Search Results

There is a definite trend toward the increasing use of “Glass Encapsulation Technology” in the automotive industry. In this technology a glass object such as a window is placed within a mould and an elastomer is injected around the window giving a tight sealing system. A wide variety of materials are currently used as the sealing materials in either static or semi-static encapsulated glazing systems, including a wide range of “elastomers”. New thermoplastic elastomer compounds are being developed that are characterized by their consistent properties; including high melt-fluidity, very good surface appearance, sealing properties, and resistance to weathering. Compound performance is highly dependent on formulation variables as well as the chemistries of the base materials. KRATON® SEBS polymers1 are block copolymers of styrene and ethylene/butylene.

The increased use of recycled resins can create a dilemma for automotive designers. On the one hand, there is a growing initiative to increase recycled materials content on vehicles, globally. On the other hand, traditional methods of recycling polymeric materials -both thermoplastics and thermosets - can lead to degradation of engineering, mechanical, processing, and / or aesthetic properties of the resin. In an era where quality rules, this situation forces designers to accept a much lower percentage of recyclate than they might otherwise wish to use or risk unacceptable property loss in molded parts - something no automaker can “afford ” for long. Hence, a valuable feedstream of materials (polymers) often ends up destined for a landfill once many consumer products are broken down and more easily reusable or recyclable materials are salvaged. As a case in point, each passenger car built globally contains an average of 15 - 20 kg of nylon polymers.

Direct fuel injection is becoming mandatory in two-stroke S.I. engines, since it prevents one of the major problems of these engines, that is fuel loss from the exhaust port. Another important problem is combustion irregularity at light loads, due to excessive presence of residual gas in the charge, and can be solved by charge stratification. High-pressure liquid fuel injection is able to control the mixing process inside the cylinder for getting either stratified charge at partial loads or quasi-stoichiometric conditions, as it is required at full load. This paper shows the development of this solution for a small engine for moped and light scooter, using numeric and experimental tools. In order to obtain the best charge characteristics at every load and engine speed, different combustion chambers have been conceived and studied, examining the effects of combustion chamber geometry, together with injector position and injection timing

Flexibility, oil resistance, and the need for heat resistance to 150°C-plus temperatures have traditionally limited automotive design engineers to two options - thermoset rubber or heat-shielding conventional thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). Both of these options present limitations in part design, the ability to consolidate the number of components in a part of assembly, and on total cost. This paper presents a class of high-performance, flexible thermoplastic elastomers based on dynamically vulcanized polyacrylate (ACM) elastomer dispersed in a continuous matrix of polyamide (PA) thermoplastic. These materials are capable of sustained heat resistance to 150°C and short-term heat resistance to 175°C, without requiring heat shielding. Recent advancements in blow molding and functional testing of the PA//ACM TPEs for automotive air management (ducts) and underhood sealing applications will be shown.

CHEVROLET has made its new air-suspension system easily interchangeable in production line assembly with standard full-coil suspension by adopting a 4-link-type rear suspension with short and long arms. A feature of the system is the mounting of the leveling valves within the air-spring assemblies. These valves correct riding height continually at a moderate rate, regardless of whether the springs are leveling or operating in ride motion. The system provides constant frequency ride—ride comfort remains the same whether the car is occupied by the driver alone or is fully loaded.

This paper presents 1D engine simulation used for engine control strategy optimization for a twin-scroll turbocharged gasoline direct injection 2.0 L engine with twin camphaser. The results show good agreement of the engine model behavior with testbed acquisitions for a large amount of steady state set points and under transient operating conditions. The presented method demonstrates that a 1D engine code represents a useful and efficient tool during all steps of the engine control development process from design to real-time for such an advanced engine technology.

This document describes the 2-D computer-aided design (CAD) template for the HPM-1 H-point machine or HPD available from SAE. The elements of the HPD include the curve shapes, datum points and lines, and calibration references. The intended purpose for this information is to provide a master CAD reference for design and benchmarking. The content and format of the data files that are available are also described.

