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The development of electric vehicles has been progressed, rapidly, to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050. There have been increasing concerns about Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) performance due to increasing power for power trains of vehicles. Because same power train system expands to some vehicles, we have developed numerical simulations in order to predict the vehicle EMC performances. We modeled a vehicle which has inverter noises by numerical simulation to calculate electric fields based on GB/T18387. We simulated the common mode noise which flows through the shielding braid of the high voltage wire harnesses. As a result, it is confirmed a correlation between the electric fields calculated by numerical simulation and the measured one.

This paper presents a design method for continuous fiber composites in three-dimensional space with locally varying orientation distribution and their fabrication method. The design method is formulated based on topology optimization by augmented tensor field design variables. The fabrication method is based on Tailored Fiber Placement technology, whereby a CNC embroidery machine prepares the preform. The fiber path is generated from an optimized orientation distribution field. The preform is formed with vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. The fabricated prototype weighs 120 g, a 70% weight reduction, achieving 3.5× mass-specific stiffness improvement.

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) promises automated and highly efficient charging of electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles. As commercial development proceeds forward, the technical challenges of efficiency, interoperability, interference and safety are a primary focus for this industry. The SAE Vehicle Wireless Power and Alignment Taskforce published the Recommended Practice J2954 to help harmonize the first phase of high-power WPT technology development. SAE J2954 uses a performance-based approach to standardizing WPT by specifying ground and vehicle assembly coils to be used in a test stand (per Z-class) to validate performance, interoperability and safety. The main goal of this SAE J2954 bench testing campaign was to prove interoperability between WPT systems utilizing different coil magnetic topologies. This type of testing had not been done before on such a scale with real automaker and supplier systems.

In order to reduce CO₂, Electric Vehicles (EV) and Hybrid Vehicles (HV) are effective. Those types of vehicles have powertrains from conventional vehicles. Those new powertrains drastically improve their efficiency from conventional vehicles keeping the same or superior power performance. On the other hand, those vehicles have an issue for thermal energy shortage during warming up process. The thermal energy is very large, and seriously affects the fuel economy for HV and the mileage for EV. In this paper, we propose VHDL-AMS multi-domain simulation technique for the estimation of the vehicle performance at the concept planning stage. The VHDL-AMS is IEEE and IEC standardized language, which supports not only multi-domain (physics) but also encryption. The common modeling language and encryption standard is indispensable for full-vehicle simulation.

Toyota has developed a new 2.4L L4 turbo (2.4L-T) engine with 8AT and 1-motor hybrid electric powertrains for midsize pickup trucks. The aim of these powertrains is to fulfill both strict fuel economy and emission regulations toward “Carbon Neutrality”, while exceeding customer expectations. The new 2.4L L4 turbocharged gasoline engine complies with severe Tier3 Bin30/LEVIII SULEV30 emission regulations for body-on-frame midsize pickup trucks improving both thermal efficiency and maximum torque. This engine is matched with a newly developed 8-speed automatic transmission with wide range and close step gear ratios and extended lock-up range to fulfill three trade-off performances: powerful driving, NVH and fuel economy. In addition, a 1-motor hybrid electric version is developed with a motor generator and disconnect clutch between the engine and transmission.

Introducing effective technologies to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector is a critical issue for automotive manufacturers to contribute to sustainable development. Unlike the plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), whose effectiveness is dependent on the carbon intensity of grid electricity, the solar hybrid vehicle (SHV) can be an alternative electric vehicle because of its off-grid, zero-emission electric technology. Its usability is also advantageous because it does not require manual charging by the users. This study aims at evaluating the economic, environmental, and usability benefits of SHV by comparing it with other types of vehicles including PEVs. By setting cost and energy efficiency on the basis of the assumed technology level in 2030, annual cost and annual CO2 emissions of each vehicle are calculated using the daily mileage pattern obtained from a user survey of 5,000 people in Japan and the daily radiation data for each corresponding user.

In 2007, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology successfully completed a Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) experiment. Ever since, interest in WPT has been growing. At Toyota, we have been developing the underlying technology of a WPT system. Simultaneously we have been working with regulatory committees to create a standard for WPT. In particular, there are concerns that WPT’s radiated emissions could cause harm to humans and the neighboring electronic equipment. There are many challenges that need to be overcome, but a key concern is understanding WPT’s electromagnetic compatibility (EMI: Electro-Magnetic Interference and EMF: Electro-Magnetic Field). In this paper, we show the technical issues, the evaluation method, and the development status of EMI and EMF on PHVs/EVs when using WPT. For Electromagnetic interference (EMI) performance, we investigated both an open area test site and an electromagnetic anechoic chamber as evaluation environments.

