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The development of the WorldSID 50th percentile male dummy was initiated in 1997 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/SC12/TC22/WG5) with the objective of developing a more biofidelic side impact dummy and supporting the adoption of a harmonized dummy into regulations. More than 45 organizations from all around the world have contributed to this effort including governmental agencies, research institutes, car manufacturers and dummy manufacturers. The first production version of the WorldSID 50th male dummy was released in March 2004 and demonstrated an improved biofidelity over existing side impact dummies. Full-scale vehicle tests covering a wide range of side impact test procedures were performed worldwide with the WorldSID dummy. However, the vehicle safety performance could not be assessed due to lack of injury risk curves for this dummy. The development of these curves was initiated in 2004 within the framework of ISO/SC12/TC22/WG6 (Injury criteria).

By adapting vehicle control systems to the skill level of the driver, the overall vehicle active safety provided to the driver can be further enhanced for the existing active vehicle controls, such as ABS, Traction Control, Vehicle Stability Enhancement Systems. As a follow-up to the feasibility study in [1], this paper provides some recent results on data-driven driving skill characterization. In particular, the paper presents an enhancement of discriminant features, the comparison of three different learning algorithms for recognizer design, and the performance enhancement with decision fusion. The paper concludes with the discussions of the experimental results and some of the future work.

This paper presents the development of a transmission closed loop pressure control system. The objective of this system is to improve transmission pressure control accuracy by employing closed-loop technology. The control system design includes both feed forward and feedback control. The feed forward control algorithm continuously learns solenoid P-I characteristics. The closed loop feedback control has a conventional PID control with multi-level gain selections for each control channel, as well as different operating points. To further improve the system performance, Robust Optimization is carried out to determine the optimal set of control parameters and controller hardware design factors. The optimized design is verified via an L18 experiment on spin dynamometer. The design is also tested on vehicle.

A key element of General Motors' Advanced Propulsion Technology Strategy is the electrification of the automobile. The objectives of this strategy are reduced fuel consumption, reduced emissions and increased energy security/diversification. The introduction of hybrid vehicles was one of the first steps as a result of this strategy. To determine future opportunities and direction, an extensive study was completed to better understand the ability of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and Extended-Range Electric Vehicles (E-REV) to address societal challenges. The study evaluated real world representative driving datasets to understand actual vehicle usage. Vehicle simulations were conducted to evaluate the merits of PHEV and E-REV configurations. As derivatives of conventional full hybrids, PHEVs have the potential to deliver a significant reduction in petroleum usage.

A unified approach to collision warning due to in-lane and neighboring traffic is presented. It is based on the concept of velocity obstacles, and is designed to alert the driver of a potential front collision and against attempting a dangerous lane change maneuver. The velocity obstacle represents the set of the host velocities that would result in collision with the respective static or moving vehicle. Potential collisions are simply determined when the velocity vector of the host vehicle penetrates the velocity obstacle of a neighboring vehicle. The generality of the velocity obstacle and its simplicity make it an attractive alternative to competing warning algorithms, and a powerful tool for generating collision avoidance maneuvers. The velocity obstacle-based warning algorithm was successfully tested in simulations using real sensor data collected during the Automotive Collision Avoidance System Field Operational Test (ACAS FOT) [10].

This paper presents a comprehensive Matlab/Simulink-based framework that affords a rapid, systematic, and efficient engine control system development process including automated code generation. The proposed framework hinges on three essential pillars: 1 ) an accurate model for the target engine, 2) a toolset for systematic control design, and 3) a modular system architecture that enhances feature reusability and rapid algorithm deployment. The proposed framework promotes systematic model-based algorithm development and validation in virtual reality. Within this context, the framework affords integration and evaluation of the entire control system at an early development stage, seamless transitions across inherently incompatible product development stages, and rapid code generation for production target hardware.

The fierce competition and shifting consumer demands require automotive companies to be more efficient in all aspects of vehicle development and specifically in the area of embedded engine control system development. In order to reduce development cost, shorten time-to-market, and meet more stringent emission regulations without sacrificing quality, the increasingly complex control algorithms must be transportable and reusable. Within an efficient development process it is necessary that the algorithms can be seamlessly moved throughout different development stages and that they can be easily reused for different applications. In this paper, we propose a flexible engine control architecture that greatly boosts development efficiency.

