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A high-power photovoltaic (PV) system for an electric vehicle was fabricated. The total rated power of the PV panels was 1150 W. A demonstration test was conducted for a year. The test data showed that the prototype PV system was able to generate energy equivalent to approximately 7,100 km/year in driving distance. It was also found that if the vehicle is used for commuting about 10 km one way, it is mostly not necessary to recharge the vehicle from the grid throughout the year. In addition, the system was able to maintain maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control during driving even when the solar radiation changed frequently.

This paper describes a method for evaluating the equivalent temperature in vehicle cabins based on the new international standard ISO 14505-4, published in 2021. ISO 14505-4 defines two simulation methods to determine a thermal comfort index “equivalent temperature.” One method uses a numerical thermal manikin, and the other uses thermal factors to calculate. This study discusses the latter method to validate its accuracy, identify the key points to consider, and examine its advantages and disadvantages. First, the definition of equivalent temperature and the equation to calculate the equivalent temperature using thermal factors, such as air temperature, radiant temperature, solar radiation, and air velocity, are explained. In addition, the experiments and simulation methods are described.

Nissan’s variable compression turbo (VC-Turbo) engine has a multilink mechanism that continuously adjusts the top and bottom dead centers of the piston to change the compression ratio and achieve both fuel economy and high power performance. Increasing the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate is an effective way to further reduce the fuel consumption, although this increases the exhaust gas condensation in the cylinder bores, causing a more corrosive environment. When the EGR rate is increased in a VC-Turbo engine, the combined effect of piston sliding and exhaust gas condensation at the top dead center accelerates the corrosive wear of the thermal spray coating. Stainless steel coating is used to improve the corrosion resistance, but the adhesion strength between the coating and the cylinder bores is reduced.

Exhaust gas from the diesel engine contains particulate matter (PM) of soot that affects human health and the environment. For the reduction of the emission of the PM, the diesel particulate filter (DPF) is placed in the exhaust system. The pressure drops increases with the PM deposit quantity in the DPF, which results in the burden of the engine. Therefore, the PM should be removed regularly by oxidation process called regeneration. Consumption of fuel is improved by optimizing the timing of regeneration. However, it is difficult to visualize the behavior of PM trapping and oxidation. We have proposed a series of models from PM deposition to the oxidation process in the DPF. In this study, the behavior of deposition and oxidation of PM in the DPF with a catalyst are calculated. The numerical calculations are performed to estimate PM deposition-oxidation process within the DPF. The results are obtained using the simplified model constructed in this study.

Dilution combustion with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) has been applied for the improvement of thermal efficiency. In order to stabilize the high diluted combustion, it is important to form an appropriate turbulence in the combustion cylinder. Turbulent intensity needs to be strengthened to increase the combustion speed, while too strong turbulence causes ignition instability. In this study, the factor of combustion instability under high diluted conditions was analyzed by using single cylinder engine test, optical engine test and 3D CFD simulation. Finally, methodology of in-cylinder flow design is attempted to build without any function by taking into account the representative scales of turbulence and premixed combustion.

The diesel particulate filter (DPF) has attracted strong attention as a desirable after-treatment device for the particulate matter (PM) contained in exhaust gas of diesel engine. When particulate matter was deposited on a DPF, the pressure drop increases due to the PM trapping in the surface cavities of the DPF. After that, an active regeneration is required. Since more fuel is required for the regeneration in addition to the normal driving (passive regeneration), the fuel economy deteriorates. In order to improve the performance, a passive regeneration is necessary. In this study, we compared the dependence of the shape and depth of the cavity of the DPF on the PM trapping process by a comprehensive overall model and numerical calculation. We found that the pressure drop and elapsed time of the PM trapping varied, strongly depending on the cavity shape of the DPF surface. Further we examined the relative importance of the amount of PM deposit and the surface cavity shape of the DPF.

In-cylinder total sampling technique utilizing a single-cylinder diesel engine equipped with hydraulic valve actuation system has been developed. In this study, particulate matter (PM) included in the in-cylinder sample gas was collected on a quartz filter, and the polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) component and soot were subsequently quantified by thermal desorption-gas chromatograph mass spectrometry (TD-GCMS) and a carbon analyzer, respectively. Cylinder-averaged histories of PAHs and soot were obtained by changing the sampling timing. It was found that decreasing intake oxygen concentration suppresses in-cylinder soot oxidation, and the fuel with higher aromatic and naphthenic contents accelerates soot production.

