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For internal combustion engines and industrial machinery, it is well recognized that the most cost-effective way of reducing energy consumption and extending service life is through lubricant development. This presentation summarizes our recent R&D achievements on developing a new class of candidate lubricants or oil additives ionic liquids (ILs). Features of ILs making them attractive for lubrication include high thermal stability, low vapor pressure, non-flammability, and intrinsic high polarity. When used as neat lubricants, selected ILs demonstrated lower friction under elastohydrodynamic lubrication and less wear at boundary lubrication benchmarked against fully-formulated engine oils in our bench tests. More encouragingly, a group of non-corrosive, oil-miscible ILs has recently been developed and demonstrated multiple additive functionalities including anti-wear and friction modifier when blended into hydrocarbon base oils.

The Michelin Tweel tire structure has recently been developed as an innovative non-pneumatic tire which has potential for improved handling, grip, comfort, low energy loss when impacting obstacles and reduced rolling resistance when compared to a traditional pneumatic tire. One of the potential sources of vibration during rolling of a non-pneumatic tire is the buckling phenomenon and snapping back of the spokes in tension when they enter and exit the contact zone. Another source of noise was hypothesized due to a flower petal ring vibration effect due to discrete spoke interaction with the ring and contact with the ground during rolling as the spokes cycle between tension and compression. Transmission of vibration between the ground force, ring and spokes to the hub was also considered to be a significant contributor to vibration and noise characteristics of the Tweel.

Ultrasonic spot welds were made between sheets of 0.8-mm-thick hot-dip-galvanized mild steel and 1.6-mm-thick AZ31B-H24. Lap-shear strengths of 3.0-4.2 kN were achieved with weld times of 0.3-1.2 s. Failure to achieve strong bonding of joints where the Zn coating was removed from the steel surface indicate that Zn is essential to the bonding mechanism. Microstructure characterization and microchemical analysis indicated temperatures at the AZ31-steel interfaces reached at least 344°C in less than 0.3 s. The elevated temperature conditions promoted annealing of the AZ31-H24 metal and chemical reactions between it and the Zn coating.

A state of the art proprietary method for aluminum-to-aluminum joining in the automotive industry is Resistance Spot Welding. However, with spot welding (1) structural performance of the joint may be degraded through heat-affected zones created by the high temperature thermal joining process, (2) achieving the double-sided access necessary for the spot welding electrodes may limit design flexibility, and (3) variability with welds leads to production inconsistencies. Self-piercing rivets have been used before; however they require different rivet/die combinations depending on the material being joined, which adds to process complexity. In recent years the introductions of screw products that combine the technologies of friction drilling and thread forming have entered the market. These types of screw products do not have these access limitations as through-part connections are formed by one-sided access using a thermo-mechanical flow screwdriving process with minimal heat.

The advancements in automation, big data computing and high bandwidth networking has expedited the realization of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IIoT has made inroads into many sectors including automotive, semiconductors, electronics, etc. Particularly, it has created numerous opportunities in the automotive manufacturing sector to realize the new aura of platform concepts such as smart material flow control. This paper provides a thought provoking application of IIoT in automotive composites body shop. By creating a digital twin for every physical part, we no longer need to adhere to the conventional manufacturing processes and layouts, thus opening up new opportunities in terms of equipment and space utilization. The century-old philosophy of the assembly line might not be the best layout for vehicle manufacturing, thus proposing a novel assembly grid layout inspired from a colony of ants working to accomplish a common goal.

The Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) process is a derivative of the friction stir welding (FSW) process, without lateral movement of the tool during the welding process. It has been applied in the production of aluminum joining for various Mazda and Toyota vehicles. Most of the applications and published studies were concentrated in aluminum sheet in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 mm, suitable for non-structural automotive closure applications. The objective of this study is to study the feasibility of FSSW process for automotive structural aluminum joining, up to 3 mm in thickness, for potentially replacement of self-piercing rivets (SPR) process. Joining thicker aluminum with FSSW tooling with a typical smooth concave shoulder and threaded probing pin, requires long process time, which would not be appropriate in mass-production automotive body construction. In this paper, an innovative FSSW tool with grooved shoulder was developed.

A computational study using multi-dimensional CFD modeling was performed to investigate the effects of physical properties on diesel engine combustion characteristics with bio-diesel fuels. Properties of typical bio-diesel fuels that were either calculated or measured are used in the study and the simulation results are compared with those of conventional diesel fuels. The sensitivity of the computational results to individual physical properties is also investigated, and the results provide information about the desirable characteristics of the blended fuels. The properties considered in the study include liquid density, vapor pressure, surface tension, liquid viscosity, liquid thermal conductivity, liquid specific heat, latent heat, vapor specific heat, vapor diffusion coefficient, vapor viscosity and vapor thermal conductivity. The results show significant effects of the fuel physical properties on ignition delay and burning rates at various engine operating conditions.

