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A variety of methodologies to use embedded multicore controllers efficiently has been discussed in the last years. Several assumptions are usually made in the automotive domain, such as static assignment of tasks to the cores. This paper shows an approach for efficient task allocation depending on different system modes. An engine management system (EMS) is used as application example, and the performance improvement compared to static allocation is assessed. The paper is structured as follows: First the control algorithms for the EMS will be classified according to operating modes. The classified algorithms will be allocated to the cores, depending on the operating mode. We identify mode transition points, allowing a reliable switch without neglecting timing requirements. As a next step, it will be shown that a load distribution by mode-dependent task allocation would be better balanced than a static task allocation.

Numerical durability analysis is the only approach that can be used to assess the durability of vehicles in early stages of development. In these stages, where there are no physical prototypes available, the road wheel forces (or spindle forces) for durability testing on Belgian PG (Proving Ground) must be predicted by VPG (Virtual Proving Ground) or derived from the measured forces of predecessor vehicles. In addition, the tuning parts and geometry are not fixed at these stages. This results in the variation of spindle forces during the development stages. Therefore, it is not reasonable to choose the forces predicted at a specific tuning condition as standard forces. It is more reasonable to determine the standard forces stochastically using the DB of the measured forces of predecessor vehicles. The spindle forces measured or predicted on Belgian PG are typically stationary random.

As the original engine sound is usually not enough to satisfy the driver’s desire for a sporty and fascinating sound, Active Noise Control (ANC) and Active Sound Design (ASD) have been great technologies in automobiles for a long time. However, these technologies which enhance the sound of vehicles using loud speakers or electromagnetic actuators etc. lead to the increase of cost and weight due to the use of external amplifiers or actuators. This paper presents a new technology for generating a target sound by the active control of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) of a mass-production steering system. The existing steering hardware or motor is not changed, but only additional software is added. Firstly, an algorithm of this technology, called Active Sound Generation (ASG), is introduced which is compiled and included in the ECU target code. Then the high frequency noise issue and its countermeasures are presented.

An investigation has been performed to study the response of the front bumper beam of automobiles subjected to an external impact load. In the investigation, an aluminum shell structure is modeled as a beam, and the energy absorber of polyurethane is also modeled as statically equivalent springs attached to the beam. Castigliano's second theorem and principles of energy and momentum are then used to calculate the reaction forces and maximum deflection. Stress distribution is then calculated using the beam theory. The primary concern of the investigation is to present a procedure of how to design optimally the cross-sectional shape of the front bumper of automobiles.

In this paper, a design procedure for the optimized light weight front cross member, which is a sub frame of the car chassis, without sacrificing basic functional requirements is presented. As the first step, optimal structural integrity was calculated and extracted using a CAE technique with the available volume constraint of the package layout. Quantitative design loads for the cross member was achieved by measurement. Dynamic load analysis using ADAMS was also performed to determine the loads. Later, these calculated loads were applied to the FEM stress analysis of the cross member. Furthermore, durability analysis was also performed using load profile database measured from ‘Hyundai Motor Co. Proving Ground’. Four constant amplitude durability tests and two static tests were performed on the cross member prototypes to confirm design reliability.

A new thermoplastic polyolefin with primerless adhesion to paint has been developed by polypropylene (PP) with α-olefin copolymers, mineral fillers and some additives. It can substantially reduce costs and environmental problems by eliminating primer treating operations, traditionally treated from trichloroethene (TCE). This new material exhibits unique solid-state texture that rubbery polymer component are typically dispersed in lamellar structure matrix. Versus conventional PP or thermoplastic olefin (TPO), it provides excellent brittle-ductile (BD) transition as well as paintability. Also it is expected to have a significant impact on interior parts as requirements for material change to an emphasis on light weight, lower cost, more efficient finishing.

Low-pressure molding compound (LPMC) is a new kind of composite material which can be used for automotive body panels. LPMC has similar mechanical properties compared to conventional sheet molding compound (SMC) but excellent moldability due to the different thickening system. In this paper, we prepared LPMC hood prototype for a passenger car using a low-cost tooling. Inner panel and outer panel were made of general-density- and low-density-grade LPMC, respectively, in order to maximize weight reduction maintaining surface quality. Physical properties containing tensile strength, flexural modulus, notched Izod impact strength of those samples were investigated. In addition, CAE simulation was also done for strength analysis of the hood assembly.

