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Impact resistance of plastic underbody parts was studied using simulated injection-molded specimen which can be tested according to different types of material used, injection molding variants like position and number of injection molding gates, and features of ribs. Material applied was glass fiber reinforced polyamide which can be used in underbody parts. Test was performed using several combinations of injection molding gates and rib types. From the test result, optimal design guide for plastic underbody parts was determined. Also, new high impact resistant plastic material made of glass fiber reinforced polyamide 66 (PA66) and polyamide 6 (PA6) alloy was developed and the material properties useful for CAE were determined. As a case study, oil pan and muffler housing were designed following the optimal design guide and CAE. And the reliability of the sample muffler housing designed was verified.

A piston in a diesel engine is subject to the high pressure and the high thermal load. The high structural reliability is required to the piston in the automotive diesel engine and it is important to confirm the design parameters of piston in initial design stage. There are lots of research works proposing new geometries, materials and manufacturing techniques for engine pistons. But, the failures of piston occur frequently in development stage. Failure mechanisms are mainly fatigue related. This paper presents failure mechanisms of the high cycle fatigue and low cycle thermal fatigue cracks which occur on the piston during durability test using engine dynamometer. In this study, FE analysis was carried out to investigate the root cause of piston failure. The analysis includes the FE model of the piston moving system, temperature dependent material properties, mechanical and thermal loadings.

Various polymer-based coatings are applied on piston skirt to reduce friction loss between the piston skirt and cylinder bore which is one of main factors of energy loss in an automotive engine system. These coatings generally consist of polymer binder (PAI) and solid lubricants (graphite or MoS₂) for low friction property. On the other hand, the present study found that PTFE as a solid lubricant and nano diamond as hard particles can be used to improve the low friction and wear resistance simultaneously. In the process of producing coating material, diamond particles pulverized to a nano size tend to agglomerate. To prevent this, silane (silicon coupling agent) treatment was applied. The inorganic functional groups of silane are attached to the nano diamond surface, which keep the diamond particles are apart.

Copper has been regarded as one of the indispensable ingredients in the brake friction materials since it provides high thermal diffusivity at the sliding interface. However, the recent regulations against environmentally hazardous ingredients limit the use of copper in the commercial friction material and much effort has been made for the alternatives. In this work, the role of the cuprous ingredients such as copper fiber, copper powder, cupric oxide (CuO), and copper sulfide (CuS) are studied using the friction materials based on commercial formulations. The investigation was performed using a full inertial brake dynamometer and 1/5 scale dynamometer for brake performance and wear test. Results showed that the cuprous ingredients played a crucial role in maintaining the stable friction film at the friction interface, resulting in improved friction stability and reduced aggressiveness against counter disk.

A combined experimental and computational study of 3-D unsteady compressible flow in exhaust manifold and CCC system was performed to understand the flow characteristics and to improve the flow distribution of pulsating exhaust gases within monolith. An experimental study was carried out to measure the velocity distribution in production exhaust manifold and CCC under engine operating conditions using LDV (Laser Doppler Velocimetry) system. Velocity characteristics were measured at planes 25 mm away from the front surface of first monolith and between two monolithic bricks. To provide boundary conditions for the computational study, velocity fields according to crank angle were also measured at the entrance of exhaust manifold. The comparisons of exhaust gas flow patterns in the junction and mixing pipe between experimental and computational results were made.

A new noble material for automotive bumper fascia has been developed by compounding of ethylene-propylene block copolymers with ethylene-α-olefin copolymers and some additives. Also mineral fillers are added, if necessary. This material is suitable for injection molding of large parts including automotive bumper fascia. By using selected rubbers which have proper melt viscosity, molecular weight, and co-monomer content, and adding modified polymer containing polar group, it has enhanced processibility and paintability maintaining general properties such as tensile strength, impact strength at low temperature, and thermal and UV stability. The remarkable characteristics of this material is good processibility compared to the conventional TPOs. This material has especially high melt flow index(20∼30g/10min at 230°C) and stable flow behavior at the processing conditions.

As the current and future emission regulations become stringent, the research on exhaust manifold with CCC (Close Coupled Catalyst) has been the interesting and remarkable subject. To design of exhaust manifold with CCC is a difficult task due to the complexity of the flow distribution caused by the pulsating flows that are emitted at the exhaust ports. This study is concerned with the theoretical and experimental approach to improve catalyst flow uniformity through the basic understanding of exhaust flow characteristics. Computational and experimental approach to the flow for exhaust manifold of conventional cast type, stainless steel bending type with 900 cell CCC system in a 4-cylinder gasoline engine was performed to investigate the flow distribution of exhaust gases.

