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Using pressure sensitive adhesive tapes to achieve economy and efficiency in automotive assembly

This presentation will introduce the overall goals of the EcoCAR competition in brief, and will go into the third and final year of the competition in detail. The final year of competition saw teams refining and testing their student-built advanced technology vehicles including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell PHEVs and one battery electric. Important events, such as the Spring Workshop chassis dynamometer testing event at the U.S. Environmental Protection agency, as well as significant competition results, such as vehicle performance, consumer acceptability and efficiency will be presented. Presenter Patrick Walsh

In order to extend the CAI operation range in 4-stroke mode and maximize the benefit of low fuel consumption and emissions in CAI mode, 2-stroke CAI combustion is revived operating in a GDI engine with poppet valves, where the conventional crankcase scavenging is replaced by boosted scavenging. The CAI combustion is achieved through the inherence of the 2-Stroke operation, which is retaining residual gas. A set of flexible hydraulic valve train was installed on the engine to vary the residual gas fraction under the boosting condition. The effects of spark timing, intake pressure and short-circuiting on 2-stroke CAI combustion and its emissions are investigated and discussed in this paper. Results show the engine could be controlled to achieve CAI operation over a wide range of engine speed and load in the 2-stroke mode because of the flexibility of the electro-hydraulic valvetrain system. Presenter Yan Zhang, Brunel University

High-load HCCI combustion has recently been demonstrated with conventional gasoline using intake pressure boosting. The key is to control the high combustion heat release rates (HRR) by using combustion timing retard and mixture stratification. However, at naturally aspirated and moderately boosted conditions, these techniques did not work well due to the low autoignition reactivity of conventional gasoline at these conditions. This work studies a low-octane distillate fuel with similar volatility to gasoline, termed Hydrobate, for its potential in HCCI engine combustion at naturally aspirated and low-range boosted conditions. The HCCI combustion with fully premixed and partially stratified charges was examined at intake pressures (Pin) from 100 to 180 kPa and constant intake temperature (60�C) and engine speed (1200 rpm).

This paper presents the first results of an experimental study into a hybrid combustion concept for next-generation heavy-duty diesel engines. In this hybrid concept, at low load operating conditions, the engine is run in Pre-mixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) mode, whereas at high load conventional CI combustion is applied. This study was done with standard diesel fuel on a flexible multi-cylinder heavy-duty test platform. This platform is based on a 12.9 liter, 390 kW heavy-duty diesel engine that is equipped with a combination of a supercharger, a two-stage turbocharging system and low-pressure and high-pressure EGR circuitry. Furthermore, Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) hardware is installed to have sufficient control authority. Dedicated pistons, injector nozzles and VVA cam were selected to enable PCCI combustion for a late DI injection strategy, free of wall-wetting problems.

The combination of advanced combustion with advanced selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst formulations was studied in the work presented here to determine the impact of the unique hydrocarbon (HC) emissions from premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion on SCR performance. Catalyst core samples cut from full size commercial Fe- and Cu-zeolite SCR catalysts were exposed to a slipstream of raw engine exhaust from a 1.9-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine operating in conventional and PCCI combustion modes. The zeolites which form the basis of these catalysts are different with the Cu-based catalyst made on a chabazite zeolite which las smaller pore structures relative to the Fe-based catalyst. Subsequent to exposure, bench flow reactor characterization of performance and hydrocarbon release and oxidation enabled evaluation of overall impacts from the engine exhaust.

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalysts are used to reduce NOx emissions from internal combustion engines in a variety of applications [1,2,3,4]. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) performed an Internal Research & Development project to study SCR catalyst thermal deactivation. The study included a V/W/TiO2 formulation, a Cu-zeolite formulation and a Fe-zeolite formulation. This work describes NH3 storage capacity measurement data as a function of aging time and temperature. Addressing one objective of the work, these data can be used in model-based control algorithms to calculate the current NH3 storage capacity of an SCR catalyst operating in the field, based on time and temperature history. The model-based control then uses the calculated value for effective DEF control and prevention of excessive NH3 slip. Addressing a second objective of the work, accelerated thermal aging of SCR catalysts may be achieved by elevating temperatures above normal operating temperatures.

