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A highly anti-corrosive organic-inorganic hybrid paint for automotive steel parts has been developed. The inorganic component included in the paint is silicon dioxide (SiO2), which has the capability to passivate zinc. By application of the paint on a trivalent chromatetreated zinc-plated steel sheet or a trivalent chromate-treated zinc-nickel-plated steel sheet, high anti-corrosion protection can be provided to steel materials. Particularly in the case of application over a zinc-nickel-plated steel sheet, 0 mm corrosion depth after a cyclic corrosion test (CCT) of 450 cycles was demonstrated.

Test methods to evaluate vehicle compatibility are being studied worldwide. Compatibility performance is central in securing mutual protection in collisions between large and small vehicles. To consider compatibility performance, good structural interaction and stiffness matching are important. A test method using a novel moving deformable barrier (MDB) was developed to evaluate compatibility performance that includes consideration of both structural interaction and stiffness matching. This new barrier has the following features to represent an offset vehicle-to-vehicle collision with a compact car. The barrier width is divided at the lower rail position of the compact car, and the layer that simulates the characteristics of vehicle sections toward the interior is harder than the outward layer. This varying stiffness of the MDB helps simulate the horizontal interaction performance that occurs in real-world crashes.

Compatibility is important in order to secure mutual protection in collisions between large and small vehicles. To enhance compatibility, good structural interaction and stiffness matching are important elements. This paper proposes a test method that uses a moving deformable barrier (MDB) to evaluate compatibility performance that includes not only structural interaction but also stiffness matching. This new deformable barrier is aimed at the simulation of offset Vehicle-to-Vehicle collisions with compact vehicles. This simulation is based on real world crash research, and takes into account three separate load interactions between the impacting vehicles. These areas of interaction include the impacting vehicle's power unit to the opposing vehicle's wheel, the impacting vehicle's lower rail to the opposing vehicle's lower rail, and the impacting vehicle's wheel to the opposing vehicle's power unit.

This paper describes the development of a simplified fracture finite element (FE) model for resistance spot welds (RSW) of ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) that can be incorporated into large-scale vehicle FE model. It is known that the RSW of UHSS generates two types of fracture modes: heat-affected zone (HAZ) and nugget zone fractures. Lap shear and peeling coupon tests using UHSS sheets found that the different RSW fracture modes occurred at different nugget diameters. To analyze this phenomenon, detailed simulated coupon tests were carried out using solid hexahedral elements. The analytical results revealed that RSW fractures are defined by both the application of plastic strain on the elements and the stress triaxiality state of the elements. A detailed model incorporating a new fracture criteria model recreated the different UHSS RSW fracture modes and achieved a close correlation with the coupon test results.

A technique for induction-hardening local portions of vehicle body reinforcements press-formed of thin sheet steel has been developed, with the aim of ensuring occupant safety in a side collision. This technique for increasing the tensile strength of sheet steel was practically applied to the front floor cross member and center pillar reinforcement. Owing to this method, the weight of body reinforcements can be decreased. New induction-hardening systems have also been developed for the present technique. One is an apparatus which allows induction-hardening a part with a three-dimensionally curved surface. Another is a straightening quench technique used to retain the same dimensional accuracy as the original press-formed part.

1 The principal characteristics required of sealing materials used in the body shop have focused on their adhesion to oily steel sheets and quick curing performance. Means for attaining these characteristics have been narrowed down to a basic resin system and a curing system. Various techniques have been studied to ensure proper anti-corrosion performance at the sealer application boundaries and thin application areas. They include the addition of anti-corrosion fillers, the provision of conductivity (through electro-deposition), and the application of a micro foam film over the application boundaries. Thus, prospects for attaining the same level of anti-corrosion performance as existing materials have been achieved.

