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An effective program for external noise reduction of vehicles was firstly established in Brazil by an agreement between ANFAVEA and CETESB in the beginning of last decade. IBAMA worked this proposition and published in 1993 the first CONAMA Resolution, including the pass-by noise limits and the deadlines to satisfy the new sound pressure levels. Since then, CONAMA is responsible for this subject. In 2001 lower levels were imposed, similar to those existing in Europe, with 2006 as the deadline for all vehicle families. The paper describes and gives and overview of the procedures, the acoustic technologies and improvements developed to achieve, in two steps, the new limits, mainly for commercial vehicles, like heavy trucks {from 92 dB(A) to 80 dB(A)} and passenger cars {from 84 dB(A) to 74 dB(A)}. We enumerate also the non-acoustic problems solved, for instance the thermal problems, due to the acoustic barriers applied to reduce pass-by noise.

Due to the growing need to reduce the development time of new products, a tendency to rationalize field tests through test benches, in shorter times and with lower costs, has been noted in recent years. During the 90's, such a tendency has generated, in the automotive industry, a great effort to substitute classic field tests, which until recently represented 70% of the development work, for bench tests, with benches well “calibrated” in relation to the traditional methodology. The present work intends to show the development of a test bench to simulate solar radiation and relative humidity effects upon parts and interior lining materials of truck cabins. The traditional test was carried out exposing the cabin to weather conditions in predetermined locations, or in a hot-house, monitoring the cabin interior for temperature and relative humidity variations.

Recent studies in the USA show 2800 passenger casualties/year, due to automobiles and light vehicles impacting against the front structure of medium and heavy trucks at speeds over 45 mph. This same driver or passenger leaves the vehicle and becomes a pedestrian. What is being done in the automotive industry to face this situation? What improvements can be expected in automobiles, trucks and buses in the XXI century? The results obtained in this work show that it is possible and very important for new projects and modernization of commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) to introduce a front bumper concept foreseeing the Passive Safety of third parties (passenger vehicles).

Since the Weber-Fechner Law (1860) until 1950 there was no trustful method to calculate Loudness of complex sounds. At that time, ISO proposed three weighting curves, A, B and C based on rough approximations of the isophonic curves, 40, 70 and 100 phons. It was supposed to be a temporary suggestion. Curves B and C were abandoned, but A weighting survives until today! In 1957, Stevens and Zwicker presented two independent methods to obtain Loudness in sones, based on the new Stevens' Power Law. In 1965, Kryter introduced Noisiness in noys. Stevens in 1975 presented Perceived Magnitude as an improvement of Loudness calculation. In these acoustic parameters, the sound pressure levels per frequency band are transformed into acoustic sensation levels, and through the sensation spectrum the magnitude of the overall sensation is calculated. The A, B and C curves, for low, moderate and high levels do not follow this concept.

The paper looks for the degree of linear correlation of some acoustic parameters when their results are compared taking into consideration the internal noise of a set of passengers cars and another set of commercial vehicles. The acoustic parameters dealing with the overall noise (Loudness, dB(A) and dB(B)) and those related to the high frequency portion of the spectrum (Articulation Index and Sharpness) are chosen. The sound pressure levels in the passenger compartment are measured according to ISO 5128. The parameters are calculated in some specific velocities. A least square fit to a straight line to each pair of the acoustic parameters is applied. The results are discussed taking into consideration the degree of correlation trying to investigate how dependent or independent the parameters are. In addition it is possible to see the fluctuation range of these parameters concerning each set of vehicles.

In order to attend the more demanding expectations of the commercial vehicles customers, it is being looked for improvements in order to reach better comfort on driving. Among the systems that interact with the driver, the shifting system can be distinguished. The development of a commercial vehicle shifting system is getting complex, because besides making possible the gear changes, it should follow comfort, ergonomics and durability parameters, balancing the necessary robustness for heavy applications with the shift smoothness desired by the user. At the start of the development of commercial vehicles shifting systems, the concept to be applied is analyzed, defining the model. Then it starts the study of the system construction, according to layout parameters of the vehicle project. This stage is predominantly accomplished by computer models. Then the prototypes are manufactured, in which functional tests are made for refinement.

