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Automotive OEMs are launching multiple products with ever reducing development time, balancing costs, quality and time to market, with clear focus on performance and weight. Platform architecture concepts, modular designs for differentiation etc. are strategies adopted by automotive OEMs towards shorter development cycles. Thus, concept generation phase of the digital product development process is expected to enable generation and evaluation of multiple concept architectures, carry out performance studies and largely focus on optimization, upfront. This Front loading of engineering and call for simultaneous engineering requires support in terms of quick and good CAD modeling with maturity. This paper proposes a process that focuses on generation and evaluation of multiple concepts, besides enabling optimization of concept before the detailed design phase kicks in.

Automakers are being subjected to increasingly strict fuel economy requirements which led OEMs to focus more on Light weighting and Energy efficiency areas. Considering the aforesaid challenges, efforts have been taken in Light weighting of mounting bracket for Engine application. This paper deals with conversion of Engine accessory bracket from Aluminum material to Metal Matrix composite (MMC). In Design phase, existing bracket has been studied for its structural requirements and further Bracket is designed to meet MMC process requirement and CAE carried out for topology optimization and Structural integrity. Finally observations and results were compared for Existing design and Proposed design and further optimization proposed.

Battery Thermal management is a major challenge for occupant safety in an electric vehicle. Predicting the battery electrical losses and thermal behaviour is another challenge for the battery management system. Different virtual models are developed for cell level and pack level thermal evaluation. All these models have a varying degree of accuracy and limitation. The latest developed model is more accurate and can predict the battery cell & pack level temperatures. The battery can be modeled in different ways, ECM (Electrochemical model), EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy) [1]. Newman model is a well-known electrochemical model. [2]. EIS uses a combination of DC and small AC signal [3,4]. ECM model also used for estimating SOC and in BMS [5]. The cell temperature in the battery pack not only depends upon the cell inside physics but also depends upon cell outside cooling physics. Cell outside physics is simulated by 3D CFD software during the design process [6].

During cabin warm-up, effective air distribution by vehicle climate control systems plays a vital role. For adequate visibility to the driver, major portion of the air is required to be delivered through the defrost center ducts to clear the windshield. HVAC unit deliver hot air with help of cabin heater and PTC heater. When hot air interacts with cold windshield it causes thermal losses, and windshield act as sink. This process may causes in delay of cabin warming during consecutive cabin warming process. Thus it becomes essential to predict the effect of different windscreen defrost characteristics. In this paper, sensitivity analysis is carried for different windscreen defrosts characteristics like ambient conditions, modes of operation; change in material properties along with occupant thermal comfort is predicted. An integrated 1D/3D CFD approach is proposed to evaluate these conditions.

Fatigue life predictions using the strain-life method are used in the design of modern light weight vehicle, for the complex loading that occur with the structural durability tests that these vehicles undergo. The accuracy of these predictions is dependent upon the many factors; geometry, loads & materials etc. This paper details a new procedure to ensure the quality and accuracy of the material parameters for the fatigue life prediction software. The material parameters for the solver are obtained by performing strain-controlled fatigue tests. The geometry of the coupons tested is determined by size and thickness of the material specimen that they are machined from and the loading regime in the test. Detailed data analyzed is conducted on these tests and the parameters that are used as input into the CAE strain-life fatigue prediction software are generated.

The unit analysis methodology can be used for designing component or product in a product development process. This method may be used for designing the crush can, bumper beam, crush can long member, B-frame or A-pillar in frontal impact analysis. Unit assembly model technique can be effectively used in many CAE load cases to evaluate CAE simulations such as pedestrian impact analysis (ECE R78 / ENCAP), interior trim related head impact simulations (FMVSS201U), under run protection simulation for commercial vehicles (Front Underrun Protection Device ECE R93, Rear Underrun Protection Device ECE R58, Side Underrun Protection Device ECE R73), airbag deployment optimization etc. These CAE analyses correlate better with actual test. This paper gives idea about how the cost of product design can be reduced by using unit analysis. To reduce time of vehicle development such as cost of prototype, testing cost, optimization cost unit analysis is more economical.

