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On the path to decarbonizing road transport, electric commercial vehicles will play a significant role. The first applications were directed to the smaller trucks for distribution traffic with relatively moderate driving and range requirements, but meanwhile, the first generation of a complete portfolio of truck sizes is developed and available on the market. In these early applications, many compromises were accepted to overcome component availability, but meanwhile, the supply chain can address the specific needs of electric trucks. With that, the optimization towards higher usability and lower costs can be moved to the next level. Especially for long-haul trucks, efficiency is a driving factor for the total costs of ownership. Besides the propulsion system, all other systems must be optimized for higher efficiency. This includes thermal management since the thermal management components consume energy and have a direct impact on the driving range.

Abstract: Hydraulic systems in aircrafts largely comprise of metallic components with high strength to weight ratios which comprise of 2024 Aluminum and Titanium Ti-6AL-4V. The selection of material is based on low and high pressure applications respectively. For aircraft fluid conveyance products, hydraulic conduits are fabricated by axisymmetric turning to support flow conditions. The hydraulic conduits further carries groves within for placement of elastomeric sealing components. This article presents a systematic study carried out on common loads experienced by fluid carrying conduits and the failure modes induced. The critical failure locations on fluid carrying conduits of 2024-T351 Aluminum was identified, and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis was carried out to identify the characteristic footprints of failure surfaces and crack initiation. Through this analysis, a load to failure mode correlation is established.

The automatic transmission of a specialized vehicle encountered challenges in achieving stable oil filling time due to the considerable variability of related parameters and the non-linear trends in the variation of individual product parameters over time. To investigate the underlying causes of this phenomenon and enhance the oil filling efficiency, a detailed model of the clutch oil filling process during gear shifting was established in this paper, which included dynamic models of the key components such as the hydraulic system, clutch, proportional valve, and oil passages. Physical experiments were performed on the test bench to compare with the simulation results. The results showed that the correlation between the simulation model and the test bench was well, which verified the effectiveness of the simulation model.

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells will play a crucial role in the decarbonization of the transport sector, in particular for heavy duty applications. However, performance and durability of PEMFC stacks is still a concern especially when operated under high power density conditions, as required in order to improve the compactness and to reduce the cost of the system. In this context, the optimization of the geometry of hydrogen and air distributors represents a key factor to improve the distribution of the reactants on the active surface, in order to guarantee a proper water management and avoiding membrane dehydration.

A semi-active suspension system provides superior safety, ride, and handling performance for a vehicle by continuously varying the damping based on vehicle motions, where semi-active hydraulic damper (SAHD) is the most critical component. Today, SAHD’s are standard in most of the premium segments of vehicles and optional extras in mid-size and compact vehicle segments. Electric vehicles require larger sized SAHD’s to meet heavier vehicle loads and meet ride and handling requirements. The aim of this paper is to highlight the design and development methodology of a base valve for larger bore-size for semi-active hydraulic damper. The workflow follows to present a process for base valve design to meet structural strength and, the key steps of design calculations of the hydraulic performance. The design of the base valve and suction disks architecture was engineered with the aid of Computer Aided simulations.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) introduced its updated side-impact ratings test in 2020 to address the nearly 5,000 fatalities occurring annually on U.S. roads in side crashes. Research for the updated test indicated the most promising avenue to address the remaining real-world injuries was a higher severity vehicle-to-vehicle test using a striking barrier that represents a sport utility vehicle. A multi-stiffness aluminum honeycomb barrier was developed to match these conditions. The complexity of a multi-stiffness barrier design warranted research into developing a new dynamic certification procedure. A dynamic test procedure was created to ensure product consistency. The current study outlines the process to develop a dynamic barrier certification protocol. The final configuration includes a rigid inverted T-shaped fixture mounted to a load cell wall. This fixture is impacted by the updated IIHS moving deformable barrier at 30 km/h.

This paper details testing for torque converter clutch (TCC) characterization during steady state and dynamic operation under controlled slip conditions on a dynamometer setup. The subject torque converter under test is a twin plate clutch with a dual stage turbine damper without a centrifugal pendulum absorber. An overview is provided of the dynamometer setup, hydraulic system and control techniques for regulating the apply pressure to the torque converter and clutch. To quantify the performance of the clutch in terms of control stability, pressure to torque relationship and the dynamic behavior during apply and release, a matrix of oil temperatures, output speeds, input torques, and clutch apply pressures were imposed upon the torque converter.