This paper describes that a method has been developed to estimate the range of the scatter of Head Injury Criterion (HIC) values in pedestrian impact tests, which could help to reduce the range of the scatter of HIC values by applying the stochastic method for Finite Element (FE) analysis. A major advantage of this method is that it enables the range of scatter of HIC values to be estimated and to explain the mechanics of the behavior. The test procedure of pedestrian impact allows some tolerances for the resultant conditions of impact such that the distance of actual impact location from the selected point is within 10 mm and the impact velocity is within ±0.7 km/h [1]. A HIC value calculated by impact simulation under a deterministic impact condition with the nominal input data does not necessarily represent the variation of measured data in impactor tests.

Fluoroelastmers are well known for their resistance to heat and fluids, and have become major material for crankcase oil seals. On the other hand, new additive formulations are developed for engine lubricants used for fuel economic gasoline engines. In this paper, the effects of those additives on properties of fluoroelastmers are investigated. The results of the immersion tests of both test plaques and oil seal products indicate that dithiocarbamates, friction modifier, have hardening effects on fluoroelastmers. The fluoroelastmer deterioration mechanism is determined by analysis of elastmer samples after immersion in oil.

As part of the International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee's (ILSAC) goal of developing a global automatic transmission fluid (ATF) specification, members have been evaluating test methods that are currently used by various automotive manufacturers for qualifying ATF for use in their respective transmissions. This report deals with comparing test methods used for determining torque capacity in friction systems (shifting clutches). Three test methods were compared, the Plate Friction Test from the General Motors DEXRON®-III Specification, the Friction Durability Test from the Ford MERCON® Specification, and the Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association Friction Test - JASO Method 348-95. Eight different fluids were evaluated. Friction parameters used in the comparison were breakaway friction, dynamic friction torque at midpoint and the end of engagement, and the ratio of end torque to midpoint torque.

The International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC) ATF subcommittee members have compared the two oxidation bench test methods, Aluminum Beaker Oxidation Test (ABOT) and Indiana Stirring Oxidation Stability Test (ISOT), using a number of factory-fill and service-fill ATFs obtained in Japan and in the US. In many cases, the ATFs were more severely oxidized after the ABOT procedure than after the same duration of the ISOT procedure. The relative severity of these two tests was influenced by the composition of the ATFs. The bench test oxidation data were compared with the transmission and the vehicle oxidation test data.

Galvannealed steel sheet (GA) is very extensively used for vehicle panels. However ζ-phase (FeZn13) in GA coat causes poor stamping formability. Previously, there were no easy methods to evaluate the influence of ζ-phase on the frictional characteristics other than the X-ray diffraction method. This study will discuss the development of a new testing method: Dr. STAMP Method that is both efficient and convenient with pin-on-disc tester.

From the viewpoint of measures for environmental issues, the amount of solvents in paint for aluminum wheels needs to be minimized. Environmentally friendly powder coatings have been used widely for primer coating and clear coating, but there is no precedent for its use for base coating. This time, we optimized the condition of surface treatment of pigment and hardening behavior of constituent resin in the melting process and succeeded in developing a metallic powder coating for aluminum wheels that fulfills the appearance and the quality requirements of aluminum wheels.

Since wear resistance and fatigue strength are key requirements for chassis components, induction hardening is widely used to apply compressive stress for controlling crack growth. Therefore, it is crucial that the influence of defects is examined with compressive residual stress applied to parts. In this report, the relationship between crack depth and compressive residual stress is evaluated using a cylindrical specimen and a torsional fatigue test. The test results were found to be consistent with CAE simulations performed in advance. In the future, it will be necessary to make this method applicable to product design to further improve vehicle safety performance.

In an effort to reduce mass, future automotive bodies will feature lower gage steel or lighter weight materials such as aluminum. An unfortunate side effect of lighter weight bodies is a reduction in sound transmission loss (TL). For barrier based systems, as the total system mass (including the sheet metal, decoupler, and barrier) goes down the transmission loss is reduced. If the reduced surface density from the sheet metal is added to the barrier, however, performance can be restored (though, of course, this eliminates the mass savings). In fact, if all of the saved mass from the sheet metal is added to the barrier, the TL performance may be improved over the original system. This is because the optimum performance for a barrier based system is achieved when the sheet metal and the barrier have equal surface densities. That is not the case for standard steel constructions where the surface density of the sheet metal is higher than the barrier.

