Search Results

To better understand the technical challenges of commercial vehicle electrification, BorgWarner converted a production Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) medium duty truck into a fully electrified vehicle. The resulting vehicle includes a newly developed dual-motor rear Beam eAxle driven by a pair of high-performance silicon carbide (SiC) inverters, an 800V battery system, and a new thermal management system customized for the electric vehicle. This paper will detail the conversion process along with the key components involved in the build. The resulting performance of the fully electrified commercial vehicle will be presented in comparison to the original production vehicle. The primary aim is to outline what is entailed in an electric vehicle conversion and to share the learnings gained throughout this build and development process.

The transition towards electrification in commercial vehicles has received more attention in recent years. This paper details the conversion of a production Medium-Duty class-5 commercial truck, originally equipped with a gasoline engine and 10-speed automatic transmission, into a battery electric vehicle (BEV). The conversion process involved the removal of the internal combustion engine, transmission, and differential unit, followed by the integration of an ePropulsion system, including a newly developed dual-motor beam axle that propels the rear wheels. Other systems added include an 800V/99 kWh battery pack, advanced silicon carbide (SiC) inverters, an upgraded thermal management system, and a DC fast charging system. A key part of the work was the development of the propulsion system controls, which prioritized drivability, NVH suppression, and energy optimization.

In case of all gasoline vehicles such as the passenger vehicle, heavy duty truck and light duty truck etc., a fuel pump is located inside the fuel tank and transfers the fuel to an engine for stable driving, however, engine stall can be occurred by low pressure fuel pump. The boiling temperature of gasoline fuel is very low, the initial boiling point is around 40°C so fuel can boil easily while driving and end boiling point is around 190°C. It boils sequentially depending on the temperature. It becomes the criteria to determine the amount of vapor released inside the fuel tank at high temperature. The main cause of engine stall at high temperature is rapid fuel boiling by increasing fuel temperature. This causes a lot of vapor. Such vapor flows into the fuel pump which leading to decrease the pump load and the current consumption of the fuel pump continuously. This ultimately results in engine stall.

A key enabler to maximizing the benefits from advanced powertrain technologies is to adopt a systems integration approach and develop optimized controls that consider the propulsion system and vehicle as a whole. This approach becomes essential when incorporating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and communication technologies, which can provide information on future driving conditions. This may enable the powertrain control system to further improve the vehicle performance and energy efficiency, shifting from an instantaneous optimization of energy consumption to a predictive and “look-ahead” optimization. Benefits from this approach can be realized at all levels of electrification, from conventional combustion engines to hybrid propulsion systems and full electric vehicles, and at all levels of vehicle automation.

There are many methods developed over the past decade to solve the problem of energy management control for hybrid electric vehicles. A novel method is introduced in this paper to address the same problem which reduces the problem to a set of physical equations and maps. In simple terms, this method directly calculates the actual cost or savings in fuel energy from the generation or usage of electric energy. It also calculates the local optimum electric power that yields higher electric fuel savings (EFS) or lower electric fuel cost (EFC) in the fuel energy that is spent for driving the vehicle (which in general does not take the system to the lowest engine Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC)). Based on this approach, a control algorithm is developed which attempts to approach the global optimum over a drive cycle.

Roll forming assemblies are generally neat and robust, but there are structural integrity risks involved too if the forming procedures and design features do not complement each other. Specifically, in solenoid valves, an imprecised roller crimping (or forming) adversely affect the desired magnetic performance of the valves. Furthermore, in-depth evaluations of the formed shape using hardware and lab testing are extremely challenging cost wise and time consuming as well. However, utilizing simulation technique such as finite element analysis (FEA) to understand the in-sights of roller formed assemblies of a solenoid valve (or other products) could be an effective way to minimize overall cost and time involved in the product development. Therefore, a three-dimensional non-linear FEA model of roller crimping simulation was established in ANSYS Workbench Mechanical, and the predicted results were correlated with real hardware data to prove the technique & process adopted.

In order to extend the operability limit of the gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engine, as an avenue for low temperature combustion (LTC) regime, the effects of parametric variations of engine operating conditions on the performance of six-stroke GCI (6S-GCI) engine cycle are numerically investigated, using an in-house 3D CFD code coupled with high-fidelity physical sub-models along with the Chemkin library. The combustion and emissions were calculated using a skeletal chemical kinetics mechanism for a 14-component gasoline surrogate fuel. Authors’ previous study highlighted the effects of the variation of injection timing and split ratio on the overall performance of 6S-GCI engine and the unique mixing-controlled burning mode of the charge mixtures during the two additional strokes. As a continuing effort, the present study details the parametric studies of initial gas temperature, boost pressure, fuel injection pressure, compression ratio, and EGR ratio.

