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The front air-dam diverts the airflow flowing through the underbody, thereby reducing aerodynamic drag. The height, shape and position of air-dam must be optimized to get improved drag. Extensive iterations are carried out to finalize the front air-dam size and position until the target is achieved. Researchers used to study the effect of air-dam height, then with fixed height will work to finalize position. Studies with interactive effect of front air-dam height and position are scanty. The existing process is time consuming as the front air-dam size and position is adjusted manually and simulation is being performed for each design and requires detailed analysis for all design iterations. The objective of this study is to couple CFD solver with design optimization software to reduce overall manual design iterations to choose the effective front air-dam geometry.

The cabin cool down performance is influenced by heat load, AC system components and Air handling components. The air handling components are AC duct, vane and vent. Design of AC duct vane plays a crucial role in the airflow directivity in cabin which enhances the cabin cool down performance. Simulations are carried out by rotating the vanes manually and requires post process for every iteration. It leads to more time consuming and more number of simulations to achieve the target value. Research articles focusing on automation and optimization of vane articulation studies are scanty. Thus, the objective of this work is to execute the vane articulation study with less manual intervention. A parametric approach is developed by integrating ANSA and ANSYS FLUENT tools. With Direct Fit Morphing and DoE study approach from ANSA delivers the surface mesh model for the different vane angle configurations.

The need for eco-friendly vehicle powertrains has increased drastically in recent years. The most critical component of an electric vehicle is the battery pack/cell. The choice of the appropriate cell directly determines the size, performance, range, life, and cost of the vehicle. Lithium-ion batteries with high energy density and higher cycle life play a crucial role in the progress of the electric vehicle. However, the packaging of lithium-ion cells is expected to meet lots of assembly demands to increase their life and improve their functional safety. Due to their low mechanical stability, the lithium-ion cell modules must have external pressure on the cell surface for improved performance. The cells must be stacked in a compressed condition to exert the desired pressure on the cell surface using compression foam/pads. The compression pads can be either packaged between each cell or once in every set of cells based on the cell assembly requirements.

Body in White (BIW) is one of the critical aggregates of an automobile. Establishing the quality parameters during body manufacturing is essential to achieve robust BIW structure. Spot weld integrity and dimensional accuracy are the two major quality parameters of a BIW. Weld integrity plays an important role in achieving dimensional accuracy and structural stability. Various combinations of sheet metals are joined together to form a BIW structure. Spot weld parameter selection is one of the critical activity and needs to be programmed for the various combinations of sheet metals. Weld parameter for the various combinations are calculated with the resistance of the joining sheet metals thicknesses. The calculated parameters are validated with the coupon test (or) peel test and it requires several iterations to establish weld integrity of the different combinations and the selected parameters get registered in the weld controller.

Lubrication system is a critical factor for engine health. But it creates parasitic load and increased fuel consumption of the engine. The oil demand of an engine depends on engine speed, load, bearing clearances, operating temperature and engine's state of wear. Ideally, the oil pump should adapt the delivery volume flow to actual engine oil demand and should avoid unnecessary pumping of oil which causes increased power and fuel consumption. However in a conventional mechanical oil pump, there is no control on the oil flow and it is purely a function of operating speed. A variable discharge oil pump (VDOP) is an approach to reduce the parasitic losses wherein the oil flow is regulated based on the mechanical needs of the engine. This study is based on the results of a two stage VDOP installed on a 1.2 litre, 3 cylinder MPFI engine. The oil supply is regulated by a solenoid control which receives command from Engine Control Unit (ECU). The study was done in two stages.

Crush box in an automotive passenger car has become an integral part of structural design performing various functions like optimizing energy absorption in high speed impacts, replaceable part during low speed impacts etc. Design of crush box for high speed impacts is very important as it is the first major energy absorbing component in the load path and its deformation significantly affects the overall vehicle crash behavior. The present paper explains development of a hydro-formed crush box in the front end of a sports utility vehicle. Hydro-formed components have residual plastic strains and non - uniform thickness variation throughout their length which is difficult to measure from a physical test coupon. It is critical to add hydro-forming effects onto crash FE models as it significantly affects the deformation under high speed impact. But detailed forming simulations need mature design and material data which is not available during early phases of product development.

Differential in Gear Box play vital role in Tractors for assisting it in turning and also to take straight path. Light weight machine always have advantage in terms of fuel economy and performance. Weight optimized rotating part have additional benefits of saving power loss, against stationary dead weight. Differential Housing is such a part, which rotates during the vehicle motion and torque transmission. [1] This paper describes a method by which weight of the Differential Housing is optimized. In this particular body of work, additional constraints of avoiding any change in existing cold forged parts like Bevel Gear & Pinion. This also have additional benefit of enhanced flow of Oil inside Differential Housing for better lubrication of Bevel Gears and Pinion. This resulted in weight saving of Differential Housing and finally fuel economy of Tractor.

