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Highway safety remains a significant concern, especially in mixed traffic scenarios involving heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) and smaller passenger cars. The vulnerability of HDVs following closely behind smaller cars is evident in incidents involving the lead vehicle, potentially leading to catastrophic rear-end collisions. This paper explores how automatic speed enforcement systems, using speed cameras, can mitigate risks for HDVs in such critical situations. While historical crash data consistently demonstrates the reduction of accidents near speed cameras, this paper goes beyond the conventional notion of crash occurrence reduction. Instead, it investigates the profound impact of driver behavior changes within desired travel speed distribution, especially around speed cameras, and their contribution to the safety of trailing vehicles, with a specific focus on heavy-duty trucks in accident-prone scenarios.

Driver’s license examinations require the driver to perform either a parallel parking or a similar maneuver as part of the on-road evaluation of the driver’s skills. Self-driving vehicles that are allowed to operate on public roads without a driver should also be able to perform such tasks successfully. With this motivation, the S-shaped maneuverability test of the Ohio driver’s license examination is chosen here for automatic execution by a self-driving vehicle with drive-by-wire capability and longitudinal and lateral controls. The Ohio maneuverability test requires the driver to start within an area enclosed by four pylons and the driver is asked to go to the left of the fifth pylon directly in front of the vehicle in a smooth and continuous manner while ending in a parallel direction to the initial one. The driver is then asked to go backwards to the starting location of the vehicle without stopping the vehicle or hitting the pylons.

Roundabout is a unique approach of managing traffic at intersections because it relies on driver’s instincts of safety. Roundabouts are considered safer than other ways of intersection traffic management due to low speed limits, smoother merging, and reduced fatal accidents. Despite their benefits and increasing usage, there is lack of clear understanding of the roundabouts, particularly due to scarcity of data and simulation models and the complexity of the structure. Real-time and offline traffic data recorded at a roundabout provides a basis for 1) identification of the safety issues, 2) understanding unexpected and risky driver behavior, 3) proposing potential mobility solutions, and 4) developing simulation models. The processed data may be used in controlling metered roundabouts, communicating with connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) etc. In this paper an approach to obtain useful traffic information from video feed data at a roundabout is presented.

This study is focused on exploring the possibilities of using camera and route planner images for autonomous driving in an end-to-mid learning fashion. The overall idea is to clone the humans’ driving behavior, in particular, their use of vision for ‘driving’ and map for ‘navigating’. The notion is that we humans use our vision to ‘drive’ and sometimes, we also use a map such as Google/Apple maps to find direction in order to ‘navigate’. We replicated this notion by using end-to-mid imitation learning. In particular, we imitated human driving behavior by using camera and route planner images for predicting the desired waypoints and by using a dedicated control to follow those predicted waypoints. Besides, this work also places emphasis on using minimal and cheaper sensors such as camera and basic map for autonomous driving rather than expensive sensors such Lidar or HD Maps as we humans do not use such sophisticated sensors for driving.

As the development of autonomous vehicles rapidly advances, the use of convoying/platooning becomes a more widely explored technology option for saving fuel and increasing the efficiency of traffic. In cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC), the vehicles in a convoy follow each other under adaptive cruise control (ACC) that is augmented by the sharing of preceding vehicle acceleration through the vehicle to vehicle communication in a feedforward control path. In general, the desired velocity optimization for vehicles in the convoy is based on fuel economy optimization, rather than driveability. This paper is a preliminary study on the impact of the desired velocity profile on the driveability characteristics of a convoy of vehicles and the controller gain impact on the driveability. A simple low-level longitudinal model of the vehicle has been used along with a PD type cruise controller and a generic spacing policy for ACC/CACC.

Past studies have found that a pressure based injury risk function was the best predictor of liver injuries due to blunt impacts. In an effort to expand upon these findings, this study investigated the biomechanical responses of the abdomen of post mortem human surrogates (PMHS) to high-speed seatbelt loading and developed external response targets in conjunction with proposing an abdominal injury criterion. A total of seven unembalmed PMHS, with an average mass and stature of 71 kg and 174 cm respectively were subjected to belt loading using a seatbelt pull mechanism, with the PMHS seated upright in a free-back configuration. A pneumatic piston pulled a seatbelt into the abdomen at the level of the umbilicus with a nominal peak penetration speed of 4.0 m/s. Pressure transducers were placed in the re-pressurized abdominal vasculature, including the inferior vena cava (IVC) and abdominal aorta, to measure internal pressure variation during the event.

