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Connected autonomy brings with it the means of significantly increasing vehicle Energy Economy (EE) through optimal Eco-Driving control. Much research has been conducted in the area of autonomous Eco-Driving control via various methods. Generally, proposed algorithms fall into the broad categories of rules-based controls, optimal controls, and meta-heuristics. Proposed algorithms also vary in cost function type with the 2-norm of acceleration being common. In a previous study the authors classified and implemented commonly represented methods from the literature using real-world data. Results from the study showed a tradeoff between EE improvement and run-time and that the best overall performers were meta-heuristics. Results also showed that cost functions sensitive to the 1-norm of acceleration led to better performance than those which directly minimize the 2-norm.

The automotive industry widely accepted the launch of electric vehicles in the global market, resulting in the emergence of many new areas, including battery health, inverter design, and motor dynamics. Maintaining the desired thermal stress is required to achieve augmented performance along with the optimal design of these components. The HVAC system controls the coolant and refrigerant fluid pressures to maintain the temperatures of [Battery, Inverter, Motor] in a definite range. However, identifying the prominent factors affecting the thermal stress of electric vehicle components and their effect on temperature variation was not investigated in real-time. Therefore, this article defines the vector electric vehicle thermal operating point (EVTHOP) as the first step with three elements [instantaneous battery temperature, instantaneous inverter temperature, instantaneous stator temperature].

Automated vehicles (AVs)—and the automated driving systems (ADSs) that enable them—are increasing in prevalence but remain far from ubiquitous. Progress has occurred in spurts, followed by lulls, while the motor transportation system learns to design, deploy, and regulate AVs. Automated Vehicles: A Human/Machine Co-learning Experience focuses on how engineers, regulators, and road users are all learning about a technology that has the potential to transform society. Those engaged in the design of ADSs and AVs may find it useful to consider that the spurts and lulls and stakeholder tussles are a normal part of technology transformations; however, this report will provide suggestions for effective stakeholder engagement. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio.

This SAE EDGE™ Research Report explores how the deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) will affect the insurance industry and the principles of liability that underly the structure of insurance in the US. As we trade human drivers for suites of sensors and computers, who (or what) is responsible when there is a crash? The owner of the vehicle? The automaker that built it? The programmer that wrote the code? Insurers have over 100 years of experience and data covering human drivers, but with only a few years’ worth of information on AVs – how can they properly predict the true risks associated with their deployment? Without an understanding of the nature and risks of AVs, how can the government agencies that regulate the insurance industry provide proper oversight? Do the challenges AVs present require a total reworking of our insurance and liability systems, or can our current structures be adapted to fit them with minor modifications?

This SAE EDGE Research Report explores the many legal issues raised by the advent of automated vehicles. While promised to bring major changes to our lives, there are significant legal challenges that have to be overcome before they can see widespread use. A century’s worth of law and regulation were written with only human drivers in mind, meaning they have to be amended before machines can take the wheel. Everything from key federal safety regulations down to local parking laws will have to shift in the face of AVs. This report undertakes an examination of the AV laws of Nevada, California, Michigan, and Arizona, along with two failed federal AV bills, to better understand how lawmakers have approached the technology. States have traditionally regulated a great deal of what happens on the road, but does that still make sense in a world with AVs? Would the nascent AV industry be able to survive in a world with fifty potential sets of rules?

The Energy Finite Element Analysis (EFEA) has been validated in the past through comparison with test data for computing the structural vibration and the radiated noise for Naval systems in the mid to high frequency range. A main benefit of the method is that it enables fast computations for full scale models. This capability is exploited by using the EFEA for a submarine pressure hull design optimization study. A generic but representative pressure hull is considered. Design variables associated with the dimensions of the king frames, the thickness of the pressure hull in the vicinity of the excitation (the latter is considered to be applied on the king frames of the machinery room), the dimensions of the frames, and the damping applied on the hull are adjusted during the optimization process in order to minimize the radiated noise in the frequency range from 1,000Hz to 16,000Hz.

An optimal energy management strategy (Optimal EMS) can yield significant fuel economy (FE) improvements without vehicle velocity modifications. Thus it has been the subject of numerous research studies spanning decades. One of the most challenging aspects of an Optimal EMS is that FE gains are typically directly related to high fidelity predictions of future vehicle operation. In this research, a comprehensive dataset is exploited which includes internal data (CAN bus) and external data (radar information and V2V) gathered over numerous instances of two highway drive cycles and one urban/highway mixed drive cycle. This dataset is used to derive a prediction model for vehicle velocity for the next 10 seconds, which is a range which has a significant FE improvement potential. This achieved 10 second vehicle velocity prediction is then compared to perfect full drive cycle prediction, perfect 10 second prediction.

