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In this study, a novel selective matching logic for a wheel/tire is proposed, to decrease the vehicle driving vibration caused by wheel/tire non-uniformity. The new logic was validated through matching simulation/in-line matching evaluation. A theoretical radial force variation model was established by considering the theoretical model of the existing references and the wheel/tire assembly mechanism. The model was validated with ZF’s high-speed uniformity equipment, which is standard in the tire industry. The validity of the new matching logic was verified through matching simulation and mass production in-line evaluation. In conclusion, the novel logic presented herein was demonstrated to effectively decrease the radial force variation caused by the wheel/tire.

In recent years, the automotive industry has been making efforts to develop vehicles that satisfy customers’ emotions rather than malfunctions by improving the durability of vehicles. The durability and reliability of vehicles sold in the U.S. can be determined through the VDS (Vehicle Dependability Study) published by JD Power. The VDS is index which is the number of complaints per 100 units released by J.D. POWER in every year. It investigates customers who have used it for 3 years after purchasing a new car and consists of 177 specific problems grouped into 8 categories such as PT, ACEN, FCD, Exterior. The VDS-4 has been strengthened since the introduction of the new evaluation system VDS-5 in 2015. In order to improve the VDS index, it is important to gather various customer complaints such as internet data, warranty data, Enprecis data and clarify the problem and cause. Enprecis data is survey of customer complaints by on-line in terms of VDS.

The power trunk lid system is a device that automatically opens and closes the trunk lid by motor, for the purpose to improve user’s convenience. This technology was applied only to high-end large cars such as Equus and Genesis. But as preference for high convenience features increases, the scope of application is gradually expanding to semi-large and mid-sized cars. Therefore, the necessity of securing profitability through cost reduction was emerged, and it made us to develop the power trunk lid system by spindle drives. Compared to the conventional swing arm drive type, the spindle drive type may achieve cost savings, lightness and easy of assembly by optimizing the required motor specifications. However, since it uses a planetary gear with high gear ratio and the high rotation speed of the motor, operating noise is relatively large.

For making metal touch feeling and lighting simultaneously, selective electroplating is widely applied in button, panel and etc. in interior/exterior parts of automotive. In this paper, new selective electroplating with printing are suggested as an alternative manufacturing process of two shot molding, PC (Polycarbonate) and ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene). Manufacturing process of selective electroplating with printing is as follows: For preventing to plate metal layer in area of letter or symbol, masking ink is printed on parts, button, panel, etc., with electroplatable PC+ABS. After conventional electroplating process, the part has electroplated metal layer except for the printed area. It had been studied the composition of ink and PC+ABS for obtaining skip plating and light transmittance on printed area.

In this paper, we focused on the robust wiping performance of high speed driven condition as an important situation for vehicle safety. Frist, we selected appropriate wiper performance parameter to accurately predict its ability not only systematic point but also vehicle point. Second, we obtained parameter sensitivity of wiper high-speed performance using DFSS technique. Third, we developed prediction and optimization tool using commercial program; Excel and Visual Basic. Finally, we improved our tool to compare vehicle test and then modified prediction coefficient for the accuracy of tool. Thus, we proposed a systematic tool to predict wiping performance in high speed vehicle, and successfully obtained efficiency when we developed the new project’s wiper performance.

The weight reduction of the car suspension parts has a direct influence on the ride and handling. However, the application of nonferrous metal materials, such as aluminum and magnesium, which results in a lighter weight of the suspension can lead to an increase in manufacturing costs compared to cast iron. In this study, vertical type high-pressure die casting using by electro-magnetic stirring (EMS) with A356 alloy in the sleeve was used to control the fine microstructure. Process optimization and part development, as well as unit product and automotive assessment were carried out for electro-magnetic stirring methods. Without making the slurry, the mechanical properties were obtained through optimization of process variables UTS 320MPa, YS 239MPa, EL 13.3%. It also succeeded in mass production with minimum cost increase of aluminum suspension components.