End-plates are highly stiff plates that hold together the components composing a fuel cell stack, i.e. Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs), Gas Distribution Layers (GDLs) and bipolar plates, offering sufficient contact pressure between them. The proper contact pressure is required not only to improve energy efficiency of a stack by decreasing ohmic loss but also to prevent leakage of fluids such as hydrogen, air, or coolant. When a fuel cell starts in cold environment, heat generated in a fuel cell stack as a result of electrochemical reactions should not be used much to increase the temperature of endplates but to melt ice inside the stack to prevent ice-blocking and to increase the temperature near the three-phase-boundary on MEAs. However, to satisfy the high stiffness required, massive metallic endplates have been used despite their inferior thermal characteristics: high thermal conductivity and large thermal inertia.

Emission of carbon dioxide from mobile sources seriously concerned to solve greenhouse effect and high price of gasoline in some countries have resulted in the development of lean-burn concept engine. In spite of many studies on the lean deNOx catalyst, we have no clear solution to obtain high fuel economy and high efficiency of NOx conversion in lean-burn application. This paper describes applicability and problems of NOx adsorber system to partial lean-burn vehicle, the development of three-way catalyst with improvement of washcoat technology based on three-way catalyst used for gasoline application, and comparison test results of evaluations is synthesized gas activity test, Federal Test Procedure (FTP) test, etc. This study shows improved three-way catalysts in partial lean- burn vehicle have max. 89% of NOx conversion in FTP without adding rich spike and regeneration functions to engine management system.

This study suggests new types of catalysts that show low hydrogen sulfide emission without scavenger such as NiO. Hydrogen sulfide can be reduced by changing the physicochemical properties of washcoat components. Synthesized gas activity tests were performed to investigate the effect of modified washcoat on hydrogen sulfide formation and catalytic activity. BET surface area tests, X- ray diffraction tests, and gas chromatography tests were also carried out to examine the characteristics of catalysts. Preparation methods for catalysts were focused on minimizing the adsorption of sulfur species on catalysts. The first approach is heat treatment of cerium oxide to reduce adsorption sites for sulfur compounds. But this leads to deterioration of CO and NOx conversion efficiencies. The second one is adding new types of promoters that increase thermal durability and dynamic oxygen storing function of cerium oxide.

The new concept oxidation for diesel engine has been developed. It has been designed to use under circumstances of the "dry condition" of exhausted emission, which indicates low soluble organics and high dry soot concentration under high exhaust gas temperature. For the reliability and performance of catalysts in dry condition, several design concepts were established. First of all, extremely low sulfate formation on catalyst at high temperature conditions, and an improved soluble organic burning characteristics was required. A minimization of deposition of the particulate component, especially sulfate, was obtained from the adjustment of washcoat loading and material property. Six different types of catalysts have been prepared and tested in a laboratory. Diesel vehicle test showed the possibility that soluble organic could be removed mostly with minimal sulfate formation.

Recently weight reduction is increasingly needed in automotive industry to improve fuel efficiency and to meet a CO2 emission requirement. In this paper, we prepared composite body panels for the lightweight vehicle based on a small passenger car. Fender, roof, door, side outer panel, and tailgate are made from hand layup using a glass/carbon hybrid reinforcement. Hood is made from low pressure sheet molding compound (SMC) to investigate feasibility of mass production. Both hand layup and low pressure SMC materials are newly developed and their physical properties are examined. CAE simulation was done for strength analysis and optimization of thickness for the body panels.

Generally, the widely used hydraulic control system in automatic transmissions is pulse width modulation (PWM) type. It consists in a PWM solenoid valve and a reducing type second stage valve, so called pressure control valve (PCV), to amplify pressure or flow rate. In this study, the mathematical models of the PWM solenoid valve and the PCV with moderate complexity are proposed. Then, their behavior is analyzed from the steady state characteristics. Finally, we find that there are good matches between the dynamic simulation results and the experimental data.

