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A flag is a global boolean variable used to achieve synchronization between various tasks of an embedded system. An application implementing flags performs actions or events based on the value of the flags. If flag variables are not implemented properly, certain synchronization related issues can arise which can lead to unexpected behavior or failure of the underlying system. In this paper, we present an automated verification technique to identify and verify flag usage patterns at an early stage of code development. We propose a two-step approach which consists of: a. identification of all potential flag variables and b. verification of flag usage patterns against predefined set of rules. The results of our experiment demonstrate that the proposed approach reduces the cost and complexity of the flag review process by almost 70%.

The demands on valve seat insert materials, in terms of providing greater wear-resistance at higher temperatures, enhanced machinability and using non-environmentally hazardous materials at a reasonably low cost have intensified in recent years. Due therefore to these strong demands in the market, research was made into the possibility of producing a new valve seat insert material. As a result a high speed steel based new improved material was developed, which satisfies the necessary required demands and the evaluation trials, using actual gasoline engine endurance tests, were found to be very successful.

Although automotive electronics was initially applied as a substitute for mechanical parts, this technology has the potential to achieve effective combinations of mechanical functions. A case in point is the successful resolution of fuel consumption and exhaust emission problems by effectively integrating engine control and catalyst technologies. LSI technology has also been incorporated into automotive electronics and established as a fundamental engine control tool. Thanks to LSI technology, particularly the use of microprocessor techniques, conventional machine design problems have been transformed into logical design ones. In the next stage of application, automotive electronics is expected to provide further benefits including a more comfortable ride, an improved human-machine system interface, and an advanced communications system between vehicles and other telecommunications stations.

This paper describes the numerical and experimental approaches that were applied to study swirl injectors that are widely used in direct-injection gasoline engines. As the numerical approach, the fuel and air flow inside an injector was first analyzed by using a two-phase flow analysis method [VOF (Volume of Fluid) model]. A time-series analysis was made of the flow though the injector and also of the air cavity that forms at the nozzle and influences fuel atomization. The calculated results made clear the process from initial spray formation to liquid film formation. Spray droplet formation was then analyzed with the synthesized spheroid particle (SSP) method. As the experimental approach, in order to measure the cavity factor that represents the liquid film thickness, nozzle exit flow velocities were measured by particle image velocimetry (PIV).

This paper presents a swiring flow type jet pump which has been developed and in put into practical use in transferring fuel between sumps in saddle-shaped fuel tanks. The pump is driven by the force of excess fuel returning from the engine. The major structural features of the pump are described along with its performance. Various problems encountered in the process of developing the pump are discussed along with the technologies developed to resolve them. Particular attention is focused on the effects that the geometries if the nozzle, throat and swirling groove have on fuel transfer efficiency. The results of experiments carried out to analyze these correlations are also presented.

Since a 4-valve engine is less flexible in the design and location of the intake ports as compared with a conventional 2-valve engine, there are some difficulties in strengthening the air motion, including swirl and turbulence, in order to achieve stable combustion under lean mixture operation. This study examined air motion imporvements of 4-valve engine that result in a stable combustion with a lean mixture. These improvements are brought about by the installation of a swirl control valve in each intake port. The results of this study have clarified that the lean stable limit was extended from an air-fuel ratio of 21.5 to 26.3 under a partial load, by optimizing the location and diameter of aperture of the swirl control valve.

In general, the improvement of vehicle body stiffness involves a trade-off with the body weight. The objective of this research is to derive the lightest-weight solution from the original vehicle model by finding the optimized spot-weld layout and body panel thickness, while keeping the body stiffness and number of spot welds constant. As the first step, a method of deriving the optimal layout of spot welds for maximizing body stiffness was developed by applying the topology optimization method. While this method is generally used in shape optimization of continuous solid structures, it was applied to discontinuous spot-weld positions in this work. As a result, the effect of the spot-weld layout on body stiffness was clarified. In the case of the body used for this research, body stiffness was improved by about 10% with respect to torsion and vertical and lateral bending.

Three Japanese automobile manufacturers-Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd.-have been making efforts over the past three years to design and develop effective thermal reactor-exhaust gas recirculation and catalytic converter systems suitable for small engines. The work is being done by members participating in the IIEC (Inter-Industry Emission Control) Program, and the exhaust emission levels of the concept vehicles developed by these companies have met the goal established by the IIEC Program at low mileage. Each system, however, has a characteristic relationship between exhaust emission level and loss of fuel economy. Much investigation is required, particularly with respect to durability, before any system that will fully satisfy all service requirements can be completed. This paper reports the progress of research and development of the individual concept vehicles.

The key-points in the diffusion bonding technique of green compacts during sintering, are the material compositions, which should be chosen according to their dimensional change during sintering, and the fitting clearance, which should be maintained in the range of press fit. Applying this technique, we have developed sinter-diffusion bonded idler sprockets for automotive engines by comfirming the bonding strength and torsional fatigue strength. And we also have developed a nondestructive analysis method for assuring the joint strength of idler sprockets in the mass production.

This paper describes simultaneous attainment in improving fuel consumption, output power and reducing HC emissions with a direct injection S.I. engine newly developed in Nissan. Straight intake port is adopted to increase discharge coefficient under WOT operation and horizontal swirl flow is generated by a swirl control valve to provide stable stratified charge combustion under part load conditions. As a result, fuel consumption is reduced by more than 20% and power output is improved by approximately 10%. Moreover, unburned HC is reduced by equivalently 30% in engine cold start condition. An application of diagnostic and numerical simulation tools to investigate and optimize various factors are also introduced.

