the early 1950's (near the end of the six-volt era) to the modern counterpart in the early 1990's (possibly near the end of the 12-volt era). A typical power supply specification sheet is developed based on the in-vehicle performance characteristics. From this summary, two attributes are noted: first, the system voltage is not very stable and second, transient protection is limited. With this awareness and the knowledge that the power supply of the future will need architectural change, a review of the design assumptions using a total system view and a long term outlook is advanced. Using a rule based design process and employing available technology to enhance the power system architecture, a number of elements are proposed for consideration in new designs.

The present work discusses an objective test and analysis method developed to quickly quantify steering gear rattle noise heard in a vehicle. Utilizing envelope analysis on the time history data of the rattle signal, the resulting method is simple, fast, practical and yields a single-valued metric which correlates well to subjective measures of rattle noise. In contrast to many other rattle analysis methods, the approach discussed here is completed in the time domain. As applied to rattle noise produced by automotive electric steering systems, the metric produced with this analysis method correlates well with subjective appraisals of vehicle-level rattle noise performance. Lastly, this method can also be extended to rattle measurements at the component and subcomponent level.

In vehicle crash tests, an unbelted occupant's kinetic energy is absorbed by the restraints such as an air bag and/or knee bolster and by the vehicle structure during occupant ride-down with the deforming structure. Both the restraint energy absorbed by the restraints and the ride-down energy absorbed by the structure through restraint coupling were studied in time and displacement domains using crash test data and a simple vehicle-occupant model. Using the vehicle and occupant accelerometers and/or load cell data from the 31 mph barrier crash tests, the restraint and ride-down energy components were computed for the lower extremity, such as the femur, for the light truck and passenger car respectively.

A theoretical math model was created to assess the net effect of aging populations versus evolving system designs from the standpoint of thoracic injury potential. The model was used to project the next twenty-five years of thoracic injuries in Canada. The choice of Canada was topical because rulemaking for CMVSS 208 has been proposed recently. The study was limited to properly-belted, front-outboard, adult occupants in 11-1 o'clock frontal crashes. Moreover, only AIS3+thoracic injury potential was considered. The research consisted of four steps. First, sub-models were developed and integrated. The sub-models were made for numerous real-world effects including population growth, crash involvement, fleet penetration of various systems (via system introduction, vehicle production, and vehicle attrition), and attendant injury risk estimation. Second, existing NASS data were used to estimate the number of AIS3+ chest-injured drivers in Canada in 2001.

A need exists for a reliable and economical analytical aid for designing vehicle structures for controlled crash energy management. Several of the crash simulation methods, currently available to the designer in the evaluation and development of vehicle structures for crash, are reviewed with respect to their capabilities and shortcomings as design aids. An analytical technique is presented, structured along the lines of a design aid and based on a finite element beam model concept. The functions of the various elements of the code are discussed in the context of typical crash events one needs to consider in the design of a structure composed of beam- and column-type elements. The heart of the proposed system code VRUSH is a component code SECOLLAPSE which monitors and predicts crush responses of thin wall structural components and which controls the input into the system code. Also presented are models generated by SECOIXAPSE for typical loading cases.

After establishing the performance requirements and initial design assumptions, CAE concept models are used to set targets for major structural components to achieve desirable crash performance. When the designs of these major components become available they are analyzed in detail using nonlinear crash finite element models to evaluate their performance. All these components are assembled together later in a full car model to predict the overall vehicle crash performance. If the analysis shows that the targets are met, the design drawings are released for prototype fabrication. When CAE tools are effectively used, it will reduce product development cycle time and the number of prototypes. Crash analysis methodology has been validated and applied for steel automotive product development. Recently, aluminum is replacing steel for lighter and more fuel efficient automobiles. In general aluminum has quite different performance from steel, in particular with lower ductility.

Nowadays is a common sense the importance of the CAE usage in the modern automotive industry. The ability to predict the design behavior of a project represents a competitive advantage. However, some CAE models have become so complex and detailed that, in some cases, one just can not build up the model without a considerable amount of information. In that case simplified models play an important role in the design phase, especially in pre-program stages. This work intends to build an archetypal vehicle dynamics model able to predict the rollover resistance of a vehicle design. Through the study of a more complex model, carried out in Adams environment, it was possible to identify the key degrees of freedom to be considered in the simplified model along with important elements of the suspension which are also important design factors.

While testing vehicles for crash, particularly the offset frontal crash mode, new devices and techniques are needed to enhance the ability to measure rotations of certain vehicle components and dummy parts (or joints). The reason for this new demand is that the capabilities of existing techniques or devices in measuring rotations of small masses in confined areas are limited. Examples of the desired measurements are the rotations of dummy's feet and tibias as well as the rotations of the vehicle's toe-board during intrusion. These measurements help to understand dummy's ankle loads as a result of different intrusion rates. Furthermore, having these measurements is very beneficial to the validation of the computer models used in simulating the behavior of dummy's lower extremities in high intrusion crashes. Recent research demonstrated the use of an angular rate sensor, based on magnetohydrodynamic principles, on Hybrid-III dummies and cadavers.

The increasing importance of safety performance in all aspects of motor vehicle design, development, manufacture and marketing makes it necessary for professionals working in these areas to be more aware of safety considerations. The background material and concepts presented in this book will be useful as a basis to aid in the understanding of future developments in this fascinating area.

Variable amplitude torsion, bending, and combined torsion and bending fatigue tests were performed on an axle shaft. The moment inputs used were taken from the respective history channels of a cable log skidder vehicle axle. Testing results indicated that combined variable amplitude loading lives were shorter than the lives of specimens subjected to bending or torsion alone. Calculations using strain rosette readings indicated that principle strains were most active around specific angles but also occurred with lesser magnitudes through a wider angular range. Over the course of a biaxial test, cyclic creep narrowly limited the angles and magnitudes of the principal strains. This limitation was not observed in the calculated principal stress behavior. Simple life predictions made on the measured strain gage histories were non-conservative in most cases.