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Automotive engines are regularly utilized in the material handling market where LPG is often the primary fuel used. When compared to gasoline, the use of gaseous fuels (LPG and CNG) as well as alcohol based fuels, often result in significant increases in valve seat insert (VSI) and valve face wear. This phenomenon is widely recognized and the engine manufacturer is tasked to identify and incorporate appropriate valvetrain material and design features that can meet the ever increasing life expectations of the end-user. Alternate materials are often developed based on laboratory testing – testing that may not represent real world usage. The ultimate goal of the product engineer is to utilize accelerated lab test procedures that can be correlated to field life and field failure mechanisms, and then select appropriate materials/design features that meet the targeted life requirements.

The component being formed experiences some type of prestrain that may have an effect on its fatigue strength. This study investigated the forming effects on material fatigue strength of dual phase sheet steel (DP600) subjected to various uniaxial prestrains. In the as-received condition, DP600 specimens were tested for tensile properties to determine the prestraining level based on the uniform elongation corresponding to the maximum strength of DP600 on the stress-strain curve. Three different levels of prestrain at 90%, 70% and 50% of the uniform elongation were applied to uniaxial prestrain specimens for tensile tests and fatigue tests. Fatigue tests were conducted with strain controlled to obtain fatigue properties and compare them with the as-received DP600. The fatigue test results were presented with strain amplitude and Neuber's factor.

Tensile measurements and fracture surface analysis of low carbon heat-treated boron steel are reported. Tensile coupons were quasi-statically deformed to fracture in a miniature tensile testing stage with custom data acquisition software. Strain contours were computed via a digital image correlation method that allowed placement of a digital strain gage in the necking region. True stress-true strain data corresponding to the standard tensile testing method are presented for comparison with previous measurements. Fracture surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy and the deformation mechanisms were identified.

Due to competitive pressures and the need to rapidly develop new products for the automotive marketplace, the automotive industry has to rapidly develop and validate automotive subsystems and components. While many CAE tools are employed to decrease the time needed for a number of brake engineering tasks such as stress analysis, brake system sizing, thermo-fluid analysis, and structural dynamics, brake lining wear and the associated concept of “lining life” are still predominantly developed and validated through resource intensive public road vehicle testing. The goal of this paper is to introduce and detail an energy-based, lumped-parameter CAE approach to predict brake lining life in passenger cars and light trucks.

This paper presents a comparison of methods for the identification of a reduced set of useful variables using a multidimensional system. The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System and a standard statistical technique are used reduce the dimensionality of vehicle ride based on consumer satisfaction ratings. The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System and cluster analysis are applied to vehicle ride. The research considers 67 vehicle data sets for the 6 vehicle ride parameters. This paper applies the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System to forecast consumer satisfaction and provides a comparison of results with those obtained from a standard statistical approach to the problem.

A compatibility study was conducted on fluorinated elastomers (FKM and FEPM) in various Automatic Transmission Fluids (ATF). Representative compounds from various FKM families were tested by three major FKM raw material producers - DuPont Performance Elastomers (DPE), Dyneon and Solvay. All involved FKM compounds were tested in a newly released fluid (ATF-A) side-by-side with conventional transmission fluids, at 150°C for various time intervals per ASTM D471. In order to evaluate the fluid compatibility limits, some FKM's were tested as long as 3024 hrs, which is beyond the normal service life of seals. Tensile strength and elongation were monitored as a function of ATF exposure time. The traditional dipolymers and terpolymers showed poor resistance to the new fluid (ATF-A). Both types demonstrated significant decreases in strength and elongation after extended fluid exposure at 150°C.

It is well known that lining reduction through wear affects contact pressure profile and noise generation. Due to high complexity in brake noise analysis, many factors were not included in previous analyses. In this paper, a new analysis process is performed by running brake “burnishing” cycles first, followed by noise analysis. In the paper, brake lining reduction due to wear is assumed to be proportional to the applied brake pressure with ABAQUS analysis. Brake pads go through four brake application-releasing cycles until the linings settle to a more stable pressure distribution. The resulting pressure profiles show lining cupping and high pressure spots shifting. The pressure distributions are compared to TekScan measurements. Brake noise analysis is then conducted with complex eigenvalue analysis steps; the resulting stability chart is better correlated to testing when the wear is comprehended.