In general, driving performance is developed to meet preference of average customers. But there is no single standardized guideline which can satisfy various driving tastes of all drivers whose gender, cultural background, and age are different. To resolve this issue, automotive companies have introduced drive mode buttons which drivers can manually select from Normal, Eco, and Sport driving modes. Although this multi-mode manual systems is more efficient than single-mode system, it is in a transient state where drivers need to go through troubles of frequently selecting their preferred drive mode in volatile driving situations It is also doubtful whether the three-categorized driving mode can meet complex needs of drivers.. In order to settle these matters, it is necessary to analyze individual driving style automatically and to provide customized driving performance service in real time.

The subject of this study is a centrifugal compressor for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV). Recently there is a growing interest in FCEVs since they are considered a realistic solution to environmental regulations for passenger cars to reduce emissions. Water vapor is the only byproduct of a reaction in the Proton Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack which generates electricity with oxygen from the surrounding air and hydrogen from a fuel tank. Auxiliary systems called Balance of Plant (BOP) serve to provide air and hydrogen to the stack in a correct ratio. The compressor is one of key components of this system because compression of the intake air brings an increase in efficiency and power density of the FCEV. This paper presents the characteristics of a 10 kW class centrifugal compressor with an oil-free bearing system. It consists of a shaft, two airfoil journal bearings and a pair of thrust bearings.

The method of Front End Auxiliary Drive (FEAD) system optimization can be divided into two ways. One is to use a mechanical device that decouples crank pulley from torsional vibration of crank shaft by using characteristics of spring. The other is to control belt tension through auto-tensioner in addition of alternator pulley device. Because the former case has more potential to reduce belt tension than the latter case, the development of mechanically decoupled crank pulley, despite of its difficulty of development, is getting popular among the industry. This paper characterizes latest crank pulley technologies, Crank Decoupler and Isolation Pulley, for torsional vibration reduction through functionality measurement result which composed of irregularity, slip, tensioner movement, belt span vibration, bearing hubload of idler and so on. Also it investigates their potential of belt tension reduction through steady state point fuel consumption test on dynamometer.

In terms of reducing the gear noise of automatic transmission, improvement of heat treatment distortion of the annulus gear is very important, because annulus gear is very sensitive heat treatment due to thin walled ring-like shape. Nitriding is very effective method to meet the both requirements for heat treatment distortion and durability of the annulus gear, as compared with conventional carburizing. However, conventional nitriding has problems to be applied for annulus gear, such as brittleness of compound layer and low adhesion strength between compound layer and matrix. In this research, we developed the high toughness nitriding and greatly improved the problems as mentioned above, by controlling gas pressure and temperature.

As automotive technology has been developed, gear whine has become a prominent contributor for cabin noise as the masking has been decreased. Whine is not the loudest source, but it is of high tonal noise which is often highly unpleasant. The gear noise originates at gear mesh. Transmission Error acts as an excitation source and these vibrations pass through gears, shafts and bearings to the housing which vibrates to produce noise on surrounding air. As microgeometry optimization target to reduce the fundamental excitation source of the noise, it has been favored method to tackle gear whine noise, especially for manual transmission. However, practicality of microgeometry optimization for the planetary gear system has been still in question, because of complex system structure and interaction among multi mesh gear sets make it hard to predict and even harder to improve. In this paper, successful case of whine noise improvement by microgeometry is presented.

3D digital human modeling (DHM) tools for vehicle packaging facilitate ergonomic design and evaluation based on anthropometry, comfort, and force analysis. It is now possible to quickly predict postures and positions for drivers with selected anthropometry based on ergonomics principles. Despite their powerful visual representation technology for human movements and postures, these tools are still questioned with regard to the validity of the output they provide, especially when predictions are made for different populations. Driving postures and positions of two populations (i.e. North Americans and Koreans) were measured in actual and mock-up SUVs to investigate postural differences and evaluate the results provided by a DHM tool. No difference in driving postures was found between different stature groups within the same population. Between the two populations, however, preferred angles differed for three joints (i.e., ankle, thigh, and hip).

