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The handling of flexible components creates a unique problem set for pick and place automation within automotive production processes. Fabrics and woven textiles are examples of flexible components used in car interiors, for air bags, as liners and in carbon-fiber layups. These textiles differ greatly in geometry, featuring complex shapes and internal slits with varying material properties such as drape characteristics, crimp resistance, friction, and fiber weave. Being inherently flexible and deformable makes these materials difficult to handle with traditional rigid grippers. Current solutions employ adhesive, needle-based, and suction strategies, yet these systems prove a higher risk of leaving residue on the material, damaging the weave, or requiring complex assemblies. Pincer-style grippers are suitable for rigid components and offer strong gripping forces, yet inadvertently may damage the fabric, and introduce wrinkles / folded-over edges during the release process.

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.

Substantial effort has been devoted to utilizing homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) to improve thermal efficiency and reduce emission pollutants in internal combustion engines. However, the uncertainty of ignition timing and limited operational range restrict further adoption for the industry. Using the spark-assisted compression ignition (SACI) technique has the advantage of using a spark event to control the combustion process. This study employs a rapid compression machine to characterize the ignition and combustion process of Dimethyl ether (DME) under engine-like background temperature and pressures and combustion regimes, including HCCI, SACI, and knocking onsite. The spark ignition timing was swept to ignite the mixture under various thermodynamic conditions. This investigation demonstrates the presence of four distinct combustion regimes, including detonation, strong end-gas autoignition, mild end-gas autoignition, and HCCI.

In order to improve the fuel economy for future high-efficiency spark ignition engines, the applications of advanced combustion strategies are considered to be beneficial with an overall lean and/or exhaust gas recirculation diluted cylinder charge. Stronger and more reliable ignition sources become more favorable under extreme lean/EGR conditions. Existing research indicates that the frequency of plasma restrikes increases with increased flow velocity and decreased discharge current level, and a higher discharge current can reduce the gap resistance and maintain the stretched plasma for a longer duration under flow conditions. An in-house developed current boost control system provides flexible control of the discharge current level and discharge duration. The current boost ignition system is based on a multi-coil system with a discharge current level of 180mA.

The process of assembling the bearing and crimp ring to the steering pinion shaft is intricate. The bearing is pressed into its position via the crimp ring, which is tipped inward and fully fitted into a groove on the pinion shaft. Only when the bearing is pressed to a low surface on the pinion shaft, the caulking force for the crimp ring is achieved. The final caulking distance for the crimp ring confirms the proper bearing position. Simulating this transient fitting process using CAE is a challenging topic. Key factors include controlling applied force, defining contact between bearing and pinion surface, and defining contact between crimp ring and bearing surface from full close to half open transition. The overall CAE process is validated through correlation with testing.

In a recent time, which new vehicle lines comes with a huge number of sensors, control units, embedded technologies, and the complexity of these systems (electronics, electrical and electromechanical parts) increases in an exponential way. Considering these events, the expressive generated data amount grows in the same pace, so, consume, transform, and analyze all these data to better understand the modern customer, their needs and how they use the car features becomes necessary. Through that scenario, connected vehicles developed by Ford Motor Company has been generating opportunities to feature’s improvement and cost reduction based on data analysis. This growing quantity of data might be used to optimize feature systems and help engineering teams to understand how the features have been used and enhance the systems engineering design for new or existing features.

Rubber is one of the most used materials currently selected to produce automotive parts, but, for specific applications, some improvement is required in its properties through the addition of some components to the rubber compound formulation. Because of that, mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties are enhanced in order to meet strict requirements of the vast range of application of the rubber compounds. In addition to improving material properties, the combination of different substances, also aims to improve processability and reduce the costs of the final product. Recently, the use of nanofillers has been very explored because of their distinctive properties and characteristics. Among the nanofillers under study, graphene is known for its high-barrier property, thermal and electrical conductivities, and good mechanical properties.

Compression ignition engines used in heavy-duty applications are typically powered by diesel fuel. The high energy density and feedstock abundance provide a continuing source for the immense energy demand. However, the heavy-duty transportation sector is challenged with lowering greenhouse gas and combustion by-product emissions, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. The continuing development of engine management and combustion strategies has proven the ability to meet current regulations, particularly with higher fuel injection pressure. Nonetheless, a transition from diesel to a renewable alternative fuel source will play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gases while maintaining the convenience and energy density inherent in liquid fuels. Dimethyl ether is a versatile fuel that possesses combustion properties suitable for compression ignition engines and physical properties helpful for clean combustion.

