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Launch vehicles that use electric actuators for thrust vector or flight control require a safe, reliable and lightweight source of electrical power. Honeywell, working with NASA Glenn Research Center and Lockheed Martin Space Systems, has developed and successfully tested a turbine-driven electric power generation system which meets these needs. This Turbine Power Unit (TPU) uses hydrogen and oxygen propellants which react catalytically to drive a shaft-speed turboalternator mounted on foil bearings. A high-reactance permanent-magnet machine (HRPMM) was selected for this application. The power conditioning and control electronics can be located within the TPU housing and the hydrogen fuel can be used to pressurize the bearings and electronics and to regeneratively cool the machine. A brassboard unit incorporating many of these features was successfully tested at output power levels from 0 to 138 kilowatts (kW).

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].

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.

A twenty-five kilowatt (peak power for one minute), permanent magnet electric machine for a hybrid electric vehicle application was designed and tested. The electric machine is located in the clutch housing of an automatically shifted manual transmission and is subjected to 120 °C continuous ambient temperatures. The package constraints and duty cycle requirements resulted in an extremely challenging thermal design for an electric machine. The losses in the machine were predicted using models based on first principles and the heat transfer in the machine was modeled using computational fluid dynamics. The simulations were compared to test results over a variety of operating conditions and the results were used to validate the models. Parametric studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of potting materials and cooling topologies.

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.

Water condensate retained inside an automotive evaporator has remained as one of the primary sources of unpleasant “odors”, which in turn can drive up the warranty cost for automotive manufacturers. The “wet” evaporator fin can also underperform due to the presence of condensate blocking the air passage. Moreover, condensate retention can be a potential factor of freezing up evaporators. Thus, an evaporator fin must be designed such that it can shed and drain water condensate as well as provide an excellent heat transfer capability. While the importance of water retention is well known, there seems lacking of a comprehensive way to evaluate the water retention characteristics of a particular product. In this work, attempts were made to answer four questions: (1) What is the mechanism that controls water condensate retention characteristics in an automotive evaporator? (2) Can different water retention evaluation methods reveal the same characteristics?

Hypothermia is a well documented problem for surgical patients and is historically addressed by the use of a variety of warming aids and devices applied to the patient before, during, and after surgery. Their effectiveness is limited in many surgeries by practical constraints of surgical access, and hypothermia remains a significant concern. Increasing the temperature of the operating room has been proposed as an alternative solution. However, operating room temperatures must be cool enough to limit thermal stress on the surgical team despite the heat transport barriers imposed by protective sterile garments. Space technology in the form of the liquid cooling garment worn by EVA astronauts answers this need. Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International (HSSSI) has been working with Hartford Hospital to adapt liquid cooling garment technology for use by surgical teams in order to allow them to work comfortably in warmer operating room environments.

The advanced inflatable airlock (AIA) system was developed for the Space Launch Initiative (SLI). The objective of the AIA system is to greatly reduce the cost associated with performing extravehicular activity (EVA) from manned launch vehicles by reducing launch weight and volume from previous hard airlock systems such as the Space Shuttle and Space Station airlocks. The AIA system builds upon previous technology from the TransHab inflatable structures project, from Space Shuttle and Space Station Airlock systems, and from terrestrial flexible structures projects. The AIA system design is required to be versatile and capable of modification to fit any platform or vehicle needing EVA capability. During the basic phase of the program, the AIA conceptual design and key features were developed to help meet the SLI program goals of reduced cost and program risk.

Hamilton Sundstrand has been working on the development of a new cryogenic flow boiler based on its patented compact, high-intensity cooler (CHIC) technology intended to provide low weight and volume and overcome freezing problems associated with cryogen use in EVA spacesuit cooling. Tests of the prototype device resulting from that effort have now been completed. The test data demonstrate that the design is extremely resistant to freezing the heat transport fluid as anticipated. Highly effective heat transfer is achieved in a compact device combining the functions of several conventional heat exchangers. This novel heat exchanger, a “normal flow” layered impingement arrangement should provide a very compact solution to any heat transfer applications where the cold fluid operates below the warm fluid's freezing point. Test results are generally consistent with design analyses for the prototype.

The International Space Station (ISS) IATCS (Internal Active Thermal Control System) includes two internal coolant loops that use an aqueous based coolant for heat transfer. A silver salt biocide was used initially as an additive in the coolant formulation to control the growth and proliferation of microorganisms in the coolant loops. Ground-based and in-flight testing has demonstrated that the silver salt is rapidly depleted and not effective as a long-term biocide. Efforts are now underway to select an alternate biocide for the IATCS coolant loop with greatly improved performance. An extensive evaluation of biocides was conducted to select several candidates for test trials.

The Conductivity Sensor designed for use in the Node 3 Water Processor Assembly (WPA) was based on the existing Space Shuttle application for the fuel cell water system. However, engineering analysis has determined that this sensor design is potentially sensitive to two- phase fluid flow (gas/liquid) in microgravity. The source for this sensitivity is the fact that free gas will become lodged between the sensor probe and the wall of the housing without the aid of buoyancy in 1-g. Once gas becomes lodged in the housing, the measured conductivity will be offset based on the volume of occluded gas. A development conductivity sensor was flown on the NASA Microgravity Plane (KC-135) to measure the offset, which was determined to range between 0 and 50%. This range approximates the offset experienced in 1-g gas sensitivity testing.

Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc. (HSSSI) is under contract to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to develop a Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) for the international Space Station (ISS). The WPA produces potable quality water from humidity condensate, carbon dioxide reduction water, water obtained from fuel cells, reclaimed urine distillate, hand wash and oral hygiene waste waters. The Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) electrolyzes potable water from the Water Recovery System (WRS) to provide gaseous oxygen to the Space Station module atmosphere. The OGA produces oxygen for metabolic consumption by crew and biological specimens. The OGA also replenishes oxygen lost by experiment ingestion, airlock depressurization, CO2 venting, and leakage. As a byproduct, gaseous hydrogen is generated. The hydrogen will be supplied at a specified pressure range to support future utilization.

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 International Space Station (ISS) internal thermal control system (ITCS) has been developed jointly by the Boeing Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama, and Honeywell Engines & Systems, Torrance, California, to meet ISS internal thermal control needs. The ITCS provides heat removal for the critical life support systems and thermal conditioning for numerous experiment racks. The ITCS will be fitted on a number of modules on the ISS. The first module, the US Laboratory Module, was launched in February 2001 and is now operational on the ISS. The dual loop system is comprised of a low-temperature loop (LTL) and a moderate-temperature loop (MTL). Each loop has a pump package assembly (PPA), a system flow control assembly (SFCA), a three-way mixing valve (TWMV), several rack flow control assemblies (RFCA), cold plates, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, a pump bypass assembly (PBA), and a heat exchanger.