The jet lubrication method is extensively used in the constant mesh high performance transmission system operating at range of speeds though it affects mechanical efficiency through spin power loss. The lubrication jet has a key role to maintain the meshing gears at non-fatal thermal equilibrium by effectively dissipating the heat generated to the surrounding. Heat transfer coefficient (HTC) is the indicator of the thermal behavior of the system, which provides great insight of efficient lubrication system that needs to be employed for prescribed type of transmission. In this study, a segment of the transmission unit which constitutes a gear pair is used for the simulation. Parametric study is carried out by considering the critical parameters affecting the thermal performance such as lubrication jet flow rate and rotational motions of the gears with speeds and temperatures.

The brake system is one of the most critical systems in the automotive vehicle. Its design is a challenging task since stringent performance and packaging requirements are to be fully met - optimizing the brake performance and weight of the brake system. The brake disc is an important component in the braking system which is expected to withstand and dissipate the heat generated during the braking event. Validation of brake disc design through CAE/FEA is presented in this paper. The procedure for prediction of thermal performance was developed in-house, tuned and verified by correlating with Test data available for existing-design and then applied to the new-design brake disc. The correlation achieved for the existing-design brake disc (both solid and ventilated), procedure for prediction of thermo-mechanical performance (heat transfer coefficient estimation, temperature distribution etc.) are also included.

Structural optimization has evolved vastly based on the development of computational based analysis – CAE. Structural optimization is usually a linear static response optimization because nonlinear response structural optimization is very expensive to perform. But in the real world, most of the automobile load cases are non-linear in nature. Equivalent static load structural optimization is a structural optimization method where Equivalent Static Loads (ESLs) are utilized as external loads for linear static response optimization. ESL is defined as the static load that generates the similar displacement by an analysis which is not linear static. This paper explains the development of a weight optimized BIW structure from an already existing model satisfying the NVH and Crash requirements. Basic structural crash loads are converted into ESLs with appropriate constraints.

Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) plays an important role in the product development. Now a days major decisions like concept selection and design sign off are taken based on CAE. All the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are putting consistent efforts to improve accuracy of the CAE results. In recent years confidence on CAE prediction has been increased mainly because of good correlation of CAE predictions with the test results. Defining proper correlation criteria and using a systematic approach helps significantly in building the overall confidence level for predictions given by CAE simulations. Representation of manufacturing effects on material properties and material failure in the simulation is still a big challenge for achieving a good CAE correlation. This paper describes side impact test vs CAE correlation. The important parameters affecting the CAE correlation were discussed.

Pedestrian impact test procedures allow tolerances on test conditions of impact such as mass of the impactor, impactor position, impact speed etc. The variation in these parameters affects the injury measurements in a test. This paper focuses on sensitivity study of variations in these parameters, within specified tolerances, on head form impact and lower leg impact injury measurements. The aim of this sensitivity study is to find out the most influencing test parameter for the injuries. The exercise was carried out using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) simulations.

The performance of door assembly is very significant for the vehicle design and door sag/set is one of the important attribute for design of door assembly. This paper provides an overview of conventional approach for door sag/set study based on door-hinge-BIW assembly (system level approach) and its limitation over new approach based on subassembly (subsystem level approach). The door sag/set simulation at system level is the most common approach adopted across auto industry. This approach evaluates only structural adequacy of door assembly system for sag load. To find key contributor for door sagging is always been time consuming task with conventional approach thus there is a delay in providing design enablers to meet the design target. New approach of door sag/set at “subsystem level” evaluates the structural stiffness contribution of individual subsystem. It support for setting up the target at subsystem level, which integrate and regulate the system level performance.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation is a technique used extensively in the development and testing of complex real-time embedded systems. Most of the HILs built around the world focus on specific part of a vehicle. This paper describes an in house HIL system developed for the complete hybrid car. In this HIL, the focus was to have HIL based on open hardware which is low cost and modular. It is customizable as per complex interdisciplinary vehicle requirements from Original Equipment Manufacturer that reduces dependency on suppliers and allows testing in an integrated vehicle environment. Code for operating HIL is developed in house. This HIL allows engineers to access ECU and plant model simultaneously and generate test report automatically. It consists of a vehicle plant model developed using MathWorks® Tool chain-MATLAB and Simulink. FPGA Plugin consist of software implementation of vehicle sensors in LabVIEW™ software from National Instruments (NI).

