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The main purpose of this research is to investigate the optimal design of pipeline diameter in an air brake system in order to reduce the response time for driving safety using DOE (Design of Experiment) method. To achieve this purpose, this paper presents the development and validation of a computer-aided analytical dynamic model of a pneumatic brake system in commercial vehicles. The brake system includes the subsystems for brake pedal, treadle valve, quick release valve, load sensing proportional valve and brake chamber, and the simulation models for individual components of the brake system are established within the multi-domain physical modeling software- AMESim based on the logic structure. An experimental test bench was set up by connecting each component with the nylon pipelines based on the actual layout of the 4×2 commercial vehicle air brake system.

NVH quality is one of the most important criteria by which people judge the design of a vehicle. The Powertrain Mounting System (PMS), which can reduce the vibration from engine to vehicle cab as well as the inside noise, has attained significant attention. Much research has been done on the isolation method for three- and four-point mounting. But the six-point mounting system, which is usually equipped in commercial vehicle, is seldom studied and should be paid more attention. In this paper, the support rod installed on the upside of the transmission case is considered as a flexible body. Thus a rigid-flexible coupling model of PMS is established and the necessity of the established model is analyzed by comparing the simulation results of the new model and those of the conventional model.

The suspension system of a heavy truck's driver seat plays an important role to reduce the vibrations transmitted to the seat occupant from the cab floor. Air-spring is widely used in the seat suspension system, for the reason that its spring rate is variable and it can make the seat suspension system keep constant ‘tuned’ frequency compared to the conventional coil spring. In this paper, vibration differential equation of air-spring system with auxiliary volume is derived, according to the theory of thermodynamic, hydrodynamics. The deformation-load static characteristic curves of air-spring is obtained, by using a numerical solution method. Then, the ADAMS model of the heavy truck's driver seat suspension system is built up, based on the structure of the seat and parameters of the air-spring and the shock-absorber. At last, the model is validated by comparing the simulation results and the test results, considering the seat acceleration PSD and RMS value.

Nowadays, studying the human body response in a seated position has attracted a lot of attention as environmental vibrations are transferred to the human body through floor and seat. This research has constructed a multi-body biodynamic human model with 17 degrees of freedom (DOF), including the backrest support and the interaction between feet and ground. Three types of human biodynamic models are taken into consideration: the first model doesn't include the interaction between the feet and floor, the second considers the feet and floor interaction by using a high stiffness spring, the third one includes the interaction by using a soft spring. Based on the whole vehicle model, the excitation to human body through feet and back can be obtained by ride simulation. The simulation results indicate that the interaction between feet and ground exerts non-negligible effect upon the performance of the whole body vibration by comparing the three cases.

The dual clutch transmission is one of the possible choices for electric vehicle drivelines. The basic principle and control mode of shifting of wet dual clutch transmission are introduced, and the dynamic process of shifting of wet double clutch transmission is studied. Combined with the dynamic model of the wet clutch engagement process, the difference between the dynamic characteristics of the dual clutch transmission modeling using the Coulomb friction model and the dual-clutch transmission model using the average flow model and the micro-convex contact theory is analyzed. The shift control strategy of the dual clutch transmission proposes a correction method to improve the shifting smoothness. Studies have shown that the torque response of the wet clutch has significant hysteresis, and the improved control algorithm can significantly improve the shifting smoothness of the wet dual clutch transmission.

The design of suspension affects the vehicle dynamics such as ride comfort and handling stability. Nonlinear characteristics and friction are important characteristics of suspension system, and the influence on vehicle dynamic performance cannot be ignored. Based on the seven-degree-of-freedom vehicle vibration nonlinear model with friction, the vibration response process of the vehicle and the influence of suspension friction on vehicle ride comfort and suspension action process were studied. The results show that friction will significantly affects the simulation of ride comfort and coincide with the function of the shock absorber. The suspension shock absorbers of vehicles were optimized with and without suspension friction. The results showed that the suspension tended to choose softer shock absorbers when there was friction. However, both of the two optimizations are able to improve the ride comfort of vehicles, and the simulation results were similar.

To design and optimize the vehicle driveline is necessary to decrease the fuel consumption and improve dynamic performance. This paper describes a methodology to optimize the driveline design including the axle ratio, transmission shift points and transmission shift ratios considering uncertainty. A new and flexible tool for modeling multi-domain systems, Modelica, is used to carry out the modeling and analysis of a vehicle, and the multi-domain model is developed to determine the optimum design in terms of fuel economy, with determinability. Secondly, a robust optimization is carried out to find the optimum design considering uncertainty. The results indicate that the fuel economy and dynamic performance are improved greatly.

