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Wind noise is becoming a higher priority in the automotive industry. Several past studies investigated whether Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) can be utilized to predict wind noise. Because wind noise analysis requires both radiation and transmission modeling in a wide frequency band, turbulent-structure-acoustic-coupled-SEA is being used. Past research investigated coupled-SEA’s benefit, but the model is usually simplified to enable easier consideration on the input side. However, the vehicle is composed of multiple interior parts and possible interior countermeasure consideration is needed. To enable this, at first, a more detailed coupled-SEA model is built from the acoustic-SEA model which has a larger number of degrees of freedom for the interior side. Then, the model is modified to account for sound radiation effects induced by turbulent and acoustic pressure.

Engine starting vibration of hybrid vehicle with Toyota hybrid system has variations even in the same vehicle, and a large vibration that occurs rarely may cause stress to the passengers. The contribution analysis based on the vibration theory and statistical analysis has been done, but the primary factor of the rare large vibration has not been clarified because the number of factors is enormous. From this background, we apply machine learning that can reproduce multivariate and complicated relationships to analysis of variation factors of engine starting vibration. Variations in magnitude of the exciting force such as motor torque for starting the engine and in-cylinder pressure of the engine and timing of these forces are considered as factors of the variations. In addition, there are also nonlinear factors such as backlash of gears as a factor of variations.

Toyota Motor Corporation has been actively pursuing the development of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to respond to global environmental concerns and demands for clean energy. Toyota developed the first fuel cell (FC) bus to receive vehicle type certification in Japan. Subsequently, a new FC bus has been developed, which adopts two FC systems and four high-voltage batteries to achieve the required high power performance and durability. For enhanced durability, the FC system is controlled to maximize usage of the high-voltage batteries and to reduce the number of electric potential changes of the fuel cell. To accomplish this, the voltage of the FC stack must be kept high and FC power must be kept low. The high-voltage batteries were used to actively minimize FC power during acceleration.

In order to adapt to energy security and the changes of global-scale environment, further improvement of fuel economy and adaptation to each country’s severer exhaust gas emission regulation are required in an automotive engine. To achieve higher power performance with lower fuel consumption, the engine’s basic internal design such as an engine block and cylinder head were changed and the combustion speed was dramatically increased. Consequently, stroke-bore ratio and valve layout were optimized. Also, both flow coefficient and intake tumble ratio port were improved by adopting a laser cladded valve seat. In addition, several new technologies were adopted. The Atkinson cycle using a new Electrical VVT (Variable Valve Timing) and new combustion technology adopting new multi-hole type Direct fuel Injector (DI) improved engine power and fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions.

Aisin AW (AW) and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) have developed a new rear wheel drive (RWD) 10-speed automatic transmission, AWR10L65 (TMC name: AGA0), suitable for RWD/AWD luxury passenger cars and sports cars. This 10-speed automatic transmission provides enhanced drivability leading to outstanding driver satisfaction. This has been accomplished using a close ratio gear train with optimized gear steps for rhythmic shift changes and quick acceleration. Low rpm lock-up and highly responsive shift changes result in a direct shift feel. This automatic transmission contributes to improved fuel economy by having higher efficiency and lower mass than current 8-speed RWD automatic transmissions.

This research developed a new measurement technology for thermal analysis of the heat radiation from a hybrid transaxle case surface to the air and improved the heat radiation performance. This heat flux measurement technology provides the method to measure heat flux without wiring of sensors. The method does not have effects of wiring on the temperature field and the flow field unlike the conventional methods. Therefore, multipoint measurement of heat flux on the case surface was enabled, and the distribution of heat flux was quantified. To measure heat flux, thermal resistances made of plastic plates were attached to the case surface and the infrared thermography was used for the temperature measurement. The preliminary examination was performed to confirm the accuracy of the thermal evaluation through heat flux measurement. The oil in the transaxle was heated and the amount of heat radiation from the case surface was measured.

