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In recent studies, the health implications of ultra fine particle emissions from vehicles have been investigated in a number of international studies. The adverse health effects are not only dependent on total particulate mass but also on other attributes including size, number and surface area of the particles. These ultra fine particles cause more adverse effect than larger particles. With this need UNECE GRPE had launched a Particulate Measurement Program (PMP) to formulate the regulation to control both particulate mass and number of ultra fine particles. These new regulations are applicable to the diesel and gasoline direct injection passenger cars and heavy duty engines of Euro-V/VI technology. However, at present the other vehicle categories and alternate fuels are not been covered. Limited experiments have been carried-out on the in-use vehicles which are with old technologies.

Environmental pollution is of great concern; hence the emission norms for the diesel engines are made more stringent. The purpose of this work is to develop a process to optimize the FIS parameters and select a most suitable FIS by simulation to meet the target emissions. During the combustion optimization exercise of diesel engine, different hardware combinations like injector, HPP etc are matched through testing to achieve the required performance and emissions. The process requires the real testing of the engine on engine dynamometer with various hardware combinations, which is expensive and time consuming. A simulation model of diesel FIS is constructed using ‘AVL Hydsim’. The model is validated by comparing the predicted and the experimental results. The validated model is used for further work. Critical parameters were listed based on the sensitivity analysis on the base model.

Anthropometric data of a country is vital database for automotive design and other design applications. It is also an important parameter in population studies. Most developed countries have invested resources over the years to develop such a database and this information is accessed by many OEMs and major Design Houses. However, an updated and comprehensive Anthropometry of Indian Population is largely unknown. In the past, a few institutions have done projects to bring out a picture of the Indian Anthropometry. However, keeping in view the rapid industrialization and increase of India-specific designs which require an access to latest Anthropometric database, the project “SIZE INDIA” has been initiated. For the first time in India, a state of the art 3D Whole body scanner technology has been used and thereby large volume of data has been generated in a very short span of time.

Recently, the use of laboratory-based physical prototype testing as well as the design of virtual models and virtual test equipment has accelerated the pace and quality of racing vehicle development. In particular, the combined use of both virtual and physical testing, when correlated to racetrack improvements, yields a powerful development tool(1), (2),(3). In this study, we applied these techniques from the first stages of the design of a unique Grand Prix racing motorcycle. First, a wire-frame CAD model, then a parametric CAD solid model of the motorcycle was created after preliminary calculations specified the approximate design of structural elements. Subsequently, a virtual dynamic model was created and subjected to a variety of inputs, including sine sweeps, shaped white noise and simulated road time-histories. Loads and other dynamic responses were measured on the virtual model, so that it's design could then be optimized to yield acceptable performance and durability.

5 belt wind tunnels are the most common facility to conduct the experimental aerodynamics development for production cars. Among aerodynamic properties, usually drag is the most important development target, but lift force and its front/rear balance is also important for vehicle dynamics. Related to the lift measurement, it is known that the “pad correction”, the correction in the lift measurement values for the undesirable aerodynamic force acting on wheel belt surface around the tire contact patch, must be accounted. Due to the pad correction measurement difficulties, it is common to simply subtract a fixed amount of lift values from measured lift force. However, this method is obviously not perfect as the pad corrections are different for differing vehicle body shapes, aerodynamic configurations, tire sizes and shapes.

The purpose of this paper is to present the past and present concepts of mechanical test optimization, which means the adjustment of a test machine command signal to achieve desired amplitude and mean levels. In particular, the methods of null pacing, dynamic frequency control, classical amplitude control, and maximum velocity limiting / control are discussed along with their respective application areas, advantages and disadvantages. Also, the factors of data verification and over-complication of the test are noted.

Rapid development of advanced multi-axial load transducer systems now requires the use of computer-based analytical tools to assist the development engineer optimize the design to meet often-conflicting design targets. This paper presents a case study based on the development of a wheel force load transducer to meet a challenging set of performance goals including accuracy, repeatability, durability and insensitivity to the external environment. The paper also highlights the limitations of some of the current analytical tools when used for load transducer design, and how these limitations can be overcome by cost-effective combinations of analytical performance prediction and physical test confirmation.

