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Range anxiety is one of the major factors to be dealt with for increasing penetration of EVs in current Automotive market. The major reasons for range anxiety for customers are sparse charging infrastructure availability, limited range of Electric vehicles and range uncertainty due to diverse real-world usage conditions. The uncertainty in real world range can be reduced by increasing the correlation between the testing condition during vehicle development and real-world customer usage condition. This paper illustrates a more accurate test methodology development to derive the real-world range in electric vehicles with experimental validation and system level analysis. A test matrix is developed considering several variables influencing vehicle range like different routes, drive modes, Regeneration levels, customer drive behavior, time of drive, locations, ambient conditions etc.

As we all know, automotive headliners are an essential component of any car’s interior as they cover all the internal components and provide a clean and finished look. Headliners not only increase the aesthetic appeal of a car’s interior, but also acts as an insulation and sound absorption source. As per the latest Government norms, Curtain Airbag (henceforth called as CAB) has been made mandatory and this change calls for the corresponding changes in the Headliner packaging of all passenger vehicles. In general, curtain air-bag deployment calls for a twist open of Headliner at lateral sides (a portion below Hinge-line) during the deployment. This enables the inflated airbag to flow inside the passenger cabin to protect the passenger from any injury. Conventionally no components are packaged below the hinge-line area of headliner to avoid obstruction for CAB deployment and any part fly-off concerns.

The increasing demand for higher specific power, fuel economy, Operating Costs as well as meeting global emission norms have become the driving factors of today’s product development in the automotive market. Substitution of high-density materials and more precise adjustment of material parameters help in significant weight decrease, but it is accompanied by undesirable cost increase and manufacturing complexity. This becomes a challenge for every automotive engineer to balance the above parameters to make a highly competitive design. This work is a part of the Design and Development of 2.2 L, 4 Cylinder TCIC Diesel Engine for a whole new vehicle platform, concentrated on automotive passenger car operation. This paper explains the selection of a suitable cylinder head gasket technology for a lightweight engine that acts as a sealing interface between the cylinder block and cylinder head.

Model based calibration is extensively used by the automotive OEMs (Original Equipment manufacturers) because of its correlation accuracy with test data and freezing the operating parameters such as injection timings, EGR rates, fuel quantity etc. The prediction of Brake specific Fuel consumption (BSFC), Exhaust and intake temperatures are very close to test data. The prediction of Brake specific NOx is directionally reliable with acceptable tolerance.

The emission norms around the world are continuously changing and getting stringent with every revision. India is on its way to make its emission norms at par with that prevailing in the developed nations. The cold-start condition is an important factor affecting vehicle emissions from gasoline direct injection (GDI) and port fuel injection (PFI) vehicles. In this paper, the effects of change in torque converter losses on emissions are experimentally investigated in a TGDI AT vehicle. The instant engagement of the torque converter puts a sudden load on the engine and thus affects its stability. Thus, to overcome the stability issue, Engine Torque has to be simultaneously increased for smooth engagement. As a result, the likelihood of the slightly leaner air-fuel mixture in the cylinder, which results in higher NOx formation, is much greater in an AT vehicle than that of a similar MT vehicle.

The SAE J1100 based standard cargo volume index methods and predefined luggage objects are very specific to United States population. The European luggage volume calculation and standard luggage calculations are primarily based on DIN and ISO standards. Luggage volume declaration by manufacturers are based on any of these methods. The calculations are complicated and there is a possibility of declaring different values for similar luggage compartments. The major purchase decision of vehicle is based on its luggage capacity and current methods are very limited to make an intelligent decision by a customer. Market specific customer usage patterns for luggage requirements and protecting them in vehicle architecture upfront in concept stage is important to retain the market position and buying preference of customers. The usage patterns is collected from customer clinics and marketing inputs.

With the increase in the number of automobiles on road, there is a very strong emphasis on reducing the air pollution which led to evolution of stringent emission norms. To meet these stringent emission norms, the ideal solution is to optimize the engine hardware and the combustion system to reduce the emission at source thereby reducing the dependency on exhaust after treatment system. Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines are gaining popularity worldwide as they provide a balance between fun to drive and fuel efficiency. Controlling the particle emissions especially Particle Number (PN) is a challenge in GDI engines due to the nature of its combustion system. In this study, experiments were performed on a 1.2Litre 3-cylinder 250bar GDI engine to capture the effect of injection strategies on PN.

