Search Results

Abstract This study aims to explore the wear characteristics of fused deposition modeling (FDM) printed automotive parts and techniques to improve wear performance. The surface roughness of the parts printed from this widely used additive manufacturing technology requires more attention to reduce surface roughness further and subsequently the mechanical strength of the printed geometries. The main aspect of this study is to examine the effect of process parameters and annealing on the surface roughness and the wear rate of FDM printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) parts to diminish the issue mentioned above. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) G99 specified test specimens were fabricated for the investigations. The parameters considered in this study were nozzle temperature, infill density, printing velocity, and top/bottom pattern.

Abstract Due to the presence of uncertain disturbances in the actual steering system, disturbances in the system may affect the handling stability of the vehicle. Therefore, this article proposes an integrated steering system control strategy with stronger anti-disturbance performance. When disturbances exist in the system, the proposed control strategy effectively reduces the attitude changes during the vehicle steering process. In the upper-level control strategy, a variable transmission ratio curve is designed to coordinate the high-speed handling stability and low-speed steering sensitivity of the vehicle. On this basis, a sideslip angle observer is proposed based on the extended state observation theory, which does not depend on an accurate system model, thus determining the intervention timing of the active front wheel steering system. In the lower-level control strategy, DR-PI/DR-PID controllers are designed for the integrated steering system.

Abstract With the use of the stepped surface of the friction pairs of the stepped bearings (SB) in the high-speed centrifugal pumps, its liquid film thickness is suddenly changed and it was discontinuously distributed in the direction of motion of pump. To ensure the continuity of the liquid film thickness and enhance the lubrication efficiency of the pump, based on the lubrication model of the SB, two other structures of the inclined surfaces [inclined bearings (IB)] and curved surfaces [curved bearings (CB)] used to replace stepped surfaces of the SB are investigated, respectively. Under the same conditions of the minimum thickness of the liquid film and initial dimensions of the sliding friction pairs, the influence of both the thickness ratio (α) of the liquid film and dimension ratio (β) in the direction of motion of SB, IB, and CB on the bearing capacity and friction coefficient of the liquid film are simulated and analyzed, respectively.

Abstract An automatic collision avoidance control method integrating optimal four-wheel steering (4WS) and direct yaw-moment control (DYC) for autonomous vehicles on curved road is proposed in this study. Optimal four-wheel steering is used to track a predetermined trajectory, and DYC is adopted for vehicle stability. Two single lane change collision avoidance scenarios, i.e., a stationary obstacle in front and a moving obstacle at a lower speed in the same lane, are constructed to verify the proposed control method. The main contributions of this article include (1) a quintic polynomial lane change trajectory for collision avoidance on curved road is proposed and (2) four different kinds of control method for autonomous collision avoidance, namely 2WS, 2WS+DYC, 4WS, and 4WS+DYC, are compared. In the design of DYC controller, two different feedback control methods are adopted for comparison, i.e., sideslip angle feedback and yaw rate feedback.

Abstract In view of the combustion efficiency and emission performance, various new clean combustion modes put forward higher requirements for the performance of the fuel injection system, and the cavitating two-phase flow characteristics in the injector nozzle have a significant impact on the spray atomization and combustion performance. This article comprehensively discusses and summarizes the factors that affect cavitation and the effectiveness of cavitation, and presents the research status and existent problems under each factor. Among them, viscosity factors are a hot research topic that researchers are passionate about, and physical properties factors still have the value of further in-depth research. However, the importance of material surface factors ranks last since the nozzle material was determined. Establishing a more comprehensive cavitation–atomization model considering various factors is the focus of research on cavitation phenomena.

Abstract Pre-chamber jet ignition technologies have been garnering significant interest in the internal combustion engine field, given their potential to deliver shorter burn durations, increased combustion stability, and improved dilution tolerance. However, a clear understanding of the relationship between pre-chamber geometry, operating condition, jet formation, and engine performance in light-duty gasoline injection engines remains under-explored. Moreover, research specifically focusing on high dilution levels and passive pre-chambers with optical accessibility is notably scarce. This study serves to bridge these knowledge gaps by examining the influence of passive pre-chamber nozzle diameter and dilution level on jet formation and engine performance.

Abstract Vehicle vibration is the key consideration in the early stage of vehicle development. The most dynamic system in a vehicle is the powertrain system, which is a source of various frequency vibration inputs to the vehicle. Mostly for powertrain mounting system design, only the uncoupled powertrain system is considered. However, in real situations, other subsystems are also attached to the powertrain unit. Thereby, assuming only the powertrain unit ignores the dynamic interactions among the powertrain and other systems. To address this shortcoming, a coupled powertrain and driveline mounting system problem is formulated and examined. This 16 DOF problem is constructed around a case of a front engine-based powertrain unit attached to the driveline system, which as an assembly resting on other systems such as chassis, suspensions, axles, and tires.