The new Toyota FCV “Mirai” has reduced the weight, size, and cost of the high-pressure hydrogen storage system while improving fueling performance. The four 70 MPa tanks used on the 2008 Toyota FCHV-adv were reduced to two new larger diameter tanks. The laminated structure of the tanks was optimized to reduce weight, and a high-strength low-cost carbon fiber material was newly developed and adopted. The size of the high-pressure valve was reduced by improving its structure and a high-pressure sensor from a conventional vehicle was modified for use in a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere. These innovations helped to improve the weight of the whole storage system by approximately 15% in comparison with Toyota FCHV-adv, while reducing the number of component parts by half and substantially reducing cost. The time required to fuel the FCV was greatly reduced by chilling the filling gas temperature at the hydrogen filling station to −40°C (as per SAE J2601).

Toyota Motor Corporation developed a continuously variable transmission (CVT), unit K313, to satisfy the rising demand for improved fuel economy. This transmission was installed in the North American market Corolla for the 2014 model year. In this market, the driveability demands for automatic transmissions (AT) are very high. Additionally, the market is dominated by conventional AT with fixed gear ratios, leaving CVTs in the minority. In order to increase the volume and acceptance of CVTs in North America, excellent driveability had to be ensured. The key driveability advantage of CVTs is the ability to change gear ratio continuously without engaging or disengaging clutches. This allows for smooth driving without any shocks or gaps in drive force; however, it can also feel strange to drivers of conventional AT.

Previous reports have already described the details of engine start-shock and the mechanism of vibration mechanism in a stationary vehicle. This vibration can be reduced by optimized engine and motor generator vibration-reduction controls. A prediction method using a full-vehicle MBD model has also been developed and applied in actual vehicle development. This paper describes the outline of a new method for the hybrid system of mechanical power split device with two motors that predicts engine start-shock when the vehicle is accelerating while the engine is stopped. It also describes the results of mechanism analysis and component contribution analysis. This method targets engine start-shock caused by driving torque demand during acceleration after vehicle take-off. The hybrid control system is modeled by MATLAB/Simulink. A power management and motor generator control program used in actual vehicles is installed into the main part of the control system model.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Toyota Motor Corporation received considerable public response regarding the role of vehicles in emergencies from a large number of customers. These included comments about the usefulness of the electricity supply system in the Estima Hybrid during the long power outages caused by the earthquake. In response, Toyota decided to install this system in its other hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). This system is capable of supplying power up to 1,500 watts, which means that it can be used to operate virtually every household electrical device. Since the engine starts automatically when the main battery capacity is depleted, a single vehicle can supply the daily power needs of a normal house in Japan for about four days, providing that the battery is fully charged and the fuel tank is full.

We have developed the world's first 8-speed automatic transmission for transverse FWD/4WD vehicles. The aim of this new automatic transmission was to achieve world-class fuel economy while offering both smooth gear shift and sporty shift feeling suitable for luxury cars. This has been accomplished using wide spread gear ratio, outstanding low drag components and highly efficient hydraulic control system. In addition, we have achieved the compactness similar to current 6-speed automatic transmission by adopting new gear train and compact clutch layout. In this paper, the detail of this automatic transmission is introduced.

The development of the Lexus LFA focused on the pursuit of a passionate driving experience suitable for a super sports car. The shift speed control system in the LFA is an automated manual transmission (AMT) that uses an electrohydraulic actuator. The excellent shifting performance of the AMT was achieved by developing control technology that performs smooth, quick, and highly responsive shifting in accordance with the driving conditions. This was the result of repeated evaluations in both normal driving and on circuits featuring many acceleration, deceleration, and high-speed driving sectors. This paper describes the AMT shift speed control system and technology.

This paper describes an outline of the Toyota FCHV-adv, a fuel cell vehicle with a practical cruising range of more than 500 km. The cold startability of the FCHV-adv was improved by modifying the FC stack and control system. As a result, the FCHV-adv is capable of starting at a temperature of -30°C. In the future, Toyota intends to improve durability and reduce costs and is continuing to cooperate with governments and energy businesses to establish infrastructure and make the necessary modifications to laws and regulations.

