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Real-time simulation of truck and trailer combinations can be applied to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems for developing and testing electronic control units (ECUs). The large number of configuration variations in vehicle and axle types requires the simulation model to be adjustable in a wide range. This paper presents a modular multibody approach for the vehicle dynamics simulation of single track configurations and truck-and-trailer combinations. The equations of motion are expressed by a new formula which is a combination of Jourdain's principle and the articulated body algorithm. With the proposed algorithm, a robust model is achieved that is numerically stable even at handling limits. Moreover, the presented approach is suitable for modular modeling and has been successfully implemented as a basis for various system definitions. As a result, only one simulation model is needed for a large variety of track and trailer types.

Rapid control prototyping (RCP) is a widely used technique for verifying a controller's functional behavior. Typically, RCP uses a target processor with ample processing power and memory, which makes the technique attractive for engineers exploring new concepts. Presenter Thomas Erkkinen, MathWorks Inc.

There are several variables to consider when specifying a hydraulic hybrid system in a commercial vehicle. Parameters which can be controlled include various component sizes and some hybrid system calibration parameters. Presenter Paul Schwark, Bosch Rexroth AG

This paper presents an extension of our earlier work on Cummins Vehicle Mission Simulation (VMS) software. Previously, we presented VMS as a Windows based analysis tool to simulate vehicle missions quickly and to gauge, communicate, and improve the value proposition of Cummins engines to customers. Presenter Nagesh Belludi, Cummins Inc.

Abstract Exhaust manifolds are one of the most important components on the engine assembly, which is mounted on engine cylinder head. Exhaust manifolds connect exhaust ports of cylinders to the turbine for turbocharged diesel engine therefore they play a significant role in the performance of engine system. Exhaust manifolds are subjected to very harsh thermal loads; extreme heating under very high temperatures and cooling under low temperatures. Therefore designing a durable exhaust manifold is a challenging task. Computer aided engineering (CAE) is an effective tool to drive an exhaust manifold design at the early stage of engine development. Thus advanced CAE methodologies are required for the accurate prediction of temperature distribution. However, at the end of the development process, for the design verification purposes, various tests have to be carried out in engine dynamometer cells under severe operating conditions.

Abstract The development, analysis, and optimization of battery electric class-7 heavy-duty trucks equipped with multi-speed transmissions are discussed in this paper. The designs of five new traction motors-fractional-slot, concentrated winding machines-are proposed for use in heavy-duty electric trucks. The procedure for gear-ratio range selection is outlined and ranges of gear ratios for three-to six-speed transmission powertrains are calculated for each of the proposed electric traction motors. The simulation and gear-ratio optimization tasks for class-7 battery electric trucks are formulated. The energy consumption of the e-truck with the twenty possible powertrain combinations is minimized over the four driving cycles and the most efficient powertrain layouts that meet the performance criteria are recommended.

Abstract A methodology for the development of catalyst models is presented. Also, a methodology of the implementation of such models into a modular simulation tool, which simulates the units in succession, is presented. A case study is presented illustrating how suitable models can be found and used for simulations. Such simulations illustrate the behavior of the individual units and the overall system. It is shown how, by simulating the units in succession, the entire after treatment system can be tested and optimized, because the integration makes it possible to observe the effect of the modules on one another.

Abstract In this article, a unique design for Hydro-Pneumatic Energy Harvesting Suspension HPEHS system is introduced. The design includes a hydraulic rectifier to maintain one-way flow direction in order to obtain maximum power generation from the vertical oscillation of the suspension system and achieve handling and comfort car drive. A mathematical model is presented to study the system dynamics and non-linear effects for HPEHS system. A simulation model is created by using Advanced Modeling Environment Simulations software (AMEsim) to analyze system performance. Furthermore, a co-simulation platform model is developed using Matlab-Simulink and AMEsim to optimize the PID controller parameters of the external variable load resistor applied on the generator by using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).

