Refine Your Search

Search Results

Viewing 1 to 20 of 20
Technical Paper

Validation of an Organic Rankine Cycle Simulation Tool against European Stationary Cycle Test Modes

2017-03-28
2017-01-0521
The development of experimental ORC systems is an extremely complex, time consuming and costly task. Running a range of experiments on a number of different component configurations may be prohibitively expensive and subject to equipment issues and failures. Yet ORC systems offer significant potential for automotive manufacturers to improve vehicle efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions; the technology is particularly relevant for those involved in the design and/or manufacture of heavy duty trucks. This paper is focused on the validation of a computational ORC system simulation tool against a number of SAE published test results based on the European Stationary Cycle. Such studies on industry standard systems are essential in order to help promote confidence in a virtual prototype approach.
Technical Paper

Electronic Does Not Equal Smart: Service Documentation and Brand Quality

2017-03-28
2017-01-1686
A vehicle's electrical system is one of the top sources of problems requiring service. For years now electronic means of service documentation have been replacing static documents as a way of speeding vehicle troubleshooting. The next step on this path of evolution is to turn this e-documentation into smart maintenance systems, capable of offering technicians true data insights and highly-efficient diagnostic procedures. This paper briefly summarizes the technologies underpinning the evolution in electrical system diagnosis and repair; which include schematic layout automation using prototypes and rule-based styling, instant language translation, 2D/3D view links with schematics, interactive diagnostic procedures, and dynamically-generated signal-tracing diagrams. These technologies empower after sales service teams with state-of-the-art capabilities; which not only reduce costs but also improve the quality of the brand in the eyes of its customers.
Technical Paper

Consolidating AUTOSAR with Complex Operating Systems (AUTOSAR on Linux)

2017-03-28
2017-01-1617
The evolution in automotive qualified electronic components, including the birth of powerful multicore System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms has fundamentally changed the approach to designing automotive electronic systems today. This evolution is not only happening on the hardware side, but also on the software design side where there has been consolidation of multiple domains onto a single SoC. This type of consolidation allows shorter time-to-market with consumer-ready features to address immediate market demands. This paper explores the reasons for this trend and available architectures for achieving consolidation. AUTOSAR on Linux is one of those architectures and has been popular in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and infotainment applications, allowing complex functions to smoothly integrate into the vehicle network.
Journal Article

Quantifying Electrical System Worst-Case Performance Prior to Prototype Test and Production

2016-04-05
2016-01-0074
Electronics now control or drive a large part of automotive system design and development, from audio system enhancements to improvements in engine and drive-train performance, and innovations in passenger safety. Industry estimates suggest that electronic systems account for more than 30% of the cost of a new automobile and represent approximately 90% of the innovations in automotive design. As electronic content increases, so does the possibility of electronic system failure and the potential for compromised vehicle safety. Even when designed properly, electronics can be the weakest link in automotive system performance due to variations in component reliability and environmental conditions. Engineers need to understand worst-case system performance as early in the design process as possible.
Technical Paper

The Convergence of Multiple Vehicle Network Protocols: How to Select One Network over the Other and the Ensuing Variant Challenges

2016-04-05
2016-01-0062
Communication between electronic control units (ECUs) and vehicle gateways can span LIN, CAN, FlexRay, and Ethernet. Designing an in-vehicle network supporting multiple car platform variants, with respect to selecting the appropriate technology to connect ECUs and gateway networks, and making timing based analysis and synthesis is extremely challenging. This paper discusses how to handle a variety of communication protocols on an individual network level and how multiple networks relate to the overall communication design of a vehicle platform ensuring consistent variants.
Technical Paper

How Formal Techniques Can Keep Hackers from Driving You into a Ditch

2016-04-05
2016-01-0066
The number one priority in vehicle security is to harden the root-of-trust; from which everything else - the hardware, firmware, OS, and application layer’s security - is derived. If the root-of-trust can be compromised, then the whole system is vulnerable. In the near future the root-of-trust will effectively be an encryption key - a digital signature for each vehicle - that will be stored in a secure memory element inside all vehicles. In this paper we will show how a mathematical, formal analysis technique can be applied to ensure that this secure storage cannot (A) be read by an unauthorized party or accidentally “leak” to the outputs or (B) be altered, overwritten, or erased by unauthorized entities. We will include a real-world case study from a consumer electronics maker that has successfully used this technology to secure their products from attacks 24/7/365.
Technical Paper

How to Integrate Model-Based Systems Engineering across Automotive EE Domains

2016-04-05
2016-01-0005
Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) [1, 2] has emerged as a solution to the extreme design challenges caused by automotive Electrical/Electronic (EE) complexity [3]. This paper explores how coherency in early design can be applied across the entire EE design cycle. Starting from a functional abstraction, we introduce a new lightweight solution to evaluate and guide optimized implementations integrating software, networks, devices, and connectivity. The pattern used for this and the data created can be directly driven into downstream, domain-specific design flows delivering vehicle lower costs, better design quality, and faster innovation.
Technical Paper