A study for improving the resistance to fretting corrosion of SCr 420 pinion gear was conducted. Fretting is the damage to contacting surfaces experiencing slight relative reciprocating sliding motion of low amplitude. Fretting corrosion is the fretting damage to unlubricated contacting surfaces accompanied by corrosion, mostly oxidation that occurs if the fretting occurs in air. Two kinds of conventional heat treatment and a newly designed one suggested for improving the resistance to the fretting corrosion of pinion gear were compared each other to find out what is the main factor for generating fretting corrosion phenomenon. Increased carbon potential at both the heating and diffusing zone and reduced time of tempering was found out to be a solution for improving the resistance to fretting corrosion of forged and heat treated gear steel. On the contrary, modified carbo-nitriding using ammonia gas has been getting worse the fretting corrosion problem.

Suspension system of vehicle is very important because it has an effect on ride comfort and safety. And the leaf spring is one of the major parts of commercial vehicle. By that reason it has to be designed to operate under severe condition to ensure enough endurance. But the traditional method for fatigue design needs repeated fatigue tests for each design according to its geometry, material, and operating condition. This means that a lot of time and money is needed for those tests. Thus, in this paper, a fatigue design method for leaf spring based on numerical analysis is proposed. At first, stress analysis is performed to get the stress under operation load or rig tests. And fatigue analysis is performed to get the fatigue life and to ensure the safety of leaf spring. Through this study, design parameters that play vital role in fatigue life of the leaf spring can be found out.

The use of light-weight materials in automotive engine components has increased in order to achieve better fuel efficiency and engine performance. In this study, Al alloy (AI5056) valve spring retainer can reduce a weight by 63% in comparison to steel and improve the upper limit of engine speed by about 500rpm. The Al valve spring retainer was fabricated by cold forging and coated with hard anodizing, DLC (diamond like coating), cold spray and thermal spray for better wear resistance and durability. We conclude that among these materials the DLC coating improves the wear resistance of Al valve spring retainer and has a sufficient durability after endurance testing.

As the use of diesel engines increases in the transportation industry and emission regulations tighten, the implementation of diesel particulate filter systems has expanded. There are many challenges associated with the design and development of these systems. Some of the key robustness parameters include regeneration, efficiency, fuel penalty, engine performance, and durability. One component of durability in a diesel particulate filter (DPF) system is the filter's ability to resist ring-off-cracking (ROC). ROC is described as a crack caused primarily by thermal gradients, differentials, and the resulting stresses within the DPF that exceed its internal strength. These cracks usually run perpendicular to the substrate flow axis and typically result in the breaking of the substrate into separate halves.

For optimizing the performance of SI engine such as engine torque, fuel consumption, and emissions, various types of system for variable valve timing were developed by many automotive researchers. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between valve timing and intake orifice noise, and suggested how to improve NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) performance as well as engine torque. Some experiments using the engine dynamometer were carried over about 150 different operating conditions. BEM analysis was also conducted in order to calculate acoustic modes of intake system. The results show that the valve timing and overlap of breathing systems have influence on NVH behavior, especially intake orifice noise over whole range of operating conditions. Valve timing and overlap of intake and exhaust valve were optimized in the view of sound quality as well as overall noise level.

Depending on the scatter of material properties, geometrical shapes and load conditions, the fatigue life of mechanical components has wide range of scatter although they were tested under same conditions. This scatter is the main reason of different results between observed and predicted fatigue life. This study shows how to estimate the fatigue life distribution by analysis. Dominant factors for fatigue life distributions and their scatter could be obtained by comparing the analysis results and fatigue test results. Applying the scatter of these factors to fatigue analysis, it was possible to predict fatigue life distributions. This will improve the reliability of fatigue life estimation, therefore a more robust and reliable component design is possible.