This document describes the 2-D computer-aided design (CAD) template for the HPM-1 H-point machine or HPD available from SAE. The elements of the HPD include the curve shapes, datum points and lines, and calibration references. The intended purpose for this information is to provide a master CAD reference for design and benchmarking. The content and format of the data files that are available are also described.

A theoretical model is presented for predicting springback of wide sheet metal subjected to 2D-stretch-bending operation. The material is assumed to be normal anisotropic with n-th power hardening law, σ = Fεn. Two types of stretch-bending experiment, bending with simultaneous stretching and stretch-bending followed by consecutive re-stretching, is conducted using AK sheet steel and sheet aluminum alloy A5182-O. The measured values of springback are in good agreement with analytical ones for a wide range of bending radii, stretching forces, and loading conditions. Furthermore, a calculation method for predicting springback configurations of 2D sheet metal parts with arbitrary cross-sections which include both stretch-bending and stretch-bending-unbending deformation is proposed.

THE development of the two-stage torque converter with automatic double clutch is presented here. The author covers particularly the substitution of casting for fabrication for several of the units in the transmission.

Controlled Auto Ignition (CAI), also known as Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), is one of the most promising combustion technologies to reduce the fuel consumption and NOx emissions. Currently, CAI combustion is constrained at part load operation conditions because of misfire at low load and knocking combustion at high load, and the lack of effective means to control the combustion process. Extending its operating range including high load boundary towards full load and low load boundary towards idle in order to allow the CAI engine to meet the demand of whole vehicle driving cycles, has become one of the key issues facing the industrialisation of CAI/HCCI technology. Furthermore, this combustion mode should be compatible with different fuels, and can switch back to conventional spark ignition operation when necessary. In this paper, the CAI operation is demonstrated on a 2-stroke gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine equipped with a poppet valve train.

The present study compares the NVH performance of three different materials used on cam covers in automobiles, Aluminum (Al), Magnesium (Mg) and Thermoplastic (TP). The cam cover design used for this comparison was the 2004 Nissan Maxima 3.5L production cam cover which is made of a thermoplastic (TP). The Al and Mg covers for this study were created by sandcast, due to time constraints, via laser scanning techniques using the 2004 Nissan Maxima 3.5L production thermoplastic cover design. Note that sand-cast covers generally provide a less quiet sound field than the standard casting method. The Nissan production cover comes with a production baffle made of a similar material as the cover. Testing was conducted with and without the production baffle for all covers. The study was conducted for the production boundary condition of a non-isolated cover and a Freudenberg-NOK (FNGP) partially isolated cover. Isolated bolt assemblies using elastomeric grommets were used to isolate the cover.

The 2005 Ford GT high performance sports car was designed and built in keeping with the heritage of the 1960's LeMans winning GT40 while maintaining the image of the 2002 GT40 concept vehicle. This paper reviews the technical challenges in designing and building a super car in 12 months while meeting customer expectations in performance, styling, quality and regulatory requirements. A team of dedicated and performance inspired engineers and technical specialists from Ford Motor Company Special Vehicle Teams, Research and Advanced Engineering, Mayflower Vehicle Systems, Roush Industries, Lear, and Saleen Special Vehicles was assembled and tasked with designing the production 2005 vehicle in record time.

The Ford GT Program Team was allocated just 22 months from concept to production to complete the Electrical and Electronics systems of the Ford GT. This reduced vehicle program timing - unlike any other in Ford's history -- demanded that the team streamline the standard development process, which is typically 54 months. This aggressive schedule allowed only 12 weeks to design the entire electrical and electronic system architecture, route the wire harnesses, package the components, and manufacture and/or procure all components necessary for the first three-vehicle prototype build.