The buildup of deposits in EGR coolers causes significant degradation in heat transfer performance, often on the order of 20-30%. Deposits also increase pressure drop across coolers and thus may degrade engine efficiency under some operating conditions. It is unlikely that EGR cooler deposits can be prevented from forming when soot and HC are present. The presence of cooled surfaces will cause thermophoretic soot deposition and condensation of HC and acids. While this can be affected by engine calibration, it probably cannot be eliminated as long as cooled EGR is required for emission control. It is generally felt that “dry fluffy” soot is less likely to cause major fouling than “heavy wet” soot. An oxidation catalyst in the EGR line can remove HC and has been shown to reduce fouling in some applications. The combination of an oxidation catalyst and a wall-flow filter largely eliminates fouling. Various EGR cooler designs affect details of deposit formation.

Fatigue behavior of dissimilar ultrasonic spot welds in lap-shear specimens of magnesium AZ31B-H24 and hot-dipped-galvanized mild steel sheets is investigated based on experimental observations, closed-form stress intensity factor solutions, and a fatigue life estimation model. Fatigue tests were conducted under different load ranges with two load ratios of 0.1 and 0.2. Optical micrographs of the welds after the tests were examined to understand the failure modes of the welds. The micrographs show that the welds mainly fail from kinked fatigue cracks growing through the magnesium sheets. The optical micrographs also indicate that failure mode changes from the partial nugget pullout mode under low-cycle loading conditions to the transverse crack growth mode under high-cycle loading conditions. The closed-form stress intensity factor solutions at the critical locations of the welds are used to explain the locations of fatigue crack initiation and growth.

Failure modes of friction stir spot welds in lap-shear specimens of dissimilar high strength dual phase steel (DP780GA) and hot stamped boron steel (HSBS) sheets are investigated under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions based on experimental observations. Optical micrographs of dissimilar DP780GA/HSBS friction stir spot welds made by a concave tool before and after failure are examined. The micrographs indicate that the failure modes of the welds under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions are quite similar. The micrographs show that the DP780GA/HSBS welds mainly fail from cracks growing through the upper DP780GA sheets where the concave tool was plunged into during the welding process. Based on the observed failure modes, a kinked fatigue crack growth model is adopted to estimate fatigue lives.

Failure mode and fatigue behavior of friction stir spot welds made with convex and concave tools in lap-shear specimens of dissimilar high strength dual phase steel (DP780GA) and hot stamped boron steel (HSBS) sheets are investigated based on experiments and a kinked fatigue crack growth model. Lap-shear specimens with the welds were tested under both quasistatic and cyclic loading conditions. Optical micrographs indicate that under both quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions, the welds mainly fail from cracks growing through the upper DP780GA sheets where the tools were plunged in during the welding processes. Based on the observed failure mode, a kinked fatigue crack growth model is adopted to estimate fatigue lives of the welds. In the kinked crack fatigue crack growth model, the stress intensity factor solutions for fatigue life estimations are based on the closed-form solutions for idealized spot welds in lap-shear specimens.

Development of reliable magnesium (Mg) to steel joining methods is one of the critical issues in broader applications of Mg in automotive body construction. Ultrasonic spot welding (USW) has been demonstrated successfully to join Mg to steel and to achieve strong joints. In this study, corrosion test of ultrasonic spot welds between 1.6 mm thick Mg AZ31B-H24 and 0.8 mm thick galvanized mild steel, without and with adhesive, was conducted. Adhesive used was a one-component, heat-cured epoxy material, and was applied between overlapped sheets before USW. Corrosion test was conducted with an automotive cyclic corrosion test, which includes cyclic exposures of dipping in the 0.5% sodium chloride (NaCl) bath, a constant humidity environment, and a drying period. Lap shear strength of the joints decreased with the cycles of corrosion exposure. Good joint strengths were retained at the end of 30-cycle test.

Failure modes and fatigue behaviors of ultrasonic spot welds in lap-shear specimens of magnesium AZ31B-H24 and hot-dipped-galvanized mild steel sheets with and without adhesive are investigated. Ultrasonic spot welded, adhesive-bonded, and weld-bonded lap-shear specimens were made. These lap-shear specimens were tested under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions. The ultrasonic spot weld appears not to provide extra strength to the weld-bonded lap-shear specimen under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions. The quasi-static and fatigue strengths of adhesive-bonded and weld-bonded lap-shear specimens appear to be the same. For the ultrasonic spot welded lap-shear specimens, the optical micrographs indicate that failure mode changes from the partial nugget pullout mode under quasi-static and low-cycle loading conditions to the kinked crack growth mode under high-cycle loading conditions.

