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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficiency of a quarter car semi-active suspension system with the state-derivative feedback controller using the Bouc-Wen model for magneto-rheological fluids. The magnetorheological (MR) dampers are classified as adaptive devices because of their characteristics can be easily modified by applying a controlled voltage signal. Semi-active suspension with MR dampers combines the benefits of active and passive suspension systems. The dynamic system captures the basic performance of the suspension, including seat travel distance, body acceleration, passenger acceleration, suspension travel distance, dynamic tire deflection and damping force. With minimal reliance on the use of sensors, the investigation aims to improve ride comfort and vehicle stability. In this study, the state derivative feedback controller and Genetic algorithm (GA) is utilized to improve the performance of semi-active suspension system.

Proportional integral derivative (PID) control technique is a famous and cost-effective control strategy, in real implementation, applied in various engineering applications. Also, the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is extensively applied in various industrial problems. This paper addresses the usage of the ACO algorithm to tune the PID controller gains for a semi-active heavy vehicle suspension system integrated with cabin and seat. The magnetorheological (MR) damper is used in main suspension as a semi-active device to enhance the ride comfort and vehicle stability. The proposed semi-active suspension consists of a system controller that calculate the desired damping force using a PID controller tuned using ACO, and a continuous state damper controller that predict the input voltage that is required to track the desired damping force.

In this paper, semi-active MR main suspension system based on system controller design to minimize pitch motion linked with MR-controlled seat suspension by considering driver’s biodynamics is investigated. According to a fixed footprint tire model, the transmitted tire force is determined. The linear-quadratic Gaussian (LQG) system controller is able to enhance ride comfort by adjusting damping forces based on an evaluation of body vibration from the dynamic responses. The controlled damping forces are tracked by the signum function controllers to evaluate the supply voltages for the front and rear MR dampers. Based on the sprung mass acceleration level and its derivative as the inputs, the optimal type-2 (T-2) fuzzy seat system controller is designed to regulate the controlled seat MR damper force.

The anti-lock brake system (ABS) is a vital system in modern vehicles that prevents automotive wheels from locking during an emergency brake. This paper aims to introduce an efficient, optimized proportional integral derivative (PID) controller tuned using a genetic algorithm (GA) to enhance the performance of ABS. The PID control method is a very famous control algorithm employed in numerous engineering applications. The GA is used to solve the nonlinear optimization problem and search for the optimum PID controller gains by identifying the solution to the problem. A mathematical model of ABS is derived and simulated using Matlab and Simulink software. The proposed optimized PID-controlled ABS is compared to the conventional ABS controlled using a Bang-Bang controller. System performance criteria are evaluated and assessed under different road adhesion coefficient values to judge the success of the proposed PID controller tuned using GA.

This research aims to model and assess autonomous vehicle controller while including a four-wheel steering and longitudinal speed control. Such a modeling process simulates human driver behavior with consideration of real vehicle dynamics’ characteristics during standard maneuvers. However, a four-wheel steering control improves vehicle stability and maneuverability as well. A three-degree of freedom bicycle model, lateral deviation, yaw angle, and longitudinal speed is constructed to describe vehicle dynamics’ behavior. Moreover, a comprehensive traction model is implemented which includes an engine, automatic transmission, and non-linear magic formula tire model for simulation of vehicle longitudinal dynamics. A combination of proportional integral derivative (PID) longitudinal controller and fuzzy lateral controller are implemented simultaneously to track the desired vehicle path while minimizing lateral deviation and yaw angle errors.

The previous research work on Active Independent Front Steering (AIFS) system concluded an enhanced vehicle response and tire adhesion utilization. Some research emphasizes the importance of Tire Work load (TWL) in the generation of maximum possible tire forces that ensures vehicle controllability and stability. In this study, a mathematical model is constructed to investigate the effect of TWL as a parameter on AIFS performance. Toward such a target, a new Fuzzy control strategy is developed based on TWL and vehicle yaw rate as control inputs for the AIFS controller. Unfortunately, the TWL is not a measurable parameter or even easy to be estimated. Consequently, another control strategy was implemented based on slip angle and vehicle yaw rate as inputs for the AIFS controller.

1 Rear wheel drive vehicles have a long driveline using a propeller shaft with two universal joints. Consequently, in this design usage of universal joints within vehicle driveline is inevitable. However, the angularity of the driveshaft resulting from vertical oscillations of the rear axle causes many torsional and bending fluctuations of the driveline. Unfortunately, most of the previously published research work in this area assume the propeller inclination angle is constant under all operating conditions. As a matter of fact, this assumption is not accurate due to the vehicle body attitudes either in pitch or bounce motions. Where the vehicle vibration due to the suspension flexibility, either passive or active type, exists.

