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Recent advances in the state of the art of space-borne data processors and signal processors have occurred that present some unprecedented constraints relating to their power needs. Such processors include the class of multiprocessors providing computational capabilities in the billions of floating point operations per second. Processors of this type tend to require use of modern radiation tolerant or radiation hardened integrated circuits requiring very low voltage power supplies that place considerable challenge on power distribution and conversion within those processing payloads. The primary challenges are efficient conversion of power from the spacecraft power bus to these low voltages and distribution of the very high accompanying currents within the payload while maintaining proper voltage regulation (typically +/− 5%). Some integrated circuits require 10 Amps or more at 1Volt, as an example [3], [6].

First LED headlamps will be released into the market in 2007. Special permissions allow this introduction although the official regulation is still under discussion in ECE. The LED technology for front lighting has entered into a new phase from theoretical, prototype status to real and practical applications. Additionally in Europe the legislation, which is under preparation, defines LED modules with one or more LED chips in a row which should be replaceable. With this boundary conditions headlamp suppliers needs to balance between an attractive and innovative styling, demanded by car manufacturers and the light performance to gurantee good visibility at night. The paper describes the methods how to design an LED headlamp with high efficiency by keeping in mind the parameters: packaging, weight, styling and light perfromance. Results with specific design proposals are shown.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are fast becoming the preferred light sources for automotive lighting applications. They emit light at cone angles equal (hemispherical) or less (conical) than 2Π radians. One way for efficiently collecting and collimating light from LED light sources is to use Near Field Lenses (NFLs). NFLs are collimators using refraction and total internal reflection (TIR) to efficiently collect and direct light. They tend to have thick sections and therefore require challenging molding techniques, and they may have the LED source optically coupled directly into them. Beside these functional aspects, NFLs offer unique styling for different lighting functions such as those in rear combination lamps (RCLs), front turn signal lamps, daytime running lamps (DRLs) and headlamps.

During last 10-15 years we could have seen quite big changes in automotive lighting. The most important changes are: a) plastic materials mostly removed metal and glass material from lighting products raised heat issue of plastics materials b) escalation of competition between lighting suppliers (globalization, merging, …) decrease of time and cost for development of the new product as much as possible

A practical and low cost Blind Spot Monitoring system is proposed. By using a single camera, the range and azimuth position of a vehicle in a blind spot are measured. The algorithm is based on the proposed RWA (Range Window Algorithm). The camera is installed on the door mirror and monitoring the side and rear of the host vehicle. The algorithm processes the image and identifies range and azimuth angle of the vehicle in the adjacent lane. This algorithm is applied to real situations. The 388 images including several kinds of vehicles are analyzed. The detection rate is 86% and the range accuracy is 1.6[m]. The maximum detection range is about 30[m].

As global automobile manufacturers prepare for the phase-out of R134a in Europe, they must address the issue of using the new refrigerant for European sales only or launching the product worldwide. Several factors play into this decision, including cost, service, risk, customer satisfaction, capacity, efficiency, etc. This research effort addresses the minimal vehicle-level hardware differences necessary to provide a European solution of R1234yf while continuing to install R134a into vehicles for the rest of the world. It is anticipated that the same compressor, lubricant and condenser; most fluid transport lines; and in most cases the evaporator can be common between the two systems.

This paper gives an overview of a scalable engine management system architecture for motorcycle and other small engine based vehicle applications. The system can accommodate any engine sizes and up to four cylinders. The architecture incorporates advanced functionalities such as oxygen sensing, closed loop fueling, wall-wetting compensation, purge control, start & idle control and deceleration fuel cut-off. Additionally, a number of vehicle-related controls are integrated in the system. Diagnostic and safety related features have also been incorporated with limp-home capability. The software architecture is compatible with different hardware solutions. The system has been implemented in several OEM vehicles around the globe and meets EURO-3 emission requirements.

This paper presents the results of a human factors flight test evaluation of a display of Enhanced Traffic Situational Awareness on the Airport Surface with Indications and Alerts (SURF IA). The study is an element of the FAA-sponsored Surface Conflict Detection and Alerting with Consideration of Arrival Applications program. The objective of the flight test was to conduct a comparative evaluation of two candidate SURF IA displays: a detailed Airport Surface Situation Awareness (ASSA) display and a runways-only Final Approach Runway Occupancy Awareness (FAROA) display. Six pilots with a current Air Transport Pilot Certificate each completed 18 scenarios. A Beechcraft King Air C-90 and a Cessna Citation Sovereign aircraft were deployed for the flight tests. The scenarios were conducted at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and at Snohomish County Paine Field Airport, with each aircraft acting as ‘traffic’ for the other aircraft.

This paper presents new concepts for improving management of the electrical load power regeneration of an aircraft. A novel electrical system that allows for load regeneration back to the distribution bus is described. This approach offers the benefits of reduced weight, volume, and cost, as well as improved reliability. Also described is an electrical machine control mechanism that creates motor power to run the prime mover (i.e., the main engine to dissipate the regenerated power). Instead of main engine generation, this approach can be applied to an auxiliary power unit (APU) or power and thermal management system (PTMS). Background information regarding the regeneration concept is presented. The concept definition and the various modes of operation of the improved system are analyzed and described in detail. Results from the dynamic simulation of the system model are included.

Not all software tools are created equal and not all software tools are created to perform the same tasks. Therefore, different software tools are used to perform different tasks. However, being able to share the information between the different software tools, without having to manually re-enter (duplicate) any of the information, can save a lot of time and improve the quality of the product. The control software interface presented in this paper, allows system engineers to exchange data between software tools in an efficient manner which maximizes each tools capabilities and ultimately reduces development time and improves the quality of the product.