Abstract To improve the cornering performance, a torque vectoring differential (TVD) that generates a torque difference between the left and right wheels has been developed. Particularly, the use of multiple electric traction motors can easily achieve this. A TVD with a two-motor-torque difference amplification mechanism (TDA-TVD), which employs a unique alignment of planetary gears, has been studied and it can generate a larger torque difference compared to an individual-wheel-drive (IWD) system in the case of using the equal torque output from the traction motors. However, due to the mechanically complicated driving force transmission system including driveshafts and planetary gears, TDA-TVD is prone to cause torsional vibrations of the driveshaft, and the yaw rate of the vehicle body while differential torque is generated. A previous study derived a dynamic model TDA-TVD and designed a vibration suppression feedforward controller.

Abstract Articulated vehicles form an important part of our society for the transport of goods. Compared to rigid trucks, tractor-trailer combinations can transport huge quantities of load without increasing the axle load. The fifth wheel (FW) acts as a bridge between the tractor and trailer, which can be moved within the range to achieve rated front and rear axle loads. When the FW is moved front, it adversely affects the cab dynamics and cab suspension forces. Compared to the cab pitch and roll, yaw motion increases drastically. The current study tries to address this issue by providing reaction rod links in the rear cab suspension. In this study, a 4×2 tractor with a three-axle semitrailer is considered by keeping the FW at its frontmost position, which is the worst-case scenario for a cab. Three different cases of reaction rod arrangement and its influence on cab dynamics are studied in comparison with a model without reaction rods.

Abstract Optimization is essential in real-life mechanical engineering problems that mostly are nonlinear, depend on mixed decision variables, and are usually subject to constraints. However, most of the studied problems are modelled assuming continuous variables. A limited number of studies have been devoted to cases with mixed variables. Moreover, there is a lack of algorithm treating mixed variable problems properly. This article introduces a hybrid algorithm that can handle constrained problems depending on continuous or mixed variables. The proposed algorithm combines two meta-heuristics, Jaya and particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO is one of the most popular methods to solve nonlinear problems, and Jaya is a novel parameter-free optimization algorithm. This new hybrid optimization algorithm is proposed in order to improve the convergence speed and to investigate what improvements it will bring to optimization problem solutions.

Abstract Under the influence of the interactions between the vibratory drum/wheel and deformable terrains, the ride comfort of the soil compactors is greatly affected. Therefore, the isolation systems of the cab and driver’s seat of the soil compactors have been researched and developed to improve ride comfort. Based on the existing research results, this study provides an overview of the development of the isolation systems of the cab and driver’s seat of the soil compactors. The research result shows that the cab isolations used by the semi-active hydraulic mounts (SHM) or semi-active hydraulic-pneumatic mounts (SHPM) can greatly improve the driver’s ride comfort and control the cab shaking, whereas the driver’s seat suspension embedded by the negative stiffness structure (NSS) strongly improves the driver’s ride comfort.

Abstract The use of converging-diverging (C-D) variable area nozzle (VAN) in military aeroengines is now common, as it can give optimal expansion and control over engine back pressure, for a wide range of engine operations. At higher main combustion temperatures (desired for supercruise), an increase in the nozzle expansion ratio is needed for optimum performance. But changes in the nozzle throat and exit areas affect the visibility of engine hot parts as the diverging section of the nozzle is visible for a full range of view angle from the rear aspect. The solid angle subtended by engine hot parts varies with change in visibility, which affects the aircraft infrared (IR) signature from the rear aspect. This study compares the performances of fixed and variable area nozzles (FAN and VAN) in terms of engine thrust and IR signature of the engine exhaust system in the boresight for the same increase in combustion temperature.

Abstract Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) is a promising combustion technology that can help the commercial transportation sector achieve operational flexibility and meet upcoming criteria pollutant regulations. However, high-pressure fuel injection systems (>1000 bar) are needed to enable GCI and fully realize its benefits compared to conventional diesel combustion. This work is a continuation of previous durability studies that identified three key technical risks after running gasoline-like fuel through a heavy-duty, common rail injection system: (i) cavitation damage to the inlet check valve of the high-pressure pump, (ii) loss of injector fueling capacity, (iii) cavitation erosion of the injector nozzle holes. Upgraded hardware solutions were tested on a consistent 400- to 800-hour NATO durability cycle with the same gasoline-like fuel as previous studies. The upgraded pump showed no signs of abnormal wear or cavitation damage to the inlet check valve.

