Search Results

Due the increasing concern with the acoustic environment within automotive vehicles, there is an interest in measuring the acoustical properties of automotive door seals. These systems play an important role in blocking external noise sources, such as aerodynamic noise and tire noise, from entering the passenger compartment. Thus, it is important to be able to conveniently measure their acoustic performance. Previous methods of measuring the ability of seals to block sound required the use of either a reverberation chamber, or a wind tunnel with a special purpose chamber attached to it. That is, these methods required the use of large and expensive facilities. A simpler and more economical desktop procedure is thus needed to allow easy and fast acoustic measurement of automotive door seals.

A parametric simulation model of a steel-tracked feller buncher was developed1. This model can be used to predict the lift capacity, side tipping angles, grade-ability, and joint forces during a cutting cycle. The feller buncher is defined parametrically, allowing the user to quickly analyze different machine configurations simply by changing the value of a variable. Several simulations were performed to illustrate the application of the model.

This paper describes research to analyze widespread fatigue damage in lap joints. The particular objective is to determine when large numbers of small cracks could degrade the joint strength to an unacceptable level. A deterministic model is described to compute fatigue crack growth and residual strength of riveted panels that contain multiple cracks. Fatigue crack growth tests conducted to evaluate the predictive model are summarized, and indicate good agreement between experimental and numerical results. Monte Carlo simulations are then performed to determine the influence of statistical variability on various analysis parameters.

In computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and computational aeroacoustics (CAA) simulations, the wall surface is normally treated as a purely reflective wall. However, some surface treatments are usually applied in experiments. Thus, the acoustic simulations cannot be validated by experimental results. One of the major challenges is how to define acoustically boundary conditions in a well-posed way. In aeroacoustics analysis, impedance is a quantity to characterize reflectivity and absorption of an acoustically treated surface, which may be introduced into the numerical models as a frequency-domain boundary condition. However, CFD and CAA simulations are time-domain computations, meaning the frequency-domain impedance boundary condition cannot be adopted directly. Several methods, including the three-parameter model, the z-transform method and the reflection coefficient model, were developed.

A low-cost hydrostatic absorption dynamometer has been developed for small to medium sized engines. The dynamometer was designed and built by students to support student projects and educational activities. The availability of such a dynamometer permits engine break-in cycles, performance testing, and laboratory instruction in the areas of engines, fuels, sensors, and data acquisition. The dynamometer, capable of loading engines up to 60kW at 155Nm and 3600rpm, incorporates a two-section gear pump and an electronically operated proportional pressure control valve to develop and control the load. A bypass valve permits the use of only one pump section, allowing increased fidelity of load control at lower torque levels. Torque is measured directly on the drive shaft with a strain gage. Torque and speed signals are transmitted by an inductively-powered collar mounted to the dynamometer drive shaft. Pressure transducers at the pump inlet and pump outlet allow secondary load measurement.

Sound transmission through door and window sealing systems is one important contributor to vehicle interior noise. The noise generation mechanism involves the vibration of the seal due to the unsteady wall pressures associated with the turbulent flow over the vehicle. For bulb seals, sound transmission through the seal is governed by the resonance of the seal membranes and the air cavity within the bulb (the so-called mass-air-mass resonance). The objective of this study was to develop a finite element (FE) model to predict the sound transmission loss of elastomeric bulb seals. The model was then exercized to perform a parametric study of the influence of seveal seal design parameters. The results suggest that the sound transmission loss increases as the membrane thicknesses and/or the separation distance between the two seal walls are increased. The addition of additional internal “webs” was found to have adverse effects on the sound barrier performance.

One dominant “wind noise” generating mechanism in road vehicles is the interaction between turbulent flows and flexible structures which include side glass windows. In this study, the effects of seal mechanical properties on the sound generated from flow-induced vibration of side glass windows were investigated. The primary goal was to assess the influence of seal support properties on the noise generated from a plate. Two different models to calculate the optimal support stiffness of the seal that minimizes the velocity response are presented. The results show that both the velocity response and the sound radiation are strongly influenced by dissipation of vibration energy at the edges. It is demonstrate that support tuning can yield significant noise and vibration reduction.