New process development of forging component require lot of process knowledge and experience. Even lots of trial-and-error methods need to be used to arrive at optimum process and initial billet dimensions. But with help of reliable computer simulation tools, now it is possible to optimize the complete process and billet dimensions without a single forging trial. This saves lot of time, energy and money. Additionally, simulation gives much more insight about the process and possible forging defects. In this paper, a complete forging process was needed to be designed for a complex component. With the help of computer simulation, the complete conventional forging process and modified forging process were simulated and optimized. Forging defects were removed during optimization of the process. Also billet weight optimization was carried out. Deciding the pre-forming shape of the billet was the main challenge.

Future emission limits for off-highway application engines need advanced power train solutions to meet stringent emissions legislation, whilst meeting customer requirements and minimizing engineering costs. DI diesel engines with four valves per cylinder are widely used in off- highway applications because of the fundamental advantages of higher volumetric efficiency, lower pumping loss, symmetric fuel spray & distribution in combination with the symmetric air motion which can give nearly optimal mixture formation and combustion process. As a result, the fuel consumption, smoke levels and exhaust emissions can be considerably reduced. In particular, the four-valve technology, coupled with mechanical low pressure and electronic high pressure fuel delivery systems set different requirements for inlet port performance. In the present paper four valve intake port design strategies are analysed for off highway engine using mechanical fuel injection systems.

An analytical approach to developing motorcycle suspensions is presented. Typical uncontrolled and subjective evaluations that place limits on suspension development are curtailed through the use of a laboratory-based road simulation technique, which evaluates vehicle ride quality. Ride comfort is calculated using a specifically tailored NASA model after primary and secondary frequency regimes have been established for this type of motorcycle. Correlation between road and laboratory simulation is measured and compared to the road data variance. A designed experiment evaluates changes in ride quality as a function of suspension and tire pressure adjustments. Various suspension settings are repeated on the simulator and corresponding ride numbers are calculated for both environments. An analysis is performed to correlate ride quality improvements on the simulator with ride quality improvements in the field.

The exhaust emission legislation for automotive vehicles came into effect in India from 1991. Since then, the exhaust mass emission certification tests are conducted on a prototype vehicle for emission compliance before commencing commercial production. The exhaust emission norms are reviewed and tightened after every five years. This should lead to a better emission control system in new vehicles. But the old vehicles which are designed prior to emission control era continue to emit heavily due to their inherent design and condition. The problem of in use vehicle emissions will be on the rise with the low scrappage rate of old vehicles in India. The impact of implementing tighter norms for new vehicles on ambient air quality can be felt only after a period of about 10 years. To have an effective improvement in ambient air quality levels, it is necessary to identify the gross polluters and retune them for bringing their emissions to an acceptable level.

Antiroll bar plays an important role in rollover stability of the vehicle. But not only does it limit the vehicle roll during cornering, but also alters the lateral load transfer between the tracks, which in turn affects the cornering performance of the vehicle. This paper deals with the design and mathematical modeling of antiroll bars to reduce the body roll of the vehicle from 1.5°/g to less than 1.0°/g. Rear bar uses a conventional torsion type bar but the front anti roll mechanism is an unconventional antiroll bar using a rotating double cantilever mechanism. Mathematical modeling is done for pushrod rod actuated antiroll mechanisms to simulate its non-linear roll rates. Antiroll bars for front and rear are designed for the calculated stiffness. Finite Element Analysis of antiroll bar and its components is done and the mechanism is tested on the vehicle. Steady state tire model parameters are generated by curve fitting tire testing data into pacejka coefficients.

The objective of this study is to develop, demonstrate and validate the methodology of external aerodynamic analysis of a State Road Transport bus for prediction of drag coefficient and its impact on fuel consumption with experimental validation. It has been verified that vehicle consumes around 40% of the available engine power to overcome the air drag. This gives us a huge scope to study the effect of aerodynamic drag. Baseline model of State Road Transport Bus was evaluated for estimating fuel consumption using Computational Fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology. The CFD results were validated with the experimental data with less than 10% deviation. Bus design was optimized with an objective of reducing the fuel consumption with parameters like angle of windshield, rounding and tapering corners and rear draft angle. Optimized bus design is also ensured to meet functional specifications as per AIS052.

Light weighting is significant in for automotive industry as it helps in less fuel consumption and to achieve better performance. Aluminium is a candidate material for light weighting. To design a component made of aluminium material, it is necessary to understand the fatigue performance of the material. In this paper, a study is carried out to understand the fatigue performance of aluminium 6xxx series alloys at an early stage of design without carrying out comprehensive fatigue testing. Coffin Manson Parameters are used to predict fatigue life. This research focusses on determining the gaps in existing models for aluminium alloys by carrying out comprehensive review of various models developed for 6xxx series which uses monotonic tensile data. Two models are developed and the predicted fatigue properties for this class of material are further compared with experimental fatigue, monotonic data and literature.