Abstract This article provides a dimensionless analysis of the rearward amplification (RA), that is, the ratio of peak lateral acceleration between tractor and rearmost trailer, of commercial trucks with single and double trailers. Through the nondimensionalization, a series of dimensionless parameters that are critical to the lateral and yaw dynamics of the vehicle are determined, which primarily includes vehicle mass ratio, momentum ratio, wheelbase ratio, and longitudinal center of gravity (CG) position ratio. A series of simulations are performed with sinusoidal steering maneuvers with various frequencies ranging from 0.01 Hz to 0.6 Hz. A frequency analysis of the effect of the dimensionless parameters on the RA for the single- and double-trailer trucks is provided. The simulation results suggest that increasing the trailer load causes a larger RA at the steering frequencies below 0.5 Hz.

Abstract Aerodynamic drag for road vehicles is most often assessed based on zero yaw conditions. The rise of electric vehicles in recent years put greater demand on how the vehicles perform in real-world conditions. Specifically, the aerodynamic drag performance at non-zero yaw angles has received increased attention. Various methods to calculate wind-averaged drag have been proposed. However, there have not been any studies done for the yaw distribution in China; this is important, given its diverse geographic and climatic conditions and growing number of vehicles. This study presents a methodology using probes integrated with a production vehicle to collect representative on-road data. A survey of on-road conditions in China is presented including coastal and inland provinces, different road types, and a range of traffic conditions. Using high temporal and special resolution meteorological data, the correlation between yaw angle distribution and natural wind is derived.

Abstract The objective of this work is to analyze the signal of a piezoelectric washer installed under the spark plug and to compare the combustion metrics evaluated with such signal to the indexes from a standard piezoelectric sensor for the in-cylinder pressure measurement, considered as the reference. In the first part of the article, the spectrum analysis of the piezoelectric washer pressure trace is proposed. It is demonstrated how such a signal can be used to measure the main combustion and knock indexes. Nevertheless, due to the intrinsic characteristics of the system, the knock index evaluated from the raw pressure trace cannot be directly used to estimate the instantaneous knock intensity. For this reason, a model-based algorithm for Real-Time (RT) application is developed to calculate a corrective factor of the high-frequency content of the signal.

Abstract Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has been widely used in the automobile industry for design verification and validation. The article presents the axle oil vent expulsion results from particle-based CFD simulations, performed with a commercially available particle-based solver. The front axle houses a differential assembly which utilizes a pinion and ring gear. The ring gear is bolted onto the differential case in which the ring gear and differential case are spun as a whole. The turbulent flow field of the lube oil was simulated, and a free surface was detected. Probability density function (PDF) distributions of local lube oil volume fractions (VFs) were used to guide the identification of the stationary state for the simulated flow field. In the study of vent expulsion, the lube oil temperature was varied from −12°C to 149°C and the rotational speed of the pinion changed from 1000 rpm to 5000 rpm.

Abstract This article investigates the lateral dynamic behavior of a two-wheel axle bogie frame of an Indian railway vehicle. The influence of the different parameters of the vehicle on stability is investigated. The model is formulated by assigning 10 degrees of freedom (DoF) to the system with yaw and lateral DoF assigned to the bogie frame and vertical, lateral, roll, and yaw DoF assigned to each wheel axle. Linear creep force and moments suggested by Kalker’s linear theory of creep have been accounted for in the analysis. The stability analysis is carried out by transforming the second-order differential equations into first-order differential equations using state-space representation. The present model is validated by comparing the eigenvalues of the analytical model with the same obtained from the finite element (FE) model. The results obtained from the analytical and FE model are in good agreement.

Abstract Governmental regulations and customer demand for more energy-efficient vehicles are driving the development of new solutions in the automotive sector. One way of improving energy efficiency is by reducing the aerodynamic drag. A possible solution to achieve this is the concept of vehicles driving in close proximity, which is now becoming feasible considering the advances in vehicle automation and communication. This study focuses on the behavior of aerodynamic forces and flow effects in a two-truck platoon when more realistic road conditions, such as lateral offset and yaw, are present. The study is primarily numerical, but the results are validated against an experimental campaign conducted earlier by the authors. The main findings are that the drag of the leading truck is mostly governed by the base pressure of its trailer and that the truck sees only minor changes when a lateral offset is added, except at very short intervehicle distances.

Abstract In this article, the integrated vehicle stability control strategy by a combination of active suspension (AS), torque vectoring control (TVC), and direct yaw control (DYC) is proposed to investigate the improvement of vehicle stability. By considering the differences of control targets for variable vehicle subsystems, the proposed strategy includes the three levels of hierarchical structure to coordinate these vehicle subsystems for optimal functions in relation to the vehicle subsystems. At the upper level, the vehicle estimates the posture and dynamic state. At the middle level of the structure, the method of coordination is introduced. Furthermore, the designed AS is based on H∞ logic theory. The TVC design is based on the principle of indirect yaw moment theory, and the DYC design is based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control algorithm are demonstrated at the lower level.