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As a new brake-by-wire solution, the electro-booster (Ebooster) brake system can work with the electronic stability program (ESP) equipped in the real vehicle to realize various excellent functions such as basic force boosting (BFB), active braking and energy recovery, which is promoting the development of smart vehicles. Among them, the BFB is the function of Ebooster's servo force to assist the driver's brake pedal force establishing high-intensity braking pressure. After the BFB function failure of the Ebooster, it was not possible to provide sufficient brake pressure for the driver's normal braking, and eventually led to traffic accidents. In this paper, a compensation redundancy control strategy based on ESP is proposed for the BFB failure of the self-designed Ebooster.

The Hybrid Cellular Automaton (HCA) algorithm is a generative design approach used to synthesize conceptual designs of crashworthy vehicle structures with a target mass. Given the target mass, the HCA algorithm generates a structure with a specific acceleration-displacement profile. The extended HCA (xHCA) algorithm is a generalization of the HCA algorithm that allows to tailor the crash response of the vehicle structure. Given a target mass, the xHCA algorithm has the ability to generate structures with different acceleration-displacement profiles and target a desired crash response. In order to accomplish this task, the xHCA algorithm includes two main components: a set of meta-parameters (in addition target mass) and surrogate model technique that finds the optimal meta-parameter values. This work demonstrates the capabilities of the xHCA algorithm tailoring acceleration and intrusion through the use of one meta-parameter (design time) and the use of Kriging-assisted optimization.

A Machine Learning (ML) approach is presented to correlate in-cylinder images of early flame kernel development within a spark-ignited (SI) gasoline engine to early-, mid-, and late-stage flame propagation. The objective of this study was to train machine learning models to analyze the relevance of flame surface features on subsequent burn rates. Ultimately, an approach of this nature can be generalized to flame images from a variety of sources. The prediction of combustion phasing was formulated as a regression problem to train predictive models to supplement observations of early flame kernel growth. High-speed images were captured from an optically accessible SI engine for 357 cycles under pre-mixed operation. A subset of these images was used to train three models: a linear regression model, a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on the InceptionV3 architecture and a CNN built with assisted learning on the VGG19 architecture.

More stringent emissions regulations are continually being proposed to mitigate adverse human health and environmental impacts of internal combustion engines. With that in mind, it has been proposed that vehicular particulate matter (PM) emissions should be regulated based on particle number in addition to particle mass. One aspect of this project is to study different sample handling methods for number-based aerosol measurements, specifically, two different methods for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). One method is a thermodenuder (TD) and the other is an evaporative chamber/diluter (EvCh). These sample-handling methods have been implemented in an engine test cell with a spark-ignited direct injection (SIDI) engine. The engine was designed for stoichiometric, homogeneous combustion.

Commercially available Generation 3 (GEN3) advanced high strength steels (AHSS) have inherent capability of replacing press hardened steels (PHS) using cold stamping processes. 980 GEN3 AHSS is a cold stampable steel with 980 MPa minimum tensile strength that exhibits an excellent combination of formability and strength. Hot forming of PHS requires elevated temperatures (> 800°C) to enable complex deep sections. 980 GEN3 AHSS presents similar formability as 590 DP material, allowing engineers to design complex geometries similar to PHS material; however, its cold formability provides implied potential process cost savings in automotive applications. The increase in post-forming yield strength of GEN3 AHSS due to work and bake hardening contributes strongly toward crash performance in energy absorption and intrusion resistance.

There has been an increasing interest in exploring the potential to reduce energy consumption of future connected and automated vehicles. People have extensively studied various eco-driving implementations that leverage preview information provided by on-board sensors and connectivity, as well as the control authority enabled by automation. Quantitative real-world evaluation of eco-driving benefits is a challenging task. The standard regulatory driving cycles used for measuring exhaust emissions and fuel economy are not truly representative of real-world driving, nor for capturing how connectivity and automation might influence driving trajectories. To adequately consider real-world driving behavior and potential “off-cycle” impacts, this paper presents four collaborative evaluation methods: large-scale simulation, in-depth simulation, vehicle-in-the-loop testing, and vehicle road testing.