The latest developments in the engine’s design aim to maximize the power output, downsize the engine, and minimize the fuel consumption. This paper investigates the thermomechanical loads on the piston of a turbocharged diesel engine. The main emphasis is the effect of increasing the boosting pressure on the piston loading until the possible maximum engine power is achieved. Also, it proposes the modification of the piston design in order to increase the durability for more power loading and decrease the total mass. The temperature distribution on the piston body, the corresponding thermomechanical deformations, the stress distribution, and the safety factor is excessively calculated. Finite element methods (ANSYS workbench) is used to analyze the thermomechanical loads applied to a three-dimensional model. The study is applied to the piston of a 300 hp diesel engine (base case) in order to increase the engine power by 17% (upgraded one).

In this article, an experimental investigation on octane boosting was performed using a renewable material. A fully instrumented research spark-ignition engine, Ricardo E6/MS, was used to perform the experiments. This experimental work was achieved to reveal the effect of Jojoba bio-gasoline, as an octane booster, and its effect on basic gasoline specifications. Therefore different blends of basic gasoline (a mixture of reformate and isomerated gasoline) and Jojoba bio-gasoline were prepared. Also, the influences of using such blends on the performance and emissions at various operating conditions, as well as the engine knock and pre-ignition were intensively examined. The investigation revealed that boosted gasoline with a research octane number of 90, 92, and 95 can be obtained by blending basic gasoline with 13, 16, and 20.9% of Jojoba bio-gasoline, respectively.

The cottonseed oil, soybean oil and their methyl esters have been used as a pilot fuels for dual fuel engine running on the LPG as the main fuel. A variable compression research diesel engine has been converted to run on dual fuel of LPG and a pilot fuel derived from the renewable liquid fuels above. The engine has been instrumented to measure the combustion pressure, crank angles, exhaust temperature, flow rates of air, pilot fuel and gaseous fuel. The effects of changing the following parameters have been studied: the mass of pilot fuel, the mass of gaseous fuel, the pilot fuel injection timing, engine speed and the pilot fuel type. Five different pilot fuels has been tested here namely the cottonseed raw oil, the cottonseed methyl ester, the soybean raw oil, the soybean methyl ester and the diesel fuel as a reference fuel.

In this paper, a nonlinear semi-active vehicle suspension system using MR fluid dampers is investigated to enhance ride comfort and vehicle stability. Fuzzy logic and fuzzy self-tuning PID control techniques are applied as system controllers to compute desired front and rear damping forces in conjunction with a Signum function method damper controller to assess force track-ability of system controllers. The suggested fuzzy self-tuning PID operates fuzzy system as a PID gains tuner to mitigate the vehicle vibration levels and achieve excellent performance related to ride comfort and vehicle stability. The equations of motion of four-degrees-of-freedom semi-active half-vehicle suspension system incorporating MR dampers are derived and simulated using Matlab/Simulink software.

In the present article, the knock tendency and pre-ignition resistance (PIR) were determined experimentally for different blends of kerosene and jojoba bio-gasoline. The effects of varying equivalence ratios, rotational speed, inlet air temperature and pressure, and ignition timing on knock tendency and PIR were investigated. The influence of compression ratio on PIR was also studied. Jojoba bio-gasoline was synthesized using transesterification method through performing a chemical reaction between well-stirred jojoba raw oil and alcohol. Experiments were carried out on a Ricardo E6/MS variable compression ratio spark-ignition (SI) engine fuelled by jojoba bio-gasoline/kerosene blends of volumetric percentages of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% jojoba bio-gasoline. The onset of pre-ignition and knock were detected by observing the pressure oscillations using a piezoelectric pressure transducer, a synchronizing magnetic sensor, and a degree-marking probe.

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is effective, popular and cost effective for a lot of scientific and engineering applications. In this paper, PID and fuzzy-self-tuning PID (FSTPID) controllers are applied to improve the performance of an active seat suspension system to enhance the pregnant woman comfort. The equations of motion of thirteen-degrees-of-freedom (13-DOF) active seat suspension system incorporating pregnant woman body model are derived and simulated. PID gains are tuned and estimated using genetic algorithm (GA) to formulate GA PID controller. In FSTPID, fuzzy logic technique is used to tune PID controller gains by selecting appropriate fuzzy rules using Matlab/Simulink software. Both controlled active seat suspension systems are compared with a passive seat suspension. Suspension performance is evaluated under bump and random road excitations in order to verify the success of the proposed controllers.

