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From the viewpoint of primary energy diversification and CO2 reduction, interests of using Biomass Fuel are rising. Some kinds of FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester), which are obtained from oil fats like vegetable oil using transesterification reaction with methanol, are getting Palm Oilpular for bio-diesel recently. In this study, we have conducted many experiments of palm oil hydrogenations using our pilot plants, and checked the reactivity and the pattern of product yields. As a result, we figured out that the hydrocarbon oil equivalent to the conventional diesel fuel can be obtained from vegetable oils in good yield under mild hydrogenation conditions. Moreover, as a result of various evaluations for the hydrogenated palm oil (oxidation stability, lowtemperature flow property, LCA, etc.), we found that the hydrogenated palm oil by our technology has performances almost equivalent to conventional diesel fuel.

Trivalent chromate coating is replacing the conventional hexavalent chromate coating applied on zinc plating. Zinc plating uses one of three types of plating baths (zincate, cyanide and chloride) according to the characteristics required of subject parts. It has been recognized that trivalent chromate coating provides different corrosion resistance depending on the type of zinc plating bath used. Zinc plating with chromate coating were analyzed to clarify the cause of the corrosion resistance variation with the type of zinc plating bath. It has been revealed that the chromate coating thickness and the condition of top SiO2 layer vary with the type of zinc plating bath, resulting in corrosion resistance variation.

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.

Automotive control systems such as powertrain control interact with the open physical environment, and from this nature, expensive prototyping is indispensable to capture a deep understanding of the system requirements and to develop the corresponding control software. Model-based development (MBD) has been promoted to improve productivity by virtual prototyping. Even with MBD, systematic validation of the software specification remains as a major challenge and it still depends heavily on individual engineers' skill and knowledge. Though the introduction of graphical software modeling improved the situation, it requires much time to identify the primal functions, so-called “design interests”, from a large complex model where irrelevant components are mixed with, and to validate it properly.

In order to clarify future automobile technologies and fuel qualities to improve air quality, second phase of Japan Clean Air Program (JCAPII) had been conducted from 2002 to 2007. Predicting improvement in air quality that might be attained by introducing new emission control technologies and determining fuel qualities required for the technologies is one of the main issues of this program. Unregulated material WG of JCAPII had studied unregulated emissions from gasoline and diesel engines. Eight gaseous hydrocarbons (HC), four Aldehydes and three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were evaluated as unregulated emissions. Specifically, emissions of the following components were measured: 1,3-Butadiene, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, Ethylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethyl-benzene, n-Hexane, Styrene as gaseous HCs, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein, Benzaldehyde as Aldehydes, and Benzo(a)pyrene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene, Benzo(k)fluoranthene as PAHs.

The new eight-speed automatic transmission direct shift-8AT (UA80) is the first automatic transmission to be developed based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) design philosophy. Commonizing or optimizing the main components of the UA80 enables compatibility with a wide torque range, including both inline 4-cylinder and V6 engines, while shortening development terms and minimizing investment. Additionally, it has superior packaging performance by optimizing the transmission size and arrangement achieving a low gravity center. It contributes to Vehicle’s attractiveness by improving driving performance and NVH. At the same time, it drastically improves fuel economy and quietness.

The purpose of this paper is to construct the thermal analysis model by measuring and estimating the temperature at the traction contact area. For measurement of temperature, we have used a thin-film temperature sensor. For estimation of temperature, we have composed the thermal analysis model. The thin-film temperature sensor was formed on the contact surface using a spattering device. The sensor is constituted of three layers (sensor layer, insulation layer and intermediate layer). Dimensions of the sensor were sufficiently smaller than the traction contact area. The sensor featured high specific pressure capacity and high speed responsiveness. The thermal analysis model was mainly composed of three equations: Carslaw & Jaeger equation, Rashid & Seireg equation and heat transfer equation of shear heating in oil film. The heat transfer equation involved two models (local shear heating model at middle plane, homogeneous shear heating model).

