Search Results

Abstract The flow around and downstream of the front wheels of passenger cars is highly complex and characterized by flow structure interactions between the external flow, fluid exiting through the wheelhouse, flow from the engine bay and the underbody. In the present paper the near wall flow downstream of the front wheel house is analyzed, combining two traditional methods. A tuft visualization method is used to obtain the limiting streamline pattern and information about the near wall flow direction. Additionally, time resolved surface pressure measurements are used to study the pressure distribution and the standard deviation. The propagation of the occurring flow structures is investigated by cross correlations of the pressure signal and a spectral analysis provides the characteristic frequencies of the investigated flow.

Abstract Estimating the power demand of a steering system is one of the main tasks during steering system development in the concept phase of a vehicle development process. Most critical for typical axle kinematics are parking maneuvers with simultaneously high rack forces and velocities. Therefore, the focus of the article is a tire model for standstill, which can be parametrized without measurements, only having tire dimensions and conditions (inflation pressure and wheel load) as input. Combined with a double-track model, a vehicle model is developed, which is able to predict the rack force and is fully applicable during the concept phase. The article demonstrates quantitatively that the tie rod forces, and thereby especially the tire bore torque, cause the largest fraction of the power demand at the rack. For this reason, the prediction of the bore torque is investigated in detail, whereby basic approaches from the literature are analyzed and enhanced.

Abstract A new concept of instantaneous wheel turn center (IWTC) is proposed to evaluate and improve multi-axle vehicle steering coordination performance. The concept of IWTC and its calculation method are studied. The index named dispersion of IWTC is developed to evaluate the vehicle steering coordination performance quantitatively. The simulation tests based on a three-axle off-road vehicle model are conducted under different vehicle velocities and lateral accelerations. The simulation results show that the turn centers of different wheels are disperse, and the dispersion becomes larger with the increase of vehicle velocities and lateral acceleration. Since suspension has important influences on vehicle steering performance, the genetic algorithm is used to optimize the suspension hard points and bushing stiffness, aiming at minimizing the dispersion of wheel turn centers (DWTC) to improve the vehicle steering coordination performance.

Abstract The following article illustrates the detailed study of the development of a unique flywheel-based regenerative braking system (f-RBS) for achieving regenerative braking in a commercial electric bus. The f-RBS is designed for installation in the front wheels of the bus. The particular data values for modeling the bus are taken from multiple legitimate sources to illustrate the development strategy of the regenerative braking system. Mechanical components used in this system have either been carefully designed and analyzed for avoiding fatigue failure or their market selection strategies explained. The positioning of the entire system is decided using MSC Adams View®, hence determining a suitable component placement strategy such that the f-RBS components do not interfere with the bus components. The entire system is modeled on MATLAB Simulink® with sufficient accuracy to get various results that would infer the performance of the system as a whole.

Abstract Raceway Brinell damage is one major cause of wheel bearing (hub unit) noise during driving. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers have asked continuously for its improvement to the wheel bearing supply base. Generally, raceway Brinelling in a wheel hub unit is a consequence of metallic yielding from high external loading in a severe environment usually involving a side impact to the wheel and tire. Thus, increasing the yielding strength of steel can lead to higher resistance to Brinell damage. Both the outer ring and hub based on Generation 3 (Gen. 3) wheel unit are typically manufactured using by AISI 1055 bearing quality steel (BQS); these components undergo controlled cooling to establish the core properties then case hardening via induction hardening (IH). This paper presents a modified grade of steel and its IH design that targets longer life and improves Brinell resistance developed by ILJIN AMRC (Advanced Materials Research Center).

Abstract The problem addressed in this work is how to formulate accurate targets for coil springs in passenger car suspensions to ensure that the required ride height and wheel rate are achieved. The issue arises because suspensions often tend to introduce significant spring deformations other than a purely axial compression. Although these effects are quite common, their influence on suspension performance is still not well understood. To this purpose, a new enhanced spring model is presented. The theory behind the model is explained and the relationship between spring and suspension performance discussed in detail. To validate formulations, a series of numerical simulations has been carried out demonstrating the model accuracy. Finally, a novel approach to spring target setting is proposed based on this advanced spring model.

Abstract To gain a better understanding of the characteristics of corrugation, including the development and propagation of corrugation, and impact of vehicle and track dynamics, a computational model was established, taking into account the nonlinearity of vehicle-track coupling. The model assumes a fixed train speed of 300 km/h and accounts for vertical interaction force components and rail wear effect. Site measurements were used to validate the numerical model. Computational results show that (1) Wheel polygonalisation corresponding to excitation frequency of 545-572 Hz was mainly attributed to track irregularity and uneven stiffness of under-rail supports, which in turn leads to vibration modes of the bogie and axle system in the frequency range of 500-600 Hz, aggregating wheel wear. (2) The peak response frequency of rail of the non-ballasted track coincides with the excitation frequency of wheel-rail coupling; the resonance results in larger wear amplitude of the rail.