The motor errors of the four-wheel independent driving electric vehicles was studied, and classified as steady errors and dynamic errors. In the paper, the forward compensation control and the PID control strategy were respectively applied to compensate for the errors. The electric vehicles straight-line running stability caused by the motor errors was discussed, the PID control method based on BP neural net work was presented to co-ordinate torque of the wheels. The result of the simulation on the 7 degrees of freedom vehicle model showed that control method improved the straight-line running ability of the vehicle.

Electro-Hydraulic Brake (EHB) system is a kind of active control brake systems of automobile, the pedal from the calipers actuation separated and no longer limited by conventional hardware. The system may come together with ABS, ESP, and ASR function, also the communication with other systems is done via the CAN network. EHB system may be classified a “stepping stone” technology to full brake-by-wire and brings huge transform for the performance of braking system. In this paper, vehicle dynamic models were established and accomplished the control strategy for vehicle stability control with EHB system which can adjust wheel and vehicle motion, improve the lateral and longitudinal vehicle stability. This result was verified by simulation which shows that the controller is effective on improving the vehicle stability.

Steer-by-wire System is a new conception for steering system, which eliminates those mechanical linkages between hand steering wheel and front wheels, and communicates among the driver and wheels by signals and controllers. All these facilities improve the safety and conformability of the vehicle system and get rid of the mechanical constricts. This paper proposed three vehicle stability control strategies, including front wheel control, yaw rate feedback control and yaw rate& acceleration feedback control. We compared these three control methods by simulation and simulator tests. We also studied the integrated control algorithm of Steer-by-Wire System and 4WS, and compared with 2WS for SBW and the classical 4WS.

In order to improve the tractive ability, steering capability and directional stability, etc. of automated mechanical transmission (AMT) vehicles running on the wet and slippery road, the anti-slip regulation (ASR) technologies for AMT vehicles are developed. The significance of ASR for AMT vehicles is introduced; a road friction recognition method based on the deceleration of driving wheels is investigated; a fuzzy anti-slip control system based on adjustment of engine torque is developed and the corresponding experimental verification is conducted. The experimental results denote that the proposed method is effective to eliminate the excessive slip when the AMT vehicle travels on the low friction road.

A novel non-destroy repeatable-use impact theory based total cylinder sampling system has been established. This system is mainly composed of a knocking body and a sampling valve. The knocking body impacts the sampling valve with certain velocity resulting in huge force to open the sampling valve and most of the in-cylinder gas has been dumped to one sampling bag for after-treatment. The feasibility and sampling response characteristics of this impact theory based total cylinder sampling system were investigated by engine bench testing. Within 0 to 35°CA ATDC (Crank Angle After Top Dead Center) sample timing 50 percent to 80 percent of in-cylinder mass would be sampled, which was a little less compared with the traditional system. The half decay period of pressure drop was 10 to 20 degrees crank angle within 0 to 60°CA ATDC sample timing, which was about 2-3 times of the traditional system.

In the intelligent airbag system, the detection accuracy of occupant position is the precondition and plays a vital role to control airbag detonation time and inflated strength during the crash. Through accurately analyzing the seat surface pressure distributions of different occupant sitting position and types, an occupant position recognition approach which purely uses occupant pressure distribution information measured by seat pressure sensors is presented with the method of Support Vector Machine. In the end, the distribution samples with different occupant sitting position and types are used to train and test the recognition approach, and the good validity and accuracy are shown in the experiments.

Vehicle lane keeping system is becoming a new research focus of drive assistant system except adaptive cruise control system. As we all known, vehicle lateral dynamics show strong nonlinear and time-varying with the variety of longitudinal velocity, especially tire’s mechanics characteristic will change from linear characteristic under low speed to strong nonlinear under high speed. For this reason, the traditional PID controller and even self-tuning PID controller, which need to know a precise vehicle lateral dynamics model to adjust the control parameter, are too difficult to get enough accuracy and the ideal control quality. Based on neural network’s ability of self-learning, adaptive and approximate to any nonlinear function, an adaptive PID control algorithm with BP neural network self-tuning online was proposed for vehicle lane keeping.