Fluid filled bushings are commonly used in vehicle suspension and sub-frame systems due to their spectrally-varying and amplitude-dependent properties. Since the literature on this topic is sparse, a controlled laboratory prototype bushing is first designed, constructed, and instrumented. This device provides different internal combination of long and short flow passages and flow restriction elements. Experiments with sinusoidal displacement excitations are conducted on the prototype, and dynamic stiffness spectra along with fluid chamber pressure responses are measured. The frequency-dependent properties of several commonly seen hydraulic bushing designs are experimentally studied and compared under two excitation amplitudes. Further, new linear time-invariant models with one long and one short flow passages (in parallel or series) are proposed along with the limiting cases.

The acoustic and performance characteristics of an automotive centrifugal compressor are studied on a steady-flow turbocharger test bench, with the goal of advancing the current understanding of compression system instabilities at the low-flow range. Two different ducting configurations were utilized downstream of the compressor, one with a well-defined plenum (large volume) and the other with minimized (small) volume of compressed air. The present study measured time-resolved oscillations of in-duct and external pressure, along with rotational speed. An orifice flow meter was incorporated to obtain time-averaged mass flow rate. In addition, fast-response thermocouples captured temperature fluctuations in the compressor inlet and exit ducts along with a location near the inducer tips.

This article studies the effects of tooth surface waviness and sliding friction on the dynamics and radiated structure-borne noise of a spur gear pair. This study is conducted using an improved gear dynamics model while taking into account the sliding frictional contact between meshing teeth. An analytical six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) linear time varying (LTV) model is developed to predict system responses and bearing forces. The time varying mesh stiffness is calculated using a gear contact mechanics code. A Coulomb friction model is used to calculate the sliding frictional forces. Experimental measurements of partial pressure to acceleration transfer functions are used to calculate the radiated structure-borne noise level. The roles of various time-varying parameters on gear dynamics are analyzed (for a specific example case), and the predictions from the analytical model are compared with prior literature.

This research was performed using a designed experiment to evaluate the loss of dry surface braking performance and stability that could be associated with the disablement of specific brake positions on a tractor-semitrailer. The experiment was intended to supplement and update previous research by Heusser, Radlinski, Flick, and others. It also sought to establish reasonable limits for engineering estimates on stopping performance degradation attributable to partial or complete brake failure of individual S-cam air brakes on a class 8 truck. Stopping tests were conducted from 30 mph and 60 mph, with the combination loaded to GCW (80,000 lb.), half-payload, and with the flatbed semitrailer unladen. Both tractor and semitrailer were equipped with antilock brakes. Along with stopping distance, brake pressures, longitudinal acceleration, road wheel speed, and steering wheel position and effort were also recorded.

A laboratory experiment is designed to examine the clunk phenomenon. A static torque is applied to a driveline system via the mass of an overhanging torsion bar and electromagnet. Then an applied load may be varied via attached mass and released to simulate the step down (tip-out) response of the system. Shaft torques and torsional and translational accelerations are recorded at pre-defined locations. The static torque closes up the driveline clearances in the pinion/ring (crown wheel) mesh. With release of the applied load the driveline undergoes transient vibration. Further, the ratio of preload to static load is adjusted to lead to either no-impact or impact events. Test A provides a ‘linear’ result where the contact stiffness does not pass into clearance. This test is used for confirming transient response and studying friction and damping. Test B is for mass release with sufficient applied torque to pass into clearance, allowing the study of the clunk.

Previously we had found significant errors in the interfacial force results for a source-path-receiver system where only translational motions were measured. This paper examines the sources of those errors by using computational finite and boundary element models. The example case consists of a source structure (with few modes), a receiver (with many modes) and three steel rod paths. We first formulate indirect, yet exact, methods for estimating interfacial forces, by assuming that six-dimensional motions at any location are available though we focus on only the driving points. One- and three-dimensional sub-sets of the proposed formulation are compared with the six-dimensional theory in terms of interfacial force and partial sound pressure spectra.

The severity of an impact in terms of the acceleration in the occupant compartment is dependent not only on the change in vehicle velocity, but also the time for the change in velocity to occur. These depend on the geometry and stiffness of both the striking vehicle and struck object. In narrow-object frontal impacts, impact location can affect the shape and duration of the acceleration pulse that reaches the occupant compartment. In this paper, the frontal impact response of a full-sized pickup to 10 mile per hour and 20 mile per hour pole impacts at the centerline and at a location nearer the frame rails is compared using the acceleration pulse shape, the average acceleration in the occupant compartment, and the residual crush. A bilinear curve relating impact speed to residual crush is developed.