A major challenge for combustion engine development is to optimize the engine for improved fuel economy, reduce greenhouse gases. Stringent CAFÉ and emission norms require the customer to pay higher capital on vehicles. To offset the cost of ownership- cheaper and alternative energy sources are being explored. Ethanol blend with regular Gasoline, and CNG are such alternative fuels. Reducing the consumption of Gasoline also helps India’s dependence on import of crude oil. The study was carried on turbo-charged gasoline direct injection engine. The effect of ethanol on engine and vehicle performance is estimated and simulated numerically. The work is split into three stages: first the base 1D engine performance model was calibrated to match the experimental data. In parallel, vehicle level Simulink model was built and calibrated to match the NEDC cycle performance.

With the exponential advancement in technological features of automobile’s EE architecture, designing of power distribution unit becomes complex and challenging. Due to the increase in the number of features, the overall weight of power distribution unit increases and thereby affecting the overall system cost and fuel economy. The scope of this document is to scale down the weight and space of the power distribution unit without compromising with the current performance. The concept of next generation power distribution unit in automobiles is achieved using miniaturization of its sub-components which involves replacing the mini fuses and JCASE fuses with LP mini and LP JCASE fuses respectively. The transition doesn’t involve any tooling modification and hence saves the tooling cost. Furthermore, to address stringent weight and space targets, LP mini fuses and LP JCASE fuses were further replaced with micro-2 fuse and M-case fuse respectively.

The maximum power produced by the Engine is utilized in overcoming the Aerodynamic resistance while the remaining has been used to overcome rolling and climbing resistance. Increasing emission and performance demands paves way for advanced technologies to improve fuel efficiency. One such way of increasing the fuel efficiency is to reduce the aerodynamic drag of the vehicle. Buses emerged as the common choice of transport for people in India. By improving the aerodynamic drag of the Buses, the diesel consumption of a vehicle can be reduced by nearly about 10% without any upgradation of the existing engine. Though 60 to 70 % of pressure loads act on the frontal surface area of the buses, the most common techniques of reducing the drag in buses includes streamlining of the surfaces, minimizing underbody losses, reduced frontal area, pressure difference between the front & rear area and minimizing of flow separation & wake regions.

Stringent emission legislations increase the significance of emission reduction through crankcase ventilation systems in combustion engines. Oil mist separation efficiency of the CCV systems directly impacts the emissions of diesel engines. The CCV systems retain the oil with soot and carbon particles and return them to the oil sump. CCV thus reduces engine oil consumption and emissions. Contemporary technology enables usage of highly efficient CCV systems. However, the filtration efficiency of the CCV system is limited to keep crankcase pressure under limits. Oil particles which escape from CCV system result in soot deposit on turbocharger compressor leading to deterioration of turbocharger performance. Performance variation of turbocharger has a substantial impact on engine emissions. Therefore, it is essential to understand the effect of CCV system design and different engine operating conditions which accelerate the Oil mist deposits on turbocharger Compressor.

The present scenario in automobile industry is formed on developing smart vehicles by introducing various feature towards fuel efficient, low emission, weight reduction, and advance safety feature with hybrid and micro-hybrid vehicles. One such feature gaining more popularity is the Belt Driven Starter Generator [1] for its contribution towards fuel efficiency, emission reduction [2], weight reduction and convenient packaging with engine/electrical interface. However this invention puts challenge of integration and increase in loading to various system like power steering pump and crank shaft pulley, as all these systems are interlinked with a common belt. In this interface links we observed the steering pump hub under risk of structural failure due to additional load to support Belt Driven Starter Generator. Failure to identify safe limits of hub load can affect safe vehicle operation [3].

In the past few decades, improvement on fuel efficient technologies have progressed rapidly, whereas little emphasis is being made on how the vehicle should be driven. Driving habits significantly influences fuel consumption and poor driving habits leads to increased fuel consumption. In this paper a new system called “Green Drive” is being presented wherein driving habits are closely monitored, evaluated and details are systematically presented to the user. Green Drive system monitors key driving parameters like speed, gear selection, acceleration, unwanted engine idling periods, aggressive braking and clutch override and presents an ecoscore on the infotainment system which is reflection of users driving behavior. The system also offers guidance on the scope for improving driving habits to achieve better ecoscore and hence reduced fuel consumption.

