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This paper proposes a new evaluation method of analyzing stability and design of a controller for an electric power steering (EPS) system. The main purpose of the EPS system’s control design is to ensure a comfortable driving experience of drivers, which mainly depends on the assist torque map. However, the high level of assist gain and its nonlinearity may cause oscillation, divergence and instability to the steering systems. Therefore, an EPS system needs to have an extra stability controller to eliminate the side effect of assist gain on system stability and attenuate the unpleasant vibration. In this paper, an accurate theoretical model is built and the method for evaluating system quality are suggested. The bench tests and vehicle experiments are carried out to verify the theoretical analysis.

Automobile rubber isolator was subjected to random load cycle for a long time in the service process, and its main rubber material for vibration isolation was prone to fatigue failure. Since the traditional Miner damage theory overlooked the load randomness, it had a prediction error problem. In order to improve the prediction accuracy of rubber fatigue life, the traditional Miner damage theory was modified by random uncertainty theory to predict the rubber fatigue life under random load. Firstly, the rubber dumbbell-shaped test column, which was vulcanized from rubber materials commonly used in vibration isolators, was taken as the research object. The uniaxial fatigue test of rubber under different strain amplitudes and strain mean values was carried out. Then the fatigue characteristic curve of rubber with equivalent strain amplitude as the damage parameter was established.

Tortuosity, viscous characteristic length and thermal characteristic length are three important parameters for estimating the acoustic performance of porous materials, and it is usually measured by ultrasonic measurement technology, which is costly. In this paper, a method for identifying the tortuosity, viscous characteristic length and thermal characteristic length for the porous fiber materials mixed with kapok fiber and two kinds of other fiber materials is proposed. The tortuosity is calculated by using the porosity and high-frequency normal sound absorption coefficient of porous materials. According to the normal sound absorption coefficient curve of porous materials under plane wave incidence, viscous characteristic length and thermal characteristic length are identified through the Johnson-Champoux-Allard-Lafarge (JCAL) model and genetic algorithm by using the measured parameters, the calculated tortuosity and static thermal permeability.

Rubber isolators are widely used under random vibrations. In order to predict their fatigue life, a study on the fatigue analysis methodology for rubber isolators is carried out in this paper. Firstly, taking a mount used for isolating air conditioning compressor vibrations as studying example, accelerations versus time of rubber isolator at both sides are acquired for a car under different running conditions. The acceleration in time domain is transformed to frequency domain using the Fourier transform, and the acceleration power spectral density (PSD) is the obtained. Using the PSD as input, fatigue test is carried for the rubber isolator in different temperature and constant humidity conditions. A finite element model of the rubber isolator using ABAQUS is established for estimating fatigue life, and model validity is verified through static characteristic testing. Dynamic responses of the rubber isolator at frequency domain are calculated if a unit load is applied.

In order to enhance the efficiency of durability testing of automobile parts, a time-frequency domain accelerated editing method of road load time series of rubber mount on powertrain was discussed. Based on Stockwell Transform method and Accumulative Power Spectral Density, a new time-frequency domain accelerated editing method (ST-APSD) was proposed. The accumulative power spectral density was obtained by ST of the load time series signal of automobile powertrain rubber mounting force which is acquired by the real vehicle in the test field. Based on the accumulative power spectral density, the threshold value was proposed to identify and delete the small damage load fragments, and then the acceleration spectrum was obtained.

A road test on semi-trailers is carried out, and accelerations of some characteristic points on the braking system,axles,and truck body is measured,also brake pressure and noise around the support frame is acquired.The measured data was analyzed to determine the causes of the brake noise, and the mechanism of the noise of the drum brake of semi-trailers during low-speed braking was investigated. The following conclusions are obtained: (1) Brake noise of the drum brake of the semi-trailer at low-frequency is generated from vibrations of the brake shoes, axle, and body, and the vibration frequency is close to 2nd natural frequency of the axle. (2) Brake noise is generated from stick-slip motion between the brake shoes and the brake drum, where the relative motion between the brake drum and the brake shoes is changed alternately with sliding and sticking, resulting in sudden changes in acceleration and shock vibration.

The ball joint with cross groove offers both angular and plunging motion. When transmitting the same torque, the cross groove ball joint is lighter than other plunging Constant Velocity Joints (CVJs). It is crucial for the design of the joint and enhancing the contact fatigue life of the raceway to accurately estimate component loads of the ball joints with cross groove. In this study, the transmission efficiency of the joint and the peak value of contact force between ball and the track are used as evaluation indexes for characterizing dynamic performance of the joint. A multibody dynamic model of the joint is established to calculate its dynamic performance. In the model, the contact properties and friction characteristics of the internal structures were modeled, and a nonlinear equivalent spring and damping model was adopted for estimating the contact force. The transmission efficiency loss of the cross groove joint was measured and compared with the calculated values.