Manual ‘porting” of source code is often required in order to “reuse” control software in different applications with different target hardware. This process is not cost effective. Maintaining multiple “versions” of the same software also causes problems. This paper describes a way in which multiple target source code can be generated from a single model. A custom data class is developed so that it can be used to define both signal and parameter data types necessary for data dictionary-driven models. This capability allows a single model to be used to generate code for multiple target hardware architectures. A software development process using a generic model to support multiple hardware targets is compared with the hand porting process (e.g. floating-point to/from fixed-point). Auto code generation from a sample multi-target feature model will be presented. The efficiency of the auto code will also be discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate our success in taking advantage of model-based development tools and auto-code technology to accelerate the typical life cycle development of powertrain software. In particular, we applied the technology as a clean sheet approach to Visteon's third generation Electronic Throttle Control system. In the process of applying model-based development and 100% auto-code, we identified various pitfalls and created solutions to overcome the gap between technology and development process during each phase of the entire software development life cycle. We will share our lessons learned during the requirement, design, implementation, and validation stages.

In Brazil the market for plastic parts molds, in last few years had become very competitive, with several Vehicle Operations and a big number of a different models, and with today total market volume it means low volumes productions for each model. This market demands for good toolshops and at the same time a big pressure to reduce investments, one of the most important. Plastic components usage in the car, is increasing overtime, with new applications for Exterior, interior and powertrain, requiring new technologies for Injection molding processing and making molds to be more complex. The development of plastic parts in Brazil has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. In fact a big and heterogeneous market. This paper intends to present an analysis of development of plastic parts in Brazil, considering the development of mold tooling locally, focusing the automotive market.

This paper discusses our experiences on the implementation and benefits of using the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) systems for Powertrain control system software verification and validation. The Visteon HIL system integrated with several off-the-shelf diagnostics and calibration tools is briefly explained. Further, discussions on test automation sequence control and failure insertion are outlined The capabilities and advantages of using HIL for unit level software testing, open loop and closed-loop system testing, fault insertion and test automation are described. HIL also facilitates Software and Hardware Interface validation testing with low-level driver and platform software. This paper attempts to show the experiences with and capabilities of these HIL systems.

Automotive gear oil development has expanded beyond the historical requirements of emphasizing wear protection to encompass modern needs for fuel economy and limited slip frictional properties. This paper describes the development process of a new generation, fuel efficient gear lubricant for use in light duty vehicles. A systematic formulation approach was used, encompassing fluid viscometrics and additive optimization. Performance testing in both laboratory and vehicle tests is described. Though standard GL-5 tests were used to confirm oxidation, wear and corrosion performance, emphasis is given to those methods used for optimizing fuel economy.

Stabilizer bars in a suspension system are supported with bushings by a frame structure. To prevent the axial movement of the stabilizer bar within the bushing, several new stabilizer bar-bushing systems have been developed. The new systems introduce permanent compressive force between the bar and the bushing thereby preventing the relative movement of the bar within the bushing. This mechanical bond between the bar and the bushing can eliminate features such as grippy flats, collars etc. In addition, by controlling the compression parameters, the properties of the bushing such as bushing rates can be tuned and hence can be used to improve the ride and handling performance of the vehicle. In this paper, nonlinear CAE tools are used to evaluate one such compressively loaded bushing system. Computational difficulties associated with modeling such a system are discussed.

Interior compartment doors are required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 201, to stay closed during physical head impact testing, and when subjected to specific inertia loads. This paper defines interior compartment doors, and shows examples of several different latches designed to keep these doors closed. It also explores the details of the requirements that interior compartment doors and their latches must meet, including differing requirements from automobile manufacturers. It then shows the conventional static method a supplier uses to analyze a latch and door system. And, since static calculations can't always capture the complexities of a dynamic event, this paper also presents a case study of one particular latch and door system showing a way to simulate the forces experienced by a latch. The dynamic simulation is done using Finite Element Analysis and instrumentation of actual hardware in physical tests.

The purpose of this study is to develop specifically a correlation between Exhaust Manifold Cracking Laboratory Test results and 150,000 mile customer fleet usage test results. The study shows that the exhaust manifold design meets the reliability requirements of 10 years or 150,000 miles, given 90th percentile customer usage without an evidence of cracking or audible leaks. This correlation between the Lab Test and the customer Fleet results has been expressed as an acceleration factor. An acceleration factor is the ratio of how much quicker the engine dynamometer test ( i.e. Lab Test ) can accumulate the effect of customer usage over time versus the customers themselves. The acceleration factor is provided for useful life time period of 10 years or 150,000 miles. The recommended acceleration factor, determined in this study, is 38 to 1, comparing the engine dynamometer test ( i.e. Lab Test ) results to 150,000 mile modular truck customer fleet field results.

Traditionally, the passenger airbag door for an instrument panel (I/P) is a separate component assembled to the substrate, where the panel has an opening for the airbag module. The airbag door (usually made of TPE material) arrives to the assembly line from the airbag module supplier to be installed to the I/P. The grain and gloss between the door cover and the I/P class “A” surface must match closely. This paper describes the implementation of the passenger airbag door as an integral part of the instrument panel. This approach provides superior craftsmanship to the vehicle interior system. The I/P area that contains the seamless passenger airbag is weakened from the B-surface.

Recycled resins can meet performance requirements on products which were initially designed for virgin materials. Olefinic instrument panel (I/P) scrap is being recycled from the Mazda Tribute and the Ford Escape into glove box bins. As a result, a quality part is being supplied to the customer and Visteon's Saline Plant has realized both increased plant operating efficiencies and landfill cost avoidance. The development process is described including: plant regrind sources, part molding and testing.