Guaranteed Timing Behavior Begins with an Established Ethernet Backbone

2016-04-05
2016-01-0061
Increasingly, Ethernet is being used in automotive as a vehicle network backbone. It is ideal for service-oriented communications; streamed communications, such as Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) [1]; and Diagnostics over Internet Protocol (DoIP) [2] communications - areas in which high-bandwidth and reliable performance are essential. Designers are accustomed to network communication systems CAN, LIN, and FlexRay, but how will the timing performance be verified in an Ethernet network? This paper looks at network-wide timing analysis challenges where a mixture of CAN, FlexRay, and Ethernetbased busses co-exist. It is also worth noting that the AUTOSAR standard [3] supports timing definition for all elements in a mixed topology network, but again, accounting for the many different timing paths is a non-trivial process. Figure 1 The Ethernet backbone serving different domains.
Technical Paper

Systems Engineering Approach to Electrical Wire Interconnection System (EWIS) Development

2015-09-15
2015-01-2447
The development of the Electrical Wire Interconnection System, or EWIS, for today's advanced aircraft is one of the most complicated engineering activities around. In addition to having to respond to very high rates of change during development, the aircraft are continually evolving in electronic and electrical content through their entire lifecycle. Relatively new mandates, such as the CFR Part 25 Subpart H EWIS, have put additional demands on aircraft OEMs and their key suppliers, forcing companies to reassess their design practices and methodologies. This paper investigates how a systems engineering approach to the development of the electrical wiring systems can enable and facilitate a more efficient EWIS development and maintenance methodology.
Technical Paper

The Opportunity - Improving Aerospace Configuration Management

2015-09-15
2015-01-2448
Meeting aerospace configuration control mandates involves a host of issues such as data access control, configuration context and release management, just to name a few factors. Currently, many companies rely on the existing product lifecycle management (PLM) environment to identify and sort out issues during data release. This has proven to be inadequate. In this paper, it is postulated that new design tools employing automation can save a great deal of time when meeting these mandates and eliminate errors as well. The tools are based on the model-based development (MBD) process, which puts much more emphasis on the actual data instead of simply drawings. This paper explores how leading aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are adopting new capabilities for the designers during the development process in an effort to mitigate errors related to data inconsistencies.
Journal Article

Addressing Challenges in Automotive Connectivity: Mobile Devices, Technologies, and the Connected Car

2015-04-14
2015-01-0224
With the dramatic mismatch between handheld consumer devices and automobiles, both in terms of product lifespan and the speed at which new features (or versions) are released, vehicle OEMs are faced with a perplexing dilemma. If the connected car is to succeed there has to be a secure and accessible method to update the software in a vehicle's infotainment system - as well as a real or perceived way to graft in new software content. The challenge has become even more evident as the industry transitions from simple analog audio systems which have traditionally served up broadcast content to a new world in which configurable and interactive Internet-based content rules the day. This paper explores the options available for updating and extending the software capability of a vehicle's infotainment system while addressing the lifecycle mismatch between automobiles and consumer mobile devices.
Technical Paper

Simple Models Allow Simulation and Verification Early in the Design

2015-04-14
2015-01-1375
Compressed development cycles drive increased focus on virtual development, including both functional verification and quantitative simulation of electrical system designs. However, one hurdle often cited is the effort needed to develop behavioral models of electrical components such as wires, fuses, and ECUs and time required to run simulation. This presentation shows that it is fully possible to obtain reliable and “good enough” results to aid product development using simpler models and rule based verifications. By placing these models in a re-usable library and providing a simple, visual interaction environment, early design debugging using a computer becomes possible for every electrical engineer.
Technical Paper

New Technology to Speed Vehicle Electrical System Fault Rectification

2015-04-14
2015-01-0205
Rapid resolution of electrical faults reduces costs, enhances brand image and maximizes vehicle availability. Although diagnostic systems continue to improve, service technicians frequently have to consult schematics, location views and other engineering resources to fix a problem. But this data can be hard to find, hard to understand, and out of date or wrong. This session presents new technology to leverage design data directly into the service domain. The technician is presented only with relevant vehicle-specific data, is able to navigate dynamically through electrical schematics, and can seamlessly link with other resources such as 3D models and repair procedures.
Technical Paper