This paper describes the development of a High Speed Calculation Diesel Combustion Model that predicts combustion-related behaviors of diesel engines from passenger cars. Its output is dependent on the engine's operating parameters and on input from on-board pressure and temperature sensors. The model was found to be capable of predicting the engine's in-cylinder pressure, rate of heat release, and NOx emissions with a high degree of accuracy under a wide range of operating conditions at a reasonable computational cost. The construction of this model represents an important preliminary step towards the development of an integrated Model Based Control system for controlling combustion in diesel engines used in passenger cars.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and/or electric vehicles (EVs) as sustainable mobility rapidly penetrate into a new market. Cruising ranges of PHVs and EVs strongly depend on the energy density of batteries. In this paper, we briefly introduce our achievements of metal air batteries as one of the innovative batteries with high energy density.

It may be possible to simplify the structure and control systems of a lithium-ion battery by replacing the conventional liquid electrolyte with a solid electrolyte, resulting in higher energy density. However, power performance is a development issue of batteries using a solid electrolyte. To increase battery power performance, in addition to lithium ionic conductivity within the bulk of the electrolyte, it is also necessary to boost the lithium ionic conductivity at the interface between the electrode active material and the electrolyte, and to boost electron and lithium ionic conductivity within the cathode and anode active material. This research studied the mechanism of resistance reduction by electrode surface modification. Subsequently, this research attempted to improve electron conductivity by simultaneously introducing oxygen vacancies and carrying out nitrogen substitution in the crystalline structure of the Li4Ti5O12 anode active material.

The outline of the TOYOTA FCHV-adv is described in this paper. The TOYOTA FCHVadv achieved an approximately 25 percent improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency and about 1.9 times the amount of usable hydrogen in comparison with the previous model. These improvements have enabled almost 2.5 times longer practical cruising range, more than 500 km. The freeze start capabilities of the FCHV-adv were improved by modifying the FC stack and control system. As a result, the FCHV-adv has been capable of starting at a temperature of -30°C. In the future, TOYOTA intends to improve durability and reduce costs.

Toyota has been introducing several hybrid vehicles (HV) as a countermeasure to concerns related to the automotive mobility like CO2 reduction, energy security, and emission reduction in urban areas. A next step towards an even more effective solution for these concerns is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV). This vehicle combines the advantages of electric vehicles (EV), which can use clean electric energy, and HV with it's high environmental potential and user-friendliness comparable to conventional vehicles such as a long cruising range. This paper describes a newly developed plug-in hybrid system and its vehicle performance. This system uses a Li-ion battery with high energy density and has an EV-range within usual trip length without sacrificing cabin space. The vehicle achieves a CO2 emission of 59g/km and meets the most stringent emission regulations in the world. The new PHV is a forerunner of the large-scale mass production PHV which will be introduced in a year.

Vehicles have been more required to save energy against the background of the tendency of ecology. As the result of improving efficiency of internal combustion engines and adoption of electric power train, heat loss from engine coolant, which is used to heat the cabin, decreases and consequently additional energy may be consumed to maintain thermal comfort in the passenger compartment in winter. This paper is concerned with the humidity control system that realizes reduction of ventilation heat loss by controlling recirculation rate of the HVAC system by using highly accurate humidity sensor to evaluate risk of fogging on the windshield. As the results of the control, fuel consumption of hybrid vehicles decreases and maximum range of electric vehicles increases.

Model-Based Development (MBD) has become an automotive industry standard process in vehicle control systems development due to the potential to reduce development time and improve engineering quality. This has become even more important as control systems are becoming increasingly complex while development cycle timelines shorten. Toyota utilized Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations (HILS) techniques when developing the latest Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle, FCHV-adv. These MBD techniques contributed to the overall development process, but applications were limited to verifying control specifications. It was recognized that if MBD could be utilized beyond its current role in the control system design process to include functional specification validation, specification quality could be improved while decreasing development time and cost.