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Fuel efficiency is one of the most important customer requirement in Indian market as well as very crucial to meet the upcoming regulation like CAFÉ for Indian Automotive manufacturers. Most of the technology changes to meet this challenge, always come with a cost penalty with hardware addition. To counter the above challenge, a strategy has been identified in the EMS software that will dynamically adapt the spark timing based on fuel octane rating. This strategy has resulted in fuel efficiency improvement on Modified Indian Drive Cycle on chassis dynamometer test and as well as on real life road tests using fuels with various octane number.

Prime concern for electric vehicle where the application of the vehicle is public transport, is the charging of vehicle and operation of its infrastructure. Such an example of operating the EV buses is under the GCC (gross cost contract) model, with high operation time and comparatively lesser time for charging. It is challenging to meet these requirements. To counter this situation in fleet operated busses it is proposed to adapt an automated charging method which involves minimum man power intervention and automated mechanism to connect & disconnect the charging connectors. This paper proposes an automated pantograph mechanism based method of charging EV buses, meeting requirements as per SAE J3105 & ISO 15118 standards, which would be an ideal way to resolve the current situation.

Adaption of EV powertrains in existing vehicle architecture has created many unique challenges in meeting performance, reliability, safety, ease of manufacturing & serviceability at optimum cost. Mounting of large size battery packs in existing vehicle architecture is one of them. Specific energy & the energy density of Lithium ion batteries are very lower compared to Diesel & Petrol, which requires high volume & weight for equivalent energy storage. For movement of many passengers and to ensure sufficient range EV buses typically needs large amount of energy and for storage of same bigger size battery packs are required. These large size batteries directly affect vehicle architecture, seating layout, ease of assembly & serviceability. Moreover the heavy mass of batteries directly influences vehicle dynamics & performance characteristics such as vehicle handling, roll & NVH. The most important consideration in design of EV vehicles in general and buses in specific is safety.

There is need of the hour to reduce greenhouse gases and become carbon neutral. Global warming and the increase in pollution are big threats to humankind. The Paris agreement is a major step towards reducing pollution and greenhouse gases. To improve the situation, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle is a promising technology that enables zero emissions, zero greenhouse gas generation and high efficiency with superior performance for long-range applications as compared to other green technologies. Although it is a promising and beneficial technology, there is limited information available in the public domain about fuel cell technology and its accessories. Air intake and cooling system’s right functioning is very important for proper fuel cell functioning. Incoming air to the fuel cell stack needs to be processed by cleaning, humidifying, cooling or heating. If the incoming air isn't clean, it will deteriorate the fuel cell's performance; it may get blocked, or even damaged.

Fuel cell electric vehicles generally have two power sources – the fuel cell power system and a high voltage battery pack - to power the vehicle operations. The fuel cell power system is the main source of power for the vehicle and its operations are supported by the battery pack. The battery pack helps to tackle the dynamic power demands from the vehicle such as during acceleration, to which the response of the fuel cell might be slower. The battery is also used to recover the energy from regeneration during braking and can also be used to extend the range of the vehicle in case the storage tanks runs out of hydrogen. In order to maximize the fuel efficiency of the fuel cell power system it is critical that these two power sources are used in conjunction with each other in an optimal manner.

This paper addresses challenges in current Fuel Cell Stack Buses and presents a novel Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Bus (FCEV-Bus) powertrain that combines fuel cells, ultra-capacitors, and batteries to enhance performance and reliability. Existing Fuel Cell Stack Buses struggle with responsiveness, power fluctuations, and cost-efficiency. The FCEV-Bus powertrain uses a Fuel Cell stack as the primary power source, ultra-capacitors for quick power response, and batteries for addressing power variations. Batteries also save costs in certain cases. This combination optimizes power management, improves system efficiency, and extends the FCEV-Bus's operational life. In conclusion, this paper offers an innovative solution to overcome traditional fuel cell system limitations, making FCEV-Buses more efficient and reliable for potential wider adoption.

NVH is of prime importance in buses as passengers prefer comfort. Traditionally vehicle NVH is analysed post completion of proto built however this leads to modifications, increases cost & development time. In modern approach physical validation is replaced by CAE. There are many sources of NVH in vehicle however this article is focused about the methodology to improve NVH performance of bus by analysing and improving the stiffness and mobility of various chassis frame attachment points on which source of vibrations are mounted or attached. In this study chassis frame attachment stiffness of Engine mounts and propeller shafts is focused.