The value of model-based design has been attempted to be communicated for more than a decade. As methods and tools have appeared and disappeared from a series of different vendors it has become apparent that no single vendor has a solution that meets all users’ needs. Recently standards (UML, MDA, MOF, EMF, etc.) have become a dominant force and an alternative to vendor-specific languages and processes. Where these standards have succeeded and vendors have failed is in the realization that they do not provide the answer, but instead provide the foundation to develop the answer. It is in the utilization of these standards and their capability to be customized that companies have achieved success. Customization has occurred to fit organizations, processes, and architectures that leverage the value of model-driven design.

As a virtual manufacturing press line, line die forming simulation provides a full range math-based engineering tool for stamping die developments of automotive structure and closure panels. Much beyond draw-die-only formability analysis that has been widely used in stamping simulation community during the last decade, the line die formability analysis allows incorporating more manufacturing requirements and resolving more potential failures before die construction and press tryout. Representing the most difficult level in formability analysis, conducting line die formability analysis of automotive body side outers exemplifies the greatest technological challenge to stamping CAE community. This paper discusses some critical issues in line die analysis of the body side outers, describes technical challenges in applications, and finally demonstrates the impact of line die forming simulation on the die development.

The focus of this research effort was to develop a technique to measure the cyclic variability of the mass injected by fuel injectors. Successful implementation of the measurement technique introduced in this paper can be used to evaluate injectors and improve their designs. More consistent and precise fuel injectors have the potential to improve fuel efficiency, engine performance, and reduce emissions. The experiments for this study were conducted at the Michigan State University Automotive Research Experiment Station. The setup consists of a fuel supply vessel pressurized by compressed nitrogen, a Dantec laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) system to measure the centerline velocity of fuel, a quartz tube for optical access, and a Cosworth IC 5460 to control the injector. The detector on the LDA system is capable of resolving Doppler bursts as short as 6μs, depending on the level of seeding, thus giving a detailed time/velocity profile.

In GM R&D Powertrain/Engine Control Group, rapid prototyping controller (RPC) systems with Matlab/Simulink are used extensively to design, simulate and implement advanced engine control algorithms and models. However, those RPC systems use powerful microprocessors with large amounts of RAM contrary to engine control modules (ECM) in production vehicles. Therefore, a thorough analysis on the comparatively much more complicated algorithms and models cannot be performed during the research stage, since there are not enough tools to enable the smooth transition from Matlab/Simulink to the production type processor. The Real-Time Interface (RTI) Blockset for a production like microprocessor would close the transition gap between rapid prototyping controller systems and production type microprocessors by leveraging the power and popularity of Matlab/Simulink in control engineering world and automatic code generation tools.

This paper presents a pioneer work and first time application of Multi Objective Robust Optimization to analytically improve Idle Shake Performance. The method is developed to obtain a robust design with multiple objectives under consideration along with managing material property variation. It was a Robust Optimization on top of Multi Objective Genetic Algorithm, Robu-MOGA. The design variables in the study included the nominal values and tolerances of Sound Transmission Loss property, and interior material Absorption property. The analytical objective was not only to minimize the peak airborne noise at each specified frequency, but also to reduce the total cost and the total mass of the materials. In the study, AutoSEA (statistical energy analysis) from ESI Software, Inc. was used as the solver. AutoSEA was integrated with iSIGHT from Engineous Software, Inc.

This paper presents an empirical-based model which explains the force-deflection characteristics of disc stacks commonly used in automotive suspension dampers. The model provides tools for comparing different disc stacks to understand their effect on damper performance. Load-deflection data is presented on a variety of discs and combinations of discs. The data is analyzed to show how the diameter, thickness and relative position of discs in a stack can affect the stack stiffness throughout the range of disc deflections. A model is developed to show how changes in the disc stack will affect damper performance at different velocities. An example is provided that shows predicted changes in disc stack force-deflection characteristics and the resulting changes in a damper force-velocity curve. Ride results are also presented that confirm the validity of the model.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) testing is a means for validating and verifying component designs in a system context. Most current HWIL work with electrochemical systems for automotive applications has focused on the pack level, providing valuable feedback to system designers. Further benefits are realized by implementing this concept earlier in the development process; applying test vectors to an individual cell, but attenuating the stimulus and feedback to pack levels. This paper reports on a cell-level HWIL system designed to evaluate electrochemical cells and associated subsystems for advanced hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs). The architecture of the system is described along with an example of its application applied to a commercially available supercapacitor and a state-of-charge algorithm in an HEV-based configuration.