The paper uses sets of experimental data, concerning commercial vehicles, to study the correlation between pass-by and stationary noises through measurements executed according to external noise standards. We consider two sets of experimental data: before the new legislation (higher levels) and lower levels satisfying the new limits in Brazil. In addition we calculate the Loudness in sones, from the octave band spectrum, and compare the results with the usual evaluation in dB(A), with the purpose of emphasizing the qualification besides the quantification aspects and promoting conditions for people understanding. We have applied Brazilian standards which are technically equivalent to their correspondent ISO 362 and ISO 5130. Some points regarding the application of these standard are in discussion since the last few years, as follows: The application of ISO 5130 in circulation vehicles and its correlation and meaning when compared to pass-by noise.

This paper intends to show how Telematics has started in Brazil and describe its impact in the traditional way of making Business with commercial vehicles. We want to make a brief comment about the main enabling technologies for the Telematics improvement: Telecom infrastructure: the investments after the privatisation of the sector, as well, trends for new services (WAP, SMS, Tracking, etc); Internet infrastructure: the growing of internet accesses and its impact in the industrial economy; The impact of these new technologies in the trucking Business and how Brazil is prepared for. New investments that are coming; The impact of IT technologies in the Brazilian GIP (Gross Internal Product) and in the Transportation market.

In the work presented to SAE in 1999: IQTC: a Practical and Unified Index to Evaluate the Continuous Improvement of Suppliers, we showed that the Development Area is one of the chapters inserted into the evaluation process of suppliers and answers for an evaluation called IQDP (Quality Index in Product Development). The present work objective is to show the difficulties found in the implementation, solutions and improvements that are being used to outline a better supplier evaluation. Such a control within a universe of 350 suppliers (directly connected to production) being evaluated by 400 persons, in a natural process, is not an easy task. Collecting information about the difficulties faced to evaluate a supplier and the supplier claims to obtain an answer in reply to the attributed scores, took us to the search of the adequate computerized technology that would allow us to group the interests of work methods that would comply with the diverse demands involved.

This paper discusses some aspects of durability tests in laboratory, justifying the necessity of a new procedure for data compression. Attention is paid to dynamic tests, with the presence of inertia forces. The new procedure is introduced, which uses concepts of fatigue due to vibration and signal analysis. The compression procedure is applied to generate a synthetic signal for the experimental stress test of an automotive component.

The purpose of this paper is the presentation of the main experiences of customers and users of trucks and buses regarding the electronic systems placed in these vehicles, specially in the Latin American market. Basically, in the past years the number of on-board electronic devices increased a lot and the evolution of the customer know-how concerning the new technologies is in progress. Therefore, a line between the mechanical engine and the electronic vehicle management will be traced on this paper, considering the time the customers have taken to react regarding the applied innovations.

Competition in Automotive Market is driving the need for more time - and cost - effective testing methods. In the fatigue life analysis of new passenger and commercial vehicle designs, laboratory testing through servohydraulic equipment plays a very important role. In DaimlerChrysler do Brasil, the Durability Test Laboratory represents an important basis to assure high endurance reliability for all kinds of our commercial vehicle applications. In order to respond to the above mentioned testing tasks, this paper will focuse what we call our “New Policy of Durability Tests for Commercial Vehicles”, based on development of simple and low cost Road Simulators, fully dedicated and customized to testing of vehicle components and chassis. Experimental results as well as other data related to consumption of laboratory's: area, utilityes, pressurized hoses and test time, will be used in order to illustrate advantages and disadvantages of the new testing resource.

With the increasing necessity of reducing the development time of new products, and also the need to evaluate product reliability levels, a trend to rationalize field tests through test benches has been noted. These tests have proved more and more representative and carried out in much lower times and with lower costs. In the automotive industry this trend has generated considerable effort towards making these bench tests more representative of actual conditions towards the increase of their reliability. The quantity of simulated parameters is growing and it becomes necessary to collect more data from ground measurements signal (acceleration, temperature, pressure, flow, etc.) in experimental vehicles.

