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A simulation technology has been developed to enable prediction of galvanic corrosion in chassis parts where two different materials, iron and aluminum, come into contact with each other. When polarization curves representing a corrosive environment are input, this simulation technology calculates the corrosion current to flow and outputs the volume of aluminum corrosion to be formed near the iron-aluminum interface. The simulation makes it possible to predict the depth of corrosion that may occur in automobiles in the market.

In order to provide efficient thermal management for an electric vehicle, the development of the cooling and conditioning system has to start early on in the overall product development cycle. This means that the first simulation models have to make do with relatively few actual data, mostly based on concepts and design studies. Accordingly the possible results are mainly useable for early on feasibility assessments. With more data and more details available, these simulation models gradually evolve, until in the end the overall cooling system is modeled with a relatively high level of detail. This allows e.g. transient analysis of warm-up or cool-down runs, simulation of driving cycles, implementation and optimization of control strategies. Although this basic workflow is true both for ICE and electric vehicles, for the latter specific topics like battery thermal management and HVAC integration add to the overall complexity.

Honda has developed an “Independent Left and Right Rear Toe Control System” that can achieve stable cornering performance and agile handling. We believe the issue that should be resolved in the next generation of ESC is the expansion of stability and agility into the general operation area. We examined how to accomplish this aim, and control of the independent rear toe angle was decided to be an appropriate method. In addition, a method for mounting the system without using a dedicated suspension was proposed. If left and right toe angles can be controlled independently, toe angle control and normal 4WS control become possible at the same time. In this paper, we will discuss the fundamental principle of independent toe angle control and the system configuration. Also, “INOMAMA Handling” (at driver's will) achieved by this system, as well as the fun and safe driving that are achieved as a result will be shown.

In this research, a three degree-of-freedom (DOF) rack-type electric-based power steering (EPS) model is developed. The model is coupled with a three DOF vehicle model and includes EPS maps as well as non-linear attributes such as vibration and friction characteristics of the steering system. The model is simulated using Matlab's Simulink. The vibration levels are quantified using on-vehicle straight-line test data where strain-gauge transducers are placed in the tie-rod ends. Full vehicle kinematic and compliance tests are used to verify the total steering system stiffness levels. Frequency response tests are used to adjust tire cornering stiffness levels as well as the tire dynamic characteristics such that vehicle static gain and yaw natural frequency are achieved. On-center discrete sinusoidal on-vehicle tests are used to further validate the model.

Recently vehicle development timeline is becoming shorter, so there is an urgent need to be able to develop vehicles with limited resources. This means the efficiency of the body structure development process must be improved. Specifically it is important to reduce the amount of design re-work required to meet performance targets as this can have a large influence on the body development time. In order to reduce the afore mentioned design re-work, we developed simple calculation models to apply a “V-Flow Development Process” to the preliminary stage design of the automobile body structure. The “V-Flow” advantages are as follows: (1) simple and easy to use, (2) defects are found at early stage, (3) avoids the downward flow of the defects. The advantage of preliminary stage design is that there is design flexibility since not many specifications have been determined yet.

The development and calibration of stress state-dependent failure criteria for advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and aluminum alloys requires characterization under proportional loading conditions. Traditional tests to construct a forming limit diagram (FLD), such as Marciniak or Nakazima tests, are based upon identifying the onset of strain localization or a tensile instability (neck). However, the onset of localization is strongly dependent on the through-thickness strain gradient that can delay or suppress the formation of a tensile instability so that cracking may occur before localization. As a result, the material fracture limit becomes the effective forming limit in deformation modes with severe through-thickness strain gradients, and this is not considered in the traditional FLD. In this study, a novel bending test apparatus was developed based upon the VDA 238-100 specification to characterize fracture in plane strain bending using digital image correlation (DIC).

This study developed technology for simultaneously welding heterogeneous resin tubes in order to weld and integrate resin tubes with two different specifications (low temperature and high temperature). The aim of integration was cost and weight reduction. The cost reduction due to reducing the number of parts exceeded the increase in material cost due to a change to resin materials. Base material fracture of the resin tubes was set as the breaking format condition, and the welding parameters of the joint part rotations and the friction time between the joint part and the resin tubes were specified as the weld strength judgment standard. In addition, the fused thickness determined by observing the cross-section after welding was specified as the weld quality judgment standard. The range over which weld boundary peeling does not occur and weld strength is manifest was clarified by controlling the welding parameters and the fused thickness.