Progress in material research is the driving force behind innovative ideas and characterising the newly invented material accurately is need of the hour. Increased use of polymers in automobile industry has led to the need for accurately capturing polymer material properties. In case of polymers, we generally observe negative slope in true stress strain curves due to inherent material behaviour. It is mainly because of polymer chains which realign/untangle in the direction of load. This is a challenge when we characterise polymers material properties to be used in LS_DYNA software, which is widely used in automotive applications to solve dynamic crash events. This software does not allow negative slope in stress strain curves in the plastic region and that causes model instabilities. This paper explains the methodology to avoid negative slope and still characterise the polymers without significantly loosing on the accuracy and correlation to physical tests.

Structural adhesive is a good alternative to provide required strength at joinery of similar and dissimilar materials. Adhesive joinery plays a critical role to maintain structural integrity during vehicle crash scenario. Robust adhesive failure definitions are critical for accurate predictions of structural performance in crash Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) simulations. In this paper, structural adhesive material characterization challenges like comprehensive In-house testing and CAE correlation aspects are discussed. Considering the crash loading complexity, test plan is devised for identification of strength and failure characteristics at 0°, 45°, 75°, 90°, and Peel loading conditions. Coupon level test samples were prepared with high temperature curing of structural adhesive along with metal panels. Test fixtures were prepared to carryout testing using Instron VHS machine under quasi-static and dynamic loading.

Increasing demands on engine power to meet increased load carrying capacity and adherence to emission norms have necessitated the need to improve thermal management system of the vehicle. The efficiency of the vehicle cooling system strongly depends on the fan and fan-shroud design and, designing an optimum fan and fan-shroud has been a challenge for the designer. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques are being increasingly used to perform virtual tests to predict and optimize the performance of fan and fan-shroud assembly. However, these CFD based optimization are mostly based on a single performance parameter. In addition, the sequential choice of input parameters in such optimization exercise leads to a large number of CFD simulations that are required to optimize the performance over the complete range of design and operating envelope. As a result, the optimization is carried out over a limited range of design and operating envelope only.

Vehicle dynamics is one of the most important vehicle attributes. It is classified into three domains, the longitudinal, vertical, and lateral dynamics. This paper focuses on optimizing the lateral vehicle dynamics which is driven by the straight ahead controllability and cornering controllability of the vehicle. One of the important parameters that dictates these sub-attributes is the steering ratio. Therefore, designing the right steering ratio is critical to meet the vehicle “specific” targets. Significant amount of work has been done by many researchers on variable steering ratio by implementing variable gear ratio (VGR) rack, active steering, and steer-by-wire systems. This paper discusses the methodology and considerations to optimize the steering ratio for a constant gear ratio rack by optimizing the steering column layout, viz., orientation and the phase angle in universal joints.

Underrun Protection devices (UPDs) are specially designed barriers fitted to the front, side, or rear of heavy trucks. In case of accidents, these devices prevent small vehicles such as bikes and passenger cars going underneath and thus minimizing the severity of such accident. Design and strength of UPD is such that it absorbs the impact energy and offers impact resistance to avoid the vehicle under run. Compliance to UPD safety regulations provides stringent requirements in terms of device design, dimensions, and its behavior under impact loading. Since accuracy of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) predictions have improved, numerical tools like Finite element method (FEM) are extensively used for design, development, optimization, and performance verification with respect to target regulatory performance requirements. For improved accuracy of performance prediction through FEA, correct FE representation of sub-systems is very important.

Climate change due to global warming are major concerns. Electric vehicles are one of the promising technologies to curb the climate change by reducing CO2 emissions significantly. Electric vehicle component selection is a complex process, which has to fulfil multiple requirements with trade-off between performance & efficiency, efficiency & cost, performance & NVH, packaging & performance etc. In addition, E-drive selection in passenger & commercial vehicle is different due to application difference. Hence, it is a great challenge to select right E-Drive comprising motor, MCU and overall gear ratio to meet EV program constraints and targets. This study focuses on criterion used for selecting an E-Drive system comprising motor, MCU and overall gear ratio for electric vehicles in commercial and passenger vehicle segments.