In an evaluation of crashworthiness for the cars made of aluminum alloys, the evaluation considering fracture phenomenon comes to be needed because conventional aluminum alloys have low fracture strain (10-20%). In case of the development of a B-Pillar made by die cast, if crack occurrence, furthermore, separation of a part can be estimated by using CAE in crashworthiness evaluations, we can reduce the number of prototype makings and the cost of development using expensive dies. Therefore, we performed crashworthiness evaluations by CAE using some sort of a damage & fracture material model. It is known as “Orthotropic damage & fracture model”.

Aisin AW (AW) and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) have developed a new RWD 6 speed automatic transmission, AWR6B45(AC60), suitable for SUV’s and LDT’s in the worldwide market, not only for North America but also for other countries including emerging nations. This 6 speed automatic transmission has achieved low cost, equivalent to AW and TMCs’ current 5 speed automatic transmission, while realizing improvement in both fuel economy and driving performance against current in-house 5-speed automatic transmissions, in addition to satisfying both toughness against various usage and light weight/compactness. They are accomplished by using a compact gear train structure, the latest efficiency improvement technologies, and a high-response, compact hydraulic control system. In addition, the compactness of this 6 speed automatic transmission enables it to replace current 4 speed and 5 speed automatic transmissions for various engine applications.

Recently, global warming and energy security have received significant attention. Thus an improvement of the vehicle fuel economy is strongly required. For engines, one effective way is to improve the engine thermal efficiency. Raising compression ratio [1] or turbo charging technologies have potential to achieve high thermal efficiency. However knock does not allow the high thermal efficiency. Knock depends on the fuel composition and the pressure and temperature history of unburnt end-gas [2-3]. For fuels, RON is well known for describing the anti knock quality. High RON fuels have high anti knock quality and result in higher thermal efficiency. This paper investigates the impact of high RON fuels on the thermal efficiency by using high compression ratio engine, turbo charged engine, and lean boosted engine [4]. Finally, it is shown that the high thermal efficiency can be approached with high RON gasoline and ethanol.

In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions, governments are increasingly mandating the use of various levels of biofuels. While this is strongly supported in principle within the energy and transportation industries, the impact of these mandates on the transport stock’s CO2 emissions and overall operating efficiency has yet to be fully explored. This paper provides information on studies to assess biodiesel influences and effects on engine performance, driveability, emissions and fuel consumption on state-of-the-art Euro IV compliant Toyota Avensis D4-D vehicles with DPNR aftertreatment systems. Two fuel matrices (Phases 1 & 2) were designed to look at the impact of fuel composition on vehicle operation using a wide range of critical parameters such as cetane number, density, distillation and biofuel (FAME) level and type, which can be found within the current global range of Diesel fuel qualities.

Since ethanol is a renewable source of energy and it contributes to lower CO2 emissions, ethanol produced from biomass is expected to increase in use as an alternative fuel. It is recognized that for spark ignition (SI) engines ethanol has advantages of high octane number and high combustion speed and has a disadvantage of difficult startability at low temperature. This paper investigates the influence of ethanol fuel on SI engine performance, thermal efficiency, and emissions. The combustion characteristics under cold engine conditions are also examined. Ethanol has high anti-knock quality due to its high octane number, and high latent heat of evaporation, which decreases the compressed gas temperature during the compression stroke. In addition to the effect of latent heat of evaporation, the difference of combustion products compared with gasoline further decreases combustion temperature, thereby reducing cooling heat loss.

In order to achieve the Toyota Environmental Challenge of 2050 (zero CO2 emissions), we have developed an innovative coating system that achieves more than 95% transfer efficiency. In order to reduce paint loss in the painting process, it is necessary to eliminate overdust and bounce dust. The most important point is how to spray (atomization, particle flight, adhesion) without shaping air. We have developed a “super high transfer efficiency system” that eliminates the need for shaping air. We continue to challenge the development of innovative technologies to view the paint shop as clean and eco-friendly environment.

