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Metal cutting/machining is a widely used manufacturing process for producing high-precision parts at a low cost and with high throughput. In the automotive industry, engine components such as cylinder heads or engine blocks are all manufactured using such processes. Despite its cost benefits, manufacturers often face the problem of machining chips and cutting oil residue remaining on the finished surface or falling into the internal cavities after machining operations, and these wastes can be very difficult to clean. While part cleaning/washing equipment suppliers often claim that their washers have superior performance, determining the washing efficiency is challenging without means to visualize the water flow. In this paper, a virtual engineering methodology using particle-based CFD is developed to address the issue of metal chip cleanliness resulting from engine component machining operations. This methodology comprises two simulation methods.

Tire manufacturers have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the conflicting tire attributes of traction, rolling resistance, and treadwear. Improvements to one of these “magic triangle” attributes often comes at the expense of the other attributes. Recent regulations have further increased the pressure on manufacturers to produce optimized tires with minimal performance compromises. In order to meet this challenge, the tire industry is looking to new material systems beyond the traditional tire tread components. Polymeric materials beyond the base elastomers and processing oils used in tread provide opportunities to modify the physical and viscoelastic properties of tread. In this study, various polymeric materials were evaluated as additives in a model tire tread formulation. Hydrocarbon resin, high styrene resin, and thermoplastic styrene elastomers were added to the model formulation at various loading levels and through various addition strategies.