In recent years a predominant strategy for setting sound quality (SQ) requirements has been the sensory correlation approach (also called sensory evaluation or sensory science). Some users of this approach have reported their progress in numerous papers. Other SQ practitioners have made presentations on specific topics that show the linkage to music and musical notation. These specific links point to an alternative general strategy - “the Music Analogy for Sound Quality.” This paper begins by comparing the general methods of the music analogy and sensory correlation. Some major differences will be identified and implications discussed. Some existing specific tools for the music analogy will be identified as well as some gaps that need to be filled. Finally, reasons will be presented concerning why the music analogy should be considered when developing sound quality requirements.

With Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) proven to be a powerful tool for airborne noise analysis, the capability of predicting the exterior sound field around a vehicle at high frequencies (the load case in the SEA analysis) is of particular interest to OEMs and suppliers. This paper employs the High Frequency Boundary Element Method (HFBEM) to simulate the scattered exterior sound field distribution due to a monopole source. It is shown that the proposed method is able to efficiently predict the spatial and frequency averaged sound pressure levels reasonably well up to 10 kHz, even at points in the near field of the vehicle body.

Any equipment system or vehicle component like the Convenience Organizer storage system needs to be retained within the cargo compartment without intruding into the passenger compartment for occupant safety during a high speed impact. This paper outlines a test method to evaluate the retention of such a system in a rear impact environment. The method utilizes a low speed barrier to simulate a high speed RMB (Rear Moving Barrier) impact. The content of the low speed RMB impact test setup was developed utilizing DYNA3D analytical simulation results from a full vehicle model subjected to high-speed RMB impact. The retention of the equipment developed through this test method was confirmed on a full scale rear impact test.

The past 10 years have created such buzzwords as “model-based development” and “auto-code generation”. Conveniently absent from the tool literature on model-based development are the equally, or more important concepts of Software Architecture and Process. When developing product line software, the process and architecture form a critical foundation to base reusable products and components. The development process can no longer be viewed as “model-based”, but rather as “model-driven”, due to the reliance on the models as the source artifact as opposed to the creators of the source artifacts. A model-driven product line software development process allows capturing of behavior, for commonality across different products, and having a different implementation for a specific product release.

A rapid prototyping controller (RPC) based, full-authority, diesel control system is developed, implemented, tested and validated on FTP cycle. As rapid prototyping controller, dSPACE Autobox is coupled with a fast processor based slave for lower level I/O control and a collection of in-house designed interface cards for signal conditioning. The base software set implemented mimics the current production code for a production diesel engine. This is done to facilitate realistic and accurate comparison of production algorithms with new control algorithms to be added on future products. The engine is equipped with all the state-of-the art subsystems found in a modern diesel engine (common rail fuel injection, EGR, Turbocharger etc.).

An onboard vehicle-to-vehicle multi-hop wireless networking system has been developed to test the real-world performance of telematics applications. The system targets emergency and safety messaging, traffic updates, audio/video streaming and commercial announcements. The test-bed includes a Differential GPS receiver, an IEEE 802.11a radio card modified to emulate the DSRC standard, a 1xRTT cellular-data connection, an onboard computer and audio-visual equipment. Vehicles exchange data directly or via intermediate vehicles using a multi-hop routing protocol. The focus of the test-bed is to (a) evaluate the feasibility of high-speed inter-vehicular networking, (b) characterize 5.8GHz signal propagation within a dynamic mobile ad hoc environment, and (c) develop routing protocols for highly mobile networks. The test-bed has been deployed across five vehicles and tested over 400 miles on the road.