This paper presents the development of an electronic control LPG gas injection system and its application in a small SI engine. The tests results show that the developed LPG gas injection system can meet the needs for the goal of high engine power output and low exhaust emissions based on the engine bench tests. With the LPG electronic gas injection system, the air-fuel ratio can be optimized based on the requirements and CO and NOx emission levels are decreased significantly compared with the LPG mechanical mixer fuel supply system, based on the same HC emission levels. With the new gas phase LPG electronic control injection system, the HC emission level is controlled below the 300 ppm under most engine conditions and under 200 ppm when the engine speed is over 3000 r/min. The NOx emission level is under 2600 ppm in the whole range of engine operation conditions and is decreased by 2000 ppm compared with the LPG mechanical mixer system.

An air-cooled, four-stroke, 125 cc electronic gasoline fuel injection SI engine for motorcycles is altered to burn ethanol fuel. The effects of nozzle orifice size, fuel injection duration, spark timing and the excess air/ fuel ratio on engine power output, fuel and energy consumptions and engine exhaust emission levels are studied on an engine test bed. The results show that the maximum engine power output is increased by 5.4% and the maximum torque output is increased by 1.9% with the ethanol fuel in comparison with the baseline. At full load and 7000 r/min, HC emission is decreased by 38% and CO emission is decreased 46% on average over the whole engine speed range. However, NOx levels are increased to meet the maximum power output. The experiments of the spark timing show that the levels of HC and NOx emission are decreased markedly by the delay of spark timing.

Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS) is a new power steering technology that will define the future of vehicle steering. The assist of EPAS is the function of the steering wheel torque and vehicle velocity. The assist characteristic of EPAS is set by control software, which is one of the key issues of EPAS. The straight-line type assist characteristic has been used in some current EPAS products, but its influence on the steering maneuverability and road feel hasn't been explicitly studied in theory. In this paper, the straight-line type assist characteristic is analyzed theoretically. Then a whole vehicle dynamic model used to study the straight-line type assist characteristic is built with ADAMS/Car and validated with DCF (Driver Control Files) mode of ADAMS/Car. Based on the whole vehicle dynamic model, the straight-line type assist characteristic's influence on the steering maneuverability and road feel is investigated.

This paper presents an experimental study of the emission characteristics of a small Spark-Ignited, LPG engine. A single cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled, 125cc SI engine for motorcycle is modified for using LPG fuel. The power output of LPG is above 95% power output of gasoline. The emission characteristics of LPG are compared with the gasoline. The test result shows that LPG for small SI engine will help to reduce the emission level of motorcycles. The HC and CO emission level can be reduced greatly, but NOx emissions are increased. The emission of motorcycle using LPG shows the potential to meet the more strict regulation.

In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted using a direct injection single-cylinder diesel engine equipped with a test common rail fuel injection system to clarify how dimethyl ether (DME) injection characteristics affect the heat release and exhaust emissions. For that purpose the common rail fuel injection system (injection pressure: 15 MPa) and injection nozzle (0.55 × 5-holes, 0.70 × 3-holes, same total holes area) have been used for the test. First, to characterize the effect of DME physical properties on the macroscopic spray behavior: injection quantity, injection rate, penetration, cone angle, volume were measured using high-pressure injection chamber (pressure: 4MPa). In order to clarify effects of the injection process on HC, CO, and NOx emissions, as well as the rate of heat release were investigated by single-cylinder engine test. The effects of the injection rate and swirl ratio on exhaust emissions and heat release were also investigated.

This paper presents a study of LPG lean burn in a motorcycle SI engine. The lean burn limits are compared by several ways. The relations of lean burn limit with the parameters, such as engine speed, compression ratio and advanced spark ignition etc. are tested. The experimental results show that larger throttle opening, lower engine speed, earlier spark ignition timing, larger electrode gap and higher compression ratio will extend the lean burn limit of LPG. The emission of a LPG engine, especially on NOx emission, can be significantly reduced by means of the lean burn technology.

This paper presents an integrated method for rapid modeling, simulation and virtual evaluation of the interface pressure between driver human body and seat. For simulation of the body-seat interaction and for calculation of the interface pressure, besides body dimensions and material characteristics an important aspect is the posture and position of the driver body with respect to seat. In addition, to ensure accommodation of the results to the target population usually several individuals are simulated, whose body anthropometries cover the scope of the whole population. The multivariate distribution of the body anthropometry and the sampling techniques are usually adopted to generate the individuals and to predict the detailed body dimensions. In biomechanical modeling of human body and seat, the correct element type, the rational settings of the contacts between different parts, the correct exertion of the loads to the calculation field, etc., are also crucial.