Hydraulic power steering system, which can reduce the steering hand force by applying the output from a hydraulic actuator, has been widely used in vehicles. In this paper, a detailed steer model including steering column, steering trapezium, and detailed hydraulic power steering system which is consisting of steering cylinder, relief valve, rotary valve, pump and hydraulic lines were established, and a multi-body model of a heavy truck was established to connect with the hydraulic power steering system. Modelica simulation language, which can be efficiently used to investigate multi-domain problems, was used to in the modeling and simulation of the power steering system and the vehicle. The simulation was carried out to identify the effects of design variables on the lateral stability of the vehicle. The application of Modelica for investigating multi-domain problems is also demonstrated.

Steering returnability is an important index for evaluating vehicle handling performance. A systematic method is presented in this paper to reduce the high yaw rate residue and the steering response time for a light duty truck in the steering return test. The vehicle multibody model is established in ADAMS, which takes into consideration of the frictional loss torque and hydraulically assisted steering property in the steering mechanism, since the friction, which exists in steering column, spherical joint, steering universal joint, and steering gear, plays an important role in vehicle returnability performance. The accuracy of the vehicle model is validated by road test and the key parameters are determined by executing the sensitivity analysis, which shows the effect of each design parameter upon returnability performance.

The sewing machine has been widely used in various aspects of life and it is essential to study its kinematic and dynamic characteristics. A dynamic model of flexible multi-link mechanism for sewing machine including joints with clearance is established to analysis its dynamic response in the present work. The configuration of the sewing machine mainly included five subsystems, feeding mechanism, needle bar mechanism, looper mechanism, shearing mechanism and adjusting mechanism. Since the sewing machine mainly consist of linkage mechanisms that are connected by revolute joints and translational joints, the existence of clearances in the joints and the flexibility of crankshafts and linkage are important factors that affect the dynamic performance. Even little clearance can lead to vibration and fatigue phenomena, lack of precision or even make overall behavior as random.

The automatic mechanical transmission (AMT) was designed by automobile manufacturers to provide a better driving experience, especially in cities where congestion frequently causes stop-and-go traffic patterns. It uses electronic sensors, processors, hydraulic or pneumatic actuators execute clutch actuation and gear shifts on the command of the driver. Such systems coupled with various physical domains have great influence on the dynamic behavior of the vehicle, such as shift quality, driveability, acceleration, etc. This paper presents a detailed AMT model composed of various components from multi-domains like mechanical systems (clutch, gear pair, synchronizer, etc.), pneumatic actuator systems (clutch actuation system, gear select actuation system, gear shift actuation system, etc.). Various components and subsystem models, such as the vehicle, engine, AMT, wheels, etc., are integrated into an overall vehicle system model according to the transmission power flow and control logic.

The aerodynamic effects not only directly affect the acceleration and the fuel economy of the race car, but also have a great influence on the handling of the race car. In this paper, the vehicle multibody dynamic model with “double-wishbone suspension” and “rack and pinion steering” is established, in order to obtain aerodynamic parameters, the aerodynamic model of the vehicle is established, and the aerodynamic parameters were calculated by using CFD. In order to obtain the optimal travel track, the track model is established, according to weights allocation of the smallest curvature of each curve and the shortest curve to optimize the optimal route for racing. The influence of aerodynamic effects on the stability of vehicle control is analyzed through simulation of Endurance Racing to evaluate the maximum lateral acceleration、roll angle and other performance.

This paper describes a simplified model to identify sprung mass using golden section method, the model treats the unsprung mass vertical acceleration as input and the sprung mass vertical acceleration as output, which can avoid the nonlinear influence of trye. Unsprung mass can be also calculated by axle load and the identified sprung mass. This study carries out road test on the vehicle ride comfort and takes a scheme that the group of 20 km/h is used to identify sprung mass and the group of 80 km/h is used to verify the identification result. The similarity of the results from the simulation and experiments performed are, for the sprung mass, 98.59%. A conclusion can be drawn that the simple method to measure the sprung mass in the suspension systems in used vehicles, such as the vehicle shown here, is useful, simple and has sufficient precision.

Electric vehicles driven by in-wheel-motor have the advantages of compact structure and high transmission efficiency, which is one of the most ideal energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and safe driving forms in the future. However, the addition of the in-wheel-motor significantly increases the unsprung mass of the vehicle, resulting in a decrease in the mass ratio of the vehicle body to the wheel, which will deteriorate the ride comfort and safety of the vehicle. To improve the vibration performance of in-wheel-motor driven vehicles, a semi-active inerter-spring-damper (ISD) suspension with in-wheel-motor (IWM) dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) of the electric wheel is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a structure of in-wheel-motor DVA is proposed, which converts the motor into a dynamic vibration absorber of the wheel to suppress the vibration of the unsprung mass.