This study involves an application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) conducted in support of a Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) project. Primary focus of the project is to optimize seat parameters that influence Low Speed Rear Impact (LSRI) whiplash performance. During the DFSS study, the project team identified a need to rank order critical design factors statistically and establish their contribution to LSRI performance. It is also required to develop a transfer function for the LSRI rating in terms of test response parameters that can be used for optimization. This statistical approach resulted in a reliable transfer function that can applied across all seat designs and enabled us to separate vital few parameters from several many.

In this article, the authors illustrate the benefits of axiomatic design (AD) for robust optimization and how to integrate axiomatic design into a total robust design process. Similar to traditional robust design, the purpose of axiomatic design is to improve the probability of a design in meeting its functional targets at early concept generation stage. However, axiomatic design is not a standalone method or tool and it needs to be integrated with other tools to be effective in a total robust development process. A total robust development process includes: system design, parameter design, tolerance design, and tolerance specifications [1]. The authors developed a step-by-step procedure for axiomatic design practices in industrial applications for consistent and efficient deliverables. The authors also integrated axiomatic design with the CAD/CAE/statistical/visualization tools and methods to enhance the efficiency of a total robust development process.

A common occurrence in computer aided design is the need to make changes to an existing CAD model to compensate for shape changes which occur during a manufacturing process. For instance, finite element analysis of die forming or die tryout results may indicate that a stamped panel springs back after the press line operation so that the final shape is different from nominal shape. Springback may be corrected by redesigning the die face so that the stamped panel springs back to the nominal shape. When done manually, this redesign process is often time consuming and expensive. This article presents a computer program, FESHAPE, that reshapes the CAD or finite element mesh models automatically. The method is based on the technique of volume morphing pioneered by Sederberg and Parry [Sederberg 1986] and refined in [Sarraga 2004]. Volume morphing reshapes regions of surfaces or meshes by reshaping volumes containing those regions.

In racetrack conditions, brake systems are subjected to extreme energy loads and energy load distributions. This can lead to very high friction surface temperatures, especially on the brake corner that operates, for a given track, with the most available traction and the highest energy loading. Individual brake corners can be stressed to the point of extreme fade and lining wear, and the resultant degradation in brake corner performance can affect the performance of the entire brake system, causing significant changes in pedal feel, brake balance, and brake lining life. It is therefore important in high performance brake system design to ensure favorable operating conditions for the selected brake corner components under the full range of conditions that the intended vehicle application will place them under. To address this task in an early design stage, it is helpful to use brake system modeling tools to analyze system performance.

The influence of elevated temperature forming on local mechanical properties of AZ31B magnesium (Mg) sheet material was investigated. The Mg sheet was formed into a closure component with high temperature gas pressure at 485°C. Miniature tensile testing specimens were cut from selected areas of the component where different levels of thinning occurred. The specimens were strained in tension to fracture using a miniature tensile stage. The two-dimensional strain distribution in the necking region along with true stress-true strain curves were computed using a digital image correlation technique to assess the influence of the forming-induced thinning on tensile strength and percent elongation at fracture.

This paper is targeted to engineers who are involved in predicting fatigue life using either the strain-life approach or the stress-life approach. However, more emphasis is given to the strain-life approach, which is commonly used for fatigue life analysis in the ground vehicle industry. It attempts to discuss, modify and extend approaches in fatigue analysis, so they are best suited for structural durability engineers. Fatigue analysis requires the use of material fatigue properties, stress or strain results obtained from finite element analyses or measurements, and load data obtained from multi-body dynamic analysis or road load data acquisition. This paper examines the effects of these variables in predicting fatigue life. Various mean stress corrections, along with their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Different stress/strain combinations such as signed von Mises, and signed Tresca are examined. Also, advanced methods such as Fatemi-Socie and Bannantine are discussed.

