Search Results

After-treatment sensors are used in the ECU feedback control to calibrate the engine operating parameters. Due to their contact with exhaust gases, especially NOx sensors are prone to soot deposition with a consequent decay of their performance. Several phenomena occur at the same time leading to sensor contamination: thermophoresis, unburnt hydrocarbons condensation and eddy diffusion of submicron particles. Conversely, soot combustion and shear forces may act in reducing soot deposition. This study proposes a predictive 3D-CFD model for the analysis of the development of soot deposition layer on the sensor surfaces. Alongside with the implementation of deposit and removal mechanisms, the effects on both thermal properties and shape of the surfaces are taken in account. The latter leads to obtain a more accurate and complete modelling of the phenomenon influencing the sensor overall performance.

Over the last two decades, engine research was mainly focused on reducing fuel consumption in view of compliance with more stringent homologation cycles and customer expectations. As it is well known, the objective of overall engine efficiency optimization can be achieved only through the improvement of each element of the efficiency chain, of which mechanical constitutes one of the two key pillars (together with thermodynamics). In this framework, the friction reduction for each mechanical subsystem has been one of the most important topics of modern Diesel engine development. The present paper analyzes the crankshaft potential as contributor to the mechanical efficiency improvement, by investigating the synergistic impact of crankshaft design itself and oil viscosity characteristics (including new ultra-low-viscosity formulations already discussed by the author in [1]).

Over the last two decades, engine research has been mainly focused on reducing fuel consumption in view of compliance with stringent homologation targets and customer expectations. As it is well known, the objective of overall engine efficiency optimization can be achieved only through the improvement of each element of the efficiency chain, of which mechanical constitutes one of the two key pillars (together with thermodynamics). In this framework, the friction reduction for each mechanical subsystems has been one of the most important topics of modern Diesel engine development. In particular, the present paper analyzes the lubrication circuit potential as contributor to the mechanical efficiency improvement, by investigating the synergistic impact of oil circuit design, oil viscosity characteristics (including new ultra-low formulations) and thermal management. For this purpose, a combination of theoretical and experimental tools were used.

The introduction of new light-duty vehicle emission limits to comply under real driving conditions (RDE) is pushing the diesel engine manufacturers to identify and improve the technologies and strategies for further emission reduction. The latest technology advancements on the after-treatment systems have permitted to achieve very low emission conformity factors over the RDE, and therefore, the biggest challenge of the diesel engine development is maintaining its competitiveness in the trade-off “CO2-system cost” in comparison to other propulsion systems. In this regard, diesel engines can continue to play an important role, in the short-medium term, to enable cost-effective compliance of CO2-fleet emission targets, either in conventional or hybrid propulsion systems configuration. This is especially true for large-size cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles.

Loss of power steering assist (LoA) is viewed as a potential hazard in certain vehicle operational scenarios. Despite the importance of this steering failure mode, few published test protocols for the objective or subjective evaluation of vehicle performance in a loss of assist situation exist. The first part of this paper examines five of the key steering failure modes that can result in LoA and discusses why LoA persists as a key industry challenge. The second part analyzes the situational dynamics affecting vehicle controllability during a LoA event and proposes a subjective evaluation driving course that facilitates evaluations in various LoA scenarios. A corresponding objective test procedure and metric is also proposed. These evaluation methods support consistent performance evaluation of physical vehicles while also enabling the prediction of vehicle characteristics early in the vehicle development process (VDP).

Crash safety researchers have an increased concern regarding the decreased thoracic deflection and the contributing injury causation factors among the elderly population. Sternum fractures are categorized as moderate severity injuries, but can have long term effects depending on the fragility and frailty of the occupant. Current research has provided detail on rib morphology, but very little information on sternum morphology, sternum fracture locations, and mechanisms of injury. The objective of this study is two-fold (1) quantify sternum morphology and (2) document sternum fracture locations using computed tomography (CT) scans and crash data. Thoracic CT scans from the University of Michigan Hospital database were used to measure thoracic depth, manubriosternal joint, sternum thickness and bone density. The sternum fracture locations and descriptions were extracted from 63 International Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM) crash cases, of which 22 cases had corresponding CT scans.

