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Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) has been routinely used to densify castings for aerospace and medical applications for over 30 years. While HIP is widely known to improve the toughness and fatigue life of castings through the healing of internal porosity, it has been perceived as too expensive for most cast aluminum alloys for automotive applications. Recent developments suggest that the cost effectiveness of certain special HIP processes should be revisited due to reductions in process cost and improvements in throughput. This paper will evaluate the Densal® II process applied to a front aluminum steering knuckle. Two casting processes representing differing levels of relative cost and quality were evaluated. The first was Alcoa's VRC/PRC process, a metal mold process with bottom fill, evacuation before fill and pressurization after fill. This is considered to be a premium quality, but higher cost casting process that is already qualified for this application.

In this paper, loads acting on driveline components during an entire proving ground (PG) durability schedule are used to demonstrate the methodology of optimizing driveline performance reliability using both physical and computational methods. It is well known that there is an effect of driver variability on the driveline component loads. Yet, this effect has not been quantified in the past for lack of experimental data from multiple drivers and reliable data analysis methods. This paper presents the data reduction techniques that are used to identify the extreme driver performance and to extrapolate the short-term measurement to long-term data for driveline performance reliability. The driveline loading variability is made evident in the rotating moment histogram domain. This paper also introduces the concept for a simulation model to predict the driveline component loads based on a complete proving grounds schedule. A model-to-test correlation is also performed in this paper.

The design of occupant restraint systems in the automotive industry has shifted from an empirical approach to a computer aided analysis approach for many years now. Various finite element software programs have been applied in crash safety analysis, and multi-body dynamics codes have been successfully used where quick system response times were required. Most new vehicle programs are analyzed by the use of finite element tools that were used for previous program projects. Software that has specific occupant protection features may be coupled with these finite element tools, or new vehicle programs may be developed from scratch by using one tool that does all, i.e. a tool where the multi-body dynamics are integrated into the finite element method. Both these approaches will be elaborated as valid tools for occupant protection analysis. At first, the coupling between the finite element crash program LS-DYNA and the F.E.

To improve vehicle launch feeling, the powertrain torque output needs to be largely increased. Compared with modifications to engine, transmission, and axle, one of the most inexpensive ways of achieving this goal is to modify the torque converter to get a higher stall torque ratio. In other applications, in order to lower engine speed for better fuel economy, and to match with a higher output engine, a converter with higher torque capacity (lower K factor) is also often desired. In some case of small-volume production, the torque converter modifications are limited to the stator only in order to reduce the manufacturing cost. In the present study, the engineering CFD simulations were used to develop new stators for stall torque ratio and K factor improvement. The flow fields of both baseline and modified torque converters were simulated. The overall performances of the converter were calculated from the flow field data, and correlated with the dyno test data.

Silicon Carbide (SiC) based high temperature semiconductor gas sensors were tested for potential applications in the closed-loop control of NOx storage catalytic converters. The exhaust gas composition behind a storage catalyst was simulated by synthetic gas mixtures supplied from a gas blending manifold. In lean oxidizing ambients the sensors produced signals opposite in sign upon the appearance of NOx on the one hand and mixtures of HC and CO on the other hand. Transient gas measurements revealed response times ranging between several milliseconds for HC and several seconds for NOx. These features render SiC based sensors potentially useful for the control of NOx storage catalytic converters.

Thixomolding (1) is a relatively new process in which the metallic slurry is injected into a die cavity tool at semi-solid or liquid temperatures to form near net-shape products from the solid feedstock. As part of on-going research into Thixomolding technology, this study continues the work of a previous study, that concentrated on magnesium alloys AZ91D and AM60B. The test samples were made with high, low and zero percent fraction solid. The test results of the thixomolded samples of the various percent fraction solid are compared to conventional high pressure die casting samples and there is a discussion of the why the Thixomolding process produces superior properties. In addition, a comprehensive corrosion resistance study was completed utilizing uncoated corrosion plates in an salt spray environment (ASTM B117).