A reduced chemical kinetic model of diesel fuel, which can be applied to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation coupled with detailed chemistry using the CONVERGE software, is developed to simulate the particulate matter (PM) formation process. We analyzed the influence of varying intake oxygen concentrations and fuel composition on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and soot formation processes. When the intake oxygen concentration was decreased, no significant difference was observed in PAH formation associated with soot formation, and the soot mass generated after the peak was high. When the fuel contained high levels of aromatics and naphthene, the PAH and soot formation mass increased. These tendencies were in good agreement with experimental results [1].

During this decade, the constant increase and globalization of passenger car sales has led countries to adopt a common language for the treatment of CO2 and other pollutant emissions. In this regard, the WLTC - World-wide harmonized Light duty Test Cycle - stands as the new global reference cycle for fuel consumption, CO2 and pollutant emissions across the globe. Regulations keep a constant pressure on CO2 emission reduction leading vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers to modify hardware to ensure compliance. Within this balance, lubricants remain worthwhile contributors to lowering CO2 emission and fuel consumption. Yet with WTLC, new additional lubricant designs are likely to be required to ensure optimized friction due to its new cycle operating conditions, associated powertrain hardware and worldwide product use.

The mechanism causing in-cylinder injector tip soot formation, which is the main source of particle number (PN) emissions under operating conditions after engine warm-up, was analyzed in this study. The results made clear a key parameter for reducing injector tip soot PN emissions. An evaluation of PN emissions for different amounts of injector tip wetting revealed that an injector with larger tip wetting forms higher PN emissions. The results also clarified that the amount of deposits does not have much impact on PN emissions. The key parameter for reducing injector tip soot is injector tip wetting that has a linear relationship with injector tip soot PN emissions.

The new lubricant was newly developed for differential gear unit to contribute to all friction factors/conditions (Boundary, Hydrodynamic & those Mixed Lubrication) even if the differential gear is operating under very severe conditions such as high-gear-contact pressure and highly sliding speed. The main concept of development was selecting and formulating the optimized additives for severe lubrication conditions in order to achieve the best balance between thinner-film thickness and extreme pressure performance. In conclusion, by the application of both synthetic base oil instead of mineral one and activation technology of MoDTC in spite of ZnDTP free formulation, it is finally realized to reduce the torque of final drive unit by 40% and it can be estimated the 0.5% of CO2 reduction in actual vehicles.

In the previous paper (Part 1), measurements of equivalent temperature (teq) using a clothed thermal manikin and modeling of the clothed thermal manikin for teq simulation were discussed. In this paper (Part 2), the outline of the proposed mesh-free simulation method is described and comparisons between teq in the calculations and measurements under summer cooling with solar radiation and winter heating without solar radiation conditions in a vehicle cabin are discussed. The key factors for evaluating teq on each body segment of the clothed thermal manikin under cooling and heating conditions are also discussed. In the mesh-free simulation, even if there is a hole or an unnecessary shape on the CAD model, only a group of points whose density is controlled in the simulation area is generated without modifying the CAD model. Therefore, the fluid mesh required by conventional CFD code is not required, and the analysis load is significantly reduced.

The present paper is Part 1 of two consecutive studies. Part 1 describes three subjects: definition of the equivalent temperature (teq), measurements of teq using a clothed thermal manikin in a vehicle cabin, and modeling of the clothed thermal manikin for teq simulation. After defining teq, a method for measuring teq with a clothed thermal manikin was examined. Two techniques were proposed in this study: the definition of “the total heat transfer coefficient between the skin surface and the environment in a standard environment (hcal)” based on the thermal insulation of clothing (Icl), and a method of measuring Icl in consideration of the area factor (fcl), which indicates the ratio of the clothing surface to the manikin surface area. Then, teq was measured in an actual vehicle cabin by the proposed method under two conditions: a summer cooling condition with solar radiation and a winter heating condition without solar radiation.

Wheels play an important role in determining the aerodynamic drag of passenger vehicles. This is because the contribution of wheels to aerodynamic drag comes from not only the wheels themselves, but also from the interference effect between wheel wakes and the base wake. As far as the authors are aware, there have been no reports about aerodynamic drag sensitivity to wheel shape factors for different vehicle types and different exterior body shapes. The purpose of this study was to clarify CD sensitivity to wheel shape factors for a sedan and an SUV, including different rear fender shapes. Many different wheel configurations were investigated in terms of the CD, base pressure and flow fields in wind tunnel tests. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to clarify CD sensitivity to each wheel shape factor based on the test data. This study revealed high CD sensitivity factors for both the sedan and SUV.