As CO2 legislation tightens, the next generation of turbocharged gasoline engines must meet stricter emissions targets combined with increased fuel efficiency standards. Recent studies have shown that the following technologies offer significant improvements to the efficiency of turbocharged GDI engines: Miller Cycle via late intake valve closing (LIVC), low pressure loop cooled EGR (LPL EGR), port water injection (PWI), and cylinder deactivation (CDA). While these efficiency-improving technologies are individually well-understood, in this study we directly compare these technologies to each other on the same engine at a range of operating conditions and over a range of compression ratios (CR). The technologies tested are applied to a boosted and direct injected (DI) gasoline engine and evaluated both individually and combined.

As CO2 legislation tightens, the next generation of turbocharged gasoline engines must meet stricter emissions targets combined with increased fuel efficiency standards. Promising technologies under consideration are: Miller Cycle via late intake valve closing (LIVC), low pressure loop cooled exhaust gas recirculation (LPL EGR), port water injection (PWI), and cylinder deactivation (CDA). While these efficiency improving options are well-understood individually, in this study we directly compare them to each other on the same engine at a range of operating conditions and over a range of compression ratios (CR). For this purpose we undertake a comprehensive simulation of the above technology options using a GT-Power model of the engine with a kinetics based knock combustion sub-model to optimize the fuel efficiency, taking into account the total in-cylinder dilution effects, due to internal and external EGR, on the combustion.

To satisfy the global fuel economy restrictions getting stricter, various advanced cooling concepts, like active flow control strategy, cross-flow and fast warm-up, have been applied to the engine. Recently developed Hyundai’s next generation 4-cylinder 2.0L gasoline engine, also adopts several new cooling subsystems. This paper reviews how 3-D CAE analysis has been extensively used to evaluate cooling performance effectively from concept phase to pre-production phase. In the concept stage, the coolant flow in the water jacket of cylinder head and block was investigated to find out the best one among the proposed concepts and the further improvement of flow was also done by optimizing cylinder head gasket holes. Next, 3-D temperature simulation was conducted to satisfy the development criteria in the prototype stage before making initial test engines.

The sliding door’s movement is 3-dimensional unlike the conventional door. So the electric power and signal are exchanged via the long ‘Power Cable’. It has a quite complex structure in order to be suitable to connect the vehicle’s body and the sliding door even during it’s moving. As the result, it is more expensive than conventional door’s one and the quality could not be guaranteed easily. In this paper, I have developed new technology which could transfer electric power by ‘wireless transfer’ in order to resolve the problem from using ‘Power cable’. I would propose the proper structure to transfer the electric power at any position of the sliding door without any physical connection. To transfer the electric power which drives the window regulator and the actuators in door, I have applied the ‘inductive coupling’ system.

In recent years, emission regulations have been getting increasingly strict. In the development of engines that comply with these regulations, in-cylinder pressure plays a fundamental role, as it is necessary to analyze combustion characteristics and control combustion-related parameters. The analysis of in-cylinder pressure data enables the modelling of exhaust emissions in which characteristic temperature can be derived from the in-cylinder pressure, and the pressure can be used for other investigations, such as optimizing efficiency and emissions through controlling combustion. Therefore, a piezoelectric pressure sensor to measure in-cylinder pressure is an essential element in the engine research field. However, it is difficult to practice the installation of this pressure sensor on all engines and on-road vehicles owing to cost issues.

Numerical investigation of engine performance and emissions of a six-stroke gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engine combustion at low load conditions is presented. In order to identify the effects of additional two strokes of the six-stroke engine cycle on the thermal and chemical conditions of charge mixtures, an in-house multi-dimensional CFD code coupled with high fidelity physical sub-models along with the Chemkin library was employed. The combustion and emissions were calculated using a reduced chemical kinetics mechanism for a 14-component gasoline surrogate fuel. Two power strokes per cycle were achieved using multiple injections during compression strokes. Parametric variations of injection strategy viz., individual injection timing for both the power strokes and the split ratio that enable the control of combustion phasing of both the power strokes were explored.

