Search Results

The thermal comfort inside automotive cabin has been extensively studied for decades. Traditional CFD models provide accurate simulation results of the air temperature distributions inside cabins but at a relatively high computation cost. In order to reduce the computational cost while still providing reasonable accuracy in simulating the air temperature profile inside a mid-sized sedan cabin, this paper introduces a new simulation tool that utilizes a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method. The POD method, an interpolation technique, requires only one set of multiple CFD simulations to produce a set of “snapshots”. Later, any simulations that require CFD runs to solve algorithm equation sets can be simplified by using interpolation between the snapshots provided that the geometry of the cabin keeps the same. As a result, the computation time can be reduced to only a few minutes.

A newly designed and built Mobile Tire Testing Machine (MTTM) is described that has features for large and continuously variable camber and steering angles with minimum tire scrub. This equipment was used to examine tire properties for six passenger car tires. Of special interest were the tire characteristics at combinations of high slip and camber angle. It was found that camber stiffness decreases with increasing slip angle when the slip and camber angles are both positive, and at limit conditions in slip angle, cambering a tire has little effect on the lateral side force produced. When the slip angle is negative, and the camber angle is positive, preliminary data shows that a greater lateral force is produced when compared to operating at limit conditions in slip angle alone.

The Pride of Maryland is a single seat solar powered trans-continental race car designed and built by engineering students at the University of Maryland. The car competed in G.M. Sunrayce USA, placing third, and has gone on to compete in the World Solar Challenge. This paper outlines the three general areas of design and development for the solar vehicle: aerodynamic, electrical, and mechanical. An exercise in high efficiency, the Pride of Maryland has been extremely successful as both a race car and as an educational tool for training student engineers in “real world” problems.

With a renewed focus on manned exploration, NASA is beginning to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. Future manned missions will require a symbiosis of human and robotic infrastructure. As a step towards understanding the roles of humans and robots in future planetary exploration, NASA headquarters funded ILC Dover and the University of Maryland to perform research in the area of human and robotic interfaces. The research focused on development and testing of communication components, robotic command and control interfaces, electronic displays, EVA navigation software and hardware, and EVA lighting. The funded research was a 12-month effort culminating in a field test with NASA personnel.

The Ranger Telerobotic Shuttle Experiment (RTSX) is a Space Shuttle-based flight experiment to demonstrate key telerobotic technologies for servicing assets in Earth orbit. The flight system will be teleoperated from onboard the Space Shuttle and from a ground control station at the NASA Johnson Space Center. The robot, along with supporting equipment and task elements, will be located in the Shuttle payload bay. A number of relevant servicing operations will be performed-including extravehicular activity (EVA) worksite setup, orbital replaceable unit (ORU) exchange, and other dexterous tasks. The program is underway toward an anticipated launch date in CY2002. This paper gives an overview of the RTSX mission, and describes several follow-on mission scenarios involving cooperative Ranger and EVA activities.

The Maryland Advanced Research/Simulation (MARS) Suit is designed to be a low-cost test bed for extravehicular activity (EVA) research, providing an environment for the development and application of biomedical sensors and advanced EVA technologies. It is also designed to be used in gaining more experience with human-telerobotic interactions in an integrated EVA worksite. This paper details the first generation MARS Suit (MX-1) design, describes the low-cost development process, and presents results from ongoing suit testing, as well as plans for future work.