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Active safety systems will have a great impact in the next generation of vehicles. This is partly originated by the increasing consumer's interest for safety and partly by new traffic safety laws. Control actions in the vehicle are based on an extensive environment model which contains information about relevant objects in vehicle surroundings. Sensor data fusion integrates measurements from different surround sensors into this environment model. In order to avoid system malfunctions, high reliability in the interpretation of the situation, and therefore in the environment model, is essential. Hence, the main idea of data fusion is to make use of the advantages of using multiple sensors and different technologies in order to fulfill these requirements, which are especially high due to autonomous interventions in vehicle dynamics (e. g. automatic emergency braking).

When increasing EGR from low levels to a level that corresponds to low temperature combustion, soot emissions initially increase due to lower soot oxidation before decreasing to almost zero due to very low soot formation. At the EGR level where soot emissions start to increase, the NOx emissions are low, but not sufficiently low to comply with future emission standards and at the EGR level where low temperature combustion occurs CO and HC emissions are too high. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibilities for shifting the so-called soot bump (where soot levels are increased) to higher EGR levels, or to reduce the magnitude of the soot bump using very high injection pressures (up to 240 MPa) while reducing the NOx emissions using EGR. The possibility of reducing the CO and HC emissions at high EGR levels due to the increased mixing caused by higher injection pressure was also investigated and the flame was visualized using an endoscope at chosen EGR values.

Regarding the strongly growing two-wheeler market fuel economy, price and emission legislations are in focus of current development work. Fuel economy as well as emissions can be improved by introduction of engine management systems (EMS). In order to provide the benefits of an EMS for low cost motorcycles, efforts are being made at BOSCH to reduce the costs of a port fuel injection (PFI) system. The present paper describes a method of how to reduce the number of sensors of a PFI system by the use of sophisticated software functions based on high-resolution engine speed evaluation. In order to improve the performance of a system working without a MAP-sensor (manifold air pressure sensor) an air charge feature (ACFn) based on engine speed is introduced. It is shown by an experiment that ACFn allows to detect and adapt changes in manifold air pressure. Cross-influences on ACFn are analyzed by simulations and engine test bench measurements.

Fuel economy of two-wheelers is an important factor influencing the purchasing psychology of the consumer within the emerging markets. Additionally, air pollution being a major environmental topic, there is a rising concern about vehicle emissions, especially in the big cities and their metropolitan areas. Potentially, the relatively expensive engine management systems are providing more features and value in comparison to the carburettor counterpart. The combustion system analysis is carried out on a 125 cm3 motorcycle engine and the subsequent numerical simulation comparing the carburettor and the Electronic (Port) Fuel Injection which provides a basis to establish the fuel consumption benefit for the electronic injection systems [1].

The underlying theories of both control engineering and real-time systems engineering assume idealized system abstractions that mutually neglect central aspects of the other discipline. Control engineering theory, on the one hand, usually assumes jitter free sampling and constant input-output latencies disregarding complex real-world timing effects. Real-time engineering theory, on the other hand, uses abstract performance models that neglect the functional behavior, and derives worst-case situations that have little expressiveness for control functionalities in physically dominated automotive systems. As a consequence, there is a lot of potential for a systematic co-engineering between both disciplines, increasing design efficiency and confidence. We have taken a standard control-engineering tool, Simulink, and combined it with state-of-the-art real-time system design and analysis tools, SymTA/S and TraceAnalyzer from Symtavision.

Cost reduction of engine management systems (EMS) for two-wheeler applications is the key to utilize their potentials compared to carburetor bikes regarding emissions, fuel economy and system robustness. In order to reduce the costs of a system with port fuel injection (PFI) Bosch is developing an EMS without a manifold air pressure (MAP) sensor. The pressure sensor is usually used to compensate for different influences on the air mass, which cannot be detected via the throttle position sensor (TPS) and mean engine speed. Such influences are different leakage rates of the throttle body and changing ambient conditions like air pressure. Bosch has shown in the past that a virtual sensor relying on model based evaluation of engine speed can be used for a detection of leakage air mass in idling to improve the pre-control of the air-fuel ratio. This provides a functionality which so far was only possible with an intake pressure sensor.

Vibration testing is often carried out for automotive components to meet guidelines based on their operational environments. This is an iterative process wherein design changes may need to be made depending on an intermediate model’s dynamic behavior. Predicting the behavior based on modifications in boundary conditions of a well-defined numerical model imparts practical insights to the component’s responses. To this end, application of a general method using experimental free-free condition frequency response functions of a structure is discussed in the presented work. The procedure is shown to be useful for prediction of responses when kinematic boundary conditions are applied, without the need for an actual measurement. This approach is outlined in the paper and is applied to datasets where dynamic modifications are made at multiple boundary nodes.

