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Transmission of light through automotive topcoat and primer layers can lead to degradation of the underlying electrocoat layer and to topcoat delamination. In order to protect against this, it is critical that transmission of both ultraviolet wavelengths and certain visible wavelengths be effectively blocked by the topcoat and primer layers. The clearcoat, basecoat and primer each have their own role and combine to protect against light transmission. The transmittance of these combined layers is typically measured by the Integrating Sphere UV-Visible Spectrophotometer. It would both simplify measurement of the topcoat systems and allow better system modeling if these layers could be measured separately and combined mathematically. We demonstrate here that absorbing and reflecting pigments can be effectively modeled using the Beer-Lambert law while results for scattering pigments are consistent with the Kubelka-Munk theory.

Revisions to the California OBD-II diesel regulations required many updates to various SAE and ISO on-board diagnostic standards; these include major revisions to SAE J1979, J1699-3, J2012 and J1930. This presentation is intended to review the background for these changes as well as the revisions made in these documents. Presenter Robert Gruszczynski, Volkswagen of America

Update on light-duty regulations. Presenter Michael J. McCarthy, California Air Resources Board

Developing relatively cheap and widely available resources for heterogeneous solid catalyst synthesis is a promising approach for biodiesel fuel industry. Seashell which is essentially calcium carbonate can be used as a basic support for transesterification heterogeneous catalysts. In the present investigation, the alcoholysis of waste frying oil has been carried out using seashell-supported K3 PO4 as solid catalyst. Presenter Essam Oun Al-Zaini, PhD student, UNSW

There has recently been a great deal of hypothesizing and prognosticating about the security of supply of the rare earths for the non-Chinese OEM automotive industry. The pundits and industry analysts have warned of demand destruction by substitution driven by sustained high prices as well as due to supply interruptions. What has been overlooked for the most part is that the issue is not about all of the rare earths; it is just about some of them, the critical rare earths. And even in that category there are two separate issues: 1) Is there enough production of the light rare earth, neodymium, to sustain current demand and can its non-Chinese production grow to meet expected non-Chinese demand? and 2.) Is there even enough production of the heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, to meet current Chinese demand and is it possible to produce dysprosium a.) Outside of China, and b.)

Gasoline engines continue to suffer from significant pumping losses despite decades of effort focused on reducing throttling. Honeywell Turbo has developed a throttle with an integrated turbine/generator that generates electricity by recovering pumping work. This energy offsets power normally provided by the crank driven alternator, thereby saving fuel. It integrates well with modern electrical systems which employ smart charging and idle stop strategies. The ThrottleCharger provides fuel economy benefits up to 5% over federal test cycles and in real world conditions. Presenter Mike Guidry, Honeywell Int'l (Turbo Technologies)

The presentation describes the aerodynamic development and optimization process of the three different new models of the Audi A6/A7 family. The body types of these three models represent the three classic aerodynamic body types squareback, notchback and fastback. A short introduction of the flow structures of these different body types is given and their effect on the vehicle aerodynamic is described. In order to achieve good aerodynamic performance, the integration into the development process of the knowledge about these flow phenomena and the breakdown of the aerodynamic resistance into its components friction- and pressure drag as well as the induced drag is very important. The presentation illustrates how this is realized within the aerodynamic development process at Audi. It describes how the results of CFD simulations are combined with wind tunnel measurements and how the information about the different flow phenomena were used to achieve an aerodynamic improvement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contracted with FEV, Inc. to estimate the per-vehicle cost of employing selected advanced efficiency-improving technologies in light-duty motor vehicles. The development of transparent, reliable cost analyses that are accessible to all interested stakeholders has played a crucial role in establishing feasible and cost effective standards to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The FEV team, together with engineering staff from EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, and FEV's subcontractor, Munro & Associates, developed a robust costing methodology based on tearing down, to the piece part level, relevant systems, sub-systems, and assemblies from vehicles ?with and without? the technologies being evaluated.

As a result of recommendation from the Augustine Panel, the direction for Human Space Flight has been altered from the original plan referred to as Constellation. NASA's Human Exploration Framework Team (HEFT) proposes the use of a Shuttle Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (SDLV) and an Orion derived spacecraft (salvaged from Constellation) to support a new flexible direction for space exploration. The SDLV must be developed within an environment of a constrained budget and a preferred fast development schedule. Thus, it has been proposed to utilize existing assets from the Shuttle Program to speed development at a lower cost. These existing assets should not only include structures such as external tanks or solid rockets, but also the Flight Software which has traditionally been a ?long pole? in new development efforts. The avionics and software for the Space Shuttle was primarily developed in the 70's and considered state of the art for that time.

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts will be used to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from internal combustion engines in a number of applications [1,2,3,4]. Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI)® performed an Internal Research & Development project to study SCR catalyst thermal deactivation. The study included a V/W/TiO2 formulation, a Cu-zeolite formulation and an Fe-zeolite formulation. This work describes NOx timed response to ammonia (NH3) transients as a function of thermal aging time and temperature. It has been proposed that the response time of NOx emissions to NH3 transients, effected by changes in diesel emissions fluid (DEF) injection rate, could be used as an on-board diagnostic (OBD) metric. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and practicality of this OBD approach.

This paper forms the third of a series and presents results obtained during the testing and development phase of a dedicated range extender engine designed for use in a compact class vehicle. The first paper in this series used real world drive logs to identify usage patterns of such vehicles and a driveline model was used to determine the power output requirements of a range extender engine for this application. The second paper presented the results of a design study. Key attributes for the engine were identified, these being minimum package volume, low weight, low cost, and good NVH. A description of the selection process for identifying the appropriate engine technology to satisfy these attributes was given and the resulting design highlights were described. The paper concluded with a presentation of the resulting specification and design highlights of the engine. This paper will present the resulting engine performance characteristics.