In order to help avoid or mitigate rear-end collisions a Pre-Collision System (PCS) was developed. The purpose of this study is to clarify the Time-to-Collision (TTC) distribution when approaching a lead vehicle under normal driving condition. To enhance the effectiveness of PCS, warnings and/or automatic brake activation should happen as early as possible, however, if too early there is a high possibility of false warnings or activations, which is not desirable. If the distribution of distance to a lead vehicle under normal driving conditions is quantified, an approach limit can be estimated. In this study, we try to clarify a TTC distribution that is approximated by a log-normal distribution. Then, we investigate the Enhanced Time-to-Collision (ETTC) that is the secondary predictive value of TTC. And, we clarify the log-normal distribution of ETTC is a more stable approximator of normal driving than a log-normal distribution of TTC.

This study aims at the development of a projection pattern that is capable of shortening the time required by a driver to perceive a pedestrian at night when a vehicle’s high beams are utilized. Our approach is based on the spatio-temporal frequency characteristics of human vision. Visual contrast sensitivity is dependent on spatiotemporal frequency, and maximum contrast sensitivity frequency varies depending on environmental luminance. Conventionally, there are several applications that utilize the spatio-temporal frequency characteristics of human vision. For example, the National Television System Committee (NTSC) television format takes into consideration low-sensitivity visual characteristics. In contrast, our approach utilizes high-sensitivity visual characteristics based on the assumption that the higher contrast sensitivity of spatio-temporal frequencies will correlate more effectively with shorter perception times.

Crosscheck tests of fast electrical mobility spectrometers, Differential Mobility Spectroscopy (DMS) and Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer(EEPS), were conducted to evaluate the accuracy of fine particle measurement. Two kinds of particles were used as test particles for the crosscheck test of instruments: particles emitted from diesel vehicles and diluted in a full dilution tunnel, and particles generated by CAST. In the steady state tests, it was confirmed that the average concentration of each instrument was within the range of ±2σ from the average concentration of all the same type of instruments. In the transient tests, it is verified that the instruments have almost equal sensitivity. For application of the fast electrical mobility spectrometers to evaluation of particle number and size distributions, it is essential to develop a calibration method using reference particle counters and sizers (CPC, SMPS, etc.) and maintenance methods appropriate for each model.

To adapt to Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) integration, the significance of protective designs for battery packs against ground impact caused by road debris is very high, and there is also a keen interest in the feasibility assessment technique using Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) tools for prototype-free evaluations. However, the challenge lies in obtaining real-world empirical data to verify the accuracy of the predictive CAE model. Collecting real-world data using actual battery pack can be time-consuming, costly, and accurately ascertaining the precise direction, magnitude, and location of the force applied from the road to the battery pack poses a challenging task. Therefore, in this study, we developed a methodology using machine learning, specifically Gaussian process regression (GPR), to perform inverse analysis of the direction, magnitude, and location of vehicle-road contact forces during rough road conditions.

Vehicles equipped with in-wheel motors (IWMs) are capable of independent control of the driving force at each wheel. These vehicles can also control the motion of the sprung mass by driving force distribution using the suspension reaction force generated by IWM drive. However, one disadvantage of IWMs is an increase in unsprung mass. This has the effect of increasing vibrations in the 4 to 8 Hz range, which is reported to be uncomfortable to vehicle occupants, thereby reducing ride comfort. This research aimed to improve ride comfort through driving force control. Skyhook damper control is a typical ride comfort control method. Although this control is generally capable of reducing vibration around the resonance frequency of the sprung mass, it also has the trade-off effect of worsening vibration in the targeted mid-frequency 4 to 8 Hz range. This research aimed to improve mid-frequency vibration by identifying the cause of this adverse effect through the equations of motion.

The strict CO2 emission limit for passenger cars have been set by US, EU, Japan, China and other countries. In order to meet the requirement, it is essential to develop an alternative power source for the future cars. Power generation by solar panels is a promising renewable energy candidate because the most environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are equipped with large-capacity batteries that can be charged with electricity generated by solar panels. The requirements for the solar panels are paintable with desired color and to be lightweight. In this study, we developed a simple lift-off process for producing colorful and lightweight Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells for future automotive application. Our measurements show that the developed lift-off process can provide the lightweight solar panel that have nearly identical performance compared to that of the cell before the lift-off process.