This paper describes the engineering, manufacturing and integration necessary to produce the Corvette's first ever all-aluminum spaceframe (see Figure 1). The engineering and manufacturing of the spaceframe was a joint venture between General Motors and suppliers ALCOA (Aluminum Company of America) and Dana Corporation. ALCOA led the initial design of the spaceframe; Dana Corp led the manufacturing; General Motors' Engineering and Manufacturing groups led the integration of the assembly. The aluminum spaceframe design is modeled after the baseline steel structure of the Corvette coupe. The aluminum spaceframe reduces 140 lbs from the steel baseline and enters the plant at 285 lbs. This frame allows the 2006 Corvette Z06 to enter the market at a 3100 lbs curb weight. Aluminum casting, extruding, stamping, hydroforming, laser welding, Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding, Self Pierce Riveting (SPR), and full spaceframe machining make up the main technologies used to produce this spaceframe.

The General Motors (GM) Corvette design team was challenged with providing a C6 Z06 vehicle spaceframe that maintained the structural performance of its C5 predecessor while reducing mass by at least 56 kg. An additional requirement inherent to the project was that the design must be integrated into the C6 assembly processes with minimal disruption, i.e. seamless integration. In response to this challenge, a collaborative team was formed, consisting of design engineers from General Motors, Alcoa and Dana Corporation. The result of this collaborative effort is an aluminum Z06 spaceframe that satisfies the high performance expectations of the vehicle while reducing the mass by approximately 62 kg. The frame consists of aluminum extrusions, castings and sheets joined by MIG welding, laser welding and self-piercing rivets. The extrusions are 6XXX series alloys, the castings are permanent mold A356 while the sheet panels are formed from the 5XXX series of alloys.

The General Motors Corvette Product Engineering Team is in a continual search for mass-reduction technologies which provide performance improvements that are affordable and add value for their customers. The structural composite panels of the C6 Z06 provided a unique opportunity to extend the use of carbon fiber reinforced materials to reduce mass and enhance performance. The entire vehicle set of composite panels was reviewed as candidates for material substitution, with the selection criteria based on the cost per kg of mass saved, tooling cost required, and the location of the mass to be saved. Priority was extended to mass savings at the front of the vehicle. After a carefully balanced selection process, two components, both requiring redesign because of the Z06’s wider stance, met the criteria: the Front Wheelhouse Outer Panel and Floor Panels. The current Floor Panels, first used on the C5, are large and are a balsawood-cored glass fiber reinforced composite design.

Each year car manufacturers release new production models that are unique and innovative. These cars begin as concepts then go through the process of prototyping. The process of creating a new model can take years, involving extensive testing and refining of aerodynamics, safety, engine components, and vehicle styling. The production model is the result of this lengthy process, and its new technologies reflect the latest engineering standards as well as market trends. The 2014 Passenger Car Yearbook details the key engineering developments in the passenger vehicle industry of the year. Each new car model is profiled in its own chapter with one or more articles that were previously published and written by the award-winning editors of Automotive Engineering International. The novel engineering aspects of each new model are explored in depth.

Weight reduction of automobiles is key technology in order to improve fuel economy and driving performance. Concerning of the motorcycle engine, weight reduction is also the fundamental and important technologies. Cylinder is one of the main parts of engine and the wear characteristics of the cylinder liner are largely related to the engine performance. Gray iron liners squeezed in aluminum cylinder block have been widely used. This is due to the excellent resistance to abrasion of gray iron. In order to realize light all aluminum cylinder, the good abrasion resistant method is necessary to develop to be applied with inner surface of liners. We have developed the new Rapid Composite Plating System for the motorcycle engine cylinders. This system made it possible to adopt all aluminum cylinders without cast iron liners to new type of engine.

Durability tests have been initiated on olefinic and production painted fascias. Both 2D and 3D tests have provided insights into Friction Induced Damage (FID) failure mechanics. Full scale, 3D tests of automotive fascia mimic the parking lot rubbing contact between cars with friction forces exceeding 5000. N. 2D tests provide the cost effective approach to materials research by isolating the failure mechanics in the upper 250 μm of the decorated TPO where the cosmetic damage is initiated. Initial findings show some olefinic paint, TPO combinations to be more damage resistant for realistic frictional contact scenarios.