Search Results

Adoption of high-pressure common-rail (HPCR) fuel systems, which subject diesel fuels to higher temperatures and pressures, has brought into question the veracity of ASTM International specifications for biodiesel and biodiesel blend oxidation stability, as well as the lack of any stability parameter for diesel fuel. A controlled experiment was developed to investigate the impact of a light-duty diesel HPCR fuel system on the stability of 20% biodiesel (B20) blends under conditions of intermittent use and long-term storage in a relatively hot and dry climate. B20 samples with Rancimat induction periods (IPs) near the current 6.0-hour minimum specification (6.5 hr) and roughly double the ASTM specification (13.5 hr) were prepared from a conventional diesel and a highly unsaturated biodiesel. Four 2011 model year Volkswagen Passats equipped with HPCR fuel injection systems were utilized: one on B0, two on B20-6.5 hr, and one on B20-13.5 hr.

Pressure variation during engine combustion generates torque fluctuation that is delivered through the driveline. Torque fluctuation delivered to the tire shakes the vehicle body and causes the body components to vibrate, resulting in booming noise. HKMC (Hyundai Kia Motor Company)’s TMED (Transmission Mounted Electric Device) type generates booming noises due to increased weight from the addition of customized hybrid parts and the absence of a torque converter. Some of the improvements needed to overcome this weakness include reducing the torsion-damper stiffness, adding dynamic dampers, and moving the operation point of the engine from the optimized point. These modifications have some potential negative impacts such as increased cost and sacrificed fuel economy. Here, we introduce a method of reducing lock-up booming noise in an HEV at low engine speed.

A semi-empirical index to evaluate the noise propensity of brake friction materials is introduced. The noise propensity index (NPI) is based on the ratio of surface and matrix stiffness of the friction material, fraction of high-pressure contact plateaus on the sliding surface, and standard deviation of the surface stiffness of the friction material that affect the amplitude and frequency of the stick-slip oscillation. The correlation between noise occurrence and NPI was examined using various brake linings for commercial vehicles. The results obtained from reduced-scale noise dynamometer and vehicle tests indicated that NPI is well correlated with noise propensity. The analysis of the stick-slip profiles also indicated that the surface property affects the amplitude of friction oscillation, while the mechanical property of the friction material influences the propagation of friction oscillation after the onset of vibration.

High-voltage battery system plays a critical role in eco-friendly vehicles due to its effect on the cost and the electric driving range of eco-friendly vehicles. In order to secure the customer pool and the competitiveness of eco-vehicle technology, vehicle electrification requires lowering the battery cost and satisfying the customer needs when driving the vehicles in the real roads, for example, maximizing powers for fun drive, increasing battery capacities for achieving appropriate trip distances, etc. Because these vehicle specifications have a critical effect on the high-voltage battery specification, the key technology of the vehicle electrification is the appropriate decision on the specification of the high-voltage battery system, such as battery capacity and power. These factors affect the size of battery system and vehicle under floor design and also the profitability of the eco-friendly vehicles.

This paper deals with creep groan noise in vehicles which is a low frequency vibration problem at 20∼500Hz that appears in low brake pressures and extremely low speed especially in automatic transmission car, where there is a transition from static to dynamic condition. The vibration causing the noise is commonly thought to result from friction force variation between brake disc and pad in stick-slip phenomena. Simulation results are confirmed through dynamometer testing. Then presented noise contribution factor analysis by experimental approach between chassis components.

Passenger fatigue during long distance driving is greatly influenced by the comfort performance of the seat. Seat comfort performance is determined by the appropriate contour of the seat and the appropriate pad with sufficient thickness. The height of vehicle has been lowered to enhance car styling, and battery for electric vehicle applied to the underbody of the vehicle, reducing the package space of the seat in the vehicle. These external factors eventually lead to a reduced pad thickness of the seat cushion and compromise one of the important components in the seat cushion compartment, creating an uncomfortable cushioning problem when driving long distances. To improve the cushion composition of the seat within a limited package, air bladders are applied to the underside of the cushion pad. In addition, the function to support the buttocks using the air bladders of the lower cushion, similar to lumbar support for the back, was implemented to improve cushion comfort performance.