Hybrid powertrains generally involve adding an electric propulsion system to an existing internal combustion engine powertrain. Due to their reduced emissions, no reliance on public infrastructure and acceptable cost of ownership, hybrids are seen as a feasible intermediate step to deliver clean and affordable transportation for the masses. Such systems are immensely complex due to the number of interplaying systems and advanced control strategies used to deliver optimum performance under widely varying loads. Resonant torsional impacts arise out of the interactions due to rotational speed variations providing impulses at specific frequencies to the spinning inertias connected by members of finite stiffness. The effects, depending on the magnitude and duration of the impacts range from unacceptably harsh vibrations to catastrophic component failure.

The excitation to a vehicle is from two sources, road excitation and powertrain excitation. Vehicle Suspension is designed to isolate the road excitation coming to passenger cabin. Powertrain mounts play a vital role in isolating the engine excitation. The current study focuses on developing an analytical approach using Low-Fidelity computer programs to design the Powertrain Mount layout and stiffness during the initial stage of product development. Three programs have been developed as a part of this study that satisfy the packaging needs, NVH requirements and static load bearing requirements. The applications are capable of providing the Kinetic Energy Distribution and Static Analysis (Powertrain Enveloping and Mount Durability) for 3-point and 4-point mounting systems and the ideal mount positions and stiffness for 3-point mounting systems.

Development of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) is gaining traction across all geographies to help meet increasing fuel economy regulations and as a pathway to offset concerns due to climate change. But HEVs and EVs have so far been a nascent market for India. These technologies have primarily shifted towards Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) for energy storage due to its high energy and power densities. In order to make actual business sense of these technologies, of which, battery is a major cost driver, it is necessary for these batteries to provide similar performance and life expectancy across the operating boundary of the vehicles, as well as provide the requirements at a competitive cost. In other words, the LIBs have to sustain the normal life cycle requirements and withstand wide range of storage temperatures that the conventional gasoline/diesel vehicles have been good at and still ensure good life.

India's high Air Pollution level is the focus of discussions as we grow. Plans to combat this menace and implement the latest Technologies are gathering pace. The increasingly stringent emission legislations provide a continuous challenge for the non-road market. Tractor manufacturers are evaluating the need for cost-effective technology to meet upcoming stringent emissions targets. Simply following global approach may not work for Indian market considering the customer usage pattern & perceptions. With an anticipation of upcoming emission norms being based on US-EPA TIER-4 final up to 75 Hp, major technology up gradation is expected for farm equipment sold in India. The enormous diversification of engines within the different power classes as well as the operation specific requirements regarding various duty cycles, robustness and durability, requires specific solutions to meet these legal limits.

In this paper, Authors tried to investigate the influence of Low Temperature EGR (LtEGR) on NOx, PM emissions and fuel efficiency in NEDC 120 cycle. Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) less than 3.5T vehicle selected for investigation of LtEGR. The existing water cooling circuit modified to suitable to handle the LtEGR concept without changing the existing EGR cooler. Cooled EGR technology has two benefits in terms of handling high EGR ratios and more fresh air within the engine displacement. Under this assumption separate LtEGR layout was prepared for the evolution of superior EGR cooling technologies and low pressure EGR.

Batteries have become increasingly important in automotives with increase in vehicle electrical loads. Therefore the reliability of battery is a critical issue in automotive applications. It has been noticed that most batteries have limited cycle durability, that is, the total capacity drops when a battery is charged and discharged for a number of cycles. If a battery is too weak to offer sufficient energy, it should be replaced at the right time. But current problem is that there is no reliable method to quantify the capacity loss and to estimate the remaining capacity of battery. Complete discharge, which is the only way of capacity estimation, which will effect the battery plates therefore it cannot be used too frequently. This paper summarizes the experimental work in the development of the battery status estimation algorithm.

This report describes work performed jointly by Mahindra & Mahindra and IIT Delhi, including both simulations and single-cylinder engine development for three wheeler application, to quantify the effects of various parameters on the performance and NOx emission of an internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen. AVL Boost software was used to simulate the experimental conditions, by using Vibe 2-Zone combustion and Woschni heat models, together with kinetic equations for emission calculations. Developed AVL Boost Model was validated against the test result from a modified single cylinder CNG engine for three wheeler application fuelled with Hydrogen by comparing the performance and NOx emission at the same operating conditions. A good agreement was obtained between the results of the Boost Model and Experimental results.