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In the modern and fast growing automotive sector, reliability & durability are two terms of utmost importance along with weight & cost optimization. Therefore it is important to explore new technology which has less weight, low manufacturing cost and better strength. The new technology developed always seek for a quick, cost effective and reliable methodology for its design validation so that any modification can be made by identifying the failures. This paper presents the rig level test methodology to validate and to correlate the CAE derived strain levels, life cycle & failure mode of newly developed light weight stabilizer link for EV Bus suspension

Affordable, efficient and durable catalytic converters for the Commercial Vehicle and Non-Road industry in all countries are required to reduce vehicle emissions under real world driving conditions and fulfill future legal requirements. Specially for India traffic conditions and payload to engine size conditions new cost-effective solutions are needed to participate in a cleaner and healthier environment. Metallic substrates with structured foils like the Transversal StructureTM (TS) or the Longitudinal StructureTM (LS) have been proved to be capable of improving conversion behavior, even with smaller catalyst size. Now Vitesco Technologies is developed a new Substrate for Heavy duty applications that specifically maintains the geometric surface area at a very high level and improves further the mass transport of the pollutants, which potentially leads together to very high pollutant conversion rates.

Powertrain electrification is becoming increasingly common in the transportation sector to address the challenges of global warming and deteriorating air quality. This paper introduces a novel “Build Your Hybrid” approach to experience and test various hybrid powertrain concepts. This approach is applied to the light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment due to the attractive combination of a Diesel engine and a partly electrified powertrain. For this purpose, a demonstrator vehicle has been set up with a flexible P02 hybrid topology and a prototype Hybrid Control Unit (HCU). Based on user input, the HCU software modifies the control functions and simulation models to emulate different sub-topologies and levels of hybridization in the demonstrator vehicle. Three powertrain concepts are considered for LCVs: HV P2, 48V P2 and 48V P0 hybrid. Dedicated hybrid control strategies are developed to take full advantage of the synergies of the electrical system and reduce CO2 and NOx emissions.

With the increase in demand for energy sustainability projects over the last few years, the Brazilian commercial vehicle industry was guided to develop projects based on ESG policies. Aligned with this need, an initiative that ended up becoming a reality was the “e-Sys” electrification solution, by the company Suspensys. This solution includes a power source (battery), an e-powertrain (motors, inverters and drive axle) and an intelligent control system (VCU with embedded code and sensors). The main motivational drive was the hybridization of semi-trailers, in order to generate a reduction in fuel consumption in cargo transport in Brazil, in addition to the consequent reduction in the emission of particles into the environment and promoting the safety of the operation. It was also adopted, as a premise of the project, that the electrification system was totally independent of the truck’s electronic system (stand alone system), in order to facilitate the operation of the fleet owner.

Yield potential was predicted and mapped for three corn fields in Central Illinois, using digital aerial color infrared images. Three methods, namely statistical (regression) modeling, genetic algorithm optimization and artificial neural networks, were used for developing yield models. Two image resolutions of 3 and 6 m/pixel were used for modeling. All the models were trained using July 31 image and tested using images from July 2 and August 31, all from 1998. Among the three models, artificial neural networks gave best performance, with a prediction error less than 30%. The statistical model resulted in prediction errors in the range of 23 to 54%. The lower resolution images resulted in better prediction accuracy compared to resolutions higher than or equal to the yield resolution. Images after pollination resulted in better accuracy compared to images before pollination.

To investigate the feasibility of various test procedures to determine aerodynamic performance for the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Regulations for Heavy-Duty Vehicles in the United States, the US Environmental Protection Agency commissioned, through Southwest Research Institute, constant-speed torque tests of several heavy-duty tractors matched to a conventional 53-foot dry-van trailer. Torque was measured at the transmission output shaft and, for most tests, also on each of the drive wheels. Air speed was measured onboard the vehicle, and wind conditions were measured using a weather station placed along the road side. Tests were performed on a rural road in Texas. Measuring wind-averaged drag from on-road tests has historically been a challenge. By collecting data in various wind conditions at multiple speeds over multiple days, a regression-based method was developed to estimate wind-averaged drag with a low precision error for multiple tractor-trailer combinations.

