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An essential feature of the Audi Quattro permanent four-wheel drive system is in the inter-axle differential located on the hollow output shaft in the gearbox: the drive is taken from this differential forward to the front differential through the inside of the hollow shaft, and rearward to a propellor shaft driving the rear differential. The major advantages in everyday driving include improved traction and a reduced tendency toward throttle induced changes of attitude. The greater traction allows not only better progress in difficult road conditions; it also gives better acceleration in difficult traffic situations, such as when joining a busy main road. The more easily predictable handling response to throttle changes means that Quattro vehicles have better tracking stability. Altogether, the active safety and "roadability" are considerably improved.

Late developments in tires and in lightweight, high horsepower engines and transmissions have enabled the earthmoving and mining industry equipment manufacturers to design and produce several types of preproduction 100-ton capacity trucks. A straight-forward approach to the design of a 110-ton end dump truck on two axles with a hydro-mechanical drive was followed by KW-Dart Truck Co. to produce a low cost per ton-mile vehicle.

Handling performance of a vehicle is a key characteristic determining the response of vehicle under different operating scenarios. An insight into these vehicle-handling characteristics at early stage can be extremely useful in the design and development process. Tire characterization and tuning is important and mandatory to scrutinize each functional and individual parameter of tire. Tire force and moment data is having a significant effect in vehicle handling. Segregation of tire parameter, which is contributing vehicle-handling performance, helps to identify and perform optimization for improvisation. The main objective of this study is development and integration optimized 1D tire model into multibody dynamics model of the vehicle to observe various vehicle compliances towards its handling performance target.

This paper presents a novel battery degradation model based on empirical data from the Racing Green Endurance project. Using the rainflow-counting algorithm, battery charge and discharge data from an electric vehicle has been studied in order to establish more reliable and more accurate predictions for capacity and power fade of automotive traction batteries than those currently available. It is shown that for the particular lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) batteries, capacity fade is 5.8% after 87 cycles. After 3,000 cycles it is estimated to be 32%. Both capacity and power fade strongly depend on cumulative energy throughput, maximum C-rate as well as temperature.

Sudden tire deflation, or blow-out, is sometimes cited as the cause of a crash. Safety researchers have previously attempted to study the loss of vehicle control resulting from a blow-out with some success using computer simulation. However, the simplified models used in these studies did little to expose the true transient nature of the handling problem created by a blown tire. New developments in vehicle simulation technology have made possible the detailed analysis of transient vehicle behavior during and after a blow-out. This paper presents the results of an experimental blow-out study with a comparison to computer simulations. In the experiments, a vehicle was driven under steady state conditions and a blow-out was induced at the right rear tire. Various driver steering and braking inputs were attempted, and the vehicle response was recorded. These events were then simulated using EDVSM. A comparison between experimental and simulated results is presented.

A new lightweight gasoline, two-cycle engine for portable tools is described. The total weight of 8 lb with an output of 3.5 hp was achieved by means of compact design with the use of standardized parts wherever possible, rather than by creating all new parts.

The objective of this study was to investigate if 3D auditory displays could be used to enhance parking assistance systems (PAS). Objective measurements and estimations of workload were used to assess the benefits of different 3D auditory displays. In today’s cars, PAS normally use a visual display together with simple sound signals to inform drivers of obstacles in close proximity. These systems rely heavily on the visual display, as the sound does not provide information about obstacles' location. This may cause the driver to lose focus on the surroundings and reduce situational awareness. Two user studies (during summer and winter) were conducted to compare three different systems. The baseline system corresponded to a system normally found in today’s cars. The other systems were designed with a 3D auditory display, conveying information of where obstacles were located through sound. A visual display was also available. Both normal parking and parallel parking was conducted.