This paper deals with the study of the phenomenon of crevice corrosion of aluminium by using an example of a corrosion failure of a joint in the automobile coolant circuit. A number of joint failures were studied to understand the corrosion pattern and for various metallurgical aspects like chemistry, hardness and microstructure. The corrosion products were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS). This analysis indicated that the corrosion products mostly contained Aluminium Oxides with other contaminants like chlorides. The studies revealed that the clamped joint of the aluminium part and rubber hose led to the formation of a crevice with the engine coolant acting as the corrosive medium. The corrosion behavior at the location was affected by environmental factors like temperature, pH and chloride contamination.

Tractor roll over is the most common farm-related cause of fatalities nowadays. ROPS (Roll-Overprotective Structures) are needed to prevent serious injury and death. It creates a protective zone around the operator when a rollover occurs. In India the ROPS is getting mandatory across all HP ranges except narrow track. In the present study states the customized ROPS application for configurable design such as Automated safety zone for all homologation standards, ROPS A0-D excel calculator for selection of material at concept stage and bolt calculator for selection of size. For the above applications below aspects need to consider such as Tractor weight, Rear housing mounting, Operator seat index position (SIP), Seat reference points (SRP) and all ROPS homologation standards. This ROPS application is to reduce the timeline, manual error and ensure the reliability of the modular optimal design for various platforms and variants.

Design of powertrain mounting bracket is always a challenge in achieving good NVH characteristics and durability with less weight. For this activity engine mount load is necessary to optimize the weight to meet durability and NVH targets. This paper introduces a new method to calculate engine mount loads from chassis accelerations. The method starts by measuring chassis acceleration near engine mount location, then reproducing the same chassis acceleration in Multi Axis Shaker Table (MAST), and finally extracting the load in engine mount using testing (using load cell). The MAST test actuator displacement input is imported into ADAMS and engine mount loads are extracted. The extracted loads are correlated with physical test results. The correlation includes load time history and peak-to-peak load range. It is recommended to implement this method in early vehicle design phases. Implementing engine mount bracket weight optimization is desirable in early design stages.

Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are always striving to deliver fast Air-Conditioning (AC) pulldown performance with consistent distribution of cabin temperature to meet customer expectations. The ultimate test is the OEM standard, called “AC Pull Down,” conducted at high ambient temperature and solar load conditions with a prescribed vehicle drive cycle. To determine whether the AC system in the vehicle has the capacity to cool the cabin, throughout the drive cycle test, cabin temperature measurements are evaluated against the vehicle target. If the measured cabin temperatures are equal or lower than the required temperatures, the AC system is deemed conventional for customer usage. In this paper, numerical predictions of the cabin temperatures to replicate the AC pulldown test are presented. The AC pulldown scenario is carried out in a digital Climatic Wind Tunnel simulation. The solution used in this study is based on a coupled approach.

Improving the fuel economy of the vehicle resulting in energy conservation on long run is a challenging task in the automotive field without compromising the emission margins. Fuel economy improvement by effective driving is the main focus of this paper by the proper utilization of gears which can enable good fuel economy even when the vehicle is driven by different drivers. GSI technique was implemented on Sports utility vehicle operating with 2.2 l engine. Tests were carried with GSI and the effect of fuel consumption and emissions were compared to the regular driving cycle. Optimization of various gear shifting points were analyzed and implemented for better fuel economy keeping the drivability in mind, meeting the BS4 emission norms comfortably. The experiments were carried out in both cold and hot conditions to check the effect of GSI and positive results of fuel economy improvement was yielded.

The combustion strategies play a key role in emission improvisation and noise reduction on diesel engines equipped for higher emission norus. This paper clearly discussed on the selection of various operating points for optimization and employing of proper calibration strategies like pilot strategy, Main injection timing, EGR type and rail pressure variation for best emission and noise output. Various optimization techniques have been implemented in our study. Since the pilot injection quantity as well as timing are varied in our paper, careful matrix formulation is required to determine the best optimum point. Around 340 points were obtained on varying pilot quantity and pilot separation sweep chosen at single engine speed and load for both the pilots. Out of the above points, 5 sensitive points were selected ensuring the sensitivity of the emissions and noise.