Downsizing and downspeeding are two efficient strategies to reduce vehicles CO2 emission, provided that high BMEP can be achieved at any engine speed under clean, safe, stable and efficient combustion. With a 6:1 minimum compression ratio, the MCE-5 VCRi achieves 40 bar peak BMEP at 1200 rpm with no irregular combustion. If peak BMEP is maintained below 35 bar, fuel enrichment is no longer necessary. When running at part loads, the engine operates at high compression ratios (up to 15:1) to minimize BSFC and maximize the sweet spot area on the map. Next generation MCE-5 VCRi engines will combine VCR and stoichiometric charges, highly diluted with external cooled EGR, in order to improve part loads efficiency by means of both the reduction in heat and pumping losses, and the optimization of compression-expansion ratio. This strategy, added to downsizing-donwspeeding, requires high-energy ignition systems to promote repeatable, stable, rapid and complete combustion.

Main topics are the development and the build-up of an 18ton hybrid truck with a parallel hybrid drivetrain. With this truck it is possible to drive up to 3 kilometers in the pure electric driving mode. Presenter Andreas Eglseer, Engineering Center Steyr GmbH & Co. KG

The aerospace industry has long sought a solution for storing maintenance history information directly on aircraft parts. In 2005 leading airframe manufacturers determined that passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology presented a unique opportunity to address this industry need. Through the efforts of the Air Transport Association (ATA) RFID on Parts Committee and SAE International testing standards and data specifications are in place to support the broad adoption of passive RFID for storing parts history information directly on aircraft parts. The primary focus of the paper will be on the SAE AS-5678 environmental testing standard for passive RFID tags intended for aircraft use. Detail will be provided to help aerospace manufacturers understand their role and responsibilities for current programs and understand how this may impact their parts certification process.

Exatec� PC glazing technology team, has developed advanced weathering and abrasion resistant coatings technology that can be applied to protect polycarbonate. It is of particular interest to quantify and understand the factors that determine the surface abrasion performance of coated PC in rear window and backlight applications that have a wiper system. In the present study we describe Exatec's lab scale wiper testing equipment and test protocols. We also describe adaptation of optical imaging system to measure contrast and nano-profiling using nano-indenter, as post wiper surface characterization methods. These methods are more sensitive to fine scratches on glazing surface than standard haze measurement and mechanical profilometry. Three coating systems were investigated; Siloxane wetcoat (A), Siloxane wetcoat (B), and Siloxane wetcoat (B) plus plasma coat (Exatec� E900 coating). The performance comparisons were made using all these surface characterization methods.

PPG Industries, the world's leading manufacturer of transportation coatings, recently completed a study of consumer opinions regarding the importance of coatings and color as they relate to new car purchases. The goal of the study was to identify premium color consumers who place a large importance on vehicle color, what vehicles they purchase and how satisfied they are with the current color offerings. The internet based study consisted of approximately 1,340 U.S. consumers who have either purchased a new vehicle in the past two years, or are planning to purchase a vehicle within the next two years. Results from this study will be presented and those consumers identified by demographics. Presenter Michael Millar, PPG

Four-way, integrated, diesel emission control systems that combine selective catalytic reduction for NOx control with a continuously regenerating trap to remove diesel particulate matter were evaluated under real-world, on-road conditions. Tests were conducted using a semi-tractor with an emissions year 2000, 6-cylinder, 12 L, Volvo engine rated at 287 kW at 1800 rpm and 1964 N-m. The emission control system was certified for retrofit application on-highway trucks, model years 1994 through 2002, with 4-stroke, 186-373 kW (250-500 hp) heavy-duty diesel engines without exhaust gas recirculation. The evaluations were unique because the mobile laboratory platform enabled evaluation under real-world exhaust plume dilution conditions as opposed to laboratory dilution conditions. Real-time plume measurements for NOx, particle number concentration and size distribution were made and emission control performance was evaluated on-road.

Some the OBD-II regulations have been around for a long time or seem to be intuitively obvious. It is easy to assume to assume that everyone knows how to implement them correctly, that is, until someone actually reads the words and tries to do it. Most often, these issues come up when modifying existing OBD features, not when creating completely new ones. This presentation contains a few examples of features that should have been easy to implement, but turned out not to be easy or simple. Presenter Paul Algis Baltusis, Ford Motor Co.

Plug-In Hybrid and Extended Range Electric Vehicle's have quickly become the focus of many OEM's and suppliers. Existing regulations and test procedures did not anticipate this rapid adoption of this new technology, resulting in many product development challenges. The lack of clear requirements is further complicated by CARBs consideration of CO2 inclusion in their next light duty OBD regulation. This presentation provides an overview of the regulatory requirements for OBD systems on hybrid vehicles that intend to certify in California. Near term challenges for EREV?s and PHEV?s are discussed, including concerns with the existing denominator and warm-up cycle calculations. Some proposals are made to address these concerns. Presenter Andrew Zettel, General Motors Company

The OBD approval process can be a frustrating time for both manufacturer and ARB staff. For manufacturers, a long approval process can sometimes mean accepting deficiencies prematurely in exchange for an approval. For ARB staff, they are inundated with highly technical information which they must review, garner understanding of and then apply their experience to evaluate it for compliance. OBD approval anxiety can be minimized, if not avoided, when manufacturers understand ARB�s expectations. This presentation will take you through some unwritten rules and common pitfalls which can impede the approval process, thus providing a guideline to a less painful and more efficient certification document review and approval. Presenter Mark Frank, Winterpark Engineering Llc