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The Ford GT Program Team was allocated just 22 months from concept to production to complete the Electrical and Electronics systems of the Ford GT. This reduced vehicle program timing - unlike any other in Ford's history -- demanded that the team streamline the standard development process, which is typically 54 months. This aggressive schedule allowed only 12 weeks to design the entire electrical and electronic system architecture, route the wire harnesses, package the components, and manufacture and/or procure all components necessary for the first three-vehicle prototype build.

This paper is intended to give a general overview of the key aerodynamic developments for the 2006 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06. Significant computational and wind tunnel time were used to develop the 2006 Z06 to provide it with improved high speed stability, increased cooling capability and equivalent drag compared to the 2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06.

This paper describes a series of 200–300 hp gas turbine engines being developed by the AiResearch-Phoenix Division of the Garrett Corp. for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratories. These engines, which include both simple cycle and regenerative types, are intended for ground power applications, primarily for direct driving high speed equipment such as high frequency alternators. Descriptions are given of the basic approach taken to meet the Army’s requirements, the resulting engine configurations, the development progress to date, and future program plans and timing.

The 2013 SRT Viper Carbon Fiber X-Brace, styled by Chrysler's Product Design Office (PDO), is as much of a work of art as it is an engineered structural component. Presented in this paper is the design evolution, development and performance refinement of the composite X-Brace (shown in Figure 1). The single-piece, all Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) X-Brace, an important structural component of the body system, was developed from lightweight carbon fiber material to maximize weight reduction and meet performance targets. The development process was driven extensively by virtual engineering, which applied CAE analysis and results to drive the design and improve the design efficiency. Topology optimization and section optimization were used to generate the initial design's shape, form and profile, while respecting the package requirements of the engine compartment.

THE BATTERY is the primary component limiting electric vehicle performance that equals today's standard of expectations as defined by the I. C. engine powered vehicles. Efforts to optimize the electric vehicle performance is leading many people to select and assemble the highest efficiency components available. High voltage electric vehicle power system can provide performance advantages over lower voltage systems, but only if this voltage is in balance with the total system. Mixing high efficiency components does not Insure total system efficiency optimization. The ability of a battery to release its stored energy is a function of its demand. Higher current demands will reduce the efficiency of a battery. This paper reveals how such a mismatch occurred and its reflection on what appeared to be a battery problem.

BlueStar Advanced Technology Corporation (BATC) as part of its participation in the USAF/NASA Li Ion Battery Development Consortium has developed a candidate 25-Ah cell for the Mars 2001 Lander. Although the capacity and cycle life requirements for this application are relatively modest, the low temperature performance (−20°C) and pulse discharge requirements (60A) are somewhat more challenging. Geometric requirements within the spacecraft also constrain the cell design leading to a cell with an aspect ratio quite different from those 25-Ah Li ion cells previously developed by BATC. The design of this cell and its compliance with the performance requirements of the mission will be discussed.

This paper presents a novel battery degradation model based on empirical data from the Racing Green Endurance project. Using the rainflow-counting algorithm, battery charge and discharge data from an electric vehicle has been studied in order to establish more reliable and more accurate predictions for capacity and power fade of automotive traction batteries than those currently available. It is shown that for the particular lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) batteries, capacity fade is 5.8% after 87 cycles. After 3,000 cycles it is estimated to be 32%. Both capacity and power fade strongly depend on cumulative energy throughput, maximum C-rate as well as temperature.

Sundstrand has been investigating 270-Vdc/hybrid 115-Vac electrical power generating systems (EPGS) technology in preparation for meeting the electrical power generating system (EPGS) requirements for future aircraft (1). Systems such as the one being investigated are likely to be suitable for the More-Electric Aircraft (MEA) concepts presently under industry and military study. The present Sundstrand single-channel testbed is being further expanded to better understand the electrical system performance characteristics and power quality requirements of an MEA in which traditional mechanical subsystems are replaced by those of a “more-electric” nature. This paper presents the most recent Sundstrand 270-Vdc system transient performance data, and describes the modifications being made to the 270-Vdc/hybrid 115-Vac testbed.

Innovative Power Solutions (IPS), LLC has developed a 300A and a 500A 28 VDC Brushless Wound Rotor Starter/Generator (S/G) system. These systems are capable of replacing brush type S/G or Air Turbine Starters by presenting an adequate Torque vs. Speed performance. The S/G system developed by IPS consists of the Starter/Generator (Motor/Generator) and S/G Control Unit (SGCU).

The optimization of the vaporization and mixture formation process is of great importance for the development of modern gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, because it influences the subsequent processes of the ignition, combustion and pollutant formation significantly. In consequence, the subject of this work was the development of a measurement technique based on the laser induced exciplex fluorescence (LIF), which allows the two dimensional visualization and quantification of the in-cylinder air/fuel ratio. A tracer concept consisting of benzene and triethylamine dissolved in a non-fluorescent base fuel has been used. The calibration of the equivalence ratio proportional LIF-signal was performed directly inside the engine, at a well known mixture composition, immediately before the direct injection measurements were started.

The term “3 inch ice shapes” has assumed numerous definitions throughout the years. At times it has been used to generally characterize large glaze ice accretions on the major aerodynamic surfaces (wing, horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer) for evaluating aerodynamic performance and handling qualities after a prolonged icing encounter. It has also been used as a more direct criterion while determining or enforcing sectional ice shape characteristics such as the maximum pinnacle height. It is the authors’ observation that over the years, the interpretation and application of this term has evolved and is now broadly misunderstood. Compounding the situation is, at present, a seemingly contradictory set of guidance among (and even within) the various international regulatory agencies resulting in an ambiguous set of expectations for design and certification specialists.