Metal additive manufacturing has high potential to produce automobile parts, due to its shape flexibility and unique material properties. On the other hand, residual stress which is generated by rapid solidification causes deformation, cracks and failure under building process. To avoid these problems, understanding of internal residual stress distribution is necessary. However, from the view point of measureable area, conventional residual stress measurement methods such as strain gages and X-ray diffractometers, is limited to only the surface layer of the parts. Therefore, neutron which has a high penetration capability was chosen as a probe to measure internal residual stress in this research. By using time of flight neutron diffraction facility VULCAN at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, residual stress for mono-cylinder head, which were made of aluminum alloy, was measured non-distractively. From the result of precise measurement, interior stress distribution was visualized.

Collaborative robots are more and more used in smart manufacturing because of their capability to work beside and collaborate with human workers. With the deployment of these robots, manufacturing tasks are more inclined to be accomplished by multiple humans and multiple robots (MH-MR) through teaming effort. In such MH-MR collaboration scenarios, the task distribution among the multiple humans and multiple robots is very critical to efficiency. It is also more challenging due to the heterogeneity of different agents. Existing approaches in task distribution among multiple agents mostly consider humans with assumed or known capabilities. However human capabilities are always changing due to various factors, which may lead to suboptimal efficiency. Although some researches have studied several human factors in manufacturing and applied them to adjust the robot task and behaviors.

The compatibility of elastomeric materials used in fuel storage and dispensing applications was determined for test fuels representing neat gasoline and gasoline blends containing 10 and 17 vol.% ethanol, and 16 and 24 vol.% isobutanol. The actual test fuel chemistries were based on the aggressive formulations described in SAE J1681 for oxygenated gasoline. Elastomer specimens of fluorocarbon, fluorosilicone, acrylonitrile rubber (NBR), polyurethane, neoprene, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and silicone were exposed to the test fuels for 4 weeks at 60°C. After measuring the wetted volume and hardness, the specimens were dried for 20 hours at 60°C and then remeasured for volume and hardness. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was also performed to determine the glass transition temperature (Tg). Comparison to the original values showed that all elastomer materials experienced volume expansion and softening when wetted by the test fuels.

In-cylinder surface temperature is of heightened importance for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion since the combustion mechanism is thermo-kinetically driven. Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) selectively manipulate the in-cylinder surface temperature, providing an avenue for improving thermal and combustion efficiency. A surface temperature swing during combustion/expansion reduces heat transfer losses, leading to more complete combustion and reduced emissions. At the same time, achieving a highly dynamic response sidesteps preheating of charge during intake and eliminates the volumetric efficiency penalty. The magnitude and temporal profile of the dynamic surface temperature swing is affected by the TBC material properties, thickness, morphology, engine speed, and heat flux from the combustion process. This study follows prior work of authors with Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, which systematically engineered coatings for HCCI combustion.

The effect of B and Si additions on fracture and fatigue performance of vacuum carburized 4320 steel and modifications of 4320 steel containing additions of Si (1.0 and 2.0 wt pct) and B (0 and 17 ppm) was evaluated by bending fatigue testing. Three rates of gas quenching, in 10 bar nitrogen and 15 and 20 bar helium, were used to cool specimens after carburizing. The B, protected by Ti additions, together with the Si additions, increased core hardenability. The B/Si modified steels showed no improvement in fatigue resistance, as measured by endurance limits established by 10 million cycle runouts without fracture. However, scanning electron microscopy showed that Si reduced sensitivity to intergranular fracture or quench embrittlement, a major cause of bending fatigue crack initiation, and contributed to variable fatigue performance, with both low-cycle failures and runout performance at applied stresses significantly above measured endurance limits.

The heat treatment of steel parts is an essential step in the manufacturing of high-performance components for a variety of commercial and military products. Distortion in the size and shape of parts resulting from the heat treatment process is a pervasive manufacturing problem that causes higher finishing costs, excessive scrap and rework, long delivery times, and negative environmental impact. To date, techniques that have been developed to reduce or eliminate heat treatment distortion are largely based on experience and have been limited to trial and error. This presentation describes the philosophy and results of an ongoing collaborative project to develop a methodology and computer simulation capability to predict ferrous alloy component response (distortion, residual stress, and microstructure) to industrial heat treatment processes for automotive, truck, bearing, and aerospace applications.

The computer-aided-design and analysis of a robust casting process requires the optimization of both mold filling and solidification. A number of commercial casting codes are available for modeling the fluid flow during mold filling and the heat transfer during solidification. The next generation casting process models will build on present capabilities to allow the prediction of microporosity and other defects and microstructure. This paper will discuss the issues involved in the development of next generation casting process models and present results from a computer model for microporosity prediction that is based on first principles, and will take into account alloy composition, alloy microstructure, the initial hydrogen content of the liquid alloy, and the resistance to inter-dendritic fluid flow to feed shrinkage.