Migration to BS6 emission norms from BS4 levels involves strenuous efforts involving advanced technology and higher cost. The challenging part is on achieving the stringent emission norms without compromising the engine fuel economy, performance and NVH factors. Selection of hardware and attaining an optimal behaviour is therefore vital. This article focuses on the evaluation of three different configuration of turbochargers for the same engine to meet the BS6 emission norms and performance. The turbocharger samples used measure the same compressor diameter with varying trim ratios. Simulation and testing of turbochargers ensured positive results for confirmation of the system. Parameters like low speed torque, smoke and compressor efficiency were evaluated and analysed for all configurations. The safe limits of surge and choke regions of all the compressors were also studied and verified.

For meeting the stringent BS VI emissions in a 3-cylinder diesel engine the Exhaust after treatment system (EATS) was upgraded from a single brick DOC (diesel oxidation catalyst) to 2 brick DOC+sDPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) configuration. To meet the demands of emission regulation and sDPF requirements, changes were also required in the Fuel injection system. Major changes were done to the fuel injector and fuel pump. This paper primarily discusses the Fuel injector change from 1.1 to 2.2 family with changes in nozzle geometry, Nozzle tip protrusion (NTP), and injector cone angle and the effects on the emission and performance parameters. The various design values of NTP, cone angle, and Sac values are tested in an actual engine to meet the required power, torque and verified to meet NOx, HC, PM values as required by the new BS (Bharat Stage) VI regulation. Other boundary conditions are also checked - BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption), temperature, etc.

Light weight and Robust manufacturing technologies are always needed for transformation drive in the Automotive industry for the next-generation vehicles with greater Power to weight ratio. Innovations and process developments in materials and manufacturing processes are key to this light weighting transformation. Aluminium material has been widely used for these light weighting opportunities. However, aluminum joining techniques, characterized by their poor quality and consistency are limiting this transformation. This technical paper represents one of such case, where the part is made up of Aluminium through conventional casting route which has affected the laser weld quality due to poor casting soundness. This experiment explains in detail about the importance of Casting soundness for laser weld quality, weld penetration, strength etc., and the Product consistency.

Design and development of high-pressure pipe involves number of design validation plans for robust design in diesel engine. The fundamental behavior of two-cylinder diesel engine with parallel stroke involves high vibration which generates stress on components mounted on crankcase resulting into earlier fatigue failure. In this paper, the innovative approach of using optimized design of vibration damper for resolving high vibration stress concerns in fuel system is discussed. The vibration dampers were designed meeting both performance and durability aspects in two-cylinder diesel engine applicable for both passenger and commercial vehicle. This paper highlights the design approach involving experimental stress measurements and design optimization based on part development feasibility.

Innovative setting bracket design to improve the tractor Fit and Finish between the Bonnet and Custer panel (Scuttle) The paper presents an integrated approach for arriving a process to assemble scuttle regarding bonnet to achieve Gap and flushness aesthetic requirement. Variation is inevitable due to fitting of bonnet on Tractor front semi-chassis, scuttle fitting on tractor middle clutch housing and assembling many parts with different tolerances, hence the deviation (stack-up) obtained after their assembly varies from approximately -10.175 to 9.775 mm. This is quite large and gives a huge impact in aesthetic point of view. To overcome this issue, we introduced one Innovative intermediate bracket as the setting gauge which is assembled with reference to bonnet and scuttle is mounted on this setting bracket hence zero flushness and uniform achieved between bonnet and scuttle.

Fuel economy, performance and drivability are the three important parameters for evaluating the vehicle performance. Powertrain matching plays a major role in meeting the above targets. Fuel economy is measured based on city, highway and some user defined driving cycles which can be considered as real world usage profiles. Performance and Drivability is evaluated based on the in-gear, thru-gear (acceleration performance) and grade-ability performance. The load collective points of the engine greatly influence the engines performance, fuel economy and emissions, which in-turn depends on the N/V ratio of the vehicle. The optimal selection of gear and final drive ratios plays a key role in the optimization of the Powertrain for a particular vehicle. The current study involves dynamic simulation of the vehicle performance and fuel economy at transient engine test-bed for different gear and final drive ratio combinations using AVL DynoExcat-dynamometer.

Steering returnability while driving is one of the most important parameter which affects the drive pleasure and handling of a vehicle. Steering returnability refers to the automatic returning response of the steering wheel after taking a full turn while vehicle is being steered during driving. Evaluating steering response characteristics of any vehicle in a virtual environment at early stage of a product development saves significant development time and cost. Through this paper an attempt has been made to develop a methodology for selection of suspension hard points which influences steering returnability characteristics of a vehicle at an early product design stage. Conventionally, suspension kinematic parameters such as Caster angle, Steering axis inclination (SAI), etc. are iterated during vehicle design stage to achieve desired Steering returnability.