In the present work, five surrogate components (n-Hexadecane, n-Tetradecane, Heptamethylnonane, Decalin, 1-Methylnaphthalene) are proposed to represent liquid phase of diesel fuel, and another different five surrogate components (n-Decane, n-Heptane, iso-Octane, MCH (methylcyclohexane), Toluene) are proposed to represent vapor phase of diesel fuel. For the vapor phase, a 5-component surrogate chemical kinetic mechanism has been developed and validated. In the mechanism, a recently updated H2/O2/CO/C1 detailed sub-mechanism is adopted for accurately predicting the laminar flame speeds over a wide range of operating conditions, also a recently updated C2-C3 detailed sub-mechanism is used due to its potential benefit on accurate flame propagation simulation. For each of the five diesel vapor surrogate components, a skeletal sub-mechanism, which determines the simulation of ignition delay times, is constructed for species C4-Cn.

Compression ignition internal combustion engines provide unmatched power density levels, making them suitable for numerous applications including heavy-duty freight trucks, marine shipping, and off-road construction vehicles. Fossil-derived diesel fuel has dominated the energy source for CI engines over the last century. To mitigate the dependency on fossil fuels and lessen anthropogenic carbon released into the atmosphere within the transportation sector, it is critical to establish a fuel source which is produced from renewable energy sources, all the while matching the high-power density demands of various applications. Dimethyl ether (DME) has been used in non-combustion applications for several decades and is an attractive fuel for CI engines because of its high reactivity, superior volatility to diesel, and low soot tendency. A range of feedstock sources can produce DME via the catalysis of syngas.

This study investigated the potential of generating reactive chemical species (including radicals) through pilot fuel injection in negative valve overlap for improving the combustion and emissions performances of spark ignition gasoline engines under low load and low speed operating conditions. Several Ford sub-models were used for simulating the physics and chemistry processes of injecting a small amount of fuel in NVO (negative valve overlap). Effects of different NVO degrees and different pilot injection timings, factors for fuel conversion were simulated and investigated. CO and H2 conversions during NVO, CO and H2 amounts before spark timing were used for comparing different schemes.

In order to decarbonize and lower the overall emissions of the transport sector, immediate and cost-effective powertrain solutions are needed. Natural gas offers the advantage of a direct reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to its better Carbon to Hydrogen ratio (C/H) compared to common fossil fuels, e.g. gasoline or diesel. Moreover, an optimized engine design suiting the advantages of natural gas in knock resistance and lean mixtures keeping in mind the challenges of power density, efficiency and cold start manoeuvres. In the public funded project MethMag (Methane lean combustion engine) a gasoline fired three-cylinder-engine is redesigned based on this change of requirements and benchmarked against the previous gasoline engine.

Centrifugal pumps are widely used in different thermal fluid systems in automobile industries. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of such a thermal fluid system depends on the accurate component modeling of the system components. This paper presents CFD analysis of a centrifugal pump with two different approaches: Transient (moving grid) and the steady state - Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) methods using a commercial CFD solver Simerics MP+®. In addition, flow and pressure drop data obtained using CFD simulations of a vehicle coolant hydraulic system was compared to results from rig test data. The Transient method incorporates the real motion of the pump blades geometry and temporal flow solutions are obtained for instantaneous positions of the blade geometry. In MRF approach, the flow governing equations for the stationary zone are solved in the absolute/inertial reference frame, whereas flow in the moving zone is solved in the relative/non-inertial reference frame.

In recent years, bearing electrical failures have been a significant concern in electric cars, restricting electric engine life. This work aims to introduce a coating approach for preventing electrical erosion on 52100 alloy steel samples, the most common material used on manufacturing bearings. This paper discusses the causes of shaft voltage and bearing currents, and summarizes standard electrical bearing failure mechanisms, such as morphological damages and lubrication failures. Alumina coatings are suitable for insulating the 52100 alloy steel samples because alumina coatings provide excellent insulation, hardness, and corrosion resistance, among other characteristics. The common method to coat an insulated alumina coating on the bearing is thermal spraying, but overspray can cause environmental issues, and the coating procedures are costly and time-consuming.

