Search Results

“Spotlight on Design: Insight” features an in-depth look at the latest technology breakthroughs impacting mobility. Viewers are virtually taken to labs and research centers to learn how design engineers are enhancing product performance/reliability, reducing cost, improving quality, safety or environmental impact, and achieving regulatory compliance. Telematics, the convergence of telecommunications and informatics, uses electronic and computer technology built in to the vehicle to provide vehicle tracking, satellite navigation, wireless technology, and diagnostic information. In the episode “Diagnostics and Prognostics: Telematics Deep Dive” (8:09), an engineer from Delphi’s Telematics program discusses the advantages and challenges of telematics devices for the automotive industry, demonstrates the installation of an aftermarket telematics device, and shows how telematics can enhance diagnostics and preventative maintenance.

“Spotlight on Design: Insight” features an in-depth look at the latest technology breakthroughs impacting mobility. Viewers are virtually taken to labs and research centers to learn how design engineers are enhancing product performance/reliability, reducing cost, improving quality, safety or environmental impact, and achieving regulatory compliance. When automotive and aerospace manufacturers look for a material with superior lightweight and strength characteristics, they often look no further than composite materials. In the episode “Composite Materials: New Trends in Automotive Design” (10:20), an engineer from Molded Fiber Glass Research Company demonstrates how they develop and test the properties of composite materials, and an engineer at MirTEQ Incorporated discusses designing molds for an aftermarket composite part.

“Spotlight on Design” features video interviews and case study segments, focusing on the latest technology breakthroughs. Viewers are virtually taken to labs and research centers to learn how design engineers are enhancing product performance/reliability, reducing cost, improving quality, safety or environmental impact, and achieving regulatory compliance. In the episode “Diagnostics and Prognostics: Proactive Maintenance and Failure Prevention” (21:04), Delphi engineers explain how they leverage the growing number of sensors and computing power in vehicles to diagnose and proactively solve emerging mechanical or electronic problems, before a breakdown occurs. This video also looks at the next generation of automotive telematics, with HEM Data demonstrating how in-vehicle data acquisition is used to monitor the inner workings of vehicles.

“Spotlight on Design” features video interviews and case study segments, focusing on the latest technology breakthroughs. Viewers are virtually taken to labs and research centers to learn how design engineers are enhancing product performance/reliability, reducing cost, improving quality, safety or environmental impact, and achieving regulatory compliance. In the episode “Composite Materials: Advanced Materials and Lightweighting” (30:20), Molded Fiber Glass Companies, known for its deep involvement in the creative development of the molded fiberglass process for the Corvette, demonstrates the manufacturing of sheet molded composite for fiberglass parts. Tanom Motors introduces the Tanom Invader, a blend between an automobile and a motorcycle made exclusively with composite materials. Finally, Euro-Composites demonstrates the manufacturing of honeycomb core material made out of aramid paper and phenolic resin used in aircraft structures.

Finding ways to reduce the amount of fuel burned per flight takes top priority in aircraft operations and design. Three experts show how the smallest on-board components can make a huge difference.

There are many macro drivers that are creating opportunities for transportation electrification. They include the environment, dependence on foreign oil, national security, battery technology and government incentives to name a few. In light of this growing momentum consumers will have choices to where they can charge ? at home, workplace or publicly. Electrical vehicle supply equipment will drive value throughout the supply chain ? installer, building owner, automaker, suppliers, utilities and consumers. Market acceptance will occur when consumer?s needs and wants are met. To meet these needs access to products through multiple channels will be required. Presenter Manoj Karwa, Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc.

Historically, studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in support of CAF� rulemaking indicate that lightweighting vehicles lead to degraded safety. However, recent studies provided to NHTSA show that good designs for lightweighting can provide equivalent safety. This presentation highlights two studies funded by NHTSA in part to address these latest findings. The first is a George Washington University study, �Investigate Opportunities for Lightweighting Vehicles Using Advanced Plastics and Composites.� The second is an Electricore study, �Mass Reduction for Light-Duty Vehicles for Model Years 2017-2015. The findings presented include that it is possible to lightweight vehicles and provide equivalent safety and that costs drive designers toward the use of advanced metals.

