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In today’s rapidly evolving automotive world, reduction of time to market has prime importance for a new product development. It is critical to have significant front-loading of the development activities to reduce development time while achieving best in class performance targets. Driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulators have shown significant potential for achieving it, through real time subjective feedback at preliminary stages of the vehicle development. Recent advances in technology of driving simulators have enabled quite accurate representation steering and handling performance, also good prediction on primary ride and low frequency vibrations. In conventional damper development, the definition of the initial dampers tuning specifications typically requires a mule vehicle, or atleast, a comparable vehicle. However, this approach is associated with protracted iterations that consume substantial time and cost.

In this study, the benchmarked-based statistical Light Weight Index (LWI) technique is developed for predicting the world in class optimum weight. For these four statistical Lightweight Index numbers are derived based on the geometrical dimensions. This strategy is used for the target setting. To achieve the target, the Value Analysis approach for Cargo assembly is to redesign and make Refresh Cargo assembly. The organization also benefited directly by reducing the inventory cost and transportation costs because of the deletion of parts and minimizing the assemblies. Vehicle power-to-weight ratio and fuel economy also improved based on cutting weight. The complete case study with details has been mentioned in the work. The weight benefit led to an increase in the profit margin and caters to the difficulty because of the daily increase in the price of raw materials.

Phosphating is the most preferred surface treatment process used for auto body sheet panel before painting due to its low-cost, easy production process, good corrosion resistance, and excellent adhesion with subsequent paint layer. There are different phosphating processes used for ferrous metal like zinc phosphating, iron phosphating, di-cationic & tri-cationic phosphating, etc. Among these phosphate coatings, the best corrosion resistance and surface adhesion are achieved by tri-cationic phosphate coatings (zinc-nickel-manganese phosphate). Many new technologies of phosphating are evolving. Key drivers for this evolution are increasing demand for higher corrosion resistance, multi-metal car body processing in same phosphating bath and sustainability initiatives to reduce the carbon footprints. We have evaluated two of these recent technologies.

The fuel economy of the internal combustion engine becomes progressively critical, especially with the stringent standards set by the government. To meet the government norms such as CAFE (Corporate Fuel Average Economy), different technologies are being explored and implemented in internal combustion engines. Several technologies such as variable oil pump, map controlled PCJ (Piston Cooling Jet), variable or switchable water pump & ball bearing turbocharger etc. This study investigates the effectiveness of implementing map-controlled PCJ implemented for a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder diesel engine. PCJ’s are major consumers of oil flow and map-controlled PCJ is used by many OEM’s e.g., Ford EcoSport to reduce the oil pump flow. In map-controlled PCJ, the oil to the PCJ is controlled using a solenoid valve. The solenoid valve can be completely variable or ON/OFF type. In our application, the ON/OFF type solenoid value is used to regulate the oil flow to PCJ.

The cabin cool down performance is influenced by heat load, AC system components and Air handling components. The air handling components are AC duct, vane and vent. Design of AC duct vane plays a crucial role in the airflow directivity in cabin which enhances the cabin cool down performance. Simulations are carried out by rotating the vanes manually and requires post process for every iteration. It leads to more time consuming and more number of simulations to achieve the target value. Research articles focusing on automation and optimization of vane articulation studies are scanty. Thus, the objective of this work is to execute the vane articulation study with less manual intervention. A parametric approach is developed by integrating ANSA and ANSYS FLUENT tools. With Direct Fit Morphing and DoE study approach from ANSA delivers the surface mesh model for the different vane angle configurations.

Power density (power/engine cubic capacity) of the latest passenger car Diesel and Gasoline engine keeps increasing with a focus to deliver best in class performance along with meeting CAFE and emission norms. This increase in power density increases the thermal load onto the coolant system. Coolant temperature sensor monitoring the coolant temperature, proper radiator sizing, optimum water pump flow capacity and thermostat tuned to the required coolant temperature range are the typical measures taken to ensure safe operation of the engine and avoid any over-heating. Typical cooling system failures are mostly due to low coolant level, a defective thermostat, non-operative water pump & fan and blockage in the coolant circuit, etc. Most of these failures can be detected with the help of a coolant temperature sensor and pre-emptive measures can be taken to avoid engine loss.

This paper discusses design and optimization process for the integration of exhaust manifold with turbocharger for a 3 cylinder diesel engine, simulation activities (CAE and CFD), and validation of manifold while upgrading to meet current BS6 emissions. Exhaust after-treatment system needs to be upgraded from a simple DOC (Diesel Oxidation Catalyst) to a complex DOC+sDPF (Selective catalytic reduction coated on Diesel Particulate Filter) to meet the BS6 emission norms for this engine. To avoid thermal losses and achieve a faster light-off temperature in the catalyst, the exhaust after-treatment (EATS) system needs to be placed close to the engine - exactly at the outlet of the turbocharger. This has given to challenges in packaging the EATS. The turbocharger in case of BS4 is placed near the 2nd cylinder of the engine, but this position will not allow placing the BS6 EATS.

