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Abstract With the adoption of Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, security and privacy of vehicles are paramount. To avoid tracking while preserving vehicle/driver’s privacy, modern vehicular public key infrastructure provision vehicles with multiple short-term pseudonym certificates. However, provisioning a large number of pseudonym certificates can lead to an enormous growth of Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) during its revocation process. One possible approach to avoid such CRL growth is by relying on activation code (AC)-based solutions. In such solutions, the vehicles are provisioned with batches of encrypted certificates, which are decrypted periodically via the ACs (broadcasted by the back-end system). When the system detects a revoked vehicle, it simply does not broadcast the respective vehicle’s AC. As a result, revoked vehicles do not receive their respective AC and are prevented from decrypting their certificates.

Abstract Windshield glare at night is a safety concern for all drivers. Public transit bus drivers also face another concern about glare caused by interior lighting sources originally designed for passenger safety. The extent to which interior light reflections contribute to glare is unknown. Unique methods for measuring discomfort and disability glare during bus driving were developed. An initial simulation study measured windshield luminance inside of a New Flyer D40LF diesel bus parked in a controlled, artificial, totally darkened test environment. Findings indicated significant disability glare (from elevated luminance) in the drivers’ primary field of view due to interior reflections. Any reduction in contrast would result in less prominent glare if actual driving conditions differ. To assess this, levels of windshield glare were also measured with the bus parked on the roadside under the “background glow” of the urban environment.

Abstract The key issues of automatic emergency braking (AEB) control algorithm are when and how to brake. This article proposes an AEB control algorithm that integrates risk perception (RP) and emergency braking characteristics of professional drivers for rear-end collision avoidance. Using the formulated RP by time to collision (TTC) and time headway (THW), the brake trigger time can be determined. Based on the professional driver fitting (PDF) characteristic, the brake pattern can be developed. Through MATLAB/Simulink simulation platform, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro-NCAP) test scenarios are used to verify the proposed control algorithm. The simulation results show that compared with the TTC control algorithm, PDF control algorithm, and the integrated PDF and TTC control algorithm, the proposed integrated PDF and RP control algorithm has the best performance, which can not only ensure safety and brake comfort, but also improve the road resource utilization rate.

Abstract Wheel chocks are rather simple compliant mechanisms for stabilizing vehicles at rest. However, chocks must be carefully designed given the complex interaction between the chock and the tire/suspension system. Despite their importance for safety, literature is surprisingly limited in terms of what makes a wheel chock efficient. Using simple but reliable quasi-static mechanical models, this study identifies mechanical requirements that help to avoid a number of failure modes associated with many existing wheel chocks. Given that chock grounding is not always possible, a chock’s maximum restraining capacity is only obtained when the wheel is completely supported by the chock. A generic chock profile is proposed to achieve this objective while mitigating undesirable failure modes. The profile is based on fundamental mechanical principles and no assumption is made on the load interaction between the chock and the wheel.

Abstract Personal watercraft (PWC) users and other high-speed watersports participants have sustained rectal and vaginal injuries during falls into the water, herein referred to as water intrusion injuries (WIIs). WIIs result from the rapid introduction of water into these lower body cavities causing injury to the soft tissues of the perineum, rectum, and vagina. While case studies of injured water-skiers and PWC users are reported in the literature, there is little information related to passenger kinematics and pressure exposure during a rearward fall from a PWC. The results of an experimental study of passenger falls from two “high-performance” PWC are presented herein. A human passenger was caused to fall rearward as the PWC was accelerated at maximum throttle starting from idle speed (≈3–4 mph) and planing speeds of ≈20–30 mph. The subject passenger fell from the aft seat position and while standing on the rear platform.

Abstract Automated driving as one of the most anticipated technologies is approaching its market release in the near future. Since several years, the research in the automotive industry is largely focused on its development and presents well-engineered prototypes. The many aspects of this development do not only concern the function and its components itself, but also the proof of safety and assessment for its market release. It is clear that previous methods used for the release of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems are not applicable. In contrast to already released systems, automated driving is not restricted to a certain field of application in terms of driving scenarios it has to take action in. This results in an infeasible amount of required testing and unforeseeable scenarios the function can face throughout its lifetime. In this article, we show a scenario-based approach that promises to overcome those challenges.