HIGH output per cubic inch of piston displacement is desirable not alone for the purpose of being able to transport more payload faster, but more particularly for the invariably associated byproduct of lower specific fuel consumption, and especially at road-load requirements. The only way of accomplishing this purpose is through the use of higher compression ratios, and the limiting factors for this objective are fuel distribution and the operating temperatures of the component parts. A manifold is proposed which not only definitely improves distribution at both full and road loads, but has the inherent additional advantage of reducing the formation of condensate, thus still further facilitating a reduction in road-load specific fuel consumption. Hydraulic valve lifters, obviation of mechanical and thermal distortion, and controlled water flow are the essentials in improved cooling.

Statistical measures of whole-body vibration from ambulation are shown to be higher than those from operation of earthmoving machinery and significantly higher than published guidelines for human exposure to whole-body vibration. The inconsistency of human response to low level vibration of technological origin as compared to human imperceptiveness to high level vibration from ambulation is discussed.

Quality improvement, widely accepted as the key to survival in today's global marketplace, can only be achieved through a disciplined approach to problem solving based on proven statistical process control (SPC) techniques. Improving quality also improves productivity, and SPC applications are generating substantial savings for both product and service organizations throughout industry.

The scope of Finite Element Analysis in the Product Development Cycle is given. A brief review of the development process is given. A brief description of the analysis method is presented. A description of how it works, how is it implemented, and where do I use it are included. The entire range of questions are answered through, how do I train for it, how do I manage it, along with what are the limitations and what are the benefits of this analysis method.

The EU Commission's “Clean Power for Transport” initiative aims to break the EU's dependence on imported oil whilst promoting the use of alternative fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among the options considered is the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a substitute for diesel in long haul trucks. It is interesting to ask how the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of LNG compare with conventional diesel fuel for this application. The LNG available in Europe is mainly imported. This paper considers the “well-to-tank” emissions of LNG from various production routes, including: gas production, treatment and liquefaction, shipping to Europe, terminal, distribution and refuelling operations. “Tank-to-Wheel” emissions are considered for a range of currently-available engine technologies of varying efficiency relative to diesel.

Welding has been used extensively in automotive components design due to its flexibility to be applied in manufacturing, high structural strength and low cost. To improve fuel economy and reduce material cost, weight reduction by optimized structural design has been a high priority in auto industry. In the majority of heavy duty vehicle's chassis components design, the ability to predict the mechanical performance of welded joints is the key to success of structural optimization. FEA (finite element analysis) has been used in the industry to analyze welded parts. However, mesh sensitivity and material properties have been major issues due to geometry irregularity, metallurgical degradation of the base material, and inherent residual stress associated with welded joints. An approach, equilibrium-equivalent structural stress method, led by Battelle and through several joint industrial projects (JIP), has been developed.

Front under run protection device (FUPD) is a regulatory requirement for passive safety of N2 & N3 category vehicle. This device gives effective protection for small vehicles (M1 or N1 category) against under running of big vehicles (N2 & N3 category) in the event of a frontal collision. FUPD generally consists of the front under run protector (FUP) and its mounting structure. As the compliance load target for N3 category is high, the FUP required achieving regulation target need to have high rigidity. This increases its size and hence the weight, Increase in weight has impact on payload and cost. To curtail the weight of FUP, in general Aluminum with higher strength is in use, but use of Aluminum increases the cost. So the main challenge in FUPD design is to achieve the design with optimal system weight & cost.

This paper concerns the analysis of data for cases where there are NO occurrences of “failures” when there is reason to assume a Weibull distribution with known slope parameter for the characteristic being studied. All samples survive a time t in an unfailed condition. In a series of n independent tests conducted under similar conditions, if we observe no failures by time t we call this a “success” run of length n. In this paper the classical non-parametric success run is first reviewed and it is shown what can be said about the relationship among reliability, confidence and sample size. Next, the Weibull distribution is explored for modeling the success run test when it is reasonable to assume a value for the Weibull slope parameter, b.