Little information is available on passenger preferences for posture and support in highly reclined seat configurations. To address this gap, a laboratory study was conducted with 24 adult passengers at seat back angles from 23 to 53 degrees. Passenger preferences for head and neck posture with and without head support were recorded. This paper presents the characteristics of the passengers’ preferred head support with respect to thorax, head, and neck posture.

There is a strong evidence that the overrepresentation of teen drivers in motor vehicle crashes is mainly due to their poor hazard perception skills, i.e., they are unskilled at appropriately detecting and responding to roadway hazards. This study evaluates two cuing systems designed to help teens better understand their driving environment. Both systems use directional color-coding to represent different levels of proximity between one’s vehicle and outside agents. The first system provides an overview of the location of adjacent objects in a head-up display in front of the driver and relies on drivers’ focal vision (focal cuing system). The second system presents similar information, but in the drivers’ peripheral vision, by using ambient lights (peripheral cuing system). Both systems were retrofitted into a test vehicle (2014 Toyota Camry). A within-subject experiment was conducted at the University of Michigan Mcity test-track facility.

Crash safety researchers have an increased concern regarding the decreased thoracic deflection and the contributing injury causation factors among the elderly population. Sternum fractures are categorized as moderate severity injuries, but can have long term effects depending on the fragility and frailty of the occupant. Current research has provided detail on rib morphology, but very little information on sternum morphology, sternum fracture locations, and mechanisms of injury. The objective of this study is two-fold (1) quantify sternum morphology and (2) document sternum fracture locations using computed tomography (CT) scans and crash data. Thoracic CT scans from the University of Michigan Hospital database were used to measure thoracic depth, manubriosternal joint, sternum thickness and bone density. The sternum fracture locations and descriptions were extracted from 63 International Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM) crash cases, of which 22 cases had corresponding CT scans.

This paper presents a simple method of using Voronoi partitions for estimating vehicle fuel economy from a limited set of engine operating conditions. While one of the overarching goals of engine research is to continually improve vehicle fuel economy, evaluating the impact of a change in engine operating efficiency on the resulting fuel economy is a non-trivial task and typically requires drive cycle simulations with experimental data or engine model predictions and a full suite of engine controllers over a wide range of engine speeds and loads. To avoid the cost of collecting such extensive data, proprietary methods exist to estimate fuel economy from a limited set of engine operating conditions. This study demonstrates the use of Voronoi partitions to cluster and quantize the fuel consumed along a complex trajectory in speed and load to generate fuel consumption estimates based on limited simulation or experimental results.

Flow control devices can enable vehicle drag reduction through the mitigation of separation and by modifying local and global flow features. Passive vortex generators (VG) are an example of a flow control device that can be designed to re-energize weakly-attached boundary layers to prevent or minimize separation regions that can increase drag. Accurate numerical simulation of such devices and their impact on the vehicle aerodynamics is an important step towards enabling automated drag reduction and shape optimization for a wide range of vehicle concepts. This work demonstrates the use of an open-source computational-fluid dynamics (CFD) framework to enable an accurate and robust evaluation of passive vortex generators in support of vehicle drag reduction. Specifically, the backlight separation of the Ahmed body with a 25° slant is used to evaluate different turbulence models including variants of the RANS, DES, and LES formulations.

This paper describes a novel design and verification process for analytical methods used in the development of advanced combustion strategies in internal combustion engines (ICE). The objective was to improve brake thermal efficiency (BTE) as part of the US Department of Energy SuperTruck program. The tools and methods herein discussed consider spray formation and injection schedule along with piston bowl design to optimize combustion efficiency, air utilization, heat transfer, emission, and BTE. The methodology uses a suite of tools to optimize engine performance, including 1D engine simulation, high-fidelity CFD, and lab-scale fluid mechanic experiments. First, a wide range of engine operating conditions are analyzed using 1-D engine simulations in GT Power to thoroughly define a baseline for the chosen advanced engine concept; secondly, an optimization and down-select step is completed where further improvements in engine geometries and spray configurations are considered.