Squeak and rattle (S&R) are nonstationary annoying and unwanted noises in the car cabin that result in considerable warranty costs for car manufacturers. Introduction of cars with remarkably lower background noises and the recent emphasis on electrification and autonomous driving further stress the need for producing squeak- and rattle-free cars. Automotive manufacturers use several road disturbances for physical evaluation and verification of S&R. The excitation signals collected from these road profiles are also employed in subsystem shaker rigs and virtual simulations that are gradually replacing physical complete vehicle test and verification. Considering the need for a shorter lead time and the introduction of optimisation loops, it is necessary to have efficient and inclusive excitation load cases for robust S&R evaluation.

The prime factor which influences noise and vibrations of electro-mechanical drives is wear at the components. This paper discusses the numerical methods developed for abrasion, vibration calculations and the coupling between wear and Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) models of the drive unit. The vibration domain model, initially, focuses on the calculations of mechanical excitations at the gear shafts which are generated via a nonlinear dynamic model. Furthermore, the bearings are studied for the influences on their stiffness and eventually their impact on the harmonics of the drivetrain. Later, free and forced vibrations of the complete drivetrain are simulated via a steady-state dynamic model. Consequently, the paper concentrates on the abrasion calculations at the gears. Wear is a complex process and understanding it is essential for determining the vibro-acoustics characteristics.

Axial cooling fans are commonly used in electric vehicles to cool batteries with high heating load. One drawback of the cooling fans is the high aeroacoustic noise level resulting from the fan blades and the obstacles facing the airflow. To create a comfortable cabin environment in the vehicle, and to reduce exterior noise emission, a low-noise installation design of the axial fan is required. The purpose of the study is to investigate efficient computational aeroacoustics (CAA) simulation processes to assist the cooling-fan installation design. In this paper we report the current progress of the investigation, where the narrow-band components of the fan noise is focused on. Two methods are used to compute the noise source. In the first method the source is computed from the flow field obtained using the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (unsteady RANS, or URANS) model.

In order to optimize spray layouts of commonly used high-pressure injectors for gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines featuring multi-hole valve seats, a detailed understanding of the cause-effect relation between inner spray hole geometries and inner flow conditions, initializing the process of internal mixture formation, is needed. Therefore, a novel measurement setup, capable of determining spray hole individual mass flow rates, is introduced and discussed. To prove its feasibility, a 2-hole configuration is chosen. The injected fuel quantities are separated mechanically and guided to separate pressure tight measurement chambers. Each measurement chamber allows for time resolved mass flow rate measurements based on the HDA measurement principle (German: “Hydraulisches Druck-Anstiegsverfahren”).

The fuel-independent particulate emissions of a direct injection gasoline engine were investigated. This was done by running the engine with reference gasoline at four different loads and then switching to hydrogen or methane port fuel operation and comparing the resulting particulate emissions and their size distribution. Differences in the combustion characteristics of hydrogen and gasoline were accounted for by diluting the inlet air with nitrogen and matching the pressure or heat release traces to those of gasoline operation. Methane operation is expected to generate particulate emissions lower by several orders of magnitude compared to gasoline and hydrogen does not contribute to carbon soot formation because of the lack of carbon atoms in the molecule. Thus, any remaining particulate emissions at hydrogen gas operation must arise from non fuel related sources, e.g. from lubrication oil, metal abrasion or inlet air.

This paper presents the development of a novel direct coil cooling approach which can enable high performance for electric traction motor, and in further significantly reduce motor losses. The proposed approach focuses on bypassing critical thermal resistances in motor by cooling coils directly in stator slots with oil flow. Firstly, the basic configuration and features are shown: sealed stator slots to air gap, pressure reservoirs on both side of the slots and slot channels for oil flow. The key to enhance thermal performance of the motor here is based on introducing fluid guiding structure in the slot channels. Next, heat transfer in the channel with guiding structure is investigated by CFD and compared with bare slot channel without guiding structure. For studying the effectiveness of proposed cooling concept, numerical analysis is conducted to compare it with HEV favored oil impingement cooling.