The SAE Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) Safety Working Group has been addressing FCV safety for over 9 years. The initial document, SAE J2578, was published in 2002. SAE J2578 has been valuable as a Recommended Practice for FCV development with regard to the identification of hazards and the definition of countermeasures to mitigate these hazards such that FCVs can be operated in the same manner as conventional gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicles. SAE J2578 is currently being revised so that it will continue to be relevant as FCV development moves forward. For example, test methods were refined to verify the acceptability of hydrogen discharges when parking in residential garages and commercial structures and after crash tests prescribed by government regulation, and electrical requirements were updated to reflect the complexities of modern electrical circuits which interconnect both AC and DC circuits to improve efficiency and reduce cost.

The SAE FCV Safety Working Group has been addressing fuel cell vehicle (FCV) safety for over 8 years. The initial document, SAE J2578, was published in 2002. SAE J2578 has been valuable to FCV development with regard to the identification of hazards and the definition of countermeasures to mitigate these hazards such that FCVs can be operated in the same manner as conventional gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicles. J2578 is currently being updated to clarify and update requirements so that it will continue to be relevant and useful in the future. An update to SAE J1766 for post-crash electrical safety was also published to reflect unique aspects of FCVs and to harmonize electrical requirements with international standards. In addition to revising SAE J2578 and J1766, the Working Group is also developing a new Technical Information Report (TIR) for vehicular hydrogen systems (SAE J2579).

This paper presents a simulation model for the analysis of internal gear ring pumps. The model follows a multi domain simulation approach comprising sub-models for parametric geometry generation, fluid dynamic simulation, numerical calculation of characteristic geometry data and CAD/FEM integration. The sub-models are interacting in different domains and relevant design and simulation parameters are accessible in a central, easy to handle graphical user interface. The potentials of the described tool are represented by simulation results for both steady state and transient pump operating conditions and by their correlation with measured data. Although the presented approach is suitable to all applications of gear ring pumps, a particular focus is given to hydraulic actuation systems used in automotive drivetrain applications.

The current state of technology for fastening magnesium power train components is the use of metric steel or aluminum bolts. Due to physical and chemical properties of the used materials, difficulties like high clamping load loss at elevated temperatures and strong corrosive attack which requires costly corrosion protection systems must be taken into account. The objective of this project was to develop and to evaluate a high-strength thread forming aluminum bolt for magnesium components regarding mechanical properties, relaxation and corrosion behavior. Benefits of this bolt connection system are weight reduction in comparison to steel bolts, lower loss of clamping load, less contact corrosion and cost reduction by using thread forming technology (elimination of drilling and thread cutting operations).

Aluminum high-pressure die casting (HPDC) is used to reduce the cost and weight of various components in the automotive industry. The main problem with HPDC components is related to inherent flaws (porosity, oxide skins, etc.) that are difficult to avoid. The fatigue of aluminum HPDC parts is typically calculated using two S–N curves; one accounts for flaws in the bulk material and the other for the pore-free surface layer. This does not provide an accurate estimate for computation of the lifetime or safety against failure of the component. This paper presents a unique way to compute the fatigue safety factor taking into account the pore distribution of the component. The material model used is the so-called Kitagawa-Haigh diagram. The pore model provides a statistical distribution of pores within a defined region in the component.

The SAE Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) Safety Working Group has been addressing FCV safety for over 10 years. The initial document, SAE J2578, was published in 2002. SAE J2578 has been valuable as a Recommended Practice for FCV development with regard to the identification of hazards associated with the integration of hydrogen and electrical systems onto the vehicle and the definition of countermeasures to mitigate these hazards such that FCVs can be operated in the same manner as conventional gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicles. An update to SAE J1766 for post-crash electrical safety was also published in 2008 to reflect unique aspects of FCVs and to harmonize electrical requirements with international standards. In addition to SAE J2578 and J1766, the SAE FCV Safety Working Group also developed a Technical Information Report (TIR) for vehicular hydrogen systems (SAE J2579).

The CAE method to predict the vibration transfer function of the hydraulic engine mount on a vehicle with sufficient precision and calculation time without prototype cars was developed. The transfer function is given in the following steps. First, rubber deformation form under the power train weight loaded must be predicted. It’s obtained by using a reduction model of an engine mount, as a unit, which doesn’t have its fluid sealed inside, with the technique to get the static spring characteristics in a non-linear relationship. Second, Young’s modulus and structural damping coefficient for the deformed rubber must be given. As for these characteristics, ignoring the relations between these values and strain, the constant values are used. This considerably reduces computation time and model size. Next, the reduction model and the fluid model have must be combined to express actual product. In this step, coupled analysis for fluid and structure is used.