Clarifying the impact of ETBE 8% blended fuel on current Japanese gasoline vehicles, under the Japan Clean Air Program II (JCAPII) we conducted exhaust emission tests, evaporative emission tests, durability tests on the exhaust after-treatment system, cold starting tests, and material immersion tests. ETBE 17% blended fuel was also investigated as a reference. The regulated exhaust emissions (CO, HC, and NOx) didn't increase with any increase of ETBE content in the fuel. In durability tests, no noticeable increase of exhaust emission after 40,000km was observed. In evaporative emissions tests, HSL (Hot Soak Loss) and DBL (Diurnal Breathing Loss) didn't increase. In cold starting tests, duration of cranking using ETBE 8% fuel was similar to that of ETBE 0%. In the material immersion tests, no influence of ETBE on these material properties was observed.

In recent years, alternative sources of fuel are receiving a lot of attention in the automotive industry. Fuels derived from an agricultural feedstock are an attractive option. Bio-fuels based on vegetable oils offer the advantage being a sustainable, annually renewable source of automobile fuel. One of key issues in using vegetable oil based fuels is its oxidation stability. Since diesel fuels from fossil oil have good oxidation stability, automobile companies have not considered fuel degradation when developing diesel engines and vehicles as compared with gasoline engines. This paper presents the results of oxidation stability testing on bio-fuels. Oxidation stability was determined using three test methods, ASTM D525, EN14112 and ASTM D2274. The effects of storage condition, bio-fuel composition and antioxidants on the degradation of bio-fuels were all investigated. ASTM D525 is an effective test method to determine the effects of storage condition on bio-fuels stability.

We developed new microalloyed steels, containing about 0.05% sulfur, which have excellent as hot-forged toughness even when forged at the temperatures of about 1300°C(2375°F). We also estimated the various properties of the new microalloy steel in the as hot-forged condition, comparing them to quench and tempered SAE1055 steel used in the front axle of a small truck. The results showed the new steel has improved yield strength, fatigue strength, absorbed impact energy and machinability over the SAE1055 steel.

In recent years, the slip lock-up mechanism has been adopted widely, because of its fuel efficiency and its ability to improve NVH. This necessitates that the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) used in automatic transmissions with slip lock-up clutches requires anti-shudder performance characteristics. The test methods used to evaluate the anti-shudder performance of an ATF can be classified roughly into two types. One is specified to measure whether a μ-V slope of the ATF is positive or negative, the other is the evaluation of the shudder occurrence in the practical vehicle. The former are μ-V property tests from MERCON® V, ATF+4®, and JASO M349-98, the latter is the vehicle test from DEXRON®-III. Additionally, in the evaluation of the μ-V property, there are two tests using the modified SAE No.2 friction machine and the modified low velocity friction apparatus (LVFA).

Replacing the metal car roof with conventional solar modules results in the increase of total car weight and change of center of mass, which is not preferable for car designing. Therefore, weight reduction is required for solar modules to be equipped on vehicles. Exchanging glass to plastic for the cover plate of solar module is one of the major approaches to reduce weight; however, load bearing property, impact resistance, thermal deformation, and weatherability become new challenges. In this paper a new solar module structure that weighs as light as conventional steel car roofs, resolving these challenges is proposed.

Fuel economy measurement test is one of important engine tests to establish fuel economy engine oil performance standard to support CO2 emission reduction efforts in the automotive industry. On the other hand, it is difficult to develop an engine test without appropriate engine hardware that is designed to utilize low viscosity engine oils. A new firing fuel economy test was developed based on 2ZR-FXE engine designed for hybrid powertrain. The new test procedure aimed to provide the tool to evaluate new low viscosity grades such as 0W-8 and 0W-12 that were adapted in SAE J300 in 2015.