This paper is concerned with the synergistic effects of pump wear modes. The objective is to investigate the wear produced by cavitation, adhesion, abrasion, and corrosion and to verify a proposed model of the synergistic pump wear process. The approach followed includes identification of the combined effects of different wear modes (synergisms) in a pump and the development of a synergistic wear model that includes pump operating and environmental conditions as trigger factors of wear modes. An experimental program was designed to evaluate the cavitation, adhesion, and corrosion wear effects in conjunction with the abrasive wear produced in a pump by measuring wear debris, particle size and gravimetric levels of fluid. The generation of wear was traced to different pump locations. The results obtained here suggest that improved pump design and longer pump service life can be obtained when synergisms between failure modes are properly understood.

After a review of current and future emission legislation for non-road engines (India, Europe, USA), the various options available to reduce the emissions of diesel tractor engines are discussed. Special emphasis is put on naturally aspirated engines in the 37 - 50 kW power range. AVL has recently designed and developed several naturally aspirated heavy-duty diesel tractor engines to comply with current exhaust emissions standards for the Indian domestic and the US markets (EPA Tier 2). In doing so, different levels of technologies were applied. Their impact on mean effective pressure, specific fuel consumption and emissions will be shown. The future non-road engine exhaust emissions legislation in different markets will be addressed (India, Europe and USA). Compliance with the new emission standards will require the introduction of more advanced technology.

A significant driver for the development of future commercial vehicles is likely to be the introduction of fuel consumption related legislation in various regions around the world. The application of a waste heat recovery system to the powertrain of such vehicles is seen as a possible step, amongst many, to help them achieve the required fuel economy. In particular, the Rankine Cycle (a closed steam cycle) is often proposed as a potential means for deriving work from the engine exhaust heat. Rankine Cycle systems are already in use in off-highway applications, such as stationary engines or marine power-packs. However, the technical and commercial viability of these systems for on-highway, principally long haul truck application is as yet unproven. Aspects such as the in-use economy benefits, the system performance density, the component robustness and all interactions with the other vehicle systems have to be evaluated.

An increase in global oil consumption, coupled with a peak in oil production, has seen the price of fuel escalate in recent years, and consequently the transport sector must take measures to reduce fuel consumption in vehicles. Similarly, ever-tightening emissions legislation is forcing automotive manufacturers to invest in technology to reduce toxic emissions. In response to these concerns, this project aims to address one of the fundamental issues with the Internal Combustion Engine - approximately one third of the fuel energy supplied to the engine is lost as heat through the exhaust system. The specific aim of this project is to reduce the fuel consumption of a diesel-electric hybrid bus by recovering some of this waste heat and converting it to useful power. This report details how turbocompounding can be applied to the engine, via the inclusion of a turbogenerator, and assesses its waste heat recovery performance.

Nearly a third of the fuel energy is wasted through the exhaust of a vehicle. An efficient waste heat recovery process will undoubtedly lead to improved fuel efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Currently, there are multiple waste heat recovery technologies that are being investigated in the auto industry. One innovative waste heat recovery approach uses Thermoacoustic Converter (TAC) technology. Thermoacoustics is the field of physics related to the interaction of acoustic waves (sonic power) with heat flows. As in a heat engine, the TAC produces electric power where a temperature differential exists, which can be generated with engine exhaust (hot side) and coolant (cold side). Essentially, the TAC converts exhaust waste heat into electricity in two steps: 1) the exhaust waste heat is converted to acoustic energy (mechanical) and 2) the acoustic energy is converted to electrical energy.

Virtual validation of automobile components poses a huge challenge and needs continuous process improvements. One of such challenge in FE modelling of welds and understanding its behavior with respect to physical behavior. With the ongoing development of BSVI line of products in commercial vehicle industry, the virtual validation needs to be accurate and close to the physical behavior of the components. The learning and challenges faced during the previous development is implemented in the current study for weld simulation and correlation activity. The brackets welded to the power train components is taken as a challenge in the present work. Initially weld model was depicted in the CAD and was analyzed in CAE by providing proper FE connection. This practice had lot of flaws, approximations due to perpendicularity and flatness concerns in the models leading to consuming a lot of time in model preparation.