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) promises automated and highly efficient charging of electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles. As commercial development proceeds forward, the technical challenges of efficiency, interoperability, interference and safety are a primary focus for this industry. The SAE Vehicle Wireless Power and Alignment Taskforce published the Recommended Practice J2954 to help harmonize the first phase of high-power WPT technology development. SAE J2954 uses a performance-based approach to standardizing WPT by specifying ground and vehicle assembly coils to be used in a test stand (per Z-class) to validate performance, interoperability and safety. The main goal of this SAE J2954 bench testing campaign was to prove interoperability between WPT systems utilizing different coil magnetic topologies. This type of testing had not been done before on such a scale with real automaker and supplier systems.

Urea/SCR systems have been proven effective at reducing NOx over a wide range of operating conditions on mid/heavy duty diesel vehicles. However, design changes due to reduction in the size of modern compact Urea/SCR systems and lower exhaust temperature have increased the possibility of urea deposit formation. Urea deposits are formed when urea in films and droplets undergoes undesirable secondary reactions and generate by-products such as ammelide, biuret and cyanuric Acid (CYA). Ammelide and CYA are difficult to decompose which lead to the formation of solid deposits on the surface. This phenomenon degrades the performance of the after treatment system by decreasing overall mixing efficiency, lowering de-NOx efficiency and increasing pressure drop. Therefore, mitigating urea deposits is a primary design goal of modern diesel after-treatment systems.

This paper describes a study of drag reduction devices for production pick-up trucks with a body-on-frame structure using full-scale wind tunnel testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. First, the flow structure around a pick-up truck was investigated and studied, focusing in particular on the flow structure between the cabin and tailgate. It was found that the flow structure around the tailgate was closely related to aerodynamic drag. A low drag flow structure was found by flow analysis, and the separation angle at the roof end was identified as being important to achieve the flow structure. While proceeding with the development of a new production model, a technical issue of the flow structure involving sensitivity to the vehicle velocity was identified in connection with optimization of the roof end shape. (1)A tailgate spoiler was examined for solving this issue.

The purpose of this work was to gain a fundamental understanding of which fuel property parameters are responsible for particulate emission characteristics, associated with key intermediate behavior in the engine cylinder such as the fuel film and insufficient mixing. Accordingly, engine tests were carried out using various fuels having different volatility and chemical compositions under different coolant temperature conditions. In addition, a fundamental spray and film visualization analysis was also conducted using a constant volume vessel, assuming the engine test conditions. As for the physical effects, the test results showed that a low volatility fuel displayed high particulate number (PN) emissions when the injection timing was advanced. The fundamental test clearly showed that the amount of fuel film on the impingement plate increased under such operating conditions with a low volatility fuel.

Because of rising demands to improve aerodynamic performance owing to its impact on vehicle dynamics, efforts were previously made to reduce aerodynamic lift and yawing moment based on steady-state measurements of aerodynamic forces. In recent years, increased research on dynamic aerodynamics has partially explained the impact of aerodynamic forces on vehicle dynamics. However, it is difficult to measure aerodynamic forces while a vehicle is in motion, and also analyzing the effect on vehicle dynamics requires measurement of vehicle behavior, amount of steering and other quantities noiselessly, as well as an explanation of the mutual influence with aerodynamic forces. Consequently, the related phenomena occurring in the real world are still not fully understood.

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between truck-pedestrian crash impact velocity and the risks of serious injury and fatality to pedestrians. We used micro and macro truck-pedestrian accident data from the Japanese Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) database. We classified vehicle type into five categories: heavy-duty trucks (gross vehicle weight [GVW] ≥11 × 103 kg [11 tons (t)], medium-duty trucks (5 × 103 kg [5 t] ≤ GVW < 11 × 103 kg [11 t]), light-duty trucks (GVW <5 × 103 kg [5 t]), box vans, and sedans. The fatality risk was ≤5% for light-duty trucks, box vans, and sedans at impact velocities ≤ 30 km/h and for medium-duty trucks at impact velocities ≤20 km/h. The fatality risk was ≤10% for heavy-duty trucks at impact velocities ≤10 km/h. Thus, fatality risk appears strongly associated with vehicle class.