A non-linear mathematical model of a semi-active (2DOF) vehicle suspension using a magnetorheological (MR) damper with information concerning the road profile ahead of the vehicle is proposed in this paper. The semi-active vibration control system using an MR damper consists of two nested controllers: a system controller and a damper controller. The fuzzy logic technique is used to design the system controller based on both the dynamic responses of the suspension and the Padé approximation algorithm method of a preview control to evaluate the desired damping force. In addition, look-ahead preview of the excitations resulting from road irregularities is used to quickly mitigate the effect of the control system time delay on the damper response.

In this paper, a fuzzy-PID controller is applied in a half vehicle active suspension system to enhance vibration levels of vehicle chassis and passenger seat. The fuzzy-PID controller consists of fuzzy and PID connecting in a series manner, the fuzzy output is considered as the PID input. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is selected to tune controller parameters to obtain optimal values that minimize the objective function. The equations of motion of five-degrees-of-freedom active half-vehicle suspension system are derived and simulated using Matlab/Simulink software. Double bumps and random road excitations are used to study the performance of suspension systems including bounce and pitch motion. The performance of the active suspension system using optimized fuzzy-PID controller is compared with conventional passive to show the efficiency of the proposed active suspension system.

The present work investigates the effect of magnetorheological fluid (MRF) on limited slip differential (LSD) system for automotive applications to improve torque distribution which influences traction and maneuverability. The proposed differential system uses a magnetorheological fluid which permits to control the locking torque effectively and then improve the vehicle traction characteristics. To evaluate the proposed system, a prototype model involves some rotating clutches submerged in MRF associated with an electromagnet coil was built. Experimental tests were carried out in two cases, first case by applying mechanical force on the friction clutches and the second by applying magnetic field to change the MRF viscosity. The yield stress of MRF depends on the magnetic field applied by the electromagnet by varying electric current. The controllable yield stress generates friction force on the rotating clutches surfaces to transmit torque.

Gear fault diagnosis is important in the vibration monitoring of any rotating machine. When a localized fault occurs in gears, the vibration signals always display non-stationary behavior. In early stage of gear failure, the gear mesh frequency (GMF) contains very little energy and is often overwhelmed by noise and higher-level macro-structural vibrations. An effective signal processing method would be necessary to remove such corrupting noise and interference. This paper presents the value of optimal wavelet function for early detection of faulty gear. The Envelope Detection (ED) and the Energy Operator are used for gear fault diagnosis as common techniques with and without the proposed optimal wavelet to verify the effectiveness of the optimal wavelet function. Kurtosis values are determined for the previous techniques as an indicator parameter for the ability of early gear fault detection. The comparative study is applied to real vibration signals.

The thermal performance of an ammonia-water-hydrogen absorption refrigeration system using the waste exhaust gases of an internal combustion diesel engine as energy source was investigated experimentally. An automotive engine was tested in a bench test dynamometer, with the absorption refrigeration system adapted to the exhaust pipe via a heat exchanger. The engine was tested for different torques (15 N.m, 30 N.m, and 45 N.m). The exhaust gas flow to the heat exchanger built on the generator was controlled manually using two control valves. The refrigerator reached a steady state temperature between 10 and 14.5°C about 3.5 hours after system start up, depending on engine load. The maximum coefficient of performance was 0.10 obtained for the controlled exhaust mass flow case at torque 30 Nm after 3hrs from system startup.

Integral Control strategy for vehicle chassis systems had been of great interest for vehicle designers in the last decade. This paper represents the interaction of longitudinal control and lateral control. In other words the traction control system and handling control system. Definitely, tire properties are playing a vital role in such interaction as it is responsible for the generated forces in both directions. A seven degrees of freedom half vehicle model is derived and used to investigate this interaction. The vehicle body is represented as a rigid body with three degrees of freedom, lateral and longitudinal, and yaw motions. The other four degrees are the two rotation motion of the front wheel and the rear wheel. This two motions for each wheel are spin motion and the steering motion. The traction controller is designed to modulate engine torque through adjusting the throttle angle of the engine upon utilized adhesion condition at the driving road wheels.

Recently, the control of traffic flow has been proposed using several types of criteria (e.g. minimum-time control, minimum fuel control and so on). Most recently, an environmental noise pollution problem caused by the road traffic is being aggravated more and more by the consolidation and expansion of roadway system particularly in urban areas. However, the objective of this paper is to control road traffic flow by regulating traffic noise propagation in an urban area in Cairo city. The results of traffic noise prediction obtained by trending of the experimental data collecting by systematic noise measurement and the evaluation of the traffic noise which is in close connection with physical parameters of traffic flow and noise propagation characteristics is presented. The analysis of road traffic flow noise control is based on the mixed integer non-linear programming technique, where the optimal control strategy is used.