Cycle-to-cycle variations of combustion processes strongly affect the emissions, specific fuel consumption as well as work output. Especially Direct Injection Spark-Ignition (DISI) engines are very sensitive to cyclic fluctuations within the combustion chamber. Multi-cycle Large Eddy Simulation (LES) based analysis has been used for investigating unsteady effects of spray combustion processes and misfires. A realistic four-stroke DISI internal combustion engine configuration was taken under consideration. The effects of variable spray boundary conditions on spray combustion are discussed first. A qualitative analysis of the intensity of cycle-to-cycle variations of in-cylinder pressure is presented for various combinations of injection parameters and ignition points. Finally, the effect of ignition probability and analysis of misfires are pointed out. The described above processes were discussed in terms of mean and standard deviation of temperature, velocity and pressure.

This paper presents a low-cost path for extending the range of small urban pure electric vehicles by hydraulic hybridization. Energy management strategies are investigated to improve the electric range, component efficiencies, as well as battery usable capacity. As a starting point, a rule-based control strategy is derived by analysis of synergistic effects of lead-acid batteries, high efficient operating region of DC motor and the hydraulic pump/motor. Then, Dynamic Programming (DP) is used as a benchmark to find the optimal control trajectories for DC motor and Hydraulic Pump/Motor. Implementable rules are derived by studying the optimal control trajectories from DP. With new improved rules implemented, simulation results show electric range improvement due to increased battery usable capacity and higher average DC motor operating efficiency. Presenter Xianke Lin

ISO 26262 is the actual standard for Functional Safety of automotive E/E (Electric/Electronic) systems. One of the challenges in the application of the standard is the distribution of safety related activities among the participants in the supply chain. In this paper, the concept of a Safety Element out of Context (SEooC) development will be analyzed showing its current problematic aspects and difficulties in implementing such an approach in a concrete typical automotive development flow with different participants (e.g. from OEM, tier 1 to semiconductor supplier) in the supply chain. The discussed aspects focus on the functional safety requirements of generic hardware and software development across the supply chain where the final integration of the developed element is not known at design time and therefore an assumption based mechanism shall be used.

The CAN protocol has served the automotive and related industries well for over twenty-five (25) years now; with the original CAN protocol officially released in 1986 followed by the release of CAN 2.0 in 1991. Since then many variants and improvements in CAN combined with the proliferation of automotive onboard microprocessor based sensors and controllers have resulted in CAN establishing itself as the dominant network architecture for automotive onboard communication in layers one (1) and two (2). Going forward however, the almost exponential growth of automotive onboard computing and the associated devices necessary for supporting said growth will unfortunately necessitate an equivalent growth in the already crowded wired physical infrastructure unless a suitable wireless alternative can be provided. While a wireless implementation of CAN has been produced, it has never obtained real traction within the automotive world.

Racing Green Endurance: An EV Record will focus on what a small team of ambitious and talented engineers can do when they have a dream! Back in 2009, a team of graduates from Imperial College London came together to do something radical to change the public perception of electric vehicles forever. They came up with the idea to design and build the world's longest range electric car, and then drive it down the longest and toughest road in the world; the 26,000km Pan-American Highway! Racing Green Endurance: An EV Record will share the story from start to finish, and will also focus on the technology used to achieve such a feat, with particular mention of the electric motors. Presenter Alexander Schey, Imperial College London

The copper-rotor induction-motor made its debut in automotive electric traction in 1990 in GM's Impact EV. Since then, this motor architecture has covered millions of miles on other vehicle platforms which will soon include Toyota's RAV4-EV. With the industry's attention focused on cost-effective alternatives to permanent-magnet traction motors, the induction motor has returned to the spotlight. This talk will overview where the copper-rotor induction-motor is today, how the technology has evolved since the days of the GM Impact, the state-of-play in its mass-manufacturing processes and today's major supply-chain players. Presenter Malcolm Burwell, International Copper Association Inc.