Delta-V and Barrier Equivalent Velocity (BEV) are terms that have been used for many years to describe aspects of what happened to a vehicle when an impact occurred. That is, they are used to describe some physical change in the vehicle state before the impact as compared to after the impact. Specifically, the Delta-V describes the change in the vehicle velocity vector from just before the impact until just after the impact. The BEV attempts to quantify the energy required to cause the damage associated with an impact. In order to understand what happens to a vehicle and its occupants during an impact, it is necessary to examine the acceleration pulse undergone by the vehicle during the impact. The acceleration pulse describes, in detail, how the Delta-V occurs as a function of time, and is related with the deformation of the vehicle as well as the object contacted by the vehicle during an impact.

Charge motion is known to accelerate and stabilize combustion through its influence on turbulence intensity and flame propagation. The present work investigates the effect of charge motion generated by intake runner blockages on combustion characteristics and emissions under part-load conditions in SI engines. Firing experiments have been conducted on a DaimlerChrysler (DC) 2.4L 4-valve I4 engine, with spark range extending around the Maximum Brake Torque (MBT) timing. Three blockages with 20% open area are compared to the fully open baseline case under two operating conditions: 2.41 bar brake mean effective pressure (bmep) at 1600 rpm, and 0.78 bar bmep at 1200 rpm. The blocked areas are shaped to create different levels of swirl, tumble, and cross-tumble. Crank-angle resolved pressures have been acquired, including cylinders 1 and 4, intake runners 1 and 4 upstream and downstream of the blockage, and exhaust runners 1 and 4.

The widely used Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is applied to a planar model of an articulated vehicle to predict jackknifing events. The states of hitch angle and hitch angle rate are estimated using a vehicle model and the available or “measured” states of lateral acceleration and yaw rate from the prime mover. Tuning, performance, and compromises for the EKF in this application are discussed. This application of the EKF is effective in predicting the onset of instability for an articulated vehicle under low-μ and low-load conditions. These conditions have been shown to be most likely to render heavy articulated vehicles vulnerable to jackknife instability. Options for model refinements are also presented.

Because of the need to safely vent exhaust gases, most engine dynamometer facilities are not well suited to measuring engine exhaust orifice noise. Depending on the location of the dyno facility within the building, the exhaust system may need to be extended in order to properly vent the exhaust fumes. This additional ducting changes the acoustic modes of the exhaust system which will change the measured orifice noise. Duct additions downstream of the original orifice location also alter the termination impedance such that in-duct pressure measurements with and without the extended exhaust system can vary significantly. In order to minimize the effect of the building's exhaust system on the desired engine exhaust system measurements, the present approach terminates the engine exhaust into a large enclosed volume or surge tank before venting the gases into the building's ventilation system.

Structure-borne noise within vehicle structures is often transmitted in a multi-dimensional manner and thus the vibro-acoustic model(s) of automotive powertrain or chassis must incorporate longitudinal and transverse (flexural) motions as well as their couplings. In this article, we employ the continuous system theory to model a typical vibration isolator (say the engine mounting system) and a compliant receiver that could simulate the body structure. The powertrain source is however assumed to be rigid, and both harmonic force and moment excitations are considered. Our analysis is limited to a linear time-invariant system, and the frequency domain based mobility method is utilized to synthesize the overall system. Contributions of both in-plane and flexural motions to structure-borne and radiated noise are incorporated. Two examples are considered to illustrate the methodology.

This paper describes a new laboratory test facility for measuring suspension parameters that affect rollover. The Side-Pull mechanism rolls the test vehicle through a cable attached rigidly at its center of gravity (CG). Changes in wheel camber and wheel steer angles are measured as a function of body roll angle. The roll test simulates a steady-state cornering. Thus, both compliance and kinematic forces are fed simultaneously to the vehicle as they would be applied in a real cornering situation. The lateral load transfer, and roll angle as a function of simulated lateral acceleration is determined. The Side-Pull Roll Measurement has advantages over the conventional roll tests where the rolling force couple is applied vertically. The Side-Pull mechanism rolls the vehicle in a unrestricted way with horizontal forces applied at the tire / pad contact and the CG location. Thus, the measurements take into account coupling of compliance with roll.

Over the last decade, many methods have been proposed for estimating the in-cylinder combustion pressure or the torque from instantaneous crankshaft speed measurements. However, such approaches are typically computationally expensive. In this paper, an entirely different approach is presented to allow the real-time estimation of the in-cylinder pressures based on crankshaft speed measurements. The technical implementation of the method will be presented, as well as extensive results obtained for a V-6 S.I. engine while varying spark timing, engine speed, engine load and EGR. The method allows to estimate the in-cylinder pressure with an average estimation error of the order of 1 to 2% of the peak pressure. It is very general in its formulation, is statistically robust in the presence of noise, and computationally inexpensive.