This paper reports attempts to gain better understanding of the influence of bearing wear on the performance of hydrodynamically lubricated bearings. An analysis was carried out on bearings from a Sapphire bearing test rig using an elastohydrodynamic model. This involved the use of both the original and worn bearing surface profiles. The results indicated that bearing wear could improve the lubrication conditions. Also the progress of wear in the bearing was simulated using a simple model of the wear process. This model predicted that the wear would progress at a reducing rate. The predicted wear agreed well with measurements both in terms of the wear profile and the location of wear.

Since the VQ engine series of lightweight, compact, low friction and high response engines was released in 1994, they have been rated highly both at home and abroad. Two new 3.0-liter and 3.5-liter V6 engines have been developed as the second generation of the VQ engine and introduced into the North American market. Continuing the characteristics of the first generation, this new VQ engine series achieves a performance figure of 98Nm/L as a result of adopting part shapes defined with a three-dimensional analysis method. The new VQ30DE engine adopts a plastic intake manifold which incorporates a variable induction system with a rotary valve. The new VQ35DE engine adopts a continuously variable valve timing control system and a long branch intake manifold with an inertial induction system. It also incorporates a new concept piston and a hot coined connecting rod to reduce its reciprocating inertial mass.

The numerical relations between occupant restraint systems and injury indexes were investigated by multi-parameter optimization of an integrated restraint system model of frontal crash simulations. This paper proposes a method of optimizing restraint systems in two types of test configurations: a 35-mph full overlap crash model and a 40-mph 40%-offset crash model.

A variable swirl intake port system for 4 valves/cylinder direct injection diesel engines was developed. This system combines two mutually independent intake ports, one of which is a helical port for generating an ultra-high swirl ratio and the other is a tangential port for generating a low swirl ratio. The tangential port incorporates a swirl control valve that controls the swirl ratio by varying the flow rate. To investigate the performance of the intake port system, steady-state flow tests were conducted in parallel with three-dimensional computations. In conducting the steady-state flow tests, it was found that a paddle wheel flow sensor was not suitable for evaluating the characteristics of the high-swirl port and that it was necessary to use an impulse swirl flow meter.

Achieving a multi-cylinder engine with excellent noise/vibration character sties and low friction at the main bearings requires an optimal design not only for the crankshaft construction but also for the bearing support system of the cylinder block. To accomplish that, it is necessary to understand crankshaft system behavior and the bearing load distribution for each of the main bearings. Crankshaft system behavior has traditionally been evaluated experimentally because of the difficulty in performing calculations to predict resonance behavior over the entire engine speed range. A coupled crankshaft-block analysis method has been developed to calculate crankshaft system behavior by treating vibration and lubrication in a systematic manner. This method has the feature that the coupled behavior of the crankshaft and the cylinder block is analyzed by means of main bearing lubrication calculations. This paper presents the results obtained with this method.

As the quietness of vehicles has been continually improved in recent years, there have been stronger requirements to reduce transmission gear noise and thereby improve transmission quality. So far efforts to achieve quieter gears have generally focused on ways of reducing the excitation forces of individual gears. In addition to these traditional methods, there is a greater need today to adopt a new approach to gear noise reduction in which improvements are made to the gear train itself as the transmitter of vibration in the transmission. This paper describes the systematic approach taken to reduce the overall gear noise of the new RE4F04A four-speed automatic transaxle.The cross-sectional view is shown in Fig. 1. The vibration characteristics of this automatic transaxle were first identified by finite element analysis, and an investigation was made of a gear train structure that would be effective in reducing gear noise.

Road Noise is generated by the change of random displacement input inside the tire contact patch. Since the existing 3 or 6 directional electromagnetic shakers have a flat surface at the tire contact patch, these shakers cannot excite the vehicle in a manner representative of actual on-road road noise input. Therefore, this paper proposes a new experimental method to measure the road noise vehicle transfer function. This method is based on the reciprocity between the tire contact patch and the driver's ear location. The reaction force sensor of the tire contact patch is newly developed for the reciprocal loud speaker excitation at the passenger ear location. In addition, with this equipment, it is possible to extract the dominant structural mode shapes creating high sound pressure in the automotive interior acoustic field. This method is referred to as experimental structure mode participation to the noise of the acoustic field in the vibro-acoustic coupling analysis.

Improving the durability and reliability of crankshaft bearings has become an important issue for automotive engines recently because of conflicting demands for lower fuel consumption and higher power output. This study focused on the connecting rod big-end bearing which is subjected to harsher operating conditions on account of these requirements. It is known that the crank pin journal temperature is an indicator of big-end bearing seizure. Having a simple method for predicting the crank pin journal temperature with the required accuracy at the design stage is indispensable to efficient engine development. In this study, analyses were first conducted to determine the oil flow rate at the big-end bearing which is a major determinant of the crank pin journal temperature.

Hydraulic engine mounts(HEM) are replacing conventional rubber mounts to provide better ride quality and to reduce noise. However, detailed analysis of the HEM is needed to predict ideal performance conditions. In this study, the optimum design of a HEM is modelled using design optimization theory for a dynamic absorber. After determining ideal behavior by simulation, an experimental mounts is designed and tested to verify the model.

The use of higher output engines and more auxiliary units is resulting in greater heat generation in the engine compartment. At the same time, design trends and demands for improved aerodynamic performance are diminishing the cooling air flow rate. These two sets of factors are making the thermal environment in the engine compartment more severe. In this work, heat flow in the engine compartment was investigated by numerical analysis and flow visualization, and flow control devices were devised for optimizing the temperature distribution. This paper discusses the heat flow optimization techniques and presents the results obtained in experiments with an actual vehicle.