In this paper, we consider smart charging and vehicle-to-home (V2H) technologies for plugin electric vehicles coordinated with home energy management systems (HEMS) for automated demand response. In this system, plugin electric vehicles automatically react to demand response events with or without HEMS’s coordination, while vehicles are charged and discharged (i.e., V2H) in appropriate time slots by taking into account demand response events, time-ofuse rate information, and users’ vehicle usage plan. We introduce three approaches on home energy management: centralized energy control, distributed energy control, and coordinated energy control. We implemented smart charging and V2H systems by employing two sets of standardized communication protocols: one using OpenADR 2.0b, SEP 2.0, and SAE standards and the other using OpenADR 2.0b, ECHONET Lite, and ISO/IEC 15118.

In this paper, we present an implementation of smart charging systems for plug-in electric vehicles based on off-the-shelf communication protocols for smart grids including SAE J2836/2847/J2931 standards and SEP 2.0. In this system, the charging schedule is optimized so that it supplies sufficient electricity for the next trip and also minimizes the charging cost under given time-of-use rate structures while it follows demand response events requested by a utility. Also, users can control charging schedule and check the current status of charging through application software of tablet computers. To validate the effectiveness of the developed smart charging system, we conducted experimental demonstration in which a total of 10 customers of Duke Energy regularly used our developed system for approximately one year with simulated time-of-use rate structures and demand response events.

It is difficult to improve tire cavity noise since the pressure of cavity resonance acts as a compelling force, and its low damping and high gain characteristics dominate the vibration of both the suspension and body. For this reason, the analysis described in this article aimed to clarify the design factors involved and to improve this phenomenon at the source. This was accomplished by investigating the acoustic coupling vibration mode of the wheel, which is the component that transmits the pressure of cavity resonance at first. In addition, the vibration characteristic of suspension was investigated also. A speaker-equipped sound pressure generator inside the tire and wheel assembly was developed and used to infer that wheel vibration under cavity resonance is a forced vibration mode with respect to the cavity resonance pressure distribution, not an eigenvalue mode, and this phenomenon may therefore be improved by optimizing the out-of-plane torsional stiffness of the disk.

Power modules are used to operate three-phase alternating current motors in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. Good fuel efficiency and high power density are required in the field of hybrid vehicles. To achieve this goal, the miniaturization of the power module will be necessary. This trend may make a current density, which is created by insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and free wheel diodes (FWDs), higher in power modules. Solder is often used as the joint material of power modules. It is known that a current density larger than 10 kA/cm2 causes solder electromigration. This phenomenon may cause delamination of the joint area. In addition, the ambient temperature has an influence on electromigration. The temperature of an engine compartment is high, so it is likely to cause electromigration. However, the current density of the double-sided cooling power modules in 2007 with solder joint is lower than 0.4 kA/cm2, and this value is lower than 10 kA/cm2.

As vehicle emission regulations become increasingly rigorous, the automotive industry is accelerating the development of electrified vehicle platforms such as Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). Since the available waste heat from these vehicles is limited, additional heat sources such as electric heaters are needed for cabin heating operation. The use of a heat pump system is one of the solutions to improve EV driving range at cold ambient conditions. In this study, an efficient gas-injection heat pump system has been developed, which achieves high cabin heating performance at low ambient temperature and dehumidification operation without the assistance of electric heaters in ’17 model year Prius Prime.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are attracting attention due to growing awareness of environmental issues such as fossil fuel depletion and global warming. In particular, a wide range of research has examined how direct yaw moment controls (DYCs) can enhance the handling performance of EVs equipped with multiple in-wheel motors (IWMs) or the like. Recently, this research has focused on reducing energy consumption through driving force distribution control. The first report proposed a method to minimize energy consumption through an efficient DYC for extending the cruising range of a vehicle installed with four IWMs, and described the vehicle behavior with this control. Since motors allow high design flexibility, EVs can be developed with a variety of drive systems. For this reason, various driving force distribution control methods can be considered based on the adopted system.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Sugar-to-Diesel as next-generation bio diesel fuels consist of normal and iso-paraffin, and those carbon number of paraffinic hydrocarbons and distillation characteristics are narrow distribution. These characteristics would cause to deteriorate the evaporation and mixture with air and fuel. Therefore, in this study, the effects of normal paraffin (Tridecane) and iso-paraffin (HVO) on emission characteristics and cold start performance in a diesel engine were investigated by engine dynamometer tests, cold start vehicle tests, and spray analyzer tests. From the results, it was found that normal and iso-paraffin are beneficial for HC, CO, Smoke emission reduction. In addition, isomerization is effective for the diesel engine to fulfill cold start performance, since normal paraffin of narrow carbon number distribution became solidified under low temperature and high pressure condition in a common rail system.