Search Results

Increasingly tighter automotive emissions legislation not only demands advanced catalyst control for super ultra low emission vehicle (SULEV) requirements, but also a close monitoring of catalyst performance. In the present paper, a control-oriented model is proposed that uses a library of four nonlinear (NARMAX) dynamic models to predict the three-way catalyst (TWC) transient response. Each nonlinear model is optimised for use under a certain operating region. In order to identify the current operating region and select the appropriate local model for prediction, the rate of change of stored oxygen is monitored. A simplified chemical model, which is based on the dynamics of the fundamental chemical reactions that occur inside the catalyst, is used for this purpose. The developed catalyst model only requires knowledge of the upstream/downstream air-fuel ratio (AFR) and it could form the basis of an on-board catalyst monitoring and control system.

This paper presents the conclusions of a study into the way the Formula SAE project works in the UK academic sector. The motivation for the work arose during the introduction of the project at the University of Sussex when we needed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the project as part of the engineering curriculum. The traditional view of FSAE in the UK was that it proved a valuable recruitment tool and when only a few universities offered the project to students this was clearly the case. However now that the project is more widely adopted and where smaller Departments are now supporting the project, there is a need to look more closely at the effectiveness of the project. Identification of the factors that make a successful entry has also helped in an evaluation of the resource requirements. The general conclusion from the work is that Departments must work to extract the benefits of the project through curriculum planning.

A promising technology for active safety is “X-by-Wire”, where mechanical and electromechanical components are replaced by electronic functions. One of the reasons for this is to have more than the driver input in the command chain, and also include some degree of intervention by the control system in case the driver behaviour is likely to put the car at risk. The adoption of a small number of computing nodes is a clear trend in vehicle design. A wide range of functions that are now distributed in the form of separate modules will instead be integrated. This approach will overcome the physical constraints of electrical and mechanical components and the costs of many separate electronic modules with their own power supplies.

The Formula SAE competition (known as Formula Student in the UK) is well established and continues to be highly popular with engineering students. The annual United Kingdom competition bears witness to this enthusiasm with a strong turnout of a total of 84 teams, including 41 teams from the United Kingdom and 21 other nations represented in 2004. In 2004 some countries, including Japan, Australia and South Korea participated for the first time. There are, for a university, significant implications of resource costs when running the Formula SAE project, mainly financial and time. Time costs in particular are acute with supervision time from university faculty groups and technicians (this latter being particularly intense). This investment needs justification in the light of other demands.

At Sussex our attempts to introduce Formula SAE were initially slow and the results disappointing. At the same time we were developing and introducing modules in our engineering programmes that were entirely project-based, and in one case, included only e-learning, (with no lectures) after an introductory briefing. Formula SAE made faltering progress whilst it remained a voluntary activity. Support of a voluntary group by means of individually assessed projects at both undergraduate and masters level simply led to a series of unconnected technologies, although they were to prove of value later. Project-based activity in engineering had three distinctive characteristics which were to form our approach to Formula SAE: the need for a strong team ethos from the start of the project; an acceptance of the importance of process, and in particular project planning; and strong communication.