DHT hybrid transmission assembly control system discussed in this paper includes hydraulic control, hybrid mode switching control, shift control, dual motor control, clutch and motor thermal management. The hybrid mode is divided into four modes: the EV mode, the serial mode, the parallel mode and the launch mode. Hydraulic control includes torque-pressure conversion, clutch pressure kiss point adaption, clutch oil filling time adaption. Shift control includes shift type decision, shift sequence control, shift inertia process based on motor intervention. Thermal management includes clutch flow and motor flow distribution. Motor control include the current control, mode control and boost strategy of permanent magnet synchronous motor in dual hybrid system, which has good stability and robustness. Motor mode includes initialization mode, normal mode, fault mode, active discharge mode, power off mode.

Positive displacement pumps are key components in automotive and hydraulic fluid systems, often serving as the primary power source and a major source of noise in both on-highway and off-highway vehicles. Specifically, gerotor pumps are widely utilized in vehicle coolant, lubricating, and other fluid systems for both conventional and electric powertrains. This study introduces a novel method for predicting noise in gerotor pumps by combining a Computational Acoustics (CA) approach with a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach, both implemented in the Simerics–MP+ code. The CFD simulation includes the detailed transient motion of the rotors (including related mesh motion) and models the intricate cavitation/air release phenomena at varying pump speeds. The acoustic simulation employs a Ffowcs–Williams Hawkings (FW–H) integral formulation to predict sound generation and propagation based on the detailed flow field predictions from the CFD model.

Noise reduction is generally accomplished by applying appropriate noise control treatments at strategic locations. Noise control treatments consisting of poroelastic materials in layers are extensively used in noise control products. Sound propagation through poroelastic materials is governed by macroscopic material and geometric properties. Thus, a knowledge of material properties is important to improve the acoustical performance of the resulting noise control products. Since the direct measurement of these properties is cumbersome, these have been usually estimated indirectly from easily measurable acoustic performance metrics such as normal incidence sound transmission and/or absorption coefficient, measured using readily available impedance tube. The existing inverse characterization approaches fulfilled the estimation by curve fitting measured and predicted acoustic models.

The world is on a “take-make-waste,” linear-growth economic trajectory where products are bought, used, and then discarded in direct progression with little to no consideration for recycling or reuse. This unsustainable path now requires an urgent call to action for all sectors in the global society: circularity is a must to restore the health of the planet and people. However, carbon-rich textile waste could potentially become a next-generation feedstock, and the mobility sector has the capacity to mobilize ecologically minded designs, supply chains, financing mechanisms, consumer education, cross-sector activation, and more to capitalize on this “new source of carbon.” Activating textile circularity will be one of the biggest business opportunities to drive top- and bottom-line growth for the mobility industry.

Curbs are as key to automated driving system (ADS) navigation, operation, and safety as they are for human driven vehicles. The design, maintenance, and management of curbs and adjacent infrastructure can make the difference in whether ADS vehicles can pick up and deliver passengers and goods safely, efficiently, and effectively. Curbs may also be key to integrating ADS services with other forms of active and human-driven transportation. Benefits from accessibility, reduced emissions, and strong supply chains require that ADS vehicles be able to dock curbside in a manner that does not disrupt traffic or impede safe movement of people walking, biking, or using a mobility device. Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Curbs and Curbside Management addresses considerations regarding the curb with respect to pick up and drops for passengers and freight, as well as managing and designing both sides of the curb with respect to automated vehicles and other types of shared mobility.

The automobile is undergoing the biggest transformation of its 100-year history. Motivated by consumer desire for automobiles to integrate with their digital life and inspired by new electric vehicles (EVs) that routinely receive over-the-air software updates, traditional automakers are embarking on a journey to re-engineer the vehicle as a platform defined by software. The foundation of the shift is a complete re-design from a mechanical hardware-centric system to a cloud-connected, software-centric ecosystem where each function is executed via a service-oriented architecture. This is the basis of the software-defined vehicle (SDV). The Software-defined Vehicle and its Engineering Evolution: Balancing Issues and Challenges in a New Paradigm of Product Development examines the complex journey ahead for traditional manufacturers as they transition to this new software-defined system.