In order to achieve good adhesive properties, typical decorative plastic plating technology uses a chromic acid process that creates an anchor effect. Due to environmental concerns with hexavalent chromium, there is a need to find alternative processes. Pretreatment using highly concentrated ozonized water was investigated as a novel approach to achieving this goal. In the conventional chromic acid process, strong adhesion between plating membranes is achieved by roughing the ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin surface by approximately 1 um. On the other hand, the highly concentrated ozonized water process achieves good adhesion with a smooth resin by changing the resin from ABS to ASA (acrylate-styrene-acrylonitrile). It was discovered that the difference in this strength of adhesion was the difference in resin surface strength (existence of deterioration or otherwise).

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC) systems for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) require both performance and durability. Carbon is the typical support material used for PEFC catalysts. However, hydrogen starvation at the anode causes high electrode potential states (e.g., 1.3 V with respect to the reversible hydrogen electrode) that result in severe carbon support corrosion. Serious damage to the carbon support due to hydrogen starvation can lead to irreversible performance loss in PEFC systems. To avoid such high electrode potentials, FCV PEFC systems often utilize cell voltage monitor systems (CVMs) that are expensive to use and install. Simplifying PEFC systems by removing these CVMs would help reduce costs, which is a vital part of popularizing FCVs. However, one precondition for removing CVMs is the adoption of a durable support material to replace carbon.

In order to determine the main factors causing the mileage-related increase in formaldehyde emission from methanol-fueled vehicles, mileage was accumulated on three types of vehicle, each of which had a different air-fuel calibration system. From exhaust emission data obtained during and after the mileage accumulation, it was found that lean burn operation resulted in by far the highest formaldehyde emission increase. An investigation into the reason for the rise in engine-out formaldehyde emission revealed that deposits in the combustion chamber emanating from the lubricating oil promotes formaldehyde formation. Furthermore it was learnt that an increase in engine-out NOx emissions promotes partial oxidation of unburned methanol in the catalyst, leading to a significant increase in catalyst-out formaldehyde emission.

Three-way catalyst shows high performance under stoichiometric atmosphere. The CeO2-ZrO2 based materials (CZ) are added as a buffer of O2 concentration. To improve the catalyst performance the larger O2 storage capacity (OSC) are needed. Theoretically, the sulfur oxidation-reduction reaction moves oxygen 8 times larger than cerium. We focused on this phenomenon and synthesized Ln2O2SO4 as a new OSC material. The experimental result under model gas shows that the OSC of Ln2O2SO4 is 5 times lager than CZ.

In the 1st generation Toyota "MIRAI" fuel cell stack, carbon protective surface coating is deposited after individual Ti bipolar plate being press-formed into the desired shape. Such a process has relatively low production speed, not ideal for large scale manufacturing. A new coating concept, consisting of a nanostructured composite layer of titanium oxide and carbon particles, was devised to enable the incorporation of both the surface treatment and the press processes into the roll-to-roll production line. The initial coating showed higher than expected contact resistance, of which the root cause was identified as nitrogen contamination during the annealing step that inhibited the formation of the composite film structure. Upon the implementation of a vacuum furnace chamber as the countermeasure, the issue was resolved, and the improved coating could meet all the requirements of productivity, conductivity, and durability for use in the newer generation of fuel cell stacks.

A new after-treatment system called DPNR (Diesel Particulate-NOx Reduction System) has been developed for simultaneous and continuous reduction of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in diesel exhaust gas. This system consists of both a new catalytic technology and a new diesel combustion technology which enables rich operating conditions in diesel engines. The catalytic converter for the DPNR has a newly developed porous ceramic structure coated with a NOx storage reduction catalyst. A fresh DPNR catalyst reduced more than 80 % of both PM and NOx. This paper describes the concept and performance of the system in detail. Especially, the details of the PM oxidation mechanism in DPNR are described.