Electrical connectors and terminals are widely used in the automotive industry. It is desirable to mate the electrical connections using materials or coatings with low friction force to improve the ergonomics of the assembly process while maintaining good electrical conduction over the lifetime of the vehicle. We have previously shown that plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of graphene on gold (Au) and silver (Ag) terminals can significantly reduce the insertion force (friction force during the terminal insertion process). However, the cost of this deposition method is rather high, and its high temperature process (> 400 oC) makes it impractical for materials with low melting temperatures. For example, tin (Sn) coating with a melting temperature of 232 oC is commonly used in electrical connectors, which cannot sustain the high temperature process. In this study, reduced graphene oxide was prepared using a low-cost solution process and applied onto metallic terminals.

Today, there are several hundreds of manufacturing processes available to the designer to choose from, and the number is constantly increasing. The ability to choose a manufacturing process for a particular user need set in the early stage of the design process is necessary. In metalcasting alone, there are over forty different processes with different capabilities. A designer can benefit from knowing the manufacturing process alternatives available to him. Inaccurate process selection can lead to financial losses and market share erosion. This paper discusses a methodology for selection of a metalcasting process based on a number of user specified attributes or requirements. A model of user requirements was developed and these requirements were matched with the capabilities of each metalcasting process. The metalcasting process which best meets these needs is suggested.

This paper describes the numerical modeling of the hydraulic circuit of a self-moving boom lift. Boom lifts consist of several hydraulic actuators, each of them performs a specific movement. Hydraulic systems for lifting applications must ensure consistent performance no matter what the load and how many users are in operation at the same time. Common solutions comprise a fixed or a variable displacement pump with load-sensing control strategy. Instead, the hydraulic circuit studied in this paper includes a fixed displacement pump and an innovative (patented) proportional valve assembly. Each proportional valve (one for each user) permits a flow regulation for all typical load conditions and movement simultaneously. The study of the hydraulic system required a detailed modeling of some components such as: the overcenter valves, for the control of the assistive loads; the proportional valve, which keeps a constant flow independently of pressure drop across itself.

The ALS/NSCORT Education and Outreach provides an avenue to engage and educate higher education students and K-12 educators/students in the center's investigations of the synergistic concepts and principles required for regenerative life-support in extended-duration space exploration. The following K-12 Education programs will be addressed: 1) Key Learning Community Project provides exposure, mentoring and research opportunities for 9-12th grade students at Key Learning Community This program was expanded in 2004 to include an “Explore Mars” 3-day camp experience for 150 Key students. The overall goal of the collaborative project is to motivate students to pursue careers in science, technology, and engineering; 2) Mission to Mars Program introduces 5th-8th grade students to the complex issues involved with living on Mars, stressing the interdisciplinary fundamentals of science, technology and engineering that underlie Advanced Life Support research.

Nowadays, the increasing number of structural high pressure die casting (HPDC) aluminum parts need to be joined with high strength steel (HSS) parts in order to reduce the weight of vehicle for fuel-economy considerations. Self-Pierce Riveting (SPR) has become one of the strongest mechanical joining solutions used in automotive industry in the past several decades. Joining HPDC parts with HSS parts can potentially cause joint quality issues, such as joint button cracks, low corrosion resistance and low joint strength. The appropriate heat treatment will be suggested to improve SPR joint quality in terms of cracks reduction. But the heat treatment can also result in the blister issue and extra time and cost consumption for HPDC parts. The relationship between the microstructure of HPDC material before and after heat treatment with the joint quality is going to be investigated and discussed for interpretation of cracks initiation and propagation during riveting.

The sound barrier performance of elastomeric vehicle weather seals was investigated. Experiments were performed for one bulb seal specimen following a reverberation room method. The seal wall vibration was measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer. The acoustic pressure near the seal surface was measured simultaneously, allowing the sound intensities on both side of the seal, and the sound transmission loss to be evaluated. The vibration response of the bulb seal and its sound transmission loss were then computed using the finite element method. Model predictions for the same seal geometry were found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental data within the frequency range of interest, comprised between 500 Hz and 4000 Hz.