Hyundai Motor Company has developed hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV) based on its SUV, Santa Fe. As the hydrogen fuel cell power plant runs at near ambient pressure, parasitic loss due to its operation is fully minimized and the noise level of the air supply subsystem is extremely low. The Santa Fe FCV has been built to feature roomy passenger space and cargo capacity identical to that of a standard, gasoline-powered Santa Fe, because of its compact fuel cell power plant. In addition, lightweight aluminum body-components help to keep a power-to-weight ratio similar to that of a conventional SUV. Hyundai Motor Company, as a full member of California Fuel Cell Partnership, is now operating the Santa Fe FCV's on real roads in California. In this paper, the configuration and performance test results of the Santa Fe FCV will be described.

Anti-vibration rubbers in vehicle play an important role in restricting vibration generated from engine and road. But, degradation occurs when rubber is exposed for a long time to heat, light, ozone and etc. These make the rubber hard and lose its initial properties. The rubber change makes N.V.H performance of vehicle the worse, and gives the discomfort to the passengers. To reduce the change of rubber properties, sulfur-donor and heat stable cross-linking co-agent vulcanization system have been introduced in the developed natural rubber compounds of the anti-vibration rubber parts. These lead to a reduction of degradation of material properties, maintenance of the initial properties and increase of the fatigue life.

Fuel tank in vehicle must hold the fuel in a stable way under any driving condition. However, the fuel tank might not conserve the fuel firmly in case a crack emerged while the fuel tank is exposed to different driving condition. Basically, when the engine is in purging at a normal ambient temperature before fuel boiling, the pressure inside the fuel tank decreases. However, the pressure inside a fuel tank increases while a vehicle is driven at extreme hot ambient temperature as fuel is boiling. This repetitive pressure change in the fuel tank comes with fuel tank’s physical expansion and shrink, which would cause a damage to the fuel tank. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the root cause of why fuel tank cracks at a fatigue point. We also aim to set up the method of how to test durability of the fuel tank in association with the pressure inside the tank.

Currently, diesel engine-out exhaust NOx emission level prediction is a major challenge for complying with the stricter emission legislation and for control purpose of the after-treatment system. Most of the NOx prediction research is based on the Zeldovich thermal mechanism, which is reasonable from the physical point of view and for its simplicity. Nevertheless, there are some predictable range limitations, such as low temperature with high EGR rate operating conditions or high temperature with low EGR rates. In the present paper, 3 additional considerations, pilot burned gas mixing before the main injection; major NO formation area; concentration correction, were applied to the previously developed real-time NO estimation model based on in-cylinder pressure and data available from ECU. The model improvement was verified on a 1.6 liter EURO5 diesel engine in both steady and transient operation.

Aluminum steering knuckles are widely employed for weight reduction and improvement of ride & handling performance. In this study, a high strength aluminum alloy for cast-forged knuckle was designed to achieve higher mechanical properties than those of the conventional foundry alloy. Using this alloy, high strength knuckles were manufactured and performed test of mechanical properties, suspension module strength and durability. The strength and the elongation of the developed knuckle were increased by 20% and 40%, respectively, as compared with the conventional alloy. Also this knuckle passed the static strength and durability test of the front suspension module.

A nano-sized PM and THC emission characteristics were investigated according to the fuel injection strategy such as a pressure and timing in the GDI engine. On the part-load condition, the particulate emissions exhibited a strong sensitivity to the injection timing. The fuel injection pressure also had a great association with the nano-particles and THC. A size of PM exhausted from the GDI engine located near 10nm on the part-load. In contrast, accumulation mode particles within 60 - 80nm mainly exhausted during the cold transient start phase. Increment of fuel injection pressure positively affected on the nano-particle and THC emissions during the start of the engine, as well.

The Eco-driving indicator is a colored lamp on a cluster to lead a driver to smoothen acceleration of a vehicle. Informed by the indicator, a driver learns how deep to push a gas pedal for a better fuel economy. The Eco-driving guide system outputs a vehicle fuel efficient state by the Eco-driving indicator. It is based on BSFC map, engine torque map, A/T shift pattern data, engine operation status and transmission operating status. With the Eco-driving guide system, vehicle fuel efficiency can be improved by 4∼26%.