Reliable, accurate data on vehicle occupant characteristics could be used to personalize the occupant experience, potentially improving both satisfaction and safety. Recent improvements in 3D camera technology and increased use of cameras in vehicles offer the capability to effectively capture data on vehicle occupant characteristics, including size, shape, posture, and position. In previous work, the body dimensions of standing individuals were reliably estimated by fitting a statistical body shape model (SBSM) to data from a consumer-grade depth camera (Microsoft Kinect). In the current study, the methodology was extended to consider seated vehicle occupants. The SBSM used in this work was developed using laser scan data gathered from 147 children with stature ranging from 100 to 160 cm and BMI from 12 to 27 kg/m2 in various sitting postures.

Design of military vehicle needs to meet often conflicting requirements such as high mobility, excellent fuel efficiency and survivability, with acceptable cost. In order to reduce the development cost, time and associated risk, as many of the design questions as possible need to be addressed with advanced simulation tools. This paper describes a methodology to design a fuel efficient powerpack unit for a series hybrid electric military vehicle, with emphasis on the e-machine design. The proposed methodology builds on previously published Finite element based analysis to capture basic design features of the generator with three variables, and couples it with a model reduction technique to rapidly re-design the generator with desired fidelity. The generator is mated to an off the shelf engine to form a powerpack, which is subsequently evaluated over a representative military drive cycles.

Model Predictive Control (MPC) design methods are becoming popular among automotive control researchers because they explicitly address an important challenge faced by today’s control designers: How does one realize the full performance potential of complex multi-input, multi-output automotive systems while satisfying critical output, state and actuator constraints? Nonlinear MPC (NMPC) offers the potential to further improve performance and streamline the development for those systems in which the dynamics are strongly nonlinear. These benefits are achieved in the MPC framework by using an on-line model of the controlled system to generate the control sequence that is the solution of a constrained optimization problem over a receding horizon.

This experimental study involves optimization of the scheduling of diesel post injections to reduce soot emissions from a light-duty diesel engine. Previous work has shown that certain post injection schedules can reduce engine-out soot emissions when compared to conventional injection schedules for the same engine load. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of post injection scheduling for a range of engine conditions on a light duty multicylinder turbodiesel engine (1.9L GM ZDTH). For each engine operating condition, a test grid was developed so that only two variables (post injection duration and the commanded dwell time between main injection and post injection) were varied, with all other conditions held constant, in order to isolate the effects of the post injection schedule. Results have identified two distinct regimes of post injection schedules that reduce soot emissions.

Minimizing the stress concentrations around cutouts in a plate is often a design problem, especially in the Aerospace industry. A problem of optimizing spatially varying fiber paths in a symmetric, linear orthotropic composite laminate with a cutout, so as to achieve minimum stress concentration under remote unidirectional tensile loading is of interest in this study. A finite element (FE) model is developed to this extent, which constraints the fiber angles while optimizing the fiber paths, proving essential in manufacturing processes. The idea to be presented could be used to derive fiber paths that would drastically reduce the Stress Concentration Factor (SCF) in a symmetric laminate by using spatially varying fibers in place of unidirectional fibers. The model is proposed for a four layer symmetric laminate, and can be easily reproduced for any number of layers.

This study presents an efficient process to optimize the transmission loss of a vehicle muffler by using both experimental and analytical methods. Two production mufflers were selected for this study. Both mufflers have complex partitions and one of them was filled with absorbent fiberglass. CAD files of the mufflers were established for developing FEA models in ANSYS and another commercial software program (CFEA). FEA models were validated by experimental measurements using a two-source method. After the models were verified, sensitivity studies of design parameters were performed to optimize the transmission loss (TL) of both mufflers. The sensitivity study includes the perforated hole variations, partition variations and absorbent material insertion. The experimental and sensitivity analysis results are included in the paper.

A direct trajectory optimization approach is developed to assess the capability of a GTDI-DCT Powertrain, with a Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDI) engine and Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), to satisfy stringent drivability requirements during launch. The optimization is performed directly on a high fidelity black box powertrain model for which a single simulation of a launch event takes about 8 minutes. To address this challenging problem, an efficient parameterization of the control trajectory using Gaussian kernel functions and a Mesh Adaptive Direct Search optimizer are exploited. The results and observations are reported for the case of clutch torque optimization for launch at normal conditions, at high altitude conditions and at non-zero grade conditions. The results and observations are also presented for the case of simultaneous optimization of multiple actuator trajectories at normal conditions.