For vehicles equipped with dry dual clutch transmission, due to the diversity of starting conditions, it is a nontrivial task for control strategy to meet the requirements of all kinds of complex starting conditions, which is easy to cause large starting shock and serious clutch wear. Therefore, it is proposed in this paper an adaptive control strategy for complex starting conditions by adjusting two clutches to participate in the starting process at the same time. On the basis of establishing the transmission system model and clutch model, the starting conditions are identified in terms of starting speed, road adhesion and driver's intention, in which the driver's intention is identified by fuzzy reasoning model. Based on the identification of starting conditions and considering the safety principle, it is selected the appropriate starting gear and clutch combination mode, and adjusted the combination speed of the two clutches to carry out an adaptive control strategy.

Many vehicles have been equipped with air springs as elastic elements to get better performance in comfort, but absorbers may not work in an optimal state due to the variation of suspension stiffness. While the function of semi-active suspension is to enable the absorber damping to be adjusted according to different road roughness levels and to coordinate between comfort and handling. To solve the problem of matching the damping coefficient of variable stiffness suspensions represented by air springs, this paper proposed a method for calculating the optimal damping ratio of a semi-active suspension system in real-time with sprung mass acceleration and dynamic tire load to establish the objective function and suspension dynamic deflection as the constraint to reflect the unification of comfort and handling.

Vehicle Thermal Management System (VTMS) is a crosscutting technology affecting the fuel consumption, engine performance and emissions. With the new approved fuel economy targets and the enhanced vehicle performance requirements, the ability to predict the impact on the fuel consumption of different VTMS modifications is becoming an important issue in the pre-prototype phase of vehicle development. This paper presents a methodology using different simulation tools to model the entire VTMS in order to understand and quantify its behavior. The detailed model contains: engine cooling system, lubrication system, powertrain system, HVAC system and intake and exhaust system. A detail model of the power absorbed by the accessory components operating in VTMS such as pumps and condenser is presented. The power of the accessory components is not constant but changing with respect to engine operation. This absorbed power is taken into account within the power produced by the engine shaft.

A simulation model of the single cone synchronizer is presented using the dynamic implicit algorithm with commercial Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software Abaqus. The meshing components include sleeve gear, blocking ring and clutch gear, which are all considered as deformation body. The processes mainly contain the contact between sleeve teeth and blocking teeth, meshing period and the impact of sleeve teeth and clutch gear teeth, and these nonlinear contact steps are realized with Abaqus. In addition, a shift force derives from experiment is applied to the sleeve ring, and a moment is added to the clutch gear to realize the relative rotational speed. Based on the FEA model, the effect of the varied frictional coefficients between the cone surfaces of blocking ring and clutch gear on the synchronizer time and contact stress is discussed. Variation of stresses and contact force with respect to time are evaluated from this analysis.

In order to reasonably match the variable stiffness and location of the Powertrain Mounting System (PMS) and optimize the ride comfort of commercial vehicle, a thirteen degrees of freedom (DOF) model of a commercial vehicle was established in Adams/view. Specially, the support rod installed on the upside of the transmission case was modeled as a flexible body. The vibration isolation provided by the PMS was evaluated in three aspects: the energy decoupling of the powertrain, the response force of the mount and the displacement of the powertrain. The energy decoupling ratio, the force RMS of the mount when force excitation was applied on the powertrain and the displacement of the powertrain Center of Gravity (C.G) when displacement excitation was applied on the vehicle chassis were selected as the optimal target. Adams and MATLAB were integrated into the optimization software iSIGHT to optimize the PMS. NSGA-II is used to obtain some Pareto-optimal solutions of PMS.

Vehicle tire performance is an important consideration for vehicle handling, stability, mobility, and ride comfort as well as durability. Significant efforts have been dedicated to tire modeling in the past, but there is still room to improve its accuracy. In this study, a detailed in-plane flexible ring tire model is proposed, where the tire belt is discretized, and each discrete belt segment is considered as a rigid body attached to a number of parallel tread blocks. The mass of each belt segment is accumulated at its geometric center. To test the proposed in-plane tire model, a full-vehicle model is integrated with the tire model for simulation under a special driving scenario: acceleration from rest for a few seconds, then deceleration for a few seconds on a flat-level road, and finally constant velocity on a rough road. The simulation results indicate that the tire model is able to generate tire/road contact patch forces that yield reasonable vehicle dynamic responses.