Abstract Reliability analysis of a large-scale system under random dynamic loads can be a very time-consuming task since it requires repeated studies of the system. In many engineering problems, for example, wave loads on an offshore platform, the excitation loads are defined using a power spectral density (PSD) function. For a given PSD function, one needs to generate many time histories to make sure the excitation load is modeled accurately. Global and local approximation methods are available to predict the system response efficiently. Each way has their advantages and shortcomings. The combined approximations (CA) method is an efficient method, which combines the advantages of local and global approximations. This work demonstrates two methodologies that utilize CA to reduce the cost of crude or separable Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) of linear dynamic systems when the excitation loads are defined using PSD functions.

Abstract A new concept of instantaneous wheel turn center (IWTC) is proposed to evaluate and improve multi-axle vehicle steering coordination performance. The concept of IWTC and its calculation method are studied. The index named dispersion of IWTC is developed to evaluate the vehicle steering coordination performance quantitatively. The simulation tests based on a three-axle off-road vehicle model are conducted under different vehicle velocities and lateral accelerations. The simulation results show that the turn centers of different wheels are disperse, and the dispersion becomes larger with the increase of vehicle velocities and lateral acceleration. Since suspension has important influences on vehicle steering performance, the genetic algorithm is used to optimize the suspension hard points and bushing stiffness, aiming at minimizing the dispersion of wheel turn centers (DWTC) to improve the vehicle steering coordination performance.

Abstract This research developed methods for a virtual operator model (VOM) to learn the optimal control inputs for operation of a virtual excavator. Virtual design, used to model, simulate, and test new features, has often been limited by the fidelity of the virtual model of human operators. Human operator learns, over time, the capability, limits, and control characteristics of new vehicles to develop the best strategy to maximize the efficiency of operation. However, VOMs are developed with fixed strategies and for specific vehicle models (VMs) and require time-consuming re-tuning of the VOM for each new vehicle design. Thus, there typically is no capability to optimize strategies, taking account of variation in vehicle capabilities and limitations. A VOM learning capability was developed to optimize control inputs for the swing-to-pile task of a trenching operation. Different control strategies consisted of varied combinations of speed control, position control, and coast.

Abstract Particulates are a major source of emission from diesel engine. They consist of particles of carbon, sulfates, oil, fuel, and water. These constituents are measured by filtering a sample diluted in a partial- or full-flow tunnel and weighing them. It is a general trend for measuring particulate matter (PM) on cycle basis. But 1-D simulation needs complete PM 3-D contour map considering all engine operating region. It is very tedious work for generating PM on each steady-state point on engine test bed. Hence, Filter smoke meter or opacimeter measurements can be used for estimating PM. Filter smoke meters measured the light reflected from a filter paper through which a known volume of exhaust gas was passed. Opacity meters measure light absorbed by a standard column of exhaust. Both equipments measure visible black smoke comparatively at lower expenditure cost. They are designed to control measurement noise, resolution and repeatability with acceptable accuracy level.

Abstract The study of road loads on trucks plays a major role in assessing the effect of heavy-vehicle design on fuel conservation measures. Coastdown testing with full-scale vehicles in the field offers a good avenue to extract drag components, provided that random instrumentation faults and biased environmental conditions do not introduce errors into the results. However, full-scale coastdown testing is expensive, and environmental biases which are ever-present are difficult to control in the results reduction. Procedures introduced to overcome the shortcomings of full-scale field testing, such as wind tunnels and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), though very reliable, mainly focus on estimating the effects of aerodynamic drag forces to the neglect of other road loads which should be considered.

Abstract In order to improve robustness of vehicle dynamic performance, a steering mechanism model is proposed with alignment parameters of front wheel based on preference function method. In the steering mechanism model controllable variables include the trapezoid connection length, the base angle of steering trapezoid, the kingpin inclination angle, caster, camber and uncontrollable variables include load and initial braking velocity. Optimization objective is some vehicle dynamic performance. In the preference function method the individual performance preference and preference aggregation in designing variable space and performance variable space are analyzed. The individual performance preference includes the controllable variable preference, noise factor preference and optimization objective preference. The aggregation function is developed by aggregating all the individual performance preferences.

