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The demand for improved fuel economy in both cars and trucks has emphasized the need for lighter weight components. The application of high strength steel to wheels, both rim and disc, represents a significant opportunity for the automotive industry. This paper discusses the Ranger HSLA wheel program that achieved a 9.7 lbs. per vehicle weight savings relative to a plain carbon steel wheel of the same design. It describes the Ranger wheel specifications, the material selection, the metallurgical considerations of applying HSLA to wheels, and HSLA arc and flash butt welding. The Ranger wheel design and the development of the manufacturing process is discussed, including design modifications to accommodate the lighter gage. The results demonstrate that wheels can be successfully manufactured from low sulfur 60XK HSLA steel in a conventional high volume process (stamped disc and rolled rim) to meet all wheel performance requirements and achieve a significant weight reduction.

A pin and disc machine has been modified for the evaluation of silver-steel lubrication characteristics of railroad diesel oils. Use of silver pins on polished steