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Solar energy through glass windows has an influence on the thermal environment in the cabin and thermal comfort of occupants. A medium-size electric vehicle (EV) is conducted for evaluating the performance of solar reduction glass under summer conditions in the climate chamber by experimental measurements. For this purpose, two kinds of glass are attached to the medium-size EV with different performance of solar reduction rate (IR-cut type and normal type). In this paper, two types of experimental measurements, steady state and unsteady state conditions, are conducted. Surface temperature, air temperature and electric consumption of air conditioner are measured under some conditions of air-conditioner. EHT (Equivalent Homogeneous Temperature) by thermal manikin, thermal sensation and thermal comfort by male and female subjects are also measured.

There are many kinds of lubricants such as automatic transmission fluid, brake fluid, bearing grease, etc. used in automotive vehicles. Fluoroelastomers have been used for a long time for oil seals contacting such lubricants. Fluoroelastomers composed of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, and optionally incorporated tetrafluoroethylene are designated as FKM, which have been one of the most popular fluoroelastomers. The latest automotive lubricants tend to contain a large amount of additives to improve the performance along with the demanding driving conditions. Such additives, however, are reactive with FKM at elevated temperatures to raise the hardness of FKM, which results in losing the sealing performance. An elastomer material which does not lose the flexibility in the long-term exposure to the lubricant has been desired.

FEPM alternating dipolymers of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and propylene (P) are well known to exhibit distinguished chemical resistance, especially against various organic and inorganic bases, compared to conventional fluoroelastomers (FKM): e.g., copolymers of vinylidene fluoride (VdF), hexafluoropropylene (HFP), and optionally incorporated tetrafluoroethylene (TFE). These unique characteristics have been finding automotive sealing applications where lubricants formulated with considerable quantity of additives are used. FEPM dipolymers, however, have difficulty in processing - particularly in mold release. There are TFE-P-VdF terpolymers available, which are improved in mold release. TFE-P-VdF terpolymers, however, are often pointed out that the base resistance is lost to some extent, because the minimum quantity of VdF necessary to establish a practical cure speed and physical properties is not very low.

Silicon nitride (Si3N4) is a good candidate for a DPF substrate due to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties. The novel process for producing porous silicon nitride is established and fundamental characteristics of fabricated Si3N4 honeycomb were evaluated including mechanical/thermal properties and chemical stability against sulfuric acid and several kinds of chemicals. DPF characteristics in application such as pressure drop and soot regeneration behavior were investigated in diesel engine test bench. Numerical studies to evaluate stress in DPF during soot regeneration were also conducted.

This paper describes monolithic solar control glass with high durability and neutral color (colorless reflection) for automotive windows. Layer systems of the solar control coating are composed of double layers (oxide/nitride/glass) and triple layers (oxide/nitride/oxide/glass), where a titanium nitride film is chosen for solar energy reduction and a novel zirconium based oxide film with a low refractive index is used as a protective layer together with reducing optical interference color. The nitride film and the oxide film are prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering from a titanium target and an alloy target without intentional substrate heating, respectively. Durability of the double layer coating is investigated against abrasion, chemicals and weathering. When the coating is applied to all windows of a passenger car, the reduction of a solar heat load is evaluated through an air-conditioner at simulated car speed under simulated solar radiation.