Abstract This article investigates the fuel savings potential of a series hybrid military truck using a simultaneous battery pack design and powertrain supervisory control optimization algorithm. The design optimization refers to the sizing of the lithium-ion battery pack in the hybrid configuration. The powertrain supervisory control optimization determines the most efficient way to split the power demand between the battery pack and the engine. Despite the available design and control optimization techniques, a generalized mathematical formulation and solution approach for combined design and control optimization is still missing in the literature. This article intends to fill that void by proposing a unified framework to simultaneously optimize both the battery pack size and power split control sequence. This is achieved through a combination of genetic algorithm (GA) and Pontryagin’s minimum principle (PMP) where the design parameters are integrated into the Hamiltonian function.

Abstract To gain a better understanding of the characteristics of corrugation, including the development and propagation of corrugation, and impact of vehicle and track dynamics, a computational model was established, taking into account the nonlinearity of vehicle-track coupling. The model assumes a fixed train speed of 300 km/h and accounts for vertical interaction force components and rail wear effect. Site measurements were used to validate the numerical model. Computational results show that (1) Wheel polygonalisation corresponding to excitation frequency of 545-572 Hz was mainly attributed to track irregularity and uneven stiffness of under-rail supports, which in turn leads to vibration modes of the bogie and axle system in the frequency range of 500-600 Hz, aggregating wheel wear. (2) The peak response frequency of rail of the non-ballasted track coincides with the excitation frequency of wheel-rail coupling; the resonance results in larger wear amplitude of the rail.

This research was to model a 6×4 tractor-trailer rig using TruckSim and simulate severe braking maneuvers with hardware in the loop and software in the loop simulations. For the hardware in the loop simulation (HIL), the tractor model was integrated with a 4s4m anti-lock braking system (ABS) and straight line braking tests were conducted. In developing the model, over 100 vehicle parameters were acquired from a real production tractor and entered into TruckSim. For the HIL simulation, the hardware consisted of a 4s4m ABS braking system with six brake chambers, four modulators, a treadle and an electronic control unit (ECU). A dSPACE simulator was used as the “interface” between the TruckSim computer model and the hardware.

Road vibrations cause fatigue failures in vehicle components and systems. Therefore, reliable and accurate damage and life assessment is crucial to the durability and reliability performances of vehicles, especially at early design stages. However, durability and reliability assessment is difficult not only because of the unknown underlying damage mechanisms, such as crack initiation and crack growth, but also due to the large uncertainties introduced by many factors during operation. How to effectively and accurately assess the damage status and quantitatively measure the uncertainties in a damage evolution process is an important but still unsolved task in engineering probabilistic analysis. In this paper, a new procedure is developed to assess the durability and reliability performance, and characterize the uncertainties of damage evolution of components under constant amplitude loadings.

Through inverse dynamics-based modeling and computer simulations for a 6×6 Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) - a 6×6 truck - in stochastic terrain conditions, this paper analytically presents a coupled impact of different driveline system configurations and a suspension design on vehicle dynamics, including vehicle mobility, and energy efficiency. A new approach in this research work involves an estimation of each axle contribution to the level of potential mobility loss/increase and/or energy consumption increase/ reduction. As it is shown, the drive axles of the vehicle interfere with the vehicle's dynamics through the distribution of the wheels' normal reactions and wheel torques. The interference causes the independent system dynamics to become operationally coupled/fused and thus diminishes vehicle mobility and energy efficiency. The analysis is done by the use of new mobility indices and energy efficiency indices which are functionally coupled/fused.

This paper focuses on the manufacturer's conflict in the conceptual design of commercial vehicles between highly customized special vehicles and the greatest possible degree of standardization. Modularity and standardization are crucial success factors for realizing high variance at the best cost efficiency in development and production as well for achieving the highest quality standards at reduced efforts for technical validation. The presented virtual design approach for commercial vehicle concepts allows for purposeful design and integration of new concepts and technologies on the component level in an existing product portfolio - not neglecting manufacture's portfolio requirements concerning standardization and modularity. The integrated tool chain helps to bring trade-offs to a head that exist in balancing between dedicated vehicles with best customer-relevant characteristics and standardized vehicles with the highest degree of commonality.