Abstract This article investigates the dynamics of non-smooth and nonlinear oscillations of a bicycle-car model, considering the tire-road separation. Road contact applies a non-holonomic constrain on the dynamics system that makes the equations of motion to be different under in-contact and off-contact conditions. The set of nonlinear equations of the system has been formulated based on nondimensionalization to minimize the number of parameters and generalize the results. To compare the quality of different suspensions in reducing the unpleasant no-contact conditions, we define a contact-free fraction indicator to measure the separation fraction time during a cycle of steady-state oscillation. An observation of frequency responses including vertical displacements, the pitch mode, and the domain of contact-free fraction of time has been investigated to clarify engineering design directions.

Abstract When the vehicle is under braking condition in the longitudinal motion, the vehicle body will tilt due to the inertial force in motion. A high amplitude will result in uncomfortable feelings of the occupant, such as nervousness or dizziness. To solve the problem, this article presents an adaptive damping system (ADS), which combines the vehicle anti-pitch compensation control with the mixed skyhook (SH) and acceleration-driven-damper (ADD) control algorithm. This ADS can not only improve the vibration effect of the vertical motion for the vehicle but also consider the longitudinal motion of the vehicle body. In addition, a new damper mechanical hardware-in-the-loop test bench is built to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Abstract The ground-effect problems of loss of thrust and fountain-effect instabilities are quantified. Experiments to control and augment ground-effect lift and stability are presented, including jet momentum reflection and fountain redirection using various types of internal and external underbody ventral strakes. By strategically designing the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) ventral surface, reflection of the impinging fountain momentum is possible so that instead of losing 10% thrust while in ground-effect, remarkably, thrust is augmented 10% or more to a considerable height above the ground, in addition to stabilizing random pitch and roll moments caused by fountain instability.

Abstract A critical component of vehicle dynamic control systems is the accurate and real-time knowledge of the vehicle’s key states and parameters when running on the road. Such knowledge is also essential for vehicle closed-loop feedback control. Vehicle state and parameter estimation has gradually become an important way to soft-sense some variables that are difficult to measure directly using general sensors. In this work, a seven degrees-of-freedom (7-DOF) nonlinear vehicle dynamics model is established, where consideration of the Magic formula tire model allows us to estimate several vehicle key states using a hybrid algorithm containing an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) and a genetic algorithm (GA). An estimator based on the hybrid algorithm is compared with an estimator based on just a UKF. The results show that the proposed estimator has higher accuracy and fewer computation requirements than the UKF estimator.

Abstract In this article, a hierarchical coordinated control algorithm for integrating active rear steering and driving/braking force distribution (ARS+D/BFD) was presented. The upper-level control was synthesized to generate the required rear steering angle and external yaw moment by using a sliding-mode controller. In the lower-level controller, a control allocation algorithm considering driving/braking actuators and tire forces constraints was designed to assign the desired yaw moment to the four wheels. To this end, an optimization problem including several equality and inequality constraints were defined and solved analytically. Finally, computer simulation results suggest that the proposed hierarchical control scheme was able to help to achieve substantial enhancements in handling performance and stability.

Abstract Advanced passenger vehicles are complex dynamic systems that are equipped with several actuators, possibly including differential braking, active steering, and semi-active or active suspensions. The simultaneous use of several actuators for integrated vehicle motion control has been a topic of great interest in literature. To facilitate this, a technique known as control allocation (CA) has been employed. CA is a technique that enables the coordination of various actuators of a system. One of the main challenges in the study of CA has been the representation of actuator dynamics in the optimal CA problem (OCAP). Using model predictive control allocation (MPCA), this problem has been addressed. Furthermore, the actual dynamics of actuators may vary over the lifespan of the system due to factors such as wear, lack of maintenance, etc. Therefore, it is further required to compensate for any mismatches between the actual actuator parameters and those used in the OCAP.

Abstract As automated driving technology is evolving quickly and becomes more widely deployed, it is essential to validate the Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF) of Automated Vehicles (AVs) prior to mass production. In general, an exhaustive real-world scenario validation of AVs is considered infeasible due to excessive time consumption. Additionally, simulation tests alone are often regarded as inadequate since it is difficult to model the system and physical properties of vehicles with full fidelity. Therefore, a SOTIF validation method for AVs is proposed in this article, which consists of structure design and scenario determination. A mature, systematic, and complete set of testing and evaluation procedures is presented in structure design, and a scenario generation method is introduced in scenario determination. The SOTIF validation method takes advantage of both simulation tests and on-road tests.