Designing an efficient vehicle coolant system depends on meeting target coolant flow rate to different components with minimum energy consumption by coolant pump. The flow resistance across different components and hoses dictates the flow supplied to that branch which can affect the effectiveness of the coolant system. Hydraulic tests are conducted to understand the system design for component flow delivery and pressure drops and assess necessary changes to better distribute the coolant flow from the pump. The current study highlights the ability of a complete 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation to effectively mimic a hydraulic test. The coolant circuit modeled in this simulation consists of an engine water-jacket, a thermostat valve, bypass valve, a coolant pump, a radiator, and flow path to certain auxiliary components like turbo charger, rear transmission oil cooler etc.

Performance of the ignition system becomes more important than ever, because of the extensively used EGR in modern spark-ignition engines. Future lean burn SI and SACI combustion modes demand even stronger ignition capability for robust ignition control. For spark-based ignition systems, extensive research has been carried out to investigate the discharge characteristics of the ignition process, including discharge current amplitude, discharge duration, spark energy, and plasma stretching. The correlation between the spark stretch and the discharge energy, as well as the impact of discharge current level on this correlation, are important with respect to both ignition performance, and ignition system design. In this paper, a constant volume combustion chamber is applied to study the impact of plasma stretch on the spark energy release process with cross-flow speed from 0 m/s up to 70 m/s.

Advanced combustion engines, as power sources, dominate all aspects of the transportation sector. Stringent emission and fuel efficiency standards have promoted the research interest in advanced combustion strategies and alternative fuels. Owing to the comparable energy density to the existing fossil fuels and renewable production, alcohol and ether fuels may be a suitable replacement, or an additive to the gasoline/diesel fuels to meet the future emission standards with minimal modification to current engine geometry. Furthermore, lean and diluted combustion are well-researched pathways for efficiency improvement and reduction of engine-out emissions of modern engines. However, lean-burn or EGR dilution can introduce combustion inefficiencies in the form of excessive hydrocarbon, carbonyl species and carbon monoxide emissions.

The heterogeneous nature of direct injection (DI) combustion yields high combustion efficiencies but harmful emissions through the formation of high nitrogen oxide (NOx) and smoke emissions. In response, extensive empirical and computational research has focused on balancing the NOx-smoke trade-off to limit diesel DI combustion emissions. Dimethyl ether (DME) fuel is applicable in DI compression ignition engines and its high fuel oxygen produces near-smoke-free emissions. Moreover, the addition of a premixed fuel can improve mixture homogeneity and minimize the DI fuel energy demands lessening injection durations. For this technique, a low reactivity fuel such as ethanol is essential to avoid early autoignition in high compression ratio engines. In this work, empirical experiments of dual fuel operation have been conducted using premixed ethanol with high-pressure direct injection DME.

A novel surrogate model is presented, which predicts the engine-out Particle Number (PN) emissions of a light-duty, spray-guided, turbo-charged, GDI engine. The model is developed through extensive CFD analysis, carried out using the Siemens Simcenter STAR-CD, and considers a range of part-load operating conditions and single-variable sweeps where control parameters such as start of injection and injection pressure are varied in isolation. The work is attached to the Ford-led APC6 DYNAMO project, which aims to improve efficiency and reduce harmful emissions from the next generation of gasoline engines. The CFD work focused on the air exchange, fuel spray and mixture preparation stages of the engine cycle. A combined Rosin-Rammler and Reitz-Diwakar model, calibrated over a wide range of injection pressure, is used to model fuel atomization and secondary droplets break-up.

NVH problems are often the result of mechanisms that originate through complex interactions between different physical domains (flow, structural/mechanical, control logic, etc.). Parallel-shaft spur gears subject to light torque loading caused by the dynamic pressure fluctuation of the oil used in engine accessory or transmission pump drives are likely to exhibit unusual gear whine associated with higher order meshing harmonics, even when the tooth profile has a high-quality grade finishing. Therefore, accurate integrated models are becoming a requirement to solve modern NVH problems.