The ever increasing popularity of electric vehicles and higher requirement on safety and comfort has led heat pump air conditioning system indispensable in electric vehicle. Many studies have shown that the addition of nano particles contributes to great improvement on thermal conductivity than that of conventional refrigerants. Therefore, the application of the magnetic nanorefrigerant in heat pump air conditioning system has massive potential to heighten the heat transfer efficiency. This paper aims at studying the magnetic nanorefrigerant comprised of the magnetic nano powder Fe3O4 and refrigerant R134a. According to the relevant theoretical analyses and empirical formula, the heat transfer coefficient, density, viscosity, and other physical parameters are calculated approximately. In the heat pump air conditioning system of a certain type of electric vehicle, the special working condition parameters are selected to carry out calculation analysis with numerical analysis software.

The good mobility and large carrying capacity promote the popularity of intercity coach in mass transit, especially in the long distance passenger transport nowadays. However, accidents related to coach and bus usually involve large casualties. Higher risk of fatalities is exhibited in rollover than the other coach accident types. In order to protect the occupants when a rollover accident occurs, coach structure must have sufficient strength to resist the impact loads. This paper presents a rollover test of an intercity coach body section using both numerical simulation and experimental testing to investigate its rollover crashworthiness in accordance with ECE R66. A full scale coach body section is manufactured and a tilting bench is designed and fabricated. Displacement transducers and accelerometer are equipped to record the time history of superstructure deformation and impact acceleration. And the FE model was developed accordingly.

The fatigue prediction model of an air spring based on the crack initiation method is established in this study. Taking a rolling lobe air spring with an aluminum casing as the studying example, a finite element model for analyzing force versus displacement is developed. The static stiffness and dimensional parameters of limit positions are calculated and analyzed. The influence of different modeling methods of air springs bellow are compared and analyzed. Static stiffness measurement of an air spring is conducted, and the calculation results and the measured results of the static stiffness are compared. It is shown that the relative error of the measured stiffness and calculated stiffness is within 1%. The Abaqus post-processing stage is redeveloped in Python language.

Uniaxial fatigue tests of rubber dumbbell specimens under different mean and amplitude of strain are carried out. An Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) model optimized by Dragonfly Algorithm (DA) is proposed to predict the fatigue life of rubber based on measured rubber fatigue life data. Mean and amplitude of strain and measured rubber fatigue life are taken as input variables and output variables respectively in DA-ELM model. For comparison, genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are used to optimize ELM parameters, and GA-ELM and PSO-ELM models are established. The comparison results show that DA-ELM model performs better in predicting the fatigue life of rubber with least dispersion. The coefficients of determination for the training set and test set are 99.47% and 99.12%, respectively. In addition, a life prediction model equivalent strain amplitude as damage parameter is introduced to further highlight the superiority of DA-ELM model.

The elliptically shaped bearing (ESB) with a rigid, elliptical inner race and a flexible, thin-walled outer race is the most easily damaged core component of harmonic drive. The ESB rotates under cycle load of alternating stress due to its special elliptic structure. Hence, the fault features of ESB such as fatigue spalling and pitting are apt to be concealed by the excitation of impulses caused by alternating between major axis and minor axis. In order to diagnose the fault on raceway surfaces of ESB, a new method of CMWT-FH based on Continuous Morlet Wavelet Transform (CMWT) and FFT-based Hilbert (FH) spectrum analysis is proposed to extract the fault feature.

An experiment is carried out to measure creep groan of a drum brake located in a trailer axle of a truck. The noise nearby the drum brake and accelerations on brake shoes, axle and trailer frame are collected to analyze the occurring conditions and characteristics of the creep groan. A multi-body dynamics model with 1/4 trailer chassis structures is established for analyzing brake component vibrations that generates the creep groan. In the model, the contact force between brake cam and brake shoes, the contact friction characteristics between brake linings and inner circular surface of brake drum, and the properties of chassis structure are included. Dynamic responses of brake shoes, axle and trailer frame during the braking process are estimated using the established model and the responses are compared with the measured results, which validate the model.