Practical evaluation and reduction of edge cracking are two challenging issues in stamping AHSS for automotive body structures. In this paper, the effects of the shear clearance and shear rake angle on edge cracking were investigated with three different grades of AHSS; TRIP780, DP 980, and DP 1180. Five different shear clearances, between 5% and 25% of material thickness, were applied to the flexible shearing machine to generate samples for the half specimen dome test (HSDT). The shear loads and the shear edge quality were thoroughly characterized and compared. The HSDT created the edge forming limits as compared to the base material forming limit diagram. The load-displacement curve was acquired by the load-cell and the strain distribution was measured using a digital image correlation (DIC) system during the dome test.

The paper presents the results of the STYFF-DEXA project which has delivered an attractive computational approach based on detailed treatment of the filtration and regeneration processes inside diesel particulate foam filter materials. The new approach can provide accurate macroscopic material parameters by utilizing tomographic data and novel algorithms to reconstruct three-dimensional digital representations of the foam material microstructure. The Lattice-Boltzmann (LB) Method is used as a basis for computing the flow within the foam pores. The latter is coupled to sub-models of particle transport/deposition and size distribution based on the very efficient Method of Moments which employs a probability density function representation of the suspended soot. Additionally, acoustics modelling functionality has been developed which permits the evaluation of the engine noise attenuation capabilities of the foams and similar microstructures.

Automotive manufacturers across the world have experienced the saturation of demand in the mature markets. Foraying into the emerging markets of India and China brings a mix of opportunities and challenges. These economies with 15%+ rising consumer demand, 7%+ rise in per-capita income and a passenger car density less than 1/8 of mature markets, hold promise of sustaining double-digit growth of vehicle sales. But the challenges are immense. Ultra-low margins of OEMs, lack of transportation infrastructure, Low level of maturity of funding operations, fragmented demand, import restrictions and mandatory export obligations pose serious constraints to non-linear growth. HONDA (Honda Siel Cars India Limited), a subsidiary of Honda Motor Corporation, Japan has developed the next generation supply chain with a strategy cognizant of the global opportunities and the local limitations which such emerging economies present.

An automated assessment of structures with welding seams or spot joints is presented. Based on guidelines and with the help of software-coded procedures, the Finite Element model is conventionally build up including welding seams and spot joints. After having determined the stresses by linear or geometric nonlinear Finite Element analyses (FEA), the stresses are post-processed by a software package taking into account the special properties of the welding seams and the spot joints as defined in the FE-model. With it, the fatigue life, in terms of safety factor or damage distributions, can be evaluated fast and efficiently and may be displayed on the FE-structure. Computationally optimized welded or spot-jointed structures become feasible with this software package, leading to development time and cost reductions due to minimizing testing expenditures.

In order to determine the seizure limit of the main bearings of passenger vehicles under actual operating conditions, evaluations were conducted in environments containing noise factors (Various factors which designer cannot adjust and which make function vary were defined as noise factors in this paper.) [1,2] It was shown that noise factors have an effect on seizure limit performance in relation to performance under ideal test conditions (test conditions in which no noise is present). In relation to oil properties, the results showed that a reduction in viscosity as a result of dilution affected seizure limit performance. In relation to the shape of the sliding sections of the test shaft, seizure limit performance declined in a shaft in which the central section was swollen (“convex shaft” below).

Seat vibration when a vehicle is idling or in motion is an issue in automobile development. In order to reduce this vibration, dynamic damper or inertia mass is widely used. These countermeasures increases vehicle's weight and causes bad fuel-efficiency. Some new ways to reduce the vibration without weight increase are needed. One of that is the floating seat. Seat vibration has been reduced by controlling seat resonance frequencies. In order to control resonance frequency, the structures of the seat-mounting unit are replaced with floating structures using rubber bushings. It was demonstrated that partially replacing the mounting unit with floating structures makes it possible to control the resonance frequencies of the entire seat. The issue of balancing vibration reduction with strength and durability and crash safety performance caused by the fitting of rubber bushings to the seat-mounting unit was addressed using stopper structures optimized for each type of input.