The safety of commercial aviation industry has come under extensive scrutiny and how the system safety process is applied. One specific system safety regulation concerns how unsafe system operating conditions are meeting regulatory requirements. Minimal regulatory guidance was available on this topic and an industry committee (American Society for Testing of Materials) decided to provide a consensus standard with input from a cross-section of airplane manufacturers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities on what is meant by an unsafe system operating condition and how compliance can be shown to the regulation(s). The committee determined that an unsafe system operating condition is when a failure condition severity increases (to hazardous or catastrophic) due to crewmember(s) inaction. For example, if a hazard has occurred it is possible the severity can increase to an unacceptable level as the crewmember(s) are not aware of the hazard.

Active suspension systems employ sophisticated control algorithms to deliver superior comfort in vehicles. However, the capabilities of these algorithms are limited by the physical constraints of actuators. Many vehicles use hydraulic actuators in their active suspension system, which use fluid movement to control suspension motion. These systems inherently have slower response times due to the nature of fluid flow and the time required to build up or release pressure within the hydraulic system. Typically, hydraulic systems operate in a low bandwidth of 0-5 Hz. This limits their capability to only meeting vehicle’s primary ride targets which typically lie below 5 Hz. Although they can be tuned to operate at a slightly higher frequency range (up to 10 Hz), they perform poorly in attenuating the secondary ride vibration, i.e., 5 – 25 Hz.

Tractor is primarily used for Haulage and agricultural applications due to this high tractive effort. A tractor usage has been increased in recent times for its wide range of implement applications. Considering environmental factors and sustainability, restrictions are set on the Tractor emissions. This brings new challenge in the Tractor industry to reduce the carbon footprint. Conventional casting process involves preparation of die & mold, material removal and machining in the final stage to get the desired final product. Alternatively Additive Manufacturing Process (AMP) helps in creation of lighter and stronger parts by adding material layer by layer. By saving the material, weight of the overall Tractor is reduced which helps in reducing carbon footprint. But the disadvantage of this process is the limited availability and high cost of AMP material and lack of infrastructure/skill set for operation handling.

The electric vehicle market in India has tremendous growth potential in the upcoming years and decades, attracting numerous automotive manufacturers, including Tier-1 suppliers, seeking to participate in this growth phase. Electric powertrains used in e-cars on Indian roads comply with BIS and AIS standards. However, these standards alone do not provide sufficient clarity on the complete list of tests required for developing an e-Axle through all stages of development. Developing the e-Axle in-house for the Indian market poses a significant challenge for OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, as it will play a crucial role in overall profitability at high volumes in the long term. Adhering solely to the BIS and AIS standards may prove insufficient in fulfilling the developmental prerequisites of an electric axle (e-Axle) system.

Efficient cargo transportation plays a crucial role in logistics management and supply chain operations. Accurately detecting and utilizing cargo space within vehicles is vital for maximizing transport capacity, minimizing costs, and optimizing resource allocation and time management. This research paper focuses on enhancing cargo utilization using intelligent systems to improve logistics management. The major research is on developing a system that combines computer vision algorithms and intelligent systems to detect and implement a combination of features for efficient use of cargo space within vehicles and monitor cargo to reduce losses. The proposed approach will use and utilize image processing methods to get relevant features and identify cargo areas.

This paper presents a virtual analysis method for pressure spike estimation and optimization of hydraulic system architecture for off-highway applications with hydraulically actuated clutch. This pressure spike leads to a very high torque spike in driveline components during clutch pop-up conditions in puddling operations. These torque spikes lead to potential failure of driveline components i.e., gear, shaft, bearing and torsional damper during sudden engagement events. To assess the hydraulic system performance during clutch pop-up cornering conditions is very challenging and leads to compromise on operator safety in the paddy field. It is essential to develop a simulation methodology in a virtual environment to understand the system behavior during clutch pop-up condition and impact of various hydraulic system parameters. This paper describes a Model Based System Design (MBSD) approach for understanding hydraulic system pressure spike phenomenon and dynamic response.

Commercial transportation is the key pillar of any growing economy. Light and Small commercial vehicles are increasing every day to cater the logistics demand, but there is always a gap between customer’s actual and desired operational efficiency. This is because of lack of organized fleet and efficient fleet operation. The major requirement of fleet owners is timely delivery, high productivity, downtime reduction, real time tracking, etc., Automakers are now providing fleet management application in modern LCV & SCV to satisfy the fleet operator requirement. However, any feature malfunction, consignment mismatch, wrong notification, missed alerts, etc., can incur huge loss to fleet operator and disrupt the entire supply chain. Hence it is very critical to extensively validate the telematics features in fleet management application. This paper explains the approach for exhaustive validation strategy of fleet management applications (B2B) from end user perspective.