As the power of electric vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are subjected to a variety of mechanical loads during electrochemical operation. Under this operating environment, lithium-ion batteries are at risk of internal short circuit, thermal runaway and even fire, threatening the safety of electric vehicles. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanical behaviors and failure mechanisms of the battery separator to improve the safety of lithium-ion batteries under mechanical loads. In this study, uniaxial tensile, through-thickness compression and biaxial punch tests were performed to characterize two types of separators, dry-processed polypropylene (PP) separators and wet-processed ceramic-coated separators, and to analyze and compare their mechanical properties and failure modes. The comprehensive mechanical tests show that the failure modes of the different separator types are different, with the more anisotropic separator having more complex failure modes.

In order to study the influence of engine silicone oil fan clutch on the performances of engine cooling system under different control strategies, a model of engine cooling system for light truck is established. The working characteristics of the silicone oil clutch and the measured performance parameters of the cooling system components are taken into account in our proposed model. Modeling methods for different silicone oil fan control strategies are also given. Using the established model, the performance parameters under different vehicle speeds, such as coolant temperature of engine outlet and power consumption of cooling fan, are calculated and analyzed. The in-suite measurement of the engine cooling system is carried out to get the temperatures of engine coolant inlet and outlet from engine ECU. The model is validated by the comparison between the calculation and the measured results.

To characterize the stress flow behavior of engineering plastic glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PPGF) commonly used in automotive interior and exterior components, mechanical property is measured using a universal material testing machine and a servo-hydraulic tensile testing machine under quasi-static, high temperature, and high strain rate conditions. Stress versus strain curves of materials under different conditions are obtained. Based on the measured results, a new parameter identification method of the Johnson-Cook (J-C) constitutive model is proposed by considering the adiabatic temperature rise effect. Firstly, a material-level experiment method is carried out for glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PPGF) materials, and the influence of wide strain rate range, and large temperature span on the material properties is studied from a macroscopic perspective.

Battery Run-down under the Electric Vehicle Operation (BREVO) model is a model that links the driver’s travel pattern to physics-based battery degradation and powertrain energy consumption models. The model simulates the impacts of charging behavior, charging rate, driving patterns, and multiple energy management modules on battery capacity degradation. This study implements reinforcement learning (RL) to the simplified BREVO model to optimize drivers’ decisions on charging such as charging rate, charging time, and charging capacity needed. This is done by a reward function that considers both the driver’s daily travel demands and the minimization of battery degradation over a year. It shows that using appropriate charger type (No Charge, Level 1, Level 2, direct-current Fast Charge [DCFC], extreme Fast Charging [xFC]) with an appropriate charging time can reduce battery degradation and total charging cost at the end of the year while satisfying driver’s daily travel demand.

Aiming at the problem of middle and low frequency noise absorption, a combined sound-absorbing structure is designed based on porous material and a coiled-up cavity resonance structure. Combined with the sound absorption principle of porous materials and coiled-up cavities, a theoretical analytical model was established. By the finite element method, the sound absorption coefficient curve of the combined structure in a frequency range of 500-2000Hz is calculated, and the correctness of the analytical calculation and the finite element simulation calculation was verified in the impedance tube experiment. The results show that the combined structure has good sound absorption performance in the 500Hz-2000Hz frequency band, and the sound absorption peak appears near the 1108Hz frequency, reaching nearly perfect sound absorption. Compared with a single porous material, the sound absorption performance of the combined structure is better.

In the field of low-frequency noise control, the acoustic metamaterials have received extensive attention from researchers. However, the existing work mainly focuses on small structures with fixed boundaries, which is quite different from engineering applications. Based on the membrane-type acoustic metamaterials, this paper uses a rigid thin plate to replace the tensioned membrane, design and manufacture of two new types of local resonance structure and studies their sound insulation properties. First, the metamaterial samples with a small size of 100mm in diameter and a large-size square with a side length of 506mm were produced, and the sound TL of the two was tested through the impedance tube and the reverberation chamber-anechoic chamber, respectively. The results show that the new structure can form an obvious sound insulation frequency band at low frequencies. Based on the finite element method, a metamaterial acoustic transmission loss calculation model is established.

To reduce the noise in the frequency range of 100Hz~1000Hz, a metamaterial structure composed of lightweight frame, hard membrane-like material and added mass is proposed in this paper. The advantage of this structure is that it is lightweight and the membrane-like material does not need to be stressed in advance. Finite element method (FEM) and experiment are used to investigate the sound transmission loss (STL) performance of the metamaterial structure. The results show that the peak STL is caused by the local resonance of the added mass and the membrane-like material. The valley versus frequency results from the resonance frequencies of metamaterial structure, and it is divided into three resonance frequencies: resonance frequencies from added mass, membrane-like material and frame.