The phenomenon of three-dimensional flow separation is and has been in the focus of many researchers. An improved understanding of the physics and the driving forces is desired to be able to improve numerical simulations and to minimize aerodynamic drag over bluff bodies. To investigate the sources of separation one wants to understand what happens at the surface when the flow starts to detach and the upwelling of the streamlines becomes strong. This observation of a flow leaving the surface could be captured by investigating the limiting streamlines and surface parameters as pressure, vorticity or the shear stress. In this paper, numerical methods are used to investigate the surface pressure and flow patterns on a sedan passenger vehicle. Observed limiting streamlines are compared to the pressure distribution and their correlation is shown. For this investigation the region behind the antenna and behind the wheel arch, are pointed out and studied in detail.

Due to the new CO2 targets for vehicles, electrification of powertrains and operation strategies for electrified powertrains have drawn more attention. This article presents a predictive multi-objective operation strategy for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which simultaneously minimizes the fuel consumption and the cycle aging of traction batteries. This proposed strategy shows better performance by using predictive information and high robustness to inaccuracy of predictive information. In this work, the benefits of the developed operation strategies are demonstrated in a strong hybrid electric vehicle (sHEV) with P2-configuration. For the cycle aging of a lithium-ion battery, an empirical model is built up with Gaussian processes based on experimental data.

The current trend toward more fuel efficient vehicles with lower emission levels has prompted development of new combustion techniques for use in gasoline engines. Stratified combustion has been shown to be a promising approach for increasing the fuel efficiency. However, this technique is hampered by drawbacks such as increased particulate and standard emissions. This study attempts to address the issues of increased emission levels by investigating the influence of high frequency ionizing ignition systems, 350 bar fuel injection pressure and various tumble levels on particulate emissions and combustion characteristics in an optical SGDI engine operated in stratified mode on isooctane. Tests were performed at one engine load of 2.63 bar BMEP and speed of 1200 rpm. Combustion was recorded with two high speed color cameras from bottom and side views using optical filters for OH and soot luminescence.

The automotive trends of vehicles with lower aerodynamic drag and more powerful drivetrains have caused increasing concern regarding stability issues at high speeds, since more streamlined bodies show greater sensitivity to crosswinds. This is especially pronounced for high vehicles, such as sports utility vehicles. Besides, the competitiveness in the automotive industry requires faster development times and, thus, a need to evaluate the high speed stability performance in an early design phase, preferable using simulation tools. The usefulness of these simulation tools partly relies on realistic boundary conditions for the wind and quantitative measures for assessing stability without the subjective evaluation of experienced drivers. This study employs an on-road experimental measurements setup to define relevant wind conditions and to find an objective methodology to evaluate high speed stability.

Increasing injection pressures together with Diesel fuel lubricated Common Rail pumps replacing oil lubricated systems demand a more sophisticated investigation of robustness and durability against particle contamination of fuel. The established way of requiring filtration efficiency levels per lab standard is not significant enough if we look at variable factors like vibration of the fuel filter and viscosity of the fuel. Because these and other factors tremendously influence filtration efficiency, future Diesel FIE cleanliness requirements will need to define an allowable contamination limit downstream of the filter. More precisely, this is not a scalar limit but a contamination collective that considers the varying vehicle filtration and operating environment. This paper describes a procedure for defining allowable contamination limits of the FIE components. The procedure includes sensitivity, robustness and “key life” tests.

Environmental consciousness and tightening emissions legislation push the market share of electronic fuel injection within a dynamically growing world wide small engines market. Similar to automotive engines during late 1980's, this opens up opportunities for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and suppliers to jointly advance small engines performance in terms of fuel economy, emissions, and drivability. In this context, advanced combustion system analyses from automotive engine testing have been applied to a typical production motorcycle small engine. The 125cc 4-stroke, 2-valve, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine with closed-loop lambda-controlled electronic port fuel injection was investigated in original series configuration on an engine dynamometer. The test cycle fuel consumption simulation provides reasonable best case fuel economy estimates based on stationary map fuel consumption measurements.

Engine Start/Stop systems reduce CO₂ emissions by turning off the combustion engine at vehicle standstill. This avoids the injection of fuel that would otherwise be needed simply to overcome internal combustion engine losses. As a next development step, engine losses at higher vehicle speeds are to be addressed. During deceleration, state-of-the-art engine technology turns off fuel injection as soon as the driver releases the gas pedal, thus the combustion engine is motored by the vehicle. The engine's drag torque could be desired by the driver, e.g., as a brake assist during downhill driving. However, quite frequently the driver wishes to coast at almost constant speed. Similar to Start/Stop operation, in such situations fuel is injected to simply overcome the combustion engine's drag torque. An operation mode referred to as "Free-Wheeling" reduces CO₂ emissions under such coasting conditions by disconnecting the combustion engine from the powertrain and by turning it off.