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The focus of this paper is to develop an innovative vehicle layout and optimize vehicle body structure with the latest lightweight steel technologies, such as hydro-forming and hot stamping. Our BIW structure achieved a mass savings of 28 kg (−10%) compared to the mass of baseline BIW structure. (Base BIW : MD_Elantra)

Non-Asbestos Organic (NAO) disc pads and Low Steel Lomet disc pads were subjected to high and low humidity conditions to discover how humidity affects these two classes of formulations for physical properties, friction, wear and noise characteristics. The 2 classes of formulations show similarities and differences in response to increasing humidity. The humidity effect on deformation of the surface microstructure of the gray cast iron disc is also investigated. Humidity implications for pad quality control and brake testing are discussed.

For the robust passenger NCAP(New Car Assessment Program) 5star and the stable neck injury performance, a new concept of passenger airbag has been required. Especially, the deployment stability and the vent hole control technology of the passenger airbag can be improved. According to these requirements, the deployment stability technique has been studied and the ‘Active Vent’ technology has been developed. As a result, these technologies have led to achieve the robust NCAP rating and are applied to the production vehicles.

In terms of reducing the gear noise of automatic transmission, improvement of heat treatment distortion of the annulus gear is very important, because annulus gear is very sensitive heat treatment due to thin walled ring-like shape. Nitriding is very effective method to meet the both requirements for heat treatment distortion and durability of the annulus gear, as compared with conventional carburizing. However, conventional nitriding has problems to be applied for annulus gear, such as brittleness of compound layer and low adhesion strength between compound layer and matrix. In this research, we developed the high toughness nitriding and greatly improved the problems as mentioned above, by controlling gas pressure and temperature.

A signal lamp performs a function to inform the position and behavior of the vehicle. And it represents a specific design identity of the vehicle or brand identity. Recently it implements the unique three-dimensional effect while using a LED. However, a number of LEDs and complex form of the lens shape have to be applied, so results in the size, weight, cost increase. In this study, the hologram technology that is an exemplary technique for implementing the described three-dimensional image is applied. With a hologram, it is possible to reproduce a complex shape three-dimensional image by using a hologram film. Therefore the number of parts can be reduced. And it is possible to copy the film has a mass production benefits.

Usually, fibrous materials with porosity can dissipate the energy of the sound wave penetrating them, so can be the useful sound absorbing materials to reduce the noise in the vehicle. The fibrous materials have been used for the various types of automotive components as the sound absorbing materials, which can be placed close to the noise source, in the noise paths and near the receiver such as passengers. Although all materials can absorb a little amount of sound energy, the term “acoustical material” has been primarily applied to those materials that can provide the higher sound absorption performance above the ordinary levels. One of the examples of fibrous acoustic materials for automotive components is the sound absorbing felt composed of the fibers which have the several characteristics such as the material type, the cross-sectional shape and the fiber density (can be expressed as denier) related to the sound absorbing performance.

A study for improving the resistance to fretting corrosion of SCr 420 pinion gear was conducted. Fretting is the damage to contacting surfaces experiencing slight relative reciprocating sliding motion of low amplitude. Fretting corrosion is the fretting damage to unlubricated contacting surfaces accompanied by corrosion, mostly oxidation that occurs if the fretting occurs in air. Two kinds of conventional heat treatment and a newly designed one suggested for improving the resistance to the fretting corrosion of pinion gear were compared each other to find out what is the main factor for generating fretting corrosion phenomenon. Increased carbon potential at both the heating and diffusing zone and reduced time of tempering was found out to be a solution for improving the resistance to fretting corrosion of forged and heat treated gear steel. On the contrary, modified carbo-nitriding using ammonia gas has been getting worse the fretting corrosion problem.

In the past few years, technological innovations in the automobile industry took vehicle performance to the next level. One such innovation is frame integrated panel door. This type of door helps automobile companies to have the advantages of both conventional panel and frame type doors. Though it has a good number of advantages, there are some drawbacks too. It requires improvements in its quality, NVH performance, weight and etc. Quality of a door is low due to the limitations in structural design and manufacturing technologies. And it is difficult to have a robust structure which leads to degradation of key performing factors such as NVH. For a lightweight vehicle, it is important to design an optimized structure for saving weight, without compromising its performance. In order to overcome these drawbacks a new optimized design structure is required for door system.