A very high power source solution was developed for the Non Line of Sight Launch System Container Launch Unit (NLOS-LS CLU). The power source solution has been shown to be capable of providing the required 72 continuous hours of operation and high power (3560 watts) to sustain launch capability. The power source consists of 18 BB-2590/U batteries connected in parallel in three layers. Several CLU battery systems have been delivered to the PEO and have been well accepted. The Army is using standard rechargeable batteries, is currently being upgraded with SMBus capability and higher capacity lithium-ion cells. For this reason, the CLU power source has been manufactured with SMBus capability. This paper will discuss the performance of one layer of the CLU power source to simulate the whole power load.

Accurate measurement of countersinks in curved parts has always been a challenge. The countersink reference is defined relative to the panel surface which includes some degree of curvature. This curvature thus makes accurate measurements very difficult using both contact and 2D non-contact measurements. By utilizing structured light 3D vision technologies, the ability to very accurately measure a countersink to small tolerances can be achieved. By knowing the pose of the camera and projector, triangulation can be used to calculate the distance to thousands of points on the panel and countersink surface. The plane of the panel is then calculated using Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) method from the dataset of points which can be adjusted to account for panel curvatures. The countersink is then found using a similar RANSAC method.

A large amount of heat is generated in electric vehicle battery packs during high rate charging, resulting in the need for effective cooling methods. In this paper, a prototype liquid cooled large format Lithium-ion battery module is modeled and tested. Experiments are conducted on the module, which includes 31Ah NMC/Graphite pouch battery cells sandwiched by a foam thermal pad and heat sinks on both sides. The module is instrumented with twenty T-type thermocouples to measure thermal characteristics including the cell and foam surface temperature, heat flux distribution, and the heat generation from batteries under up to 5C rate ultra-fast charging. Constant power loss tests are also performed in which battery loss can be directly measured.

This work describes the definition and implementation of a dedicated system (hardware and software) for the quantitative evaluation of the anthropometrics and morphological parameters of the back shape. This was applied to the digital 3D analysis of subjects affected by spinal pathologies. In fact in clinical practice it is needed to have a repeatable and easy method to frequent non invasive screening of the rib system records a 3D model of the back shape standard and automated procedure. Its clinical validation is presented.

The introduction of real driving emissions cycles and increasingly restrictive emissions regulations force the automotive industry to develop new and more efficient solutions for emission reductions. In particular, the cold start and catalyst heating conditions are crucial for modern cars because is when most of the emissions are produced. One interesting strategy to reduce the time required for catalyst heating is post-oxidation. It consists in operating the engine with a rich in-cylinder mixture and completing the oxidation of fuel inside the exhaust manifold. The result is an increase in temperature and enthalpy of the gases in the exhaust, therefore heating the three-way-catalyst. The following investigation focuses on the implementation of post-oxidation by means of scavenging in a four-cylinder, turbocharged, direct injection spark ignition engine. The investigation is based on detailed measurements that are carried out at the test-bench.

3M is committed to continuously improving products and their manufacture toward the goal of sustainability. The 3M Life Cycle Management (LCM) program has been established to implement this goal. It utilizes a matrix tool to facilitate the review. The matrix consists of LCM Stage (Material Acquisition, R&D Operations, Manufacturing Operations, and Customer Use/Disposal) and Impact (Environment, Health, Safety, and Energy/Resources). The program is coordinated at the staff level by the Corporate Product Responsibility group. The corporate goal is to apply LCM to all new and existing products. The LCM program started with evaluations of new products within business units. Since 3M produces more than 60,000 products manufactured from more than 10,000 different raw materials, the routine evaluation of individual products challenges available staff and business unit resources. A technology-based approach for doing LCMs has been implemented to meet the challenge.

This paper aims at providing the scientific community with an overview of the H2020 European project 3beLiEVe and of its early achievements. The project has the objective of delivering the next generation Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Oxide (LNMO) battery cells, in line with the target performance of the “generation 3b” Li-ion battery technology, as per EU SET-plan Action 7. Its activities are organized in three main pillars: (i) developing the 3b next generation LMNO battery cell, equipped with (ii) an array of internal and external sensors and complemented by (iii) manufacturing and recycling processes at scale. At present, 3beLiEVe is approaching the completion of its first project year (out of a total project planned duration of 42 months). Hence this paper, beyond presenting the overall project’s structure and objectives, focuses on its earliest results in the fields of the cell material formulation, arrangement of sensors and design of the battery pack.

The engine designer has to find novel methods to optimize the engine efficiency faster as the engine development cycle is getting shortened due to the continuous growing market demands. Engine optimization involves fine tuning of the various engine parameters and conducting a large number of tests on actual engine test bed. In this paper, modern techniques that have been used to optimize a small 4stroke air-cooled engine performance have been described. The engine has been modelled using one-dimensional thermodynamic engine modelling software (AVL-BOOST). Design of experiments (DoE) tools have been used to optimize the engine variables. The input parameters form an orthogonal array of L27 matrix and the out put characteristics of the engine (responses) have been predicted by using BOOST software. This design matrix has been used to study and optimize thirteen factors in three levels (313).