Diesel engines are the most commonly used power train of the freight and public transportations in the world. From the viewpoint of global warming restraint, however, reduction of exhaust emissions from the diesel engine is urgent demand. Stringent emission regulations are being proposed with growing concern on NOx, PM and CO2 emissions. Future emission regulations require advanced emission control technologies, such as SCR(Selective Catalytic Reduction), LNT(Lean NOx Trap) and EGR(Exhaust Gas Recirculation). The EGR is a commonly used technique to reduce emission. In this study, a LP-EGR(Low Pressure Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system was investigated to evaluate its potential on emission reduction and fuel economy improvement, especially for a passenger diesel engine. A 3.0ℓ diesel engine equipped with the LP-EGR system was tested using an in-house control algorithm.

The current sensor for motor control is one of the main components in inverters for eco-friendly vehicles. Recently, as the higher performance of torque control has become required, the current sensor measurement error and accuracy of motor controls have become more significant. Since the response time of the sensor affects the motor output power, the response delay of the sensor causes measurement errors of the current. Accordingly, the voltage vector changes, and a motor output power deviation occurs. In the case of the large response delay of the sensor, as motor speed increases, then difference between motoring and generating output power becomes larger and larger. This results in the deterioration of power performance in high-speed operation. The deviation of the voltage vector magnitude is the main cause of motor output power deviation and imbalance through the simulation.

Professional bus drivers are highly exposed to physical fatigue and work-related injuries because driving task includes complicated actions that require a variety of ability and cause extreme concentration or strain. For this reason, there has always been some sense of concern regarding driver fatigue, especially for drivers of commercial vehicles. In this study, we have tried to analyze quantitative fatigue degree of urban bus drivers by measuring their physiological signals. The investigation is made up of the following approaches: a traditional questionnaire survey and video-ethnographic method with 4-way cameras. The close-circuit cameras are installed to observe the upper and lower body of real drivers when they are in driving or even resting. This approach can help to understand urban bus drivers' behaviors and fatigue-related issues. Based on the video-ethnographic investigation results above, we have got certain patterns of drivers.

In recent years, the emerging technology competitions in automotive industry are improving engine efficiency and electronizing for coping with stringent fuel-economy regulations. However, fuel-economy technologies such as engine down-sizing and numerous electronic parts entrust burden plastic materials acing as mainly electric insulation and housing to have to be higher performance, especially temperature endurance. Engineering plastics (EPs) have critical limitations in terms of degradation by heat. Heat-resisting additives in EP are generally used to be anti-degradation as activating non-radical decomposition of peroxide. However, it could not be effective way to impede the degradation in long term heat aging over 1,000 hours at high temperature above 180 °C. In this study, we suggested the new solution called ‘shield effect’ that is purposeful oxidation at the surface and local crystallization of EP to stop prevent penetrating oxygen to inside of that.

In case of cooling module rotated by belt, many sources (vehicle’s vibration, belt’s tension and thrust force by rotated fan) are acting on it. Because it is not easy to analyze them individually, there were no rig test modes for pre-validation while developing a new vehicle. In this study, we correlated the strain gauges signal to belt’s tension and fan’s thrust force, and measured acceleration of a vehicle and cooling module by driving a vehicle on the several test roads. In that case of measured acceleration data, we could analyze it by using PDF and construct the representative rig test modes considering vibrational fatigue characteristics by using the FDS. These modes can be utilized while developing a new vehicle without measuring anymore. Also, we could understand each load’s characteristics. It is confirmed that the factors affecting the fatigue were not only the vehicle’s vibration but also the belt’s installation tension.

Systematic numerical simulations were performed for the improvement of fuel efficiency and thermal performance of a compact size passenger vehicle. Both aerodynamic and thermal aspects were considered concurrently. For the sake of systematic evaluation, our study was conducted employing various design changes in multiple steps: 1) analysis of the baseline design; 2) elimination of the engine room components; 3) modification of the engine room component layout; 4) modification of the aerodynamic components (such as under body cover and cooling ducts). The vehicle performance characteristics corresponding to different design options were analyzed in terms of aerodynamic coefficient, engine coolant temperature, and surface temperatures of thermally critical components such as battery and exhaust manifold. Finally optimal design modification solutions for better vehicle performance were proposed.

High strength oil-tempered wire was developed to apply to light-weight valve spring for automotive engine. By adding Mo, V, B and Ni, tensile strength increased by 20% compared to the conventional oil-tempered wire. Higher tensile strength of wire enabled a constant of valve spring to lower by reducing the size of spring. As a result, reduction of spring constant lowers the load of spring, thereby enhancing fuel efficiency.