The radar-based advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and forward collision warning (FCW) can reduce accidents, so as to make vehicles, drivers and pedestrians safer. For active safety, automotive millimeter-wave radar is an indispensable role in the automotive environmental sensing system since it can work effectively regardless of the bad weather while the camera fails. One crucial task of the automotive radar is to detect and distinguish some objects close to each other precisely with the increasingly complex of the road condition. Nowadays almost all the automotive radar products work in bidimensional area where just the range and azimuth can be measured. However, sometimes in their field of view it is not easy for them to differentiate some objects, like the car, the manhole covers and the guide board, when they align with each other in vertical direction.

The dynamic model is built in Siemens Simcenter Amesim platform and simulates the performances on track of JUNO, a low energy demanding Urban Concept vehicle to take part in the Shell Eco-Marathon competition, in which the goal is to achieve the lowest fuel consumption in covering some laps of a racetrack, with limitations on the maximum race time. The model starts with the longitudinal dynamics, analysing all the factors that characterize the vehicle’s forward resistance, like aerodynamic forces, altimetry changes and rolling resistance. To improve the correlation between simulation and track performances, the model has been updated with the implementation of a Single-Track Model, including vehicle rotation around its roll axis, and a 3D representation of the racetrack, with an automatic trajectory following control implemented. This is crucial to characterise the vehicle’s lateral dynamics, which cannot be neglected in simulating its performances on track.

The measurement of the contact forces between road and tires is of fundamental importance while designing road vehicles. In this paper, the design and the employment of measuring wheels for trucks and heavy vehicles is presented. The measuring wheels have been optimized in order to obtain high stiffness and the approximately the same mass of the wheels normally employed. The proposed multicomponent measuring wheels are high- accuracy instruments for measuring the dynamic loads during handling and durability testing. The measuring wheels can replace the wheels of the truck under normal operation. Such family of wheels plays a major role in modern road vehicles development. The measuring wheel concept design is based on a patented three-spoke structure connected to the wheel rim. The spokes are instrumented by means of strain gauges and the measuring wheel is able to measure the three forces and the three moments acting at the interface between the tire and the road.

SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE TRANSPORTATION COST PER TON MILE OF BULK PRODUCTS IS ATTAINABLE BY THE PROPER ADAPTATION OF A TRUCK TRAIN TRANSPORT. IMPROVED HAUL ROADS, GREATER DISTANCES, AND INCREASED DEMAND FOR MINE PRODUCTS AT COMPETITIVE PRICES ARE RESULTING IN A RE-EVALUATION OF ALL COST ASPECTS OF MATERIAL MOVEMENT. THE TRUCK TRAIN CONCEPT USING RELATIVELY SMALLER TIRES THAN LARGE PIT TRUCKS OPENS THE DOOR TO REDUCED OPERATING COSTS BY LOWERING CYCLE TIMES AND COST PER MILE OF TIRES AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT.

Multi-Target tracking is a central aspect of modeling the surrounding environment of autonomous vehicles. Automotive millimeter-wave radar is a necessary component in the autonomous driving system. One of the biggest advantages of radar is it measures the velocity directly. Another big advantage is that the radar is less influenced by environmental conditions. It can work day and night, in rainy or snowy conditions. In the expressway scenario, the forward-looking radar can generate multiple objects, to properly track the leading vehicle or neighbor-lane vehicle, a multi-target tracking algorithm is required. How to associate the track and the measurement or data association is an important question in a multi-target tracking system. This paper applies the nearest-neighbor method to solve the data association problem and uses an extended Kalman filter to update the state of the track.

The paper investigates the interaction between soil and tractor tires through a 2D numerical model. The tire is schematized as a rigid ring presenting a series of rigid tread bars on the external circumference. The outer profile of the tire is divided into a series of elements, each one able to exchange a normal and a tangential contact force with the ground. A 2D soil model was developed to compute the forces at the ground-tire interface: the normal force is determined on the basis of the compression of the soil generated by the sinking of the tire. The soil is modeled through a layer of springs characterized by two different stiffness for the loading (lower stiffness) and unloading (higher stiffness) condition. This scheme allows to introduce a memory effect on the soil which results stiffer and keeps a residual sinking after the passage of the tire. The normal contact force determines the maximum value of tangential force provided before the soil fails.