In this study, the preliminary validation method of the steering system is constructed and the objective is to satisfy the target performance in the conceptual design stage for minimizing the problems after the detailed design. The first consideration about steering system is how to extract the reliable steering effort for parking. The tire model commonly used in MBD(Multi-Body Dynamics) has limited ability to represent deformations under heavy loads. Therefore, it is necessary to study adequate tire model to simulate the behavior due to the large deformation and friction between the ground and the tire. The two approaches related with F tire model and mathematical model are used. The second is how to extract each link’s load in the conceptual design stage. Until now, each link’s load could be derived only by actual vehicle test, and a durability analysis was performed using only pre-settled RIG test conditions.

Two optical techniques were developed and combined with a CFD simulation to obtain spatio-temporally resolved information on air/fuel mixing in the cylinder of a methane-fueled, fired, optically accessible engine. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of anisole (methoxybenzene), vaporized in trace amounts into the gaseous fuel upstream of the injector, was captured by a two-camera system, providing one instantaneous image of the air/fuel ratio per cycle. Broadband infrared (IR) absorption by the methane fuel itself was measured in a small probe volume via a spark-plug integrated sensor, yielding time-resolved quasi-point information at kHz-rates. The simulation was based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach with the two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model in a finite volume discretization scheme and included the port-fuel injection event. Commercial CFD software was used to perform engine simulations close to the experimental conditions.

A vehicle thermal management system is required to increase the operating efficiency of components, to transfer the heat efficiently and to reduce the energy required for the vehicle. Vehicle thermal management technologies, such as engine compartment encapsulation together with grille shutter control, enable energy efficiency improvements through utilizing waste heat in the engine compartment for heating powertrain components as well as cabin heating and reducing the aerodynamic drag . In this work, a significant effort is put on recovering waste heat from the engine compartment to provide additional efficiency to the components using a motor compartment insulation technique and grille shutter. The tests are accelerated and the cost is reduced using a co-simulation tool based on high resolution, complex thermal and kinematics models. The results are validated with experimental values measured in a thermal wind tunnel, which provided satisfactory accuracy.

In this paper, the experimental and numerical simulation of the flow field in the simplified front wheel arch of a scaled-down VW Phaeton half-model (scale 1:2,5) is presented. For wind tunnel experiments a realistic, rotating wheel model with plexiglass treads (PMMA) was designed. The construction allowed for detailed measurements of the flow field directly at the brake disk by means of the stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. The formation of the flow structures and the resulting three-dimensional boundary layers on the brake disk are analyzed. Furthermore, the oncoming air flow towards the brake disk and the flow field near the wheel rim openings were investigated. The experimental data is compared with results of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations using the Lattice-Boltzmann based solver Powerflow. The validation shows the potential and the limitations of the numerical approach and indicates areas of further improvement.

This paper mainly focuses on a lateral control law for pre-given path following which is developed by using the backstepping control design methodology. The position information of the vehicle is obtained by Real Time Kinematic DGPS, and the yaw rate and side-slip angle used in controller are estimated by Kalman estimator. To show the performance of the proposed controller under different speed and various path curvature conditions, the results are given through experiments which are executed on proving ground especially designed for high maneuvering test of which minimum radius of curvature is about 60 m.

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.

In addition to the price factor, the success of an electric vehicle primarily depends on its performance characteristics and operating range. Advances both in vehicle design and better technology help to improve these characteristics, thus providing the customer with a convincing vehicle concept. Three vehicle generations will be examined and the development advances between 1993 and 2003 will be listed by way of comparison. Improvement potential and technical limits will be analyzed from cost aspects. Since the limits of battery technology cannot be extended at will, it is necessary to develop both battery-driven electric vehicles and vehicles fitted with hybrid drive units. Based on the drive technology of purely electric-powered vehicles, concepts of range extender hybrid and fuel-cell hybrid vehicles will be presented.

