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In steer-by-wire (SbW) vehicles, understanding the steering rack force is essential to replicate a realistic steering feel, allowing conclusions to be drawn about road surface conditions by the decoupled manual actuator. Since internal friction varies with each steering system manufactured and installed, these models differ greatly in accuracy. This paper presents a concept for continuously calculating fluctuating friction based on the internal steering variables to avoid additional and complex individual measurements. An SbW system offers the right approach by adjusting the driver’s desired steering angle and the required motor control. The underlying steering clearance and the Kalman filter are used to calculate the steering rack force. The validity of the proposed concept is shown in drive tests according to ISO 13674 and ISO 7401 to gauge high and low friction values in different speed ranges.

Friction in tribological systems can lead to significant energy consumption and wear. While there are several dissipation mechanisms in the frictional boundary layer, the role of chemical processes is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of chemical reactions on the tribological behavior of sliding friction pairs. In order to carry out initial analyses, minimal mixtures with a few simple components and epoxy resin as a binder are developed, produced and used. A series of experiments are performed on a pin-on-disc tribometer with different minimal mixtures. Temperature and friction coefficient are measured throughout the friction process, and the rubbed surface of the samples is measured in situ. Three types of chemically inert minimal mixtures are developed in the first phase of the experiment.

The accelerated processes in vehicle development require new technologies for function development and validation. With this motivation, Function-in-the-Loop (FiL) simulation was developed as a link between Software-in-the-Loop (SiL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) simulation. The combination of real Electronic Control Unit (ECU) hardware and software in conjunction with virtual components is very well suited for function development and testing. This approach opens up new possibilities for mechatronic systems that would otherwise require special test benches. For this reason, an Electric Power Steering (EPS) was transferred to a virtual environment using FiL simulation. This enables a wide range of applications, from EPS testing to the development of connected driving functions on an integrated platform. Right from the early development phases, the technology can be used purposefully with short integration cycles.

Future heavy-duty (HD) concepts should fulfill very tight tail-pipe NOx emissions and simultaneously fulfill the fuel efficiency targets. In current HD Euro VII discussions, real working cycles become key to ensure emission conformity. For instance, cold start and cold ambient conditions during testing with low load profiles starting from 0% payload, require external heating measures. Knowing the trade-off between fuel consumption and tail-pipe NOx emissions a holistic engine and EAT system optimization with innovative thermal management is required. Towards a carbon neutral mobility, Hydrogen combustion engines are one of the key solutions. Advanced combustion system development enables maximal usage of lean burning as the major advantage of the Hydrogen fuel for efficiency improvement and NOx reduction.

For the NOx removal from diesel exhaust, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and lean NOx traps are established technologies. However, these procedures lack efficiency below 200 °C, which is of importance for city driving and cold start phases. Thus, the present paper deals with the development of a novel low-temperature deNOx strategy implying the catalytic NOx reduction by hydrogen. For the investigations, a highly active H2-deNOx catalyst, originally engineered for lean H2 combustion engines, was employed. This Pt-based catalyst reached peak NOx conversion of 95 % in synthetic diesel exhaust with N2 selectivities up to 80 %. Additionally, driving cycle tests on a diesel engine test bench were also performed to evaluate the H2-deNOx performance under practical conditions. For this purpose, a diesel oxidation catalyst, a diesel particulate filter and a H2 injection nozzle with mixing unit were placed upstream to the full size H2-deNOx catalyst.

Hydrogen engines offer the possibility of a carbon neutral transportation - a focal point of current propulsion development activities especially for EU and US future concepts. From today's point of view, hydrogen can play an important role in this regard as it is a carbon-free fuel, no CO2 emissions are produced during its combustion process. Besides, it can be well used for lean burn combustion leading to very low NOx emissions, a key benefit in combination with an optimized after-treatment system for future ultra-low NOx legislations of heavy-duty (HD) engines. Comprehensive investigations using experimental tests and model-based development approach are performed using a six cylinder HD hydrogen engine featuring PFI (port fuel injection) aiming the definition of a high efficiency hydrogen engine concept.

High pressure EGR provides NOx emission reduction even at low exhaust temperatures. To maintain a safe EGR system operation over a required lifetime, the EGR cooler fouling must not exceed an allowable level, even if the engine is operated under worst-case conditions. A reliable fouling simulation model represents a valuable tool in the engine development process, which validates operating and calibration strategies regarding fouling tendency, helping to avoid fouling issues in a late development phase close to series production. Long-chained hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas essentially impact the fouling layer formation. Therefore, a simulation model requires reliable input data especially regarding mass flow of long-chained hydrocarbons transported into the cooler. There is a huge number of different hydrocarbon species in the exhaust gas, but their individual concentration typically is very low, close to the detection limit of standard in-situ measurement equipment like GC-MS.