In this multi-phase study, fuel and lubricant effects on stochastic preignition (SPI) were examined. First, the behavior of fuels for which SPI data had previously been collected were characterized in terms of their combustion and emissions behavior, and correlations between these characteristics and their SPI behavior were examined. Second, new SPI data was collected for a matrix of fuels that was constructed to test and confirm hypotheses that resulted from interpretation of the earlier data in the study and from data in open literature. Specifically, the extent to which the presence of heavy components in the fuel affected SPI propensity, and the extent to which flame initiation propensity affected SPI propensity, were examined. Finally, the interaction of fuels with lubricants expected to exhibit a range of SPI propensities was examined.

The Deep Orange program immerses automotive engineering students into the world of an OEM as part of their 2-year graduate education. In support of developing the program’s seventh vehicle concept, the students studied the sponsoring brand essence, conducted market research, and made a heuristic assessment of competitor vehicles. The upfront research lead to the definition of target customers and setting vehicle level targets that were broken down into requirements to develop various vehicle sub-systems. The powertrain team was challenged to develop a scalable propulsion concept enabled by a common vehicle architecture that allowed future customers to select (at the point of purchase) among various levels of electrification best suiting their needs and personal desires. Four different configurations were identified and developed: all-electric, two plug-in hybrid electric configurations, and an internal combustion engine only.

In this work, an experimental and analysis methodology was developed to evaluate the preignition propensity of fuels and engine operating conditions in an SI engine. A heated glow plug was introduced into the combustion chamber to induce early propagating flames. As the temperature of the glowplug varied, both the fraction of cycles experiencing these early flames and the phasing of this combustion in the engine cycle varied. A statistical methodology for assigning a single-value to this complex behavior was developed and found to have very good repeatability. The effects of engine operating conditions and fuels were evaluated using this methodology. While this study is not directly studying the so-called stochastic preignition or low-speed preignition problem, it studies one aspect of that problem in a very controlled manner.

The paper describes the challenges and results achieved in developing a new high-speed Diesel combustion system capable of exceeding the imaginative threshold of 100 kW/l. High-performance, state-of-art prototype components from automotive diesel technology were provided in order to set-up a single-cylinder research engine demonstrator. Key design parameters were identified in terms boost, engine speed, fuel injection pressure and injector nozzle flow rates. In this regard, an advanced piezo injection system capable of 3000 bar of maximum injection pressure was selected, coupled to a robust base engine featuring ω-shaped combustion bowl and low swirl intake ports. The matching among the above-described elements has been thoroughly examined and experimentally parameterized.

Powertrain mounting systems design and development involves creating and optimizing a solution using specific mount rates and evaluation over multiple operating conditions. These mount rates become the recommended “nominal” rates in the specifications. The powertrain mounts typically contain natural materials. These properties have variation, resulting in a tolerance around the nominal specification and lead to differences in noise and vibration performance. A powertrain mounting system that is robust to this variation is desired. The design and development process requires evaluation of these mounts, within tolerance, to ensure that the noise and vibration performance is consistently met. During the hardware development of the powertrain mounting system, a library of mounts that include the range of production variation is studied. However, this is time consuming.

The quiet nature of hybrid and electric vehicles has triggered developments in research, vehicle manufacturing and legal requirements. Currently, three countries require fitting an Approaching Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) to every new car capable of driving without a combustion engine. Various other geographical areas and groups are in the process of specifying new legal requirements. In this paper, the design challenges in the on-going process of designing the sound for quiet cars are discussed. A proposal is issued on how to achieve the optimum combination of safety, environmental noise, subjective sound character and technical realisation in an iterative sound design process. The proposed sound consists of two layers: the first layer contains tonal components with their pitch rising along with vehicle speed in order to ensure recognisability and an indication of speed.

We demonstrate here an accounting of damage accrual under road loads for a filled natural rubber bushing. The accounting is useful to developers who wish to avoid the typical risks in development programs: either the risk of premature failure, or of costly overdesign. The accounting begins with characterization of the elastomer to quantify governing behaviors: stress-strain response, fatigue crack growth rate, crack precursor size, and strain crystallization. Finite Element Analysis is used to construct a nonlinear mapping between loads and strain components within each element. Multiaxial, variable amplitude strain histories are computed from road loads. Damage accrues in this reckoning via the growth of cracks. Crack growth is calculated via integration of a rate law from an initial size to a size marking end-of-life.