A study for improving the resistance to fretting corrosion of SCr 420 pinion gear was conducted. Fretting is the damage to contacting surfaces experiencing slight relative reciprocating sliding motion of low amplitude. Fretting corrosion is the fretting damage to unlubricated contacting surfaces accompanied by corrosion, mostly oxidation that occurs if the fretting occurs in air. Two kinds of conventional heat treatment and a newly designed one suggested for improving the resistance to the fretting corrosion of pinion gear were compared each other to find out what is the main factor for generating fretting corrosion phenomenon. Increased carbon potential at both the heating and diffusing zone and reduced time of tempering was found out to be a solution for improving the resistance to fretting corrosion of forged and heat treated gear steel. On the contrary, modified carbo-nitriding using ammonia gas has been getting worse the fretting corrosion problem.

The achievement of improved NVH performance with light weighted body and low cost is very important, but difficult job to be accomplished in vehicle development. One of the various methods for the accomplishment of this goal is the optimization of the stiffness attached to a vehicle body and chassis. It is known that sufficient stiffness at the body attachments improves the flexibility of bushing rate tuning. In this paper, the theoretical consideration and analysis tool to estimate local stiffness value quantitatively are introduced. Also, the local stiffness values at various attachment locations in trimmed body are measured. The operational forces at body attachments are estimated through the TPA (Transfer Path Analysis). The suitability of attachment stiffness is judged based on the required NVH target to attain the optimal attachment stiffness in vehicle body.

In order to cope with new exhaust emission regulations, automotive industry is interested in research and development of HSDI (High Speed Direct Injection) diesel engines with common rail systems. Since HSDI diesel engine operates under highly loaded condition due to increased power output, cylinder head of HSDI diesel engine is susceptible to high cycle fatigue cracks. In this study, FE analysis was used to find the mechanism of high cycle fatigue crack in the HSDI diesel cylinder head. In order to improve the durability of HSDI diesel cylinder head, the modifications of cylinder head and head bolt pre-load were investigated. Experiments were performed to prove the existence of residual stress created during the heat treatment of cylinder head. The results of experiments showed that residual stress can affect the durability of HSDI diesel cylinder head.

The tube hydroforming technology (THF) has been extensively used as auto-body structural members such as engine cradle, frame rail etc. in order to meet the urgent need of vehicle weight and cost reduction as well as high quality. In this paper we experimentally investigate the mechanical properties for hydroformed tubes with various bulging strains under the plane strain mode. Axial compression tests for hydroformed tubes are performed to investigate the collapse load and collapse absorption capacity through the collapse load-displacement curves. Moreover the collapse absorption capacities are compared and discussed between as-received, hydroformed, and press formed tubes. Results demonstrate that the hydroformed tubes show higher collapse absorption capability in comparison with the as-received tube and the press formed tube, because of its high yield strength due to strain hardening.

To achieve a mass goal and minimize the bell mouthing phenomenon of Passenger Air Bag Housing which takes place when the air bag is in explosive action and detrimental to the safety of passenger side because excessive canister bell mouthing may distort and crash the top surface of instrument panel, a study on the replacing process of a PAB housing to a different material and process was performed. The explosive action of current steel PAB housing was firstly analized to evaluate the reaction forces transferred through the PAB and find out the adaptable material for replacing process. Due to the properties among the die casting alloys, the AM60B alloy was chosen for our new material for PAB housing. Then, stress analysis by the finite element method was performed for a design modification of magnesium one piece housing.

A new technique of heat treatment is developed for the bearings of automotive transmission and chassis to maximize their service life under contaminated and severe environments. This study demonstrates an improvement of the microstructure of bearing steels by applying special heat treatments. The microstructure is developed by optimizing various heat treating parameters (temperature, cycle time and gas atmosphere, etc.) as well as by modifying the quenching processes (double quenching and press quenching). We obtained a desirable microstructure of dense and fine martensite with optimum levels of retained austenite and compressive residual stress on the subsurface. The size and distribution of carbides and grains are found to be very fine and homogeneous. The endurance test results show that the specimens with new treatment have an excellent fatigue life compared with the conventional bearing samples.