A Draw Bead Simulator (DBS), with modified draw beads, was employed in this study to understand the springback behavior of sheet metal subjected to multiple bending-unbending cycles. The investigations were carried out in both the rolling and the transverse rolling directions on four types of materials: Electro-Galvanized DQ steel, light and heavy gauge Hot-Dip Galvanealed High Strength Steels, and Aluminum alloy AL6111. The sheet geometries, thickness strains, pulling forces and clamping forces were measured and analyzed for the purpose of establishing a benchmark database for numerical predictions of springback. The results indicate that the springback curvature changes dramatically with the die holding force. The conditions at which the springback is minimized was observed and found to depend on the material properties and the sheet thickness. Analysis with an implicit FEM showed that the predicted and the experimental results are in very good agreement.

Throughout its history, the automobile has served the utilitarian purpose of transportation quite well. However, until recently, vehicle occupants have had little else to do while proceeding from point "A'' to point "B.'' The phenomenal improvements in computing and communication technologies promise to evolve the driving experience. Like never before, new opportunities to make driving more efficient and engaging are becoming available. The challenge will be to develop the right combination of technology, safety, design and user interface that creates a product popular with customers.

An extensive digital simulation study on lift devices that interact with human operators in DaimlerChrysler automotive assembly plants has been initiated and deployed. This digital mock-up of human-machine workcells is to scientifically evaluate and further certify a number of typical commercial lift devices that are served in car-assembly operations. The entire model is based on human biomechanical Jacobian relationship, as a fundamental kinematic structure, to predict human body instantaneous joint-torque distribution when the human is working with a certain payload. The developed modeling and simulation system will play a pivotal role in proactive ergonomic prediction, verification and digital certification in car advance manufacturing engineering processes.

Transfer Path Analysis (TPA) is a widely used methodology in Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) analysis of motor vehicles. Either it is used to design a vehicle from scratch or it is applied to root cause an existing NVH problem, TPA can be a useful tool. TPA analysis is closely related to the concept of partial contribution. The very basic assumption in TPA is that the summation of all partial contributions from different paths constitutes the total response (which could be either tactile or acoustic). Another popular concept in NVH analysis of vehicles is the component sensitivity. Component sensitivity is a measure of how much the response changes due to a change in one of the components of the system, i.e., the thickness of a panel or elastic rate of an engine mount. Sensitivity rates are more popular among CAE/Simulation community, simply because they are reasonably easy to calculate using mathematical models.

In this paper, responses from a vehicle's suspension, chassis and body, are used to demonstrate a methodology to optimize physical test results. It is well known that there is a variability effect due to an increase of wheel unsprung mass (due to loads measurement fixturing), tire pressure, speed, etc. This paper quantifies loading variability due to Wheel Force Transducer (WFT) unsprung mass by using a rainflow cycle counting domain. Also, presents a proving ground-to-test correlation study and the data reduction techniques that are used in road simulation test development to identify the most nominal road load measurement. Fundamental technical information and analytical methodology useful in overall vehicle durability testing are discussed. Durability testing in a laboratory is designed to correlate fatigue damage rig to road. A Proving Ground (PG) loading history is often acquired by running an instrumented vehicle over one or more PG events with various drivers.

The response of the spine acceleration to rib and pelvis acceleration input of the side impact dummy (SID) is modeled using system identification methods. The basis for the modeling is a simplified representation of the SID by a 3-mass, 2-spring system. Based on this spring-mass representation, two types of response models are established. The first is a "gray-box" type with rib/pelvis-spine relationship modeled by Auto Regression with eXogeneous (or eXtra) input (ARX) type system models. The structure of these models is partially based on the spring-mass simplified representation, hence the notion "gray- box." The parameters of these models are identified through linear regression from test data. The second type of models is noted "physical model" here, since it is strictly a state- space form of the equation of motion of the simple spring-mass representation.

Even with the rapidly evolving computational tools available today, suspension design remains very much a black art. This is especially true with respect to road cars because there are so many competing design objectives. In a racecar some of these objectives may be neglected. Even still, just concentrating on maximizing road-holding capability remains a formidable task. This paper outlines a procedure for establishing suspension parameters, and includes a computational example that entails spring, damper, and anti-roll bar specification. The procedure is unique in that it not only covers the prerequisite vehicle dynamic equations, but also outlines the process that sequences the design evolution. The racecar design covered in the example is typical of a growing number of small open wheel formula racecars, built specifically for American autocrossing and British hillclimbs.