High strength aluminium alloys are an ideal material in the automotive sector leading to a significant weight reduction and enhancement in product safety. In recent past extensive development in the field of high strength steel and aluminium was undertaken. This development has been propelled due to demand for light weight automotive parts. The high strength to weight ratio possessed by Al alloy helps in reducing the total weight of the vehicle without effecting the overall performance, thereby increasing the fuel economy, and reducing the carbon emission level. Joining of high strength aluminium alloy is critical to develop durable automotive products. Joining of high strength aluminium alloy for mass production in automobile industry is a challenging task. Laser welding is recognized as an advanced process to join materials with a laser beam of high-power, high- energy density.

Customer preference towards quieter vehicles is ever-increasing. Exhaust tailpipe noise is one of the major contributors to in-cab noise and pass-by-noise of the vehicle. This research proposes a silencer with an integrated acoustic valve to reduce exhaust tailpipe noise. Incident exhaust wave coming from the engine strikes the acoustic valve and generates reflected waves. Incident waves and reflected waves cancel out each other which results in energy loss of the exhaust gas. This loss of energy results in reduced noise at the exhaust tailpipe end. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed silencer on the vehicle, NVH (Noise, vibration, and harshness) performance of the proposed silencer was compared with the existing silencer which is without an acoustic valve. A CNG (Compressed natural gas) Bus powered by a six-in-line cylinder engine was chosen for the NVH testing.

A bus is integral part of public transportation in both rural and urban areas. It is also used for scheduled transport, tourism, and school transport. Buses are the common mode of transport all over the world. The growth in economy, the electrification of public transport, demand in shared transport, etc., is leading to a surge in the demand for buses and accelerating the overall growth of the bus industry. With the increased number of buses, the issue of safety of passengers and the crew assumes special importance. The comfort of driver and passenger in the vehicle involves the vibration performance and therefore, the structural integrity of buses is critically important. Bus safety act depicts the safety and comfort of bus operations, management of safety risks, continuous improvement in bus safety management, public confidence in the safety of bus transport, appropriate stakeholder involvement and the existence of a safety culture among bus service providers.

In the modern and fast growing automotive sector, reliability & durability are two terms of utmost importance along with weight & cost optimization. Therefore it is important to explore new technology which has less weight, low manufacturing cost and better strength. The new technology developed always seek for a quick, cost effective and reliable methodology for its design validation so that any modification can be made by identifying the failures. This paper presents the rig level test methodology to validate and to correlate the CAE derived strain levels, life cycle & failure mode of newly developed light weight stabilizer link for EV Bus suspension

Climate change due to global warming calls for more fuel-efficient technologies. Parallel Full hybrids are one of the promising technologies to curb the climate change by reducing CO2 emissions significantly. Different parallel hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) architectures such as P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 are adopted based on different parameters like fuel economy, drivability, performance, packaging, comfort and total cost of ownership of the vehicle. It is a great challenge to select right hybrid architecture for different vehicle segments. This paper compares P2 and P3 HEV with AMT transmission to evaluate most optimized architecture based on vehicle segment. Vehicles selected for study are from popular vehicle segments in India with AMT transmission i.e. Entry segment hatch and Compact SUV. HEV P2 and P3 architectures are simulated and studied with different vehicle segments for fuel economy, performance, drivability and TCO.

CNG fuel has recently gained popularity in passenger and commercial vehicles due to its lower cost of operation compared to gasoline and diesel. It is also a more environmentally friendly fuel than other fuels. Converting a customer vehicle with a Diesel option to a CNG option is more difficult than building a new CNG vehicle. In this we are outlining the design of CNG fuel systems and the challenges of replacing them during the transition from Diesel to CNG and qualifying the Government Norms for running the vehicle will increase the life as well as make our environment more eco-friendly than diesel vehicles.

In the past few decades CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) fuel growing as an alternate fuel due to its more economically as compared to Gasoline & Diesel fuels by vehicle running cost in both passenger as well as commercial vehicles, additionally it is more environment friendly & safer fuel with respect to gasoline & diesel. At standard temperature & pressure fuel density of Natural Gas (0.7-0.9 kg/m3) is lower than Gasoline (715-780 kg/m3), Diesel (849~959 kg/m3), therefore CNG fuel require higher storage space as compared to Gasoline & Diesel & also it stores at very high pressure (200-250 bar) to further increase the fuel density 180 kg/m3 (at 200 bar) and for 215 kg/m3 (at 250 bar) in CNG cylinders so that max fuel contains in the cylinders and increase the vehicle running range per fuel filling & reduces its fuel filling frequency at filling stations.

