Search Results

A program was developed that provides a user friendly interface for developing and testing shift tables in a powershift transmission. This program is Windows based and runs on an IBM compatible P.C. When coupled with a suitable controller, transmission designers have a useful tool for the development of transmission shift timing. The system is designed to be used in an engine test cell or for actual vehicle tests. This allows the vehicle operator to call up and edit shifts on a P.C. screen and then drive the vehicle using the new shifts. This allows the operator to evaluate results of real time shifts immediately.

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

Due to ever soaring fuel costs and even more stringent emission regulations which require more elaborate technical efforts and unfortunately lead to a negative trend on fuel economy as well, todays and future trucking business is extremely challenged. These facts create an urgent requirement for the engine manufacturer to offer an engine with an optimized cost-benefit-ratio for the trucking business. Mercedes-Benz, as the leader in the European commercial vehicle market - of which e. g. high fuel costs, long maintenance intervals and high engine power-to-weight ratios have always been key characteristics - has developed a new class 8 engine for the US market. The MBE 4000 is a 6 cylinder inline engine in the compact size and low weight category, but due to its displacement of 12,8 liters it offers high performance characteristics like heavier big block engines.

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.

GREATER ease of servicing is one of the ultimate goals in the development of dry-type air cleaners. The authors acknowledge, however, that the oil-bath cleaner is a rugged proved component that has done a good job for the farmers who serviced it properly. This paper describes studies made in Illinois of oil-bath and dry air cleaners in field service. At the same fuel/air ratios, the maximum horsepower of a test engine was greater with the dry-type filter than with the oil-bath cleaner. It was found that with AC fine dust and steady airflow, the oil-bath cleaners had significantly lower efficiencies than the dry-type filter. At less than rated airflow the efficiency of the oil-bath cleaner decreased while that of the dry filter remained high.

ZF uses innovative motor cooling, winding technology and its transmission heritage to produce a more efficient and powerful drivetrain for electric vehicles.

This paper describes the ZF - Intarder, a wear-free vehicle brake for commercial vehicles. Qualities such as optimum weight saving, compactness, compatibility with all PTOs and no change in driveshaft length, are the results of a new development. Performance measurements demonstrate connection with engine cooling system. Field test measurements provide new information about frequency of use of various brake levels and electronic speed control. An evaluation of financial issues indicates advantages for operation.

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.

A new line of on-highway transmissions has been designed and developed by Allison Transmission Division. This new product line, identified as the World Transmission Series (WT), has been designed with emphasis on cost-effectiveness, greater integration with vehicle systems and advanced technology to meet market demands into the 21st century. New design concepts both in power train component arrangement and electronic controls have been coupled utilizing concurrent engineering and systems engineering principles. The result is a customer-driven product line which, when produced by Allison, will exceed world class standards of quality, performance and value.

Knitted wiremesh along with radial gas tight seals provide reliable mounting system for low temperature underbody converters. The compression characteristics of the wiremesh is modified by wire material, wire diameter, wire geometry, mesh crimp heights; wire density, wiremesh courses per inch, needle count, number of strands, wiremesh temper, wiremesh surface profile and surface characteristics. The radial mounting pressure provided by the wiremesh is matched with the mounting pressure requirement. Wiremesh systems can be tailored to any required radial mounting pressure from conventional to ultra thin-wall substrates. The wiremesh mounting system is proven durable, without any failure on more than 25 million underbody converters in light duty vehicles. Cp and Cpk show the capability of the manufacturing process. Thus the wiremesh mounting support is a viable alternate for low temperature gasoline and diesel applications.

The published SAE J2954 standard established an industry-wide specification that defines acceptable criteria for interoperability, electromagnetic compatibility, EMF, minimum performance, safety, and testing for wireless power transfer (WPT) for light-duty plug-in electric vehicles. This SAE Information Report, SAE J2954/2, defines new power transfer levels in the higher power ranges needed for heavy-duty electric vehicles. This document addresses the requirements based on these charge levels and different vehicle applications as a first step in the process of completing a standard that the industry can use, both for private (fleet) and public wireless power transfer, including for charging electric vehicle batteries. This document is the first step in a process towards HD static and dynamic WPT. This document lacks specific requirements and solutions, for which field data is needed.

This report is concerned with the effects of braid angle on the behavior of hydraulic hose. For equilibrium conditions to exist, and if the braid layers are assumed to bear tension forces only, the angle of the reinforcement layers must be along that of the total force exerted by the internal pressure. This is the neutral angle θN, which has a theoretical value of 54.74° (54°44′). It is possible to hypothesize a fretting wear model in which wires move on top of one another inside a braid layer if the braid angle is different from this theoretical neutral angle. Even though theoretical claims are made by some technical professionals, the hydraulic hose industry has been successfully making hoses with non-neutral braid angles for years. Testing and application have shown that fretting wear is not a principal cause of hose failure and fatigue.

This SAE Recommended Practice establishes uniform test procedures and performance requirements for the defrosting system of enclosed cab trucks, buses, and multipurpose vehicles. It is limited to a test that can be conducted on uniform test equipment in commercially available laboratory facilities. Current engineering practice prescribes that for laboratory evaluation of defroster systems, an ice coating of known thickness be applied to the windshield and left- and right-hand side windows to provide more uniform and repeatable test results, even though under actual conditions such a coating would necessarily be scraped off before driving. The test condition, therefore, represents a more severe condition than the actual condition, where the defroster system must merely be capable of maintaining a cleared viewing area.

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.

The effect of eight installation and component parameters on cooling system heat rejection and air flow were examined in detail in a wind tunnel facility. A quarter-replicate, two level factorial test plan was followed. Within the ranges of each parameter tested, the fan characteristics and the projection of fan into the shroud are highly significant parameters. The fan to radiator distance, the radiator characteristics, and the fan tip to shroud clearance are significant parameters. The fan to engine block distance and the type of shroud are not significant parameters.

Leading contenders in the search for a superior alternative powerplant for light-duty automotive use include the steam and Stirling engines, the gas turbine, and the diesel. In this paper the status of each of those alternative engines is reviewed and i its prognosis considered. The steam engine is unsuitable because of poor fuel economy. Obstacles blocking acceptance of the Stirling and gas turbine engines are sufficient so that even if they are surmountable, significant-use in light-duty vehicles is unlikely before the 1990s. The light-duty diesel is here today but faces some difficult regulatory hurdles in the near future.

Cast iron is generally thought of as a weak, dirty, cheap, brittle material that does not have a place in applications requiring high strength and defined engineering properties. While gray cast iron is relatively brittle by comparison with steel, ductile iron is not. In fact, ductile iron has strengths and toughness very similar to steel and the machinability advantages make an attractive opportunity for significant cost reductions. Gray and ductile iron bar stock is commercially available and can be used as a direct replacement in applications that are currently being made from carbon steel bar. Ductile iron bar stock conversions are very prevalent in many fluid power applications including glands and rod guides, cylinders, hydrostatic transmission barrels and in high-pressure manifolds. Automotive gears are being converted to ductile iron for its damping capacity and cost reductions.

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.