Dual fuel operating strategy offers great opportunity to reduce emissions like particulate matter and NOx from compression ignition engine and use of clearer fuels like natural gas. Dual-fuel engines have number of potential advantages like fuel flexibility, lower emissions, higher compression ratio, better efficiency and easy conversion of existing diesel engines without major hardware modifications. In view of energy depletion and environmental pollution, dual-fuel technology has caught attention of researchers. It is an ecological and efficient combustion technology. This paper summarizes a review of recent research on dual-fuel technology and future scope of research. Paper also throws light on present limitations and drawbacks of dual-fuel engines and proposed methods to overcome these drawbacks. A parametric study of different engine-operating variables affecting performance of diesel-CNG dual-fuel engines vis-à-vis base diesel operation is also summarized here.

Suspension development is one of the key steps in a complete vehicle development program. Computer simulation and analysis tools such as Multi Body Dynamics (MBD) simulation are used to refine initial concept and suspension parameters. Later on when a physical prototype is available the suspension system can be experimentally optimized at vehicle level. In this paper a new methodology is proposed which integrates virtual and experimental tools so that design, development and validation of the suspension system is carried out in the early phase of the vehicle development cycle with actual suspension components and without the need of a vehicle prototype. With this new approach, the design of any critical suspension components such as dampers can be optimized at the vehicle level. The new approach consists of combining the actual physical components on loading rig in closed loop with vehicle dynamic model running in real time.

BS-VI or equivalent development calls for tremendous efforts in concept investigation and calibration for engine out, after treatment, diagnostic checks, off-cycle emissions, field performance, component safety etc. Achieving calibration quality for all these tasks is very challenging considering development time and cost with conventional physical testing approach. Present article focuses on assessment of testing and calibration using virtual approach. To prove and validate this approach, a six-cylinder heavy duty diesel engine is selected and configured in HiL environment. The engine plant model is built offline and validated with base engine data at steady state and transient operations and RT model is integrated with ECU hardware. Data for plant model corrections is generated with short measurement campaign. Refined real time plant model is prepared for evaluating different calibration strategies on virtual test bed environment.

Any metal component undergoes various treatments to get desired shape and desired properties. Some of the important properties are strength, hardness, % elongation etc. which comes under mechanical properties. These properties can be easily achieved through heat-treatment process. Typical example of heat-treatment processes are hardening and tempering in case of steel and aging process in case of aluminium alloys. Some of the new emerging materials viz. micro alloy steel does not require any hardening and tempering if cooling rate is maintained. Heat-treatment cycle depends on material grade and its alloying elements. A heat-treatment cycle for any grade is generally fixed based on conventional methods but they are not optimized. The need of hour is to optimize the heat-treatment cycle to improve productivity and energy consumption. Dilatometer is used to optimize heat-treatment cycle on sample level whereas simulation tools can be used for component level.

Gear whine can be reduced through a combination of gear parameter selection and manufacturing process design directed at reducing the effective transmission error. The process of gear selection and profile modification design is greatly facilitated through the use of simulation tools to evaluate the details of the tooth contact analysis through the roll angle, including the effect of gear tooth, gear blank and shaft deflections under load. The simulation of transmission error for a range of gear designs under consideration was shown to provide a 3-5 dB range in transmission error. Use of these tools enables the designer to achieve these lower noise limits. An equally important concern is the dynamic mesh stiffness and transmissibility of force from the mesh to the bearings. Design parameters which affect these issues will determine the sensitivity of a transmission to a given level of transmission error.

The present study discusses the effects of engine combustion, performance and emission features of methanol-gasoline blend fired lean burn Spark Ignition (SI) engine. Performance features such as Brake Power (BP), Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), tail pipe emissions namely Hydrocarbon (HC), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxide (NO), Carbon di Oxide (CO2) and combustion characteristics viz. in-cylinder pressure, Heat Release Rate (HRR), Cumulative Heat Release (CHR) and variation of mean effective pressure were measured and compared with that of neat gasoline. Experiments were conducted on a modified sole cylinder four-stroke compression engine (Kirloskar TAF1) to operate as SI engine with a compression ratio of 10.5:1. A new manifold injection system and ignition system were developed by replacing the fuel injection pump and injector.