Due to the increase in public attention in the analysis of non-exhaust emission sources because of the growing electrification of vehicles, measurements have been performed in recent years to develop a consistent test standard. In particular, the consideration of tyre and brake abrasion took a predominant position due to the small particle sizes. With measurements under controlled and laboratory-like athmosphere, for example for brakes on dynamometers, attempts have been made to create a uniform test standard according to the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). However, a transfer to the real driving environment is not yet feasible because of many external disturbance variables, such as the wheel housing or atmospheric variables. Typical reference measurement sensors in the vehicle are only suitable to a limited extent for mobile operation due to their size and the necessary measurement infrastructure.

One challenge for the development of commercial vehicles is the reduction of CO2 greenhouse, where hydrogen can help to reduce the fleet CO2. For instance, in Europe a drop in fleet consumption of 15% and 30% is set as target by the regulation until 2025 and 2030. Another challenge is EURO VII in EU or even already approved CARB HD Low NOx Regulation in USA, not only for Diesel but also for hydrogen combustion engines. In this study, first the requirements for the combustion and after-treatment system of a hydrogen engine are defined based on future emission regulations. The major advantages regarded to hydrogen combustion are due to the wide range of flammability and very high flame speed numbers compared to other fossil based fuels. Thus, it can be well used for lean burn combustion with much better fuel efficiency and very low NOx emissions with an ultra lean combustion. A comprehensive experimental investigation is performed on a HD 2 L single-cylinder engine.

To date, no generally valid statements can be made about the service life of brake pads, which may be due to factors such as driving style, the friction material used or the varying vehicle weight. While dynamic friction models including friction history are already established [1], the investigation of wear and wear dust behavior is currently in the focus of many research projects. One example is the investigation of calculation models for brake pad wear while neglecting the temperature development in the brake [2]. In cars, temperatures of up to 800°C occur in the brake under high loads, which leads to a significant increase in wear. Accordingly, the question arises how an estimation of brake pad wear can be applied to highly dynamic load cases. To do this, however, the processes taking place in the boundary layer between pad and disc must first be comprehensively understood and described.

Two substantially different methods have become popular in building fast computing catalyst models: physico-chemical approaches focusing on dimensionality reduction and machine learning approaches. Data driven models are known to be very fast computing and to achieve high accuracy but they can lack of extrapolation capability. Physico-chemical models are usually slower and less accurate but superior regarding robustness. The robustness can even be reinforced by implementing an extended Kalman filter, which enables the model to adapt its states based on actual sensor values, even if the sensors are drifting. The present study proposes a combination of both approaches into one hybrid model, keeping the robustness of the physico-chemical model in edge cases while also achieving the accuracy of the data based model in well-known regimes. The output of the hybrid model is controlled by an autoencoder, utilizing methods well known from the field of anomaly detection.

This paper investigates an optimal design of a diesel engine and after-treatment systems for a series hybrid electric forklift application. A holistic modeling approach is developed in GT-Suite® to establish a model-based hardware definition for a diesel engine and an after-treatment system to accurately predict engine performance and emissions. The used engine model is validated with the experimental data. The engine design parameters including compression ratio, boost level, air-fuel ratio (AFR), injection timing, and injection pressure are optimized at a single operating point for the series hybrid electric vehicle, together with the performance of the after-treatment components. The engine and after-treatment models are then coupled with a series hybrid electric powertrain to evaluate the performance of the forklift in the standard VDI 2198 drive cycle.

CO2 emission constraints taking effect from 2020 lead to further investigations of technologies to lower knock sensitivity of gasoline engines, main limiting factor to increase engine efficiency and thus reduce fuel consumption. Moreover the RDE cycle demands for higher power operation, where fuel enrichment is needed for component protection. To achieve high efficiency, the engine should be run at stoichiometric conditions in order to have better emission control and reduce fuel consumption. Among others, water injection is a promising technology to improve engine combustion efficiency, by mainly reducing knock sensitivity and to keep high conversion rates of the TWC over the whole engine map. The comprehension of multiple thermodynamic effects of water injection through 3D-CFD simulations and their exploitation to enhance the engine combustion efficiency is the main purpose of the analysis.