Abstract In this article, a new road load simulation technology is presented for commercial vehicle driveline. In order to assess the performance of vehicle driveline, the chassis dynamometer system is introduced on the basis of the traditional vehicle driveline test bench, which improves the accuracy of the simulation system without the need of complex modeling of commercial vehicle tire dynamics. The vertical load of the vehicle is emulated by the hydraulic loading mechanism, and the influence of the vertical load on commercial vehicle driveline is emulated when the vehicle passes the bumpy road. The evaluate control method of commercial vehicle acceleration inertia based on wheel rotational speed and vehicle dynamics model is designed.

Abstract Aiming at the problem of low recognition rate and slow speed caused by the small proportion of key area information in feature vectors of original Pyramid Histogram of Gradients (PHOG) features, an improved feature extraction method of PHOG is proposed. The PHOG feature extraction method is combined with edge feature enhancement method based on Census transform to extract feature vectors of fasteners, and dimensionality reduction is processed by Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) method to reduce the interference of redundant information. The vector is inputted into the support vector machine for training in order to get the classifier model and realize the automatic identification of the fastener’s state. The simulation results show that compared with the traditional PHOG method, this feature extraction method improves the false detection rate by 2.7%, and the complexity of the algorithm is greatly reduced.

Abstract A classical antiskid brake system (ABS) is typically used to control the brake fluid pressure by creating repeated cycles of decreasing and increasing brake force to avoid wheel locking, causing the fluctuation of the brake hydraulic pressure and resulting in vibration during wheel rotation. This article proposes a new approach of skid control for ABS by controlling the disk pad position. This new approach involves using a modest control method to determine the optimal skid that allows the wheel to exert maximum friction force for decelerating the vehicle by shifting the brake pad position instead of modulating the brake fluid pressure. This pad position control (PPC) method works in a continuous manner. Therefore, no rapid changes are required in the brake pressure and wheel rotation speed. To identify the PPC braking performance, braking test simulations and experiments have been carried out.

Abstract In view of the fact that the current positioning methods of railway fasteners are easily affected by illumination intensity, bright spots, and shadows, a positioning method with relative grayscale invariance is proposed. The median filter is used to remove the noise in order to reduce the adverse effects on the subsequent processing results, and the baffle seat edge features are enhanced by improved Census transform. The mean-shift clustering algorithm is used to classify the edges to weaken the interference by short lines. Finally, the Hough transform is used to quickly extract the linear feature of the baffle seat edge and achieve the exact position of the fastener with the prior knowledge. Experimental results show that the proposed method can accurately locate and have good adaptability under different illumination conditions, and the position accuracy is increased by 4.3% and 8%, respectively, in sunny and rainy days.

Abstract Wheel alignment audit systems are used in vehicle service environments to identify vehicles which may benefit from a comprehensive evaluation on a precision static alignment measurement system. Non-contact dynamic wheel alignment audit systems acquire measurement data from vehicles in motion passing between sensors in an inspection lane. The dynamic nature of the moving vehicles introduces variables which are not present when auditing wheel alignment on a static vehicle. Measurement results are affected by changes in vehicle velocity, steering movement, suspension movement, floor surface conditions, tire sidewall profiles, and driver presence, as well as other variables.

Abstract In this article, the crashworthiness of a locomotive is assessed through finite element analysis (FEA). The present investigation is focused on the analysis of a locomotive with driving cab to improve the modeling approach and exploring the intrinsic structural weaknesses to improve its crashworthiness. The analyses are conducted according to the EN 15227 standard, which provide crashworthiness requirements for locomotive structure. The finite element model is validated in terms of acceleration and energy balance by the experimental results. The validated model is further used to assess the crashworthiness behavior at a higher impact speed, that is, 100, 160, and 225 km/hr. It has been noticed that local buckling occurs at different points, which reduces the desired progressive damage behavior in the locomotive. The results indicate that at higher speed, large plastic deformation occurs in the frontal part of the locomotive.