Petroleum Oil, Lubricants (POL) & Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker vehicles are special application segment that holds a significant Market share for commercial vehicles. These vehicles need to comply additional Safety regulations specified by Petroleum and explosives safety organization (PESO). For compliance to Rule-70, Protective heat shield on exhaust system needs to be designed and validated in order to avoid any catastrophic failure. The paper demonstrates the methodology to identify the worst case scenario for the existing commercial vehicle segment. Based on detail digital mock up (DMU) review Metallic heat shield was designed on after treatment system (ATS). The flexible heat shield was designed for exhaust pipe & joints in order to restrain the heat flow to the surrounding aggregates. After finalising design, CFD analysis was carried out to find out the thermal effects on various components and results within acceptable limits.

Advent of EV powertrain has considerable effect on transmission development activities as competed to regular ICE transmission. Conventional ICE transmission and the transmission for an e-powertrain differ on fundamental level. The conventional transmission has number of gear ratios, shift mechanism which enables the transmission to deliver a smooth power output as per demand from the driver. Whereas the e-powertrain transmission is mostly a single gear ratio transmission (reducer) which primarily depends on speed and torque variation from the motor to cater the driver requirement. Hence, the operating speeds of such e-transmissions can vary from 0 to 20000 rpm in both forward and reverse directions. Such a large speed variation as compared with conventional transmission calls for special attention towards the lubrication of internal components. High speeds and lower oil viscosities tend to disrupt the oil films in between contact surfaces causing metal to metal contact.

Sustainability has evolved from being just a niche engagement to a fundamental necessity. The reduction of carbon emissions from aspects of human activity has become desirable for its ability to mitigate the impact of climate change. The Transportation industry is a critical part of the global economy – any effort to curb emissions will have a significant impact on CO2 reduction. Engine lubricant can play an efficient and key role to enhance powertrain performance that have undergone significant hardware changes to reduce emissions. As part of a significant collaborative programme between Tata Motors and Infineum, a new engine oil formulation SAE 5W-30 API FA-4 has been developed and commercially introduced for use in the modern Bharat Stage 6 Phase 2 engines.

This paper introduces a novel approach to automate PID calibration for closed-loop control systems and the creep control function in an electric vehicle. Through a comprehensive literature survey, it is found that this method is the first of its kind to be applied in the field of automated electric vehicle calibration for Creep function. The proposed approach utilizes a systematic methodology that automatically tunes the PID parameters based on predefined performance criteria, including energy consumption and jerk. To implement this methodology, the ETAS INCA FLOW software, which provides guided calibration methods for in-vehicle testing & calibration, is employed. The calibration process is performed on a real-time electric vehicle platform to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results of this study showcases the advantages of automated PID calibration for closed-loop control systems and creep control function in small commercial electric vehicle.

In the automotive industry, silicon adhesive has become increasingly popular due to its benefits in ease of assembly and cost savings associated with material and manufacturing processes. To meet the imperative of minimizing both time and expenses during the project's development phase, it becomes essential to select the appropriate gasket material and an optimal flange design at the outset of the design process. In order to achieve stringent emission standards such as Real Driving Emission (RDE) and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) norms, a better sealing performance is an essential parameter. Various types of liquid gaskets such as silicon rubber based Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) sealants and thermoset plastic based Anaerobic sealants are widely used in an Internal Combustion engine. They are commonly used for the components such as oil sump, bedplate, and gearbox housings, etc.

The brake systems are given top priority by automotive OEMs in the development of medium and heavy commercial trucks and buses, which can carry increased loads. When trucks and buses are travelling at high speeds or crossing downhill, during braking operations, the friction faces (brake drum and liner) experience a significant rise in temperature due to the conversion of kinetic energy into heat energy within seconds. This lowers the friction coefficient at the interface, resulting in distortions, thermal cracks, hub grease burning, and overheating. Drum brake system designs must be improved and optimized to dissipate more heat from the brake drum assembly and prevent brake failure. Nowadays advance transient numerical simulations assist in the design, development and optimization of the brake system to visualize 3D flow physics and temperature variations throughout the brake duty cycles. In the current study, different Cases of drum brakes to improve cooling efficiency are evaluated.