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In this paper, the MDO analysis is applied to the design integration in terms of NVH and crash safety. Considering the difference of characteristics in these two fields, all the design variables are used to construct the response surfaces in the NVH analysis, while for crash safety analysis, these design variables are split into three groups, front, side and rear, to reduce the computational cost. Many of the structure performance indices in the NVH and crash safety fields are included as the constraints in the MDO analysis, which proves that the design integration of these two fields through MDO analysis is feasible. A comparison of crash safety optimization and crash safety-NVH MDO is done through a parallel-coordinate diagram. The difference provides the CAE engineers to find the guidance to modify the original design architecture.

An experimental investigation of the use of an engine coolant exchange system for prewarming diesel engines before cold starting is discussed. This coolant exchange system involves connecting the coolant system of a fully warmed-up and running engine (e.g., a spark ignition engine) to that of the cold diesel to be started using hydraulic hoses with quick connect fittings and an auxiliary pump. The investigation was performed using a 4,3 liter V6 indirect injection diesel engine since this represents a difficult case for cold starting. The starting characteristics using the coolant exchange technique are compared to those using the production glow plug system, which includes a fuel heater and afterglow. It is shown that the coolant exchange system allows this engine to be started down to −26 °C, much colder than the −13°C limit for the production glow plug system.