This is an overview of the development of a portable, real-time acoustic beamformer based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) and digital microphones for noise source identification. Microphone arrays can be a useful tool in identifying noise sources and give designers an image of noise distribution. The beamforming algorithm is a classic and efficient algorithm for signal processing of microphone arrays and is the core of many microphone array systems. High-speed real-time beamforming has not been implemented much in a portable instrument because it requires large computational resources. Utilizing a beamforming algorithm running on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), this camera is able to detect and locate both stationary and moving noise sources. A high-resolution optical camera located in the middle of the device records images at a rate of 25 frames per second. The use of the FPGA technology and digital microphones provides increased performance, reduced cost and weight.

A computational and experimental study was performed to characterize the flow within a gasoline injector and the ensuing sprays. The computations included the effects of turbulence, cavitation, flash-boiling, compressibility, and the presence of non-condensible gases. The flow domain corresponded to the Engine Combustion Network's Spray G, an eight-hole counterbore injector operating in a variety of conditions. First, a rate tube method was used to measure the rate of injection, which was then used to define inlet boundary conditions for simulation. Correspondingly, injection under submerged conditions was simulated for direct comparison with experimental measurements of discharge coefficient. Next, the internal flow and external spray into pressurized nitrogen were simulated under the base spray G conditions. Finally, injection under flashing conditions was simulated, where the ambient pressure was below the vapor pressure of the fuel.

The requirement of the start of the internal combustion engine (ICE) not only at vehicle standstill is new for full hybrid electric vehicles in comparison to conventional vehicles. However, the customer will not accept any deterioration with respect to dynamics and comfort. ICE-starting-systems and -strategies have to be designed to meet those demands. Within this research, a method was developed which allows a reproducible maneuver-based analysis of ICE-starts. In the first step, a maneuver catalogue including a customer-oriented maneuver program with appropriate analysis criteria was defined. Afterwards, the maneuvers were implemented and verified in a special test bench environment. Based on the method, two sample hybrid vehicles were benchmarked according to the maneuver catalogue. The benchmarking results demonstrate important dependencies between the criteria-based assessment of ICE-starts and the embedded ICE-starting-system and -strategy.

Within the pre-development phase of a vehicle validation process, the role of computational simulation is becoming increasingly prominent in efforts to ensure thermal safety. This gain in popularity has resulted from the cost and time advantages that simulation has compared to experimental testing. Additionally many of these early concepts cannot be validated through experimental means due to the lack of hardware, and must be evaluated via numerical methods. The Race Track Simulation (RTS) can be considered as the final frontier for vehicle thermal management techniques, and to date no coherent method has been published which provides an efficient means of numerically modeling the temperature behavior of components without the dependency on statistical experimental data.

Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are major elements in vehicle fuels. Knowledge of fuels elemental composition is helpful in addressing its performance characteristics. Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen composition is an important parameter in engine calibration affecting vehicle performance, emissions and fuel economy. Biodiesel, a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids also known as Fatty Acid Methyl Esters(FAME), derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, has become an important commercial marketplace automotive fuel in the United States (US) and around the world over last few years. FAME biodiesels have many chemical and physical property differences compared to conventional petroleum based diesel fuels. Also, the properties of biodiesel vary based on the feedstock chosen for biodiesel production. One of the key differences between petroleum diesel fuels and biodiesel is the oxygen content.

Over the past 30 years, the computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools have been applied extensively in the automotive industry. In order to accelerate time-to-market while coping with legal limits that have become increasingly restrictive over the last decades, CAE has become an indispensable tool covering all major fields in a modern automotive product design process. However, when tackling complex real-life engineering problems, the computational models might become rather involved and thus less efficient. Therefore, the overall trend in the automotive industry is currently heading towards combined approaches, which allow the best of the both worlds, namely the experimental measurement and numerical simulation, to be merged into one integrated scheme. In this paper, the so-called patch transfer function (PTF) approach is adopted to solve coupled vibro-acoustic problems. In the PTF scheme, the interfaces between fluid and structure are discretised in terms of patches.

The thermal prediction of a vehicle under-body environment is of high importance in the design, optimization and management of vehicle power systems. Within the pre-development phase of a vehicle's production process, it is important to understand and determine regions of high thermally induced stress within critical under-body components. Therefore allowing engineers to modify the design or alter component material characteristics before the manufacture of hardware. As the exhaust system is one of the primary heat sources in a vehicle's under-body environment, it is vital to predict the thermal fluctuation of surface temperatures along corresponding exhaust components in order to achieve the correct thermal representation of the overall under-body heat transfer. This paper explores a new method for achieving higher accuracy exhaust surface temperature predictions.