The consideration of vehicle soiling in the development process becomes ever more important because of the increasing customer demands on current vehicles and the increased use of camera and sensor systems due to autonomous driving. In the process of self-soiling, a soil-water mixture is whirled up by the rotation of the car’s own wheels and deposits on the vehicle surface. The validation of the soiling characteristics in vehicle development usually takes place in an experimental manner, but is increasingly supported by numerical simulations. The droplet field at the tyre has been investigated several times in the past. However, there are no published information regarding the physical background of the droplet formation process and the absolute droplet sizes considering the position at the tyre and the behaviour at different velocities.

The current trend in automobiles is towards electrical vehicles, but for the most part these vehicles still require an internal combustion engine to provide additional range and flexibility. These engines are under stringent emissions regulations, in particular, for the reduction of CO2. Gas engines which run lean burn combustion systems provide a viable route to these emission reductions, however designing these engines to provide sustainable and controlled combustion under lean conditions at λ=2.0 is challenging. To address this challenge, it is possible to use a scavenged Pre-Chamber Ignition (PCI) system which can deliver favorable conditions for ignition close to the spark plug. The lean charge in the main combustion chamber is then ignited by flame jets emanating from the pre-chamber nozzles. Accurate prediction of flame kernel development and propagation is essential for the analysis of PCI systems.

The Automated Universal Tribotester (AUT) represents a fully automated reduced scale brake dynamometer and was developed by the Institute of Dynamics and Vibrations at TU Braunschweig. The setup is based on the pin-on-disc principle. The downscaled test specimen is brought to contact to the disc, loaded and guided via the load unit, which was specifically designed for this purpose. It is laid out as a combination of parallel and serial leaf springs, facilitating a friction free and horizontal motion. The stiffness in radial and tangential directions are much higher than in normal orientation. If the test specimen has a two-dimensional, flat contact surface, the misalignment of the pin in a Pin-on-Disc setup is a phenomenon that appears even in very stiff and robust Pin-on-Disc testers. The measured friction forces are not sensitive to the tilting movement, but the wear processes that take place in the contact zone are.

In recent years, characteristic structures in the boundary layer of high-load contacts such as brakes have been reported, which substantially influence the dynamics of the tribological contact. Usually, local assumptions concerning the friction behavior of these patches are used to reach global conclusions about the brake system. Several numerical methods (e.g. Cellular Automata) have been developed which employ such assumptions. The validation of these methods through measurement data tends to be laborious and costly. Sprag-Slip elements are friction elements that are exclusively subjected to static friction, never undergoing sliding friction. Implementing such elements on a mesoscopic scale, it is possible to generate global descriptions of macroscopic stick and slip friction phenomena. Locally, these Sprag-Slip elements are similar to the patch structures in the tribological boundary layer of brakes.

The dynamics of disc brakes, and in particular their NVH behavior, have long been the focus of research. Measurements by Rhee et al. show that brake pad wear has a significant influence on the occurrence of low and high frequency squealing [1]. It is suspected that low frequency squealing is more likely to occur when the wear difference between the inner and outer brake pads is high. If the two pads incur comparable wear, however, the prevalence of high frequency squealing increases. In order to investigate this hypothesis, this paper focuses on a simplified model of a commercial brake system. First, the friction force between the inner pad and the disc is iteratively adjusted, while the force between the outer pad and the disc is held constant. In a second step, the inner pad’s wear is iteratively increased, while the wear on the outer pad remains unaffected.

Electromechanical steering systems (EPS) provide assisting steering force through an electric motor, often paired with a screw drive. The combination of an electric motor and a screw drive lead to high inertia and thus to a reduced feedback of tire force behavior at the steering wheel. This force behavior contains information about driving conditions and road surface. However, the electric motor can be used to actively enhance and manipulate steering feedback. This article describes the driver perception of modified steering feedback. The presented data is collected carrying out a driving simulator study with average drivers as test subjects. In this study the driver experiences a modified steering feedback at a change of road friction coefficient. Based on the test subjects ratings the perception, acceptance and controllability of the presented steering feedback modifications are assessed.

The Automated Universal Tribotester (AUT) is developed by the Institute of Dynamics and Vibrations (TU Braunschweig) and represents a reduced scale brake dynamometer. The setup is based on the pin-on-disc principle and the down-scaled test specimen are brought to contact to the disc and loaded via the specifically designed load unit. The AUT’s load unit is designed as a combination of parallel and serial leaf springs, resulting in a friction free motion. The stiffnesses in radial and tangential directions are much higher than in normal orientation. For the investigation of wear debris over time, changes in loads (e.g. forces, speeds, temperatures) are applied. Those varying loads result in tilting of the contact surface of the test specimen due to small elastic deformations. A change of the contact area is inevitable, and long time periods are needed to adopt the contact area to the new conditions. This prevents from investigating fast changes in the above mentioned loads.