Abstract The crush energy is a key parameter to determine the delta-V in accident reconstructions. Since an accurate car crush profile can be obtained from 3D scanners, this research aims at validating the methods currently used in calculating crush energy from a crush profile. For this validation, a finite element (FE) car model was analyzed using various types of impact conditions to investigate the theory of energy-based accident reconstruction. Two methods exist to calculate the crush energy: the work based on the barrier force and the work based on force calculated by the vehicle acceleration times the vehicle mass. We show that the crush energy calculated from the barrier force was substantially larger than the internal energy calculated from the FE model. Whereas the crush energy calculated from the vehicle acceleration was comparable to the internal energy of the FE model.

Abstract Truck crashes on Wyoming mountain passes due to brake heating has been a long-standing issue due to the steep downgrades that characterize some routes in the state. The grade severity rating system (GSRS) developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to recommend maximum safe speeds has been identified as a viable countermeasure to reducing the incidence of downgrade truck crashes. However, several decades have passed since the GSRS was developed. In the decades since its development, truck features have undergone radical changes in terms of design. The streamlined design of tractors and trailers, use of drag reduction devices, changes in engine features, and adoption of radial tires have led to a reduction in the non-brake forces that retard motion. Truck brakes have also changed along with retarder characteristics. This has meant that maximum safe speeds recommended by the GSRS have been conservative.

Abstract The first objective of this study, addressed in Part 1, is to use finite element (FE) human body modeling (HBM) to evaluate the tangent of the Belt-to-Pelvis angle (tanθBTP) as a submarining predictor in frontal crashes for occupants in reclined seats. The second objective, addressed in Part 2, is to use this predictor to assess two technical solutions for reducing submarining risks for two different occupant anthropometries. In Part 1, tanθBTP (the lap belt penetration from the anterior superior iliac spine [ASIS] in the abdominal direction) was evaluated in impact simulations with varying seat belt anchor positions. Sled simulations with a 56 km/h full-frontal crash pulse were performed with the SAFER HBM morphed to the anthropometry of a small female and average male. A correlation was found between the submarining predictor and submarining.

Abstract The automotive industry offers many applications for machine learning (ML), in general, and deep neural networks in particular. However, the real-world deployment of neural networks into safety-critical components remains a challenge as models would need to offer robustness under a wide range of operating conditions. In this work, we focus on uncertainty estimation, which can be used to deliver predictors that fail gracefully, by detecting situations where their predictions are unreliable. Following Gräber et al. [1], we use Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) to perform sideslip angle estimation. To perform robust uncertainty estimation, we augment the RNNs with generative models. We demonstrate the advantage of the proposed model architecture over Monte Carlo (MC) dropout [2] on the Revs data set [3].

Abstract Sustainable practices are taking precedence across many industries, as evident from their shift towards the use of environmentally responsible materials, such as natural fiber-reinforced acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (NF-AESO). However, due to the lower reactivity of AESO, the curing reaction usually requires higher temperatures and longer curing time (e.g., 150°C for 6-12 h), thus making the entire process unsustainable. In this study, we demonstrate the potential power of photons towards manufacturing NF-AESO composites in a sustainable manner at room temperature (RT) within 10 min. Two photoinitiators, i.e., the 2,2-dimethoxy phenylacetophenone (DMPA) and 1-hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (HCPK), were evaluated and compared with the thermal initiator, i.e., tert-butyl perbenzoate (TBPB). Based on the mechanical performance of the AESOs, the photoinitiation system for NF-AESO was optimized.

Abstract This article focuses on the development of a two-way coupled methodology to predict gear temperature of oil jet lubricated transmissions using commercial software for computational fluid dynamics simulation. The proposed methodology applies an overset mesh technique to model the gear interlocking motion, multiphase of air-oil mixture, and heat transfer. Two gear pairs were used to develop and validate the methodology, an overdrive helical gear pair of a commercial vehicle transmission and a standard spur gear pair. Different oil jet lubrication methods were investigated using the proposed methodology, such as oil jet directed at the into-mesh position and at the out-of-mesh position. This investigation showed that out of mesh lubrication direction shows better cooling performance which is in well agreement with previous studies of literature.

Abstract The external driving environment of an autonomous driving vehicle is complex and changeable. In this article, the trajectory tracking control with obstacle avoidance based on model predictive control was presented. Specifically, double-level control scheme by controlling the front steering angle was used in our research, and the double level is composed of the high level of model predictive controller for local trajectory planning and low level of model predictive controller for trajectory tracking. At high level, the local trajectory planner based on the point-mass model was designed. Then, at low level, the linear time-varying vehicle dynamics model was presented, and the trajectory tracking controller was proposed considering control variable, control increment, and output constraint. Finally, the trajectory tracking performance was tested in co-simulation environment with CarSim and Simulink, and the tracking errors were analyzed.