Abstract The steering centers of four wheels for passenger car do not coincide, which may result in tire wear and the unharmoniously movement of the vehicle. In this article, an optimization control method for Four Wheel Independent Steering (4WIS) electric vehicle based on the coincidence degree of steering centers is proposed, to improve the driving performance. The nonlinear vehicle model of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle is established, and the formula of the wheel steering center is derived. The coincidence degree of wheel steering centers is defined as the evaluation index, to describe and evaluate the performance of the coordination for wheels’ movement. Meanwhile, the structure design of 4WIS system and the establishment of Direct-Current (DC) steering motor model are carried out, and the Model Predictive Control (MPC) controller for steering actuator is designed.

Abstract To track desired slip ratios and desired longitudinal speeds at the centers of driving wheels in the curve, this article proposes a hierarchical structured electronic differential control (EDC) of rear-wheel independent-drive electric vehicle (EV). In the high-level control, a fuzzy algorithm-based coefficient is computed according to the driver’s emotional intention of acceleration. The fuzzy algorithm-based coefficient is used to correct the desired driving torque of vehicle transmitting to the medium-level control. In the medium-level control, an optimization algorithm is developed to allocate the desired torques with requirement of as much accurate yaw moment as possible by the desired driving torque of the vehicle and yaw moment. And the desired longitudinal speeds at the centers of the rear left and right wheels are corrected twice, respectively, by Ackermann steering principle, considering the slip angle of the wheel and yaw moment.

Abstract Articulated vehicles contribute to the major portions of cargo transport through roads. Fifth wheel (FW) is an important component in these vehicles, which acts as the bridge between tractor and trailer and is often used as a parameter to adjust the axle loads. Ride and comfort studies linked to FW position exist. However, its influence on durability is often not considered seriously. In this article, three different FW positions placed at 200 mm, 400 mm, and 600 mm in front of the rear axle are studied virtually on a 4×2 tractor with three-axle semitrailer combination. To assess the risk associated with FW movement, acceleration-based pseudo-relative damage, power spectral density (PSD), and level crossing plots are analyzed for each FW position. Further, fatigue analysis is done on the cab structural components to understand the durability. Outcome shows that the FW position has an influence in determining the cab dynamics and durability of the components to a great extent.

Abstract The present article analyzes the influence of the track and rail vehicle vibrations on the biodynamic human subject. A mathematical model of 47 degrees of freedom (DoF) human body-vehicle-track vibratory system is formulated for the analysis of ride behavior of the vehicle and human body system. The human body, vehicle, and track system are assigned 7 DoF, 37 DoF, and 3 DoF, respectively, and the system is formulated using Newton’s method. Stationary random irregularities of the track are accounted for in the analysis, represented by the power spectral density (PSD) function, and are used as an input to the system. The ride comfort of the rail vehicle is examined based on the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) comfort specifications. The biodynamic human subject, vehicle, and track system are evaluated independently and integrated to examine the response of one system due to the excitation of another.

Abstract Road test is hitherto the most common approach to assess vehicle durability and structural performance. Moreover, the measurements serve as the final validation of the road load simulation, which is currently widely used in vehicle development cycles. The virtual simulation requires digitized road surfaces, a suitable tire model, and suspension model. The whole procedure is time consuming for outdoor measurements and costly to automotive OEMs for road modeling, tire model parametrization, and the like. However, the respective error from each subsystem model keep uncertain during the whole vehicle simulation. Meanwhile, quantitative evaluation of the simulation quality is always tough to conduct due to variability of measurements and limited test configurations. To overcome such challenges, a new approach with higher operational feasibility for the acquisition of durability loads at wheel rim was proposed.

Abstract In India, vehicle population increases every day along with road accidents by 2.5% every year. About 7.7% of accidents are caused by wheel separation, 60% of which are due to nut-related problems. Wheel separations in vehicles occur due to fastener issues and fatigue failures in bolts. A study of the reasons for and mechanisms of nut loosening showed that left-hand side wheels detached and fracture failure occurred in right-hand side studs. Fatigue life of wheels with Nord-Lock washer and without washer is determined by using numerical analysis as per the IS 9438 cornering fatigue test. These numerical results are compared with experimental results.

Abstract Wheel chocks are rather simple compliant mechanisms for stabilizing vehicles at rest. However, chocks must be carefully designed given the complex interaction between the chock and the tire/suspension system. Despite their importance for safety, literature is surprisingly limited in terms of what makes a wheel chock efficient. Using simple but reliable quasi-static mechanical models, this study identifies mechanical requirements that help to avoid a number of failure modes associated with many existing wheel chocks. Given that chock grounding is not always possible, a chock’s maximum restraining capacity is only obtained when the wheel is completely supported by the chock. A generic chock profile is proposed to achieve this objective while mitigating undesirable failure modes. The profile is based on fundamental mechanical principles and no assumption is made on the load interaction between the chock and the wheel.