The battery support in a small car is an example of a subsystem that lends itself to mounted component dynamic fatigue analysis, due to its weight and localized attachments. This paper describes a durability analysis method that was developed to define the required enforced motion, stress response, and fatigue life for such subsystems. The method combines the large mass method with the modal transient formulation to determine the dynamic stress responses. The large mass method was selected over others for its ease of use and efficiency when working with the modal formulation and known accelerations from a single driving point. In this example, these known accelerations were obtained from the drive files of a 4-DOF shake table that was used for corresponding lab tests of a rear compartment body structure. These drive files, originally displacements, were differentiated twice and filtered to produce prescribed accelerations to the finite element model.

This paper outlines a newly developed method for predicting the coupled response of structures from their uncoupled forced responses without having to know the forces acting on such structures. It involves computing the forced response of originally uncoupled structures with several mass loadings at a potential coupling point. The response data obtained from such computations is then used to predict the coupled response. The theory for discrete linear systems is outlined in the paper and a numerical example is given to demonstrate the validity, advantages and limitations of the method. The method is primarily devised to obtain coupled response of linear dynamic systems from independent and uncoupled analytical simulations. Its application significantly decreases computation time by reducing the simulation model size and is excellent for “what if” scenarios where a large number of simulations would otherwise be necessary.

High interest is expressed in using analytical models to eliminate costly driveline tests used to determine the stresses produced in the driveshaft and driveline during resonant operating conditions. This paper discusses an analytical model to simulate the driveline-bending integrity, test procedure. Three major subsystems are modeled in this analytical approach, namely powertrain, rear axle, and driveshaft. Imbalance masses were added on the driveshaft to induce the whirl motion of the driveshaft. The combination of nonlinear Multi-body System Simulation (MSS) and linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in the time domain was employed for the evaluation of the dynamic interaction between several parts.

Several methods are currently used to enforce motion in different types of noise and vibration models. Experimentally based FRF models often use a matrix inversion technique to enforce motion. In finite element models, the large mass method is one that is very commonly used. A literature review has shown few guidelines for determining the size of these large masses. In this paper, the relationship between the matrix inversion technique and the large mass method is derived. From this relationship, conditions necessary for these large mass FEM models to converge to the same answers as the matrix inversion technique are derived. These conditions are then used to develop a criterion for determining a smallest possible large mass. Results from a simple model are presented to demonstrate the criterion.

Elastomeric isolators are used in a variety of different applications to reduce noise and vibration. To use isolators effectively requires the product design and development engineer to satisfy multiple objectives, which typically include packaging restrictions, environmental criteria, limitations on motion control, load requirements, and minimum fatigue life, in addition to vibration isolation performance. An understanding of elastomeric material properties and the methods used to characterize elastomeric component behavior is necessary to achieve desired performance. Typical design criteria and functional objectives for various isolator applications, including powertrain mounts, suspension control arm bushings, shock absorber bushings, exhaust hangers, flexible couplings, cradle mounts, body mounts and vibration dampers are also discussed.

Today's competitive market requires new products to have extremely high Quality; customer expectation demands it. Testing, Validation, Setting Requirements, Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (FMEA), and Design Reviews by themselves do not improve a product; they only provide information that has to be translated into Design/Manufacturing & Service tasks. The quality of these tasks determines how well the new product will perform at its introduction. This paper outlines a generic Development Process through the use of an automotive example for a Door Glass Guidance Mechanism. This process includes the fundamental steps involving recommendations for setting requirements, benchmarking, and a methodology on how to design in requirements through the use of analytical and experimental tools to create Robust Designs. Also included are examples of Validation and Assessment Plans that are requirement driven.

Recently published SAE Recommended Practice J2562 - SAE Biaxial Wheel Test standardized the terminology, equipment, and test procedure for the biaxial wheel test. This test was originally presented by Fraunhofer Institut Betriebsfestigkeit - LBF (Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability) in SAE paper 830135 “Automotive Wheels, Method and Procedure for Optimal Design and Testing”. The first release of SAE J2562 included a generic, scalable load file applicable to wheels designed for five to eight passenger vehicles with capacity to carry a proportional amount of luggage or ballast. Future releases of SAE J2562 would include two additional load files; one applicable to light trucks that have substantial cargo capacity and one for sports cars typically limited to two passengers and marginal luggage. This report details the process used to develop the SAE Biaxial Wheel Test Load File for passenger vehicles.