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Every year the trucking industry demands lighter weight and lower cost truck components. But it is very difficult to achieve both these targets. This paper describes the example of a suspension system design which was conducted by computer simulation, so called CAE. The computer simulation by FEM was used completely to decide the detailed shape of each part. This paper also introduces a casting method to strengthen the aluminum alloy cast using high pressure during casting. By using this method, products have a precise metallographic structure. As a result, both the development cost and period were reduced by over the half the time required of the current system and lighter and strong parts were created.

There are many methods for case hardening such as conventional induction hardening and newly developed electron beam hardening. Electron beam hardening has been adopted in Isuzu and the reliability of engines has been improved. The beam power of the electron beam hardening equipment used was 6 kW. Various conditions of electron beam were scanned across specimens (SCM435H) in order to investigate the influence on hardening properties. As a result, relation between case depth and beam current and relation between case depth and beam scanning time were confirmed. And when the depth exceeded 1 mm, there were cracks in surface melted area. Electron beam hardening was applied to tappets according to the above fundamental experiments, and uniformly hardened layers were obtained. Durability of engines with electron beam hardened tappets was improved twice as much as those with non-hardened tappets.

There is ever an increasing need for weight reduction and high performance of engine (clean smoke and improving fuel economy) To achieve this, recently aluminum castings are used for engine parts such as cylinder heads that construct combustion chamber and are required thermal resistance. This paper describes thermal fatigue tests of aluminum castings that are made under various conditions of cooling rate during solidification, heat treatment, and chemical compositions. It further investigates the influence of material (such as cooling rate, chemical conmposition and heat treatment) and mechanical properties (such as σB, δ, E ) on thermal fatigue life of aluminum castings.

Countour Induction Hardening (CIH) method is in the limelight as a new possible surface refining method for gears as it reduces quenching distortion considerably and increases compressive residual stress. Also, Double Shot Peening (DSP) method, especially its advanced technique of using extensively small shots (less than 100 m) at the secondary peening, enables increased compressive residual stress under the surface of the gears. Therefore, the new Compound Surface Refining Method of using CIH + DSP is expected to give much higher compressive residual stress than the conventional methods. On studying the application of this new method, the authors evaluated their surface-refining characteristics and the fatigue limits.

This paper describes measurement and calculation method for determining pressure on an engine gasket under the static and dynamic condition. At first, the relationship between the strain of the cylinder liner and the pressure on the gasket was determined. Then the strain of the cylinder liner was measured under the static condition as well as under the dynamic condition. The gasket contact pressure was also calculated by computer using FEM model. The calculation results were compared with the measurement results. Finally, the effects of the combustion pressure and heat on the gasket contact pressure were discussed based on the strains.

A torsional damper is attached to a crankshaft to control the torsional vibration of the crankshaft system. However, the damper, which has a rubber part in between a damper mass and a damper hub, possesses a three-dimensional inertia moment and an inertia mass that could excite the crankshaft system. This paper discusses the generating mechanisms of the bending strain on the bolt to fasten the damper hub to the crankshaft, from the measured bolt strains and the measured behavior of the damper mass and the damper hub under the engine operating conditions.

Many analyses of gear rattle caused by drive line resonance have been reported. The fewer number of cases can be observed with analysis of drive-rattle in comparison with that of gear train idling-rattle. This paper introduces the method of evaluating drive-rattle objectively. And this paper introduces the method of specifying gears, which have the large contribution rate to drive-rattle, at a single measurement attempt with a vehicle. This method analyzes the relationship between gear vibration and transmission case vibration. In addition, nonlinear drive-rattle simulation has been developed with consideration given to gear backlash. Therefore, more systematic drive-rattle analysis has become possible.

Vibration behavior of a crankshaft in operation is complicated and difficult to simulate because of oil effects on journals, coupled vibration of crankshaft system parts, combustion and inertia acting on the crankshaft. Particularly, the stiffness and damping of oil film vary with crank angles and thus the numerical analysis must deal with nonlinear vibration. This oil film effects also diversify the vibration modes of the crankshat; the vibration modes in an actual operation differs from that in statically experiment modal analysis. This paper describes a new method developed by the author to analyses, predict, and reduce noise and vibration using several techniques including numerical simulation, finite element method, Sommerfeld concept on oil film effects, and modal frequency response.