Since 2006 Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) and the Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) have conducted research of injection molded long glass fiber thermoplastic parts funded by U.S. DOE. At DOE's request, ACC's Plastics Division Automotive Team and USCAR formed a steering committee for the National Labs, whose purpose was to provide industry perspective, parts materials and guidance in processing. This ACC affiliation enabled the plastics industry to identify additional key research requirements necessary to the success of long glass fiber injection molded materials and their use in the real world. Through further cooperative agreements with Autodesk Moldflow and University of Illinois, a new process model to predict both fiber orientation distribution and fiber length distribution is now available. Mechanical property predictive tools were developed and Moldflow is integrating these models into their software.

TERBAN® hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) is a specialty elastomer used in demanding engineering applications such as the automotive, heavy duty, and industrial markets. It has excellent combination of heat, oil and abrasion resistance in addition to its high mechanical strength, very good dynamic and sealing properties. This paper will present data on aging HNBR for five thousand hours in an aggressive and un-stabilized B30A biodiesel fuel blend (70% ULSD, 30% SME, and an aggressive additive package) and explore the effect of HNBR polymer properties and vulcanizate composition on the performance in such fuel blends. Presenter Victor Nasreddine

Transmission of light through automotive topcoat and primer layers can lead to degradation of the underlying electrocoat layer and to topcoat delamination. In order to protect against this, it is critical that transmission of both ultraviolet wavelengths and certain visible wavelengths be effectively blocked by the topcoat and primer layers. The clearcoat, basecoat and primer each have their own role and combine to protect against light transmission. The transmittance of these combined layers is typically measured by the Integrating Sphere UV-Visible Spectrophotometer. It would both simplify measurement of the topcoat systems and allow better system modeling if these layers could be measured separately and combined mathematically. We demonstrate here that absorbing and reflecting pigments can be effectively modeled using the Beer-Lambert law while results for scattering pigments are consistent with the Kubelka-Munk theory.

The need for light-weighting of automotive structures has spurred on a tremendous amount of interest in and development of low cost carbon fiber composite materials and manufacturing. This presentation provides a description of the commercial carbon fiber concept compared to traditional aerospace and specialty carbon fiber products. A specific update is presented on the development and commercialization of new low cost carbon fiber based on lignin / PAN precursor technology. The second focus of the presentation is on carbon fiber composite manufacturing processes, including carbon SMC, RTM, prepregs, and thermoplastic processes. Advantages and disadvantages of these processes are discussed, especially related to low cost manufacturing. Presenter George Husman, Zoltek Companies Inc.

Composite bearings of PTFE as the base material have been widely used for automotive parts. However, in recent years, due to downsizing, faster sliding speeds, and tendency to increase the bearing load with high performance, particularly for boundary lubrication conditions, the PTFE-based composite bearing is often worn, making it difficult to apply to some applications. A high strength polymer was selected as an alternative to PTFE base material, and the mechanical properties and performance in a start-stop test, reciprocating sliding test and seizure test were evaluated. Focusing on the characteristics of high strength, by applying a PEEK resin, in each evaluation, it was confirmed that superior performance was achieved compared with a conventional PTFE based composite bearing. Presenter Yohei Takada, Daido Metal Co., Ltd.

Exatec� PC glazing technology team, has developed advanced weathering and abrasion resistant coatings technology that can be applied to protect polycarbonate. It is of particular interest to quantify and understand the factors that determine the surface abrasion performance of coated PC in rear window and backlight applications that have a wiper system. In the present study we describe Exatec's lab scale wiper testing equipment and test protocols. We also describe adaptation of optical imaging system to measure contrast and nano-profiling using nano-indenter, as post wiper surface characterization methods. These methods are more sensitive to fine scratches on glazing surface than standard haze measurement and mechanical profilometry. Three coating systems were investigated; Siloxane wetcoat (A), Siloxane wetcoat (B), and Siloxane wetcoat (B) plus plasma coat (Exatec� E900 coating). The performance comparisons were made using all these surface characterization methods.

For internal combustion engines and industrial machinery, it is well recognized that the most cost-effective way of reducing energy consumption and extending service life is through lubricant development. This presentation summarizes our recent R&D achievements on developing a new class of candidate lubricants or oil additives ionic liquids (ILs). Features of ILs making them attractive for lubrication include high thermal stability, low vapor pressure, non-flammability, and intrinsic high polarity. When used as neat lubricants, selected ILs demonstrated lower friction under elastohydrodynamic lubrication and less wear at boundary lubrication benchmarked against fully-formulated engine oils in our bench tests. More encouragingly, a group of non-corrosive, oil-miscible ILs has recently been developed and demonstrated multiple additive functionalities including anti-wear and friction modifier when blended into hydrocarbon base oils.