High speed natural light motion picture records synchronized with head gasket ionization probe and in-cylinder pressure data have been made in the transparent engine of different combustion chamber configurations. For knocking cycles, the head gasket ionization current method simultaneously taken with pressure data was able to find the location of knocking occurrence. To investigate the effects of combustion chamber configurations, the flame propagation experiments for pent-roof combustion chamber with center ignition ( Modified Type I engine ) and modified pent-roof ( Type II engine ) combustion chamber were performed with high speed natural light photography technique. The flame propagation of Modified Type I engine represents more uniform patterns than that of Type II engine. The investigation of knocking combustion was also made possible by observing flame propagation with the measuring techniques that use head gasket ionization probe and in-cylinder pressure data.

In the latest works [12], we presented the guideline for reducing Metal pick up(MPU, the main component of disc scoring) by controlling the location of the roughness of disc, the brake pad friction coefficients and the disc slot's size. In this study, the previously studied iron transfer theory to 'Cu free' brake pad and the disc surface roughness controlling methods which are based on the mass production manufacturing process are applied. It is possible to suggest the ways to improve the scoring-free disc without reducing friction coefficient between the disc and pad, and any demerit such as increased wear and airplane noise like conventional slot discs [11].

Tuning the size and position of the cooling water holes in the head gasket during engine cooling system development is generally positioned at the final stage of the cooling system hardware design. Until now, the gasket hole tuning operation was dependent on the case study through repetitive CFD analysis. In this process, there was a difference in the optimization level by know-how and expertise of the person in charge. In this study, a gasket hole tuning technique was developed using optimization algorithms to improve the level of optimization. First, select factors and perform screening using the DOE(Design Of Experiments) method, and then find the optimal gasket hole size and arrangement through the optimal design process based on the results of the CFD analysis planned by DOE.

As the AVN display in the car interior becomes larger and located above the center fascia, the driver's visual visibility is becoming important. In addition, since an expensive touch sensor is installed, a transparent electrode cost reduction technology for a display touch sensor that can replace an indium material, which is an expensive rare metal, is required. In this paper, we developed new transparent electrode materials and manufacturing methods for the touch sensor film which light reflectance is low and flexible without a separate low-reflection multi-layer, so that the design freedom is high and the material cost is low. By optimizing the amount of fluorine doping ratio in tin oxide, excellent electrical conductivity and high optical transmittance are secured, and the surface reflectance is reduced by adjusting the diameter and length of the silver nanowire. As a result, it was shown that the AVN display image and font readability was improved.

The driver’s seat in heavy trucks is designed for an upright driving posture with narrow back and cushion angles; thus, the seatback offers very little support. This makes the sitting posture prone to shifting during long trips, leading to loss of comfort and increase in fatigue. Sitting posture stability allows initial posture to be maintained during long drives, and the lack of stability causes fatigue and body pain during the drive. This study confirmed that enhancement of sitting posture stability of the driver’s seat in heavy trucks requires appropriate support from the cushion. The study also analyzed the support characteristics of each part of the cushion, and presented development guidelines of new cushion. Although subjective assessments of sitting posture stability have been performed, this study presented a method for quantitative and efficient assessment of sitting posture stability using the PAM-COMFORT simulation tool and virtual testing.

Recently, the environmental temperature of vehicles is changing due to the electrification of vehicles and improved internal combustion engine system to reduce carbon emissions. However, mechanical properties of plastic materials change very sensitively to environmental temperature changes, and mechanical properties decrease when exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, it is important to estimate lifespan estimation of plastic parts according to temperature changes. In this paper, reliability analysis process to estimate the maximum service temperature of plastic parts was developed using aging data of material properties, environmental condition data of automotive parts, and field driving condition data. Changes in the mechanical properties of plastic materials such as glass fiber reinforced polyamide materials were tested. The environmental exposure temperature of the vehicle and parts was measured, and the general driving pattern of the vehicle was analyzed.