During the last years, DaimlerChrysler do Brasil (DCBR) has been moving ahead in order to research and to develop an Automatic Vehicular Location System (AVL System) due to the increase of the security through blocking and tracking devices, monitoring and mainly, logistic solutions that includes maintenance and fleet management. DaimlerChrysler do Brasil faced the necessity to prepare a test that could reflect a real situation, not only to try the system's features regardless communication and management of transmitted data, also however, to ensure the durability and reliability of the on-board vehicles equipment focusing on Brazilian Infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to describe the methodology, used tools and acquired results obtained by DCBR improvement test of his AVL System, throughout the “9o Rally Internacional dos Sertões - 2001”.

Due to the growing need of reducing development time of new products and also to evaluate their reliability, a growing trend towards reduction of field tests has been noted. Bench tests, in contrast, are being more widely used because of the reduced time to carry them out, at much lower costs. In the automotive industry this trend has led to great efforts to make these bench tests as truthful as possible in order to increase their reliability. The quantity of simulated parameters is growing and this, or course, requires the collection of an ever increasing quantity of data from signal measurements (acceleration, temperature, pressure, flow, etc.) in experimental vehicles.

We are living an ecologic decade. The aspects concerning comfort and safety are emphasized, including also the commercial vehicles. The interaction between mass-machine-environment is very important. The acoustic comfort belongs to this context. This paper presents the acoustic development relative to the internal noise reduction of a road bus. The internal noise of automotive vehicles is composed by two parcels: the structureborne noise, which is characterized by the low frequencies and the airborne noise which arrives at the passenger compartment passing directly through the divisory between passenger compartment and engine compartment; this path is preferred by the high frequencies. In this work we present the technics we have applied to reduce noise coming from both paths. The quantification of the obtained results is elaborated through the measurements of sound pressure levels, specially the weighting curve “A” for the overall noise.

The paper describes the acoustic development effected in one middle-class commercial vehicle with the purpose of achieving the external sound pressure levels dictated by new Brazilian legislation. The philosophy adopted as well as the mandatory modifications of the truck to fulfill the noise limits are showed together with the non-acoustic characteristics. Besides the acoustic treatment of some specific sources, it was introduced an acoustic barrier, usually called capsule or shield to reduce the noise emission of the engine-transmission assembly working by the mass law principle and sound absorption.

Vehicle Safety is very attractive, concerning active or passive safety. The collisions are intensively studied including deformations, kinematics, protections, devices and injuries. By the way, today we have a lot of computer programs trying to simulate these crash-tests. But, we can have an idea about the magnitude of the impact forces of a vehicle against a rigid wall starting from known physical concepts and simplified approximations. This is one of the purposes of this work. The classic problem of projectile impacts against a rigid wall and the example of an aircraft impact against a nuclear power plant are used to consider the models applied to vehicles. We consider the disacceleration of a material point and also the vehicle as an extense object. Real data are used to quantify the achieved expressions. We compare and discuss the magnitude of the forces, for instance, between a passenger car and a commercial vehicle.

A mathematical simulation model was developed to calculate the cooling loads in a cab. The cooling loads calculations are described: Solar irradiation through glasses, conduction through the body walls and glasses, conduction through motor compartment, fresh air intake/infiltrations, people and equipments. Fields experiments were conducted to evaluate the conduction through walls and glasses and the total cooling load models. Precision less than 5% was gotten between experimental measurements and model results. In the summer situation, studies about the effects of the cab orientation, the time, the external paint and the tint of the glasses in changing the conduction and solar radiation cooling loads, were conducted. Cab orientation and the time can change this cooling loads by 225%. Variation by 30% was gotten from different paints and glasses.

The paper looks for the degree of linear correlation of some acoustic parameters concerning Speech Intelligibility in vehicles. The Articulation Index (AI) was originally a criterion to characterize the influence of parasite noise on the Intelligibility of a conversation in the design of speech communication systems. Introduced in the automobile acoustics, it is more and more commonly used by vehicles manufacturers to estimate the middle and high frequency content of spectra noise inside various types of vehicles driven under several running conditions. The correlation with Speech Intelligibility, measured through subjective measurements is well known. Presently we have more sophisticated parameters like STI, RASTI, SII… directed mainly to architectural acoustics and sometimes used in vehicle acoustics. They require specific hardwares and softwares and are more complicated to deal with and often are called machine measures of Speech Intelligibility.