Ever since mainstreaming of automobiles, engineers are focusing on making the vehicles better by means of making them more efficient, powerful and less polluting. In this study, venues of improving low end torque via improvement in volumetric efficiency as well as proper selection of turbochargers is done. An in-depth analysis of gas dynamics with respect to valve timing is studied along with the AVL Boost 1D simulation. It was found that volumetric efficiency starts to improve when there is a reduction in exhaust - exhaust valve overlap. There is an improvement found in the fresh air ratio (lambda) as the residual gas content is reduced. After the selection of valve timing, turbocharger optimization is done with comparison between two turbine sizes. Along with turbocharger comparison, technology comparison is also done namely between normal electronic VGT (Variable Geometry Turbo) (bigger turbine) and electronic VGT coupled with waste gate (smaller turbine).

Rotavator is an active tillage implement for breaking the Soil and for the preparation of seed bed for cultivation. The Farmers are currently facing problem due to usage of sub optimal speed of Rotavator which results in more fuel consumption, takes more time for completion of operation. Also, the Current Rental models work on Tractor + Implement as rental combination and customer not able to rent Rotavator as a standalone implement due to non-availability of Tracking information such as hours of utilization on Rotavator. Farmers not able to maintain the service periodicity, if oil change not done in prescribed duration then it may result in improper maintenance and breakdown of the Rotavator. To overcome these problems a smart Rotavator developed consists of an electronic unit fitted on the Rotavator shaft to measure the speed of the shaft rotation and in turn convert to Rotavator speed and also able to convert into Hours of usage based on the starting and stopping of the rotavator.

Connected vehicle services have come a long way from the early days of telematics, both in terms of breadth of the class of vehicles, and in terms of richness or complexity of the data being handled for Enhancing Customer Experience. The Connectivity Control unit (CCU) is a gateway device for the vehicle to the outside world. While it enables transmission of vehicle data along with the location information. CCU is currently validated in the vehicle to check functionality. It has cost, time drawbacks and prevents effective testing of many scenarios. Bench level validation will not be able to complete functionality validation. There is subset of validation tools or semi-automated solutions are available in the market, but they are not fully functional, and critically cannot perform end to end validation. Automated Test setup for CCU in lab simulating the entire field data of the vehicle with modifiable characteristics.

The given paper presents the main elements of frictional power loss distribution in an automotive axle for passenger car. For reference two different axles were compared of two different sizes to understand the impact of size and ratio of gear and bearings on power loss characteristics. It was observed that ~50% of total axle power loss is because of pinion head-tail bearing and its seals, which is very significant. Roughly 30% of total power loss is contributed by pinion-ring gear pair and differential bearings and remaining ~20% by wheel end bearing and seals. With this study the automotive companies can take note of the area where they need to focus more to reduce their CO2 emissions to meet the stringent BS6, CAFÉ and RDE emission norms.

Till recently supercharging was the most accepted technique for boost solution in gasoline engines. Recent advents in turbochargers introduced turbocharging technology into gasoline engines. Turbocharging of gasoline engines has helped in powertrains with higher power density and less overall weight. Along with the advantages in performance, new challenges arise, both in terms of thermal management as well as overall acoustic performance of powertrains. The study focuses mainly on NVH aspects of turbocharging of gasoline engines. Compressor surge is a most common phenomenon in turbochargers. As the operating point on the compressor map moves closer to the surge line, the compressor starts to generate noise. The amplitude and frequency of the noise depends on the proximity of the operating point to the surge line. The severity of noise can be reduced by selecting a turbocharger with enough compressor surge margin.

With increase in demand for quieter product and reduction in masking noise, axle whine management plays a crucial role in the early product development process. Whine is tonal in nature and humans are more sensitive to tonal memory, hence this makes user to experience a very unpleasant ride which in turn results in bad product credibility. Dynamic mesh force excitation is the cause of the axle whine noise. Critical factors in consideration are gear micro geometry variability, misalignments, temperature of operation and resulting bearing pre-load, operating loads, and structural resonances that carry the excitation to the occupant’s ear. The variability associated with gear micro-geometry plays crucial role during optimization in the quest for robust gear design.