To realistically predict the dynamics of a vehicle, the forces and moments in the contact patch must be accurately computed. A two-dimensional semi-empirical transient tire model was previously developed in the Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Lab (AVDL) at Virginia Tech, and extended the capabilities of the steady-state tire model also developed at AVDL. In this paper, a three-dimensional semi-empirical transient tire model is presented. The tire structure is modeled by an elastic ring supported on a spring and damper system. The elastic ring represents the belt ring and the spring and damper system represents the sidewall and the tread element. The analysis of the deformation of the tire structure with camber angle is performed on a flat surface to obtain the geometry of the contact patch and the normal pressure distribution. The forces and the moments are formulated using empirical data and based on theoretical mechanics.

In the summer of 1922 the Buick Company began experimenting with balloon tires. The first tires tested, being four-ply and 32 x 6.20 in. in size, produced a galloping action that was sufficient to prejudice the company's engineers against them, and the tests were discontinued. In addition to the galloping effect, other difficulties encountered included those usually present in steering, the development of wheel shimmying to a serious degree, the lack of proper clearance for external brakes because of the small 20-in. wheels, the excessively rapid wear of the tire tread, and the greater susceptibility to puncture. Leaks because of the pinching of the inner tubes also occurred. When, later, a set of 5.25-in. tires was tried on a smaller car, the galloping was noticeably less; but punctures were more numerous than was the case with high-pressure tires.

The survey described herein was performed by Transport Canada in 1978 to obtain a nationally representative sample of tire pressures, to record driver maintenance habits, and to obtain cursory information on tire failures. Over 70 percent of the tires examined in the survey were underinflated, and as many as 37 percent were underinflated by 4.0 pounds per square inch (psi) or more. In addition, almost 90 percent of the vehicles examined had at least one tire that was underinflated, and almost 60 percent of the vehicles had at least one tire that was underinflated by 4.0 psi or more. Results are discussed in terms of driver maintenance practices and driver characteristics.

Analytical reverse projection is introduced and is shown to offer an improvement in applicability and accuracy over other techniques of single-image photogrammetry, including plane-to-plane transformation and camera reverse-projection methods. A comparison of the methods is made on the basis of a single case of reconstructing missing tire tracks on a roadway intersection. Advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. THIS PAPER REVIEWS non-graphical techniques used to make measurements of features imaged in a single photograph. Two formulations of the plane-to-plane transformation method are re viewed, the camera reverse-projection technique is presented, and a third technique, called the analytical reverse-projection method, is introduced. Following a review of the various methods, including an indication of their advantages and disadvantages, each method is applied to the problem of relocating a set of tire tracks in an intersection.

Car Periphery Supervision (CPS) systems comprise a family of automotive systems that are based on sensors installed around the vehicle to monitor its environment. The measurement and evaluation of sensor data enables the realization of several kinds of higher level applications such as parking assistance or blind spot detection. Although a lot of similarity can be identified among CPS applications, these systems are traditionally built separately. Usually, each single system is built with its own electronic control unit, and it is likely that the application software is bound to the controller's hardware. Current systems engineering therefore often leads to a large number of inflexible, dedicated systems in the automobile that together consume a large amount of power, weight, and installation space and produce high manufacturing and maintenance costs.

This paper proposed a collision avoidance strategy that take over the control of ego vehicle when faced with urgent collision risk. To improve the applicability of collision avoidance strategy in complex scenarios, the theory of ICS (Inevitable Collision State) is introduced to evaluate the collision risk and compute the trigger flag of the system, and vehicle dynamic is taken into account when modeling ego vehicle to predict ego vehicle’s following moving. Vehicle specific characteristics including reaction time of the braking system and the braking force increasing process are taken into account. In order to reduce injury caused by collision accidents and minimize disruption to drivers, slight steering is added on top of emergency braking. The direction of the steering angle is determined according to IM (Imitating Maneuvers) The flow chart of the strategy is presented in the paper.