In this paper, the distortion analysis in spot welded area of car body - front side member, it is found out that the optimum condition for panel assembly is closely related to the welding sequence, location of clamping system, number, shape and welding force. The distortion resulting from welding sequence is minimized starting from the surroundings of the clamping system and in the way that the value of the welding force is from large to small. The MCP is determined from the positions inducing the minimum distortion in panel through calculating the deformation and reacting force of the panel. The welding force originating from the manufacturing tolerance of assembly is a critical design factor determining the welding sequence and the clamping system that yield minimum distortion in spot welding of body panel.

Impact resistance of plastic underbody parts was studied using simulated injection-molded specimen which can be tested according to different types of material used, injection molding variants like position and number of injection molding gates, and features of ribs. Material applied was glass fiber reinforced polyamide which can be used in underbody parts. Test was performed using several combinations of injection molding gates and rib types. From the test result, optimal design guide for plastic underbody parts was determined. Also, new high impact resistant plastic material made of glass fiber reinforced polyamide 66 (PA66) and polyamide 6 (PA6) alloy was developed and the material properties useful for CAE were determined. As a case study, oil pan and muffler housing were designed following the optimal design guide and CAE. And the reliability of the sample muffler housing designed was verified.

The primary purpose of using a plastic material instead of conventional aluminum cast for intake manifold is to reduce its weight and cost. Moreover, the use of plastic for intake manifold is regarded as a key for further development of so called an “intake modular system”. As a secondary effect, the engine power can be increased with the help of improved interior surface roughness and lowered air temperature. With regard to NVH, however, plastic intake manifold is considered somewhat negative since it is less rigid and less dense than aluminum one. In this paper, the mechanism that plastic intake manifold affects the performance and NVH of in-line 4 cylinder gasoline engine is presented. In connection with engine performance, air flow efficiency of not only intake manifold itself but also other components of intake system and also cylinder head is evaluated.

With the recent development of technologies for interpreting vibration and noise of vehicles, it has become possible for carmakers to reduce idle vibration and driving noise in the phase of preceding development. Thus, the issue of noise generation is drawing keen attention from production of prototype car through mass-production development. J. D. Power has surveyed the levels of customer satisfaction with all vehicles sold in the U.S. market and released the Initial Quality Study (IQS) index. As a growing number of emotional quality-related items are added to the IQS evaluation index, it is necessary to secure a sufficiently high quality level of low-frequency speaker sound against rattle noise. It is required to make a preceding review on the package tray panel, which is located at the bottom of the rear glass where the woofer speakers of a passenger sedan are installed, the door module panel in which the door speakers are built.

The high speed continuous braking distance assessment is the worst condition for thermal fades. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between fade characteristic and friction materials & brake fluid amount for improving braking distance. So, we used the dynamometer to measure the friction coefficient, braking distance and required brake fluid amount. Through the measurements, the research was carried out as follows. First of all, we studied the influence of friction coefficient about different shapes (chamfer shape, area of the friction material, number of slots) on the same friction material. Secondly, we knew the effects of braking distance by the shape of the friction material. Through these two studies, the shape of the friction material favorable to the fade characteristics was derived. Finally, we measured the amount of required brake fluid in caliper after 10 consecutive braking cycles through Dynamometer.

In this paper, an application process is studied at which the insertion loss (IL) test data of sound insulating parts or noise control treatments are utilized for the sound transmission loss (STL) simulation of the trimmed dash structure. The considered sound barrier assemblies were composed of a felt layer, a mass layer, and a decoupler layer. Flat samples of sound barrier assemblies with several different thicknesses were prepared, and ILs of them were measured by using a sound transmission loss facility. Flat samples were assumed to have mass-spring-mass resonance frequencies. The mass was set as the area mass of the sound barrier layer of the felt layer and the mass layer. The spring constant of the decoupler layer was assumed as the multiplication of that of an air spring and a spring correction factor.