The stringent emission regulations coupled with tighter CO2 targets demand extreme optimization of the diesel engines. In this context, it is important to minimize the cylinder bore distortions in cold and hot conditions. The cold bore distortion is primarily due to the assembly forces applied by the cylinder head bolts whereas the hot distortion is a resultant of local metal temperatures and structural rigidity. The present work describes the extreme optimization techniques used to reduce the bore distortion of a modern high power-density (60 kW / lit) diesel engine, Moreover, the benefits of reducing the bore distortion are quantified in terms of cylinder system friction, blowby rate, oil consumption (OC) and ash loading rate of the diesel particulate filter (DPF). An optimized torque plate honing is used to reduce the bore distortion in cold conditions.

Transportation system is at the brink of revolution and many new ways of mobility are arising in the market to ease the pressure on the established transportation infrastructure. Many companies and governments around the world are exploring innovative options in the space of shared mobility to reduce the overall carbon footprint. To expedite the adoption of shared mobility in India, it is necessary to make such options comfortable and cost-effective. One of the most effective way to make shared mobility options cost effective is to comfortably increase occupancy per vehicle footprint. This paper aims to evaluate a novel method of occupant seating to identify the maximum number of passengers a vehicle can accommodate without significant impact on occupant comfort. It is assumed that shared mobility options are used for a short duration of commute, and hence the comfort of the seat can be marginally compromised to increase the total number of occupants.

The Indian automotive industry has migrated from BS IV (Bharat stage IV) to BS VI (Bharat Stage VI) emission norms from 1st April 2020. This two-step migration of the emission regulations from BS IV to BS VI demands significant engineering efforts to design and integrate highly complex exhaust after-treatment system (EATS). In the present work, the methodology used to evaluate the EATS of a high power-density 1.5-liter diesel engine is discussed in detail. The EATS assembly of the engine consists of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), a diesel particulate filter with selective catalytic reduction coating (sDPF), urea dosing module and urea mixer. Typically, all these components that are needed for emission control are integrated into a single canning of shell thickness ~1.5mm. Moreover, the complete EATS is directly mounted onto the engine with suitable mounting brackets on the cylinder block and cylinder head.

Reducing the mechanical friction of internal combustion engines could play a major role in improving the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). Hence, it is important to reduce the friction at every component and sub-system level. In the present work, the oil pump friction of a 1.5 liter 4-cylinder diesel engine is optimized by reducing the oil pump displacement volume by 20%. This could be achieved by adopting an optimized oil supply concept which could reduce the oil leakage through the main bearings and connecting rod bearings. A 1-dimensional oil flow simulation was carried out to predict the oil flow distribution across the engine for different speeds. The results indicate that the oil leakage through the main bearings and connecting rod bearings contribute to ~25% of the total oil flow requirement of the engine. In a conventional oil supply concept, the big-end bearing of each connecting rod is connected to the adjacent main bearing through an internal oil hole.

Aeroacoustics of vehicles is becoming an important design criterion as it directly affects passenger’s comfort. The wind noise at highway speeds (>80 KMPH) is a critical quality concern under normal and crosswind conditions and dominant factor in assessing acoustic comfort of the vehicle. Wind noise is caused by the vortex air flow around a vehicle body and air leakage through the sealing gaps of attached parts. This majorly contributes to high frequency noise (>250 Hz). Accurate identification and control of noise sources and leakage paths result in improved acoustic comfort of the vehicle. In this paper, aero-acoustic quality characteristics of validation prototype vehicle are studied. The major wind noise sources and leakage paths in the vehicle are identified through in-house blower set up in the semi anechoic room. The overall wind noise level and articulation index of vehicle at various speeds are determined through on- road measurements.

Passenger cars claim their presence in market by its pick up, top speed and maximum power of the engine. The study described in this paper is focused on improving the low-end performance of a 4-cylinder 1.6 L diesel engine while meeting the targeted maximum power. To meet the cause turbocharger works as an important element of the engine. A comparative study between regulated two stage turbocharger (R2S) and variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) shows that on a 4-cylinder engine VGT is superior by providing higher boost at 1000 engine rpm full load, than R2S, while in 3-cylinder (same displacement) the opposite effect can be seen. After simulations and iterations, it was confirmed that the in 4-cylinder the exhaust pulse cancellation were leading to a lesser exhaust energy at the turbine inlet. This pulse interaction leads to higher residual gas content which affects the low-end performance.

Indian Automobile Industry has started using Six Sigma for Vehicle Design and process improvement to compete with Global competition. This Paper describes how the Tools of Six Sigma shall be used as an Effective Tool for both redefining the Design and the Process Improvement. This Paper talks on the evolution of DMADV approach in Indian Automobile Industry compared to the related Trends in Other Manufacturing Sectors. The Author describes how the warranty failures in Commercial Segment Vehicle Category which was the selling talk for the Competition was addressed in Leading Indian Automobile OEM. As this Failure was adversely impacting customer satisfaction and no solution seemed forthcoming, top Management indicated to use a radically different approach to solve the problem within a years’ time.