The role of a brake disc is to convert the kinetic energy of automobiles into thermal energy caused by friction between the brake pads and disc surfaces. The braking performance of an overheated disc is decreased due to hot judder and fade. Hence, the cooling technology of a brake disc is one of the most important issues related to automobile safety. In the present study, the fluid flow and heat transfer analysis of a ventilated brake disc are conducted numerically. Some geometries of automotive parts such as bearings, hubs and wheels are considered in this study. The commercial code ANSYS CFX is used to simulate the fluid flow and the conjugate heat transfer which includes conduction and convection. To evaluate the cooling performance in each case, the results, including the flow patterns of cooling air inside the wheel and the heat transfer coefficient distribution at the disc surfaces, were investigated and compared for various disc-hub combinations.

In the latest paper [10], we presented our work based on experiments studying MPU (Metal Pick Up) of the pad and scoring(scratching) of the disc. The main component of MPU was iron “Fe”. If the roughness of the disc was small, the content of iron “Fe” was increased and the segregation of that was decreased especially in initial condition. In this study, we extended our study based on the results by adding some additional factors such as the location of the roughness of the disc, the coefficients brake pad friction, and disc slots. We made various discs of different roughness boundaries and slots, and pads of pad friction coefficients; and conducted two types of tests for whether a slot is present or not with the other same conditions to confirm the impact of the scoring. We find and believe that our experimental data should serve a useful guideline for reducing MPU of the pad and scoring of the disc.

Due to improvements in vehicle powertrain performance, friction material fade performance is becoming an important topic. For this reason, needs for studies to improve thermal characteristics of the brake system is increasing. Methods for improving the fade characteristics have several ways to improve the thermal characteristic of friction materials and increase disc capacity. However, increasing disc capacity(size) have some risk of weight and cost rise, and friction factor improvements in friction material tend to cause other problems, such as increasing squeal wire brush noise and increasing metal pick up on disc surface. Therefore, a slot disc study is needed to overcome the problems discussed previously. Currently, there is few research history for slot disc related to fade and metal pickup improvements.

The sliding surface of the brake friction material is not uniform but composed of random contact plateaus with a broad pressure distribution, which are known to closely related to the triggering mechanism of friction induced noise and vibrations. The non-uniform contact plateaus are attributed to the various ingredients in the friction material with a broad range of physical properties and morphology and the size and stiffness of the plateau play crucial roles in determining the friction instability. The incorporation of friction surface inhomogeneity is, therefore, crucial and has to be counted to improve the accuracy of the numerical calculation to simulate brake noise. In this study, the heterogeneous nature of the friction material surface was employed in the simulation to improve the correlation between numerical simulations and experimental results.

The design of a demonstration vehicle is presented where improvements to the electrical and air induction systems are made which provide increased performance with improved fuel economy. This is made possible by a 48 V architecture which enables the deployment of new components, specifically a belted motor generator unit (MGU) and electrically-driven compressor (eBooster®). The synergy between these components enables energy efficient means to collect regenerated energy and provide added torque, faster engine response, and extended engine off operation among a list of added features. Control features and strategy are highlighted along with simulation and vehicle test data. Resultant performance and fuel economy benefits are reviewed which support the contention of 48 V being a cost effective architecture to enable CO2 reduction relative to a higher voltage hybrid.

In a divided-exhaust turbocharging system, 1 exhaust valve and port from each cylinder can be directed to the turbocharger turbine (referred to as the Blowdown Path) and the other can bypass the turbocharger (referred to as the Scavenge Path). The Blowdown and Scavenge valve events are determined based on the functions of the blowdown and displacement phases of the exhaust process. In our previous publications of another version of Divided Exhaust Period Turbocharging, the Valve Event Modulated Boost system (VEMB), we demonstrated significant engine efficiency and performance improvements over the base turbocharged engine. Reductions in pumping work and high-load Residual Gas Fraction are the primary reasons for efficiency and performance improvements.

Virtually all developed countries regulate light-duty vehicle emissions and fuel consumption. Those regulations rely on different procedures and driving cycles in testing to different standards in different countries. As a result, it is often very difficult to compare the standards imposed by different countries. This paper utilizes publicly available data to compare the energy requirements of the chassis dynamometer driving cycles in common use throughout the world. It also examines the relative severity of the currently existing light duty vehicle CO2 standards, some of which are mass-based with a targeted fleet average, and some of which are individual vehicle targets based on footprint.