Historically, the opposed-piston, two-stroke (OP2S) diesel engine set combined records for fuel efficiency and power density that have yet to be met by any other engine type. However, with modern emissions standards, wide-spread development of this engine for on-highway use stopped. At Achates Power, state-of-the-art analytical tools and engineering methods have produced an OP2S engine that, when compared to a leading medium-duty engine, has demonstrated a 21% fuel efficiency gain and engine-out emissions levels meeting U.S. EPA10 with conventional after-treatment. Among the presentation topics covered are thermodynamic efficiency, demonstrated engine results, cost and weight advantages, and overcoming two-stroke engine challenges. Presenter David Johnson, Achates Power Inc.

Understanding in-use fleet operating behavior is of paramount importance when evaluating the potential of advanced/alternative vehicle technologies. Accurately characterizing real world vehicle operation assists in properly allocating advanced technologies, playing a role in determining initial payback period and return on investment. In addition, this information contributes to the design and deployment of future technologies as the result of increased awareness regarding tractive power requirements associated with typical operating behavior. In this presentation, the concept of vehicle duty cycles and their relation to advanced technologies will be presented and explored. Additionally, current research attempts to characterize school bus operation will be examined, and existing computational analysis and evaluation tools associated with these efforts discussed. Presenter Adam Duran, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Up to now, the reliability achieved by COTS components was largely sufficient for avionics, in terms of failure rate as well as time to failure. With the implementation of new and more integrated technologies (90 nm node, 65 nm and below), the question has arisen of the impact of the new technologies on reliability. It has been stated that the lifetime of these new technologies might decrease. The drift is expected to be technology dependent: integration, technology node, materials, elementary structure choices and process pay a key role. Figures have been published, which gives smaller lifetime than the 30 years generally required for avionics. This would of course impact not only the reliability, but also the maintenance of COTS-based avionics. Hence a new policy should be defined for the whole COTS supply chain. Faced with these impending risks, different methodologies have been developed.

In a variety of industries there is a growing need to manufacture high quality carbon fibre epoxy matrix composite structures at greater production rates and lower costs than has historically been the case. This has developed into a desire for the automation of the manufacture of components, and in particular the lay-up phase, with Automated Tape Laying (ATL) and Fibre Placement (AFP) the most popular choices. When used for large primary structures there are such potential gains to be had that both techniques have seen rapid implementation into manufacturing environments. But significant concerns remain and these have limited their wider adoption into secondary structure manufacturing, where manual forming of woven broadgoods is dominant. As a result the manufacture of secondary structures is generally explored for costs reduction through drape simulation and lower cost materials.

There are worldwide activities in developing guidelines and standards for fiber optic sensors. Fiber optic sensors (FOS) are increasingly demanded for structural health monitoring purposes and for measurement of physical and chemical quantities because of their specific features. However, they are not yet widely established for practical use due to a lack of guidelines and confirmed standards. Therefore, there are few groups worldwide which are very active in developing standards for use of FOS in different fields, particularly driven from aircraft industry, oil industry or the necessity to provide sensor systems for health monitoring of structures with a certain level of risk. The benefits of guidelines and/or standards on the way to well-validated and well-specified sensor systems will be presented by means of related examples. The presentation will also give an overview on the state-of-the-art and most relevant activities. Results achieved are discussed.

: Fiber Placement equipment has historically been very large and very expensive. Therefore, the AFP process has been mostly exclusive to the larger aerospace companies of the world. In order to achieve more widespread use of the AFP process, a wider variety of machine configurations must be offered and cost of the equipment must be decreased. Commercially available, articulated robotic arms have been identified as an attractive, low cost option for AFP machine platforms. However, incorporating AFP material delivery technology with robotic arms has many challenges. These challenges relate to both hardware and software issues. This presentation will address the technical challenges of using robots as a machine platform for the AFP process and review the current status of this composites lamination equipment technology. Presenter Frederic Challois, Coriolis Composites