The most popular issues nowadays in the automotive industry include reduction of environmental impacts by emission materials from automobiles as well as improvement of fuel economy. This paper deals with development of a ¡mild-hybrid¡ system for a city bus as an effort to increase fuel economy in a relatively reasonable expense. Three different technical tactics are employed; an engine is shut down at an engine idle state, a vehicle kinetic energy when the bus is decelerated is re-saved to a battery in the form of electricity, and finally the radiator cooling fan is operated by an electric motor using the saved electric energy with an optimal speed control. It has been demonstrated through the driving tests in a specific city mode, ¡Suwon city mode¡, that an average fuel economy is improved more than 12%, and the system can be a feasible choice in a city bus running in a city mode experiencing many stop and go¡s.

This paper describes an automated path following system using vision sensor. Lateral control law for path following is especially underlined which is developed by using the backstepping control design methodology. To establish the proposed control system, the lateral offset to the reference path, the heading angle of vehicle relative to tangent line to the path, and path curvature are required. Those inputs to the controller have been calculated through Kalman filter which is frequently adopted for the purpose. The lane mark detection has been achieved in an ECU (Electric Control Unit) platform with vision sensor. The yaw rate and side-slip angle also needed in the controller are estimated by Kalman estimator. To show the performance of the proposed controller under different speeds, experiment has been conducted on a proving ground having straight and curve sections with the curvature of about 260m.

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.

This paper presents a complete methodology for performing finite-volume-based detached-eddy simulation for the prediction of aerodynamic forces and detailed flow structures of passenger vehicles developed using the open-source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM®. The main components of the methodology consist of an automatic mesh generator, a setup and initialisation utility, a DES flow solver and analysis and post-processing routines. Validation of the predictions is done on the basis of detailed comparisons to experimental wind-tunnel data. Results for lift and drag are found to compare favourably to the experiments, with some moderate discrepancies in predicted rear lift. Point surface-pressure measurements, oil-streak images and maps of total pressure in the flow field demonstrate the approach's capabilities to predict the fine detail of complex flow regimes found in automotive aerodynamics.

Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle consists of internal combustion engine, engine clutch, motor, automatic transmission, Integrated Starter Generator (ISG), and battery. Due to hybridizations such as using engine clutch to disengage the internal combustion engine and omitting torque converter from the automatic transmission to increase fuel economy, drivability will not be same as conventional vehicle. To ensure drivability comparable to conventional vehicle, dynamic simulation has been utilized to foresee the drivability issues for the proposed hybrid system and ideas for improvements are tested in simulation. CoSimulation of AMESim vehicle model and Simulink Hybrid Control Unit (HCU) model has been used to test and improve HCU logic.

The need to reduce weight of large and heavy components used by the automotive and aerospace industries such as engine block, cylinder head cover and helicopter gearbox housing has led to the development of new Mg gravity casting alloys that provide adequate properties and cost effective solution. The new Mg gravity casting alloys are designed for high stressed components that operate at a temperature up to 300°C. These new alloys exhibit excellent mechanical properties and creep resistance in T-6 conditions. The present paper aims at introducing three new Mg gravity casting alloys designated MRI 201S, MRI 202S and MRI 203S, which were recently developed by the Magnesium Research Institute of DSM and VW. Apart from the excellent high temperature performance of these alloys, they provide adequate castability and dimension stability along with good weldability and corrosion resistance.

Peak pressure fluctuation amplitudes in the ¾ open-jet test-section of the Hyundai Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel have been reduced from root-mean-square levels equal to 6% of the test-section dynamic pressure to levels of less than 0.5% over almost the full wind speed range of the tunnel. The improvement was accomplished using a retrofit of the test-section collector. Using an analysis of the physics of the problem, it was found that the HAWT pressure fluctuations could be accurately modeled as a resonance phenomenon in which acoustic modes of the full wind tunnel circuit are excited by a nozzle-to-collector edgetone-feedback loop. Scaling relations developed from the theory were used to design an experiment in 1/7th scale of the HAWT circuit, which resulted in the development of the new collector design. Data that illustrate the benefit of the reduction in pressure fluctuation amplitudes on passenger-car aerodynamic force measurements are presented.