Design Automation and its Challenges in AUTOSAR-Based Vehicle E/E Systems

2015-04-14
2015-01-0178
AUTOSAR 4.x is being deployed by many of the world's top automotive OEMs. It has also seen increased adoption in regions outside of Europe. OEMs exert significant effort in the design, configuration, integration, and final build of AUTOSAR-based systems. This presentation gives an overview on the main advantages and critical gaps of adopting AUTOSAR to E/E design automation, including the digital interaction between Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs. This paper also discusses how the Electronics Architecture and Software Technology Architecture Description Language, or EAST-ADL, complements some of the weaknesses found in the current AUTOSAR release.
Technical Paper

Jump-Starting AUTOSAR ECU Development

2015-04-14
2015-01-0184
More than ten years have passed since the establishment of the AUTOSAR consortium. Today, AUTOSAR has become a well-established standard for automotive electronic control unit (ECU) development and network design. In fact, several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) now mandate AUTOSAR when sourcing ECUs. With that being said, the standard is getting more complex as new concepts are added with each new release, making integration an increasingly difficult challenge - let alone a challenge developing it alongside ECU application functionality. This paper addresses the integration of AUTOSAR 4.x basic software stack into an ECU project and offers proposed flows for the integration process starting from the ECU extract to a fully configured AUTOSAR stack.
Technical Paper

Enhancing Automotive Wire Harness Manufacturing Through Digital Continuity

2015-04-14
2015-01-0238
Manufacturing companies are benefiting from technology in most key areas of the flow from design through manufacture. This applies to the wire harness industry which is a key element of the modern automotive industry. Wire harness manufacturing engineering, however, is a critical path function that is under severe pressure and yet has been under-served by technology. In some respects it has become the weak link in the chain. Recent innovations in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology are set to change this situation. Software applications are now available to deliver transformational manufacturing engineering automation as well as being able to integrate with technology in other areas of the process. This will enable a digitally continuous data flow that can remove excessive cost, time, and pressure - while helping manufacturers meet the increasing demands of the industry.
Technical Paper

Mixed Voltages and Aluminum Conductors: Assessing New Electrical Technologies

2015-04-14
2015-01-0237
The architecture of vehicle electrical systems is changing rapidly. Electric and hybrid vehicles are driving mixed voltage systems, and cost pressures are making conductor materials like aluminum an increasingly viable competitor to copper. The challenge of assessing the impact of these technologies on vehicle safety and of understanding cost/weight trade-offs is a critical design activity. This session will discuss and demonstrate tradeoff studies at the vehicle level, show how to automatically generate an electrical Failure Mode Effects and Analysis (FMEA) report, and optimize wire sizes for both copper and aluminum at the platform level.
Technical Paper

Systems Engineering in an Automotive E/E Design World

2015-04-14
2015-01-0131
Demand for increased functionality in automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) systems is being propelled by both customers and various governmental regulations and requirements. This demand for more capabilities also introduces new challenges for OEMs who are responsible for implementing these functions. Of course, the cost of system development and manufacturing are considerable, but there are challenges beyond cost that the OEM must deal with, such as increased weight, reliability and quality concerns, exponentially-increasing complexity, and the government requirements. From the point of view of the electrical system platform as a whole, it provides the unique role of integrating all the individual E/E systems. When integrated, unanticipated problems can emerge that require design modifications. Often, these are discovered way down the design path, which results in delays in the program that can lead to missed deadlines and costly rework.
Journal Article

Key Attributes of an EDS Design Environment Built for Optimization

2014-04-01
2014-01-0318
Traditional methods for optimizing an Electrical Distribution System have always been less than ideal. Engineers are typically left with unsophisticated and manual spreadsheet tools. Any detailed feedback on critical metrics such as cost or weight typically relies on another organization and requires week or months. The resulting EDS is inevitably suboptimized, not due to a lack of engineering ability, but rather the tools available. To ensure that the EDS design is optimized from the outset, the design environment itself must be enhanced. There are four key attributes to this design environment. Automation is required to ensure that designs are synthesized rather than manually created. There are many benefits of this, but efficiency and repeatability are most important to this conversation. The ability to measure and assess the design must be available in the design, while the engineer is designing. The metrics used to measure must be easy to create and modify.
Journal Article

Platform Engineering Approach to the Electrical Systems Architecture Development Process

2011-10-18
2011-01-2580
Until recently, the electrical systems architecture that connects hardware devices and their accompanying control components were not separately a part of formal certification mandates. This changed with the advent of the FAR Part25 Subpart H EWISi (Electrical Wire Interconnection Systems) mandate. Interestingly this mandate, like certain others, does not impose specific solution. Instead it provides a structure that outlines what must be accomplished from a variety of perspectives - safety, signal separation, part selection, etc. The designer has some flexibility on which decisions to make, but those decisions can have significant cross-domain impact, which in turn, have influence on the intended product performance. What is needed is a method to design, verify and build virtually the entire electrical architecture with confidence that the best architecture is defined within the program constraints.
X