The traction motor is key to the �synergy of the electric powertrain�, the overall functionality of the battery, e-motor, power control electronics, and charging system. Therefore some automakers have decided to design, develop, and produce their traction motors in house while some others are working with suppliers for their electric power train motors. Off-the-shelf motors, no matter how extensively they are adapted for a specific application, can compromise the efficiencies of the propulsion system. Presenter Marc Winterhoff, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

With automotive electrification, the electric machines show a tendency to share or even replace the dominant role of internal combustion engines in future vehicles. Besides the design and innovation of different electric machines to meet the needs of powertrain and drivetrain performances, high volume production becomes a challenging topic and an un-avoided requirement. Flexible line and sharing line will help the variation of production rate and volume, while the dedicated unique line contributes to large scale of E-motor production. Supplier chain from raw materials, parts to processes has to be built from ground-zero or low grade to mature stage within quality specification and time limitation. Multi function skills, cross area technologies and complex management etc are all required for E-motor manufacturer to grow up with component and equipment suppliers. Reducing cost, improving quality and guaranteeing safety are always the thematic series.

There has recently been a great deal of hypothesizing and prognosticating about the security of supply of the rare earths for the non-Chinese OEM automotive industry. The pundits and industry analysts have warned of demand destruction by substitution driven by sustained high prices as well as due to supply interruptions. What has been overlooked for the most part is that the issue is not about all of the rare earths; it is just about some of them, the critical rare earths. And even in that category there are two separate issues: 1) Is there enough production of the light rare earth, neodymium, to sustain current demand and can its non-Chinese production grow to meet expected non-Chinese demand? and 2.) Is there even enough production of the heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, to meet current Chinese demand and is it possible to produce dysprosium a.) Outside of China, and b.)

For internal combustion engines and industrial machinery, it is well recognized that the most cost-effective way of reducing energy consumption and extending service life is through lubricant development. This presentation summarizes our recent R&D achievements on developing a new class of candidate lubricants or oil additives ionic liquids (ILs). Features of ILs making them attractive for lubrication include high thermal stability, low vapor pressure, non-flammability, and intrinsic high polarity. When used as neat lubricants, selected ILs demonstrated lower friction under elastohydrodynamic lubrication and less wear at boundary lubrication benchmarked against fully-formulated engine oils in our bench tests. More encouragingly, a group of non-corrosive, oil-miscible ILs has recently been developed and demonstrated multiple additive functionalities including anti-wear and friction modifier when blended into hydrocarbon base oils.

This presentation focuses on the efforts Coordinating Research Council is sponsoring relating fuel properties and composition to performance in emerging advanced high efficiency, clean combustion engines. Presenter William J. Cannella, Chevron USA Inc.

Downsizing and downspeeding are two efficient strategies to reduce vehicles CO2 emission, provided that high BMEP can be achieved at any engine speed under clean, safe, stable and efficient combustion. With a 6:1 minimum compression ratio, the MCE-5 VCRi achieves 40 bar peak BMEP at 1200 rpm with no irregular combustion. If peak BMEP is maintained below 35 bar, fuel enrichment is no longer necessary. When running at part loads, the engine operates at high compression ratios (up to 15:1) to minimize BSFC and maximize the sweet spot area on the map. Next generation MCE-5 VCRi engines will combine VCR and stoichiometric charges, highly diluted with external cooled EGR, in order to improve part loads efficiency by means of both the reduction in heat and pumping losses, and the optimization of compression-expansion ratio. This strategy, added to downsizing-donwspeeding, requires high-energy ignition systems to promote repeatable, stable, rapid and complete combustion.

In this presentation, we will explain how the traditional Miller Cycle - which has its limitations in the traditional four-stroke, Otto Cycle engine provides new opportunities for greater fuel efficiency gains and engine downsizing when incorporated in a split-cycle combustion process. Results will also be shared from studies showing how these implementations can provide both significant drops in fuel consumption and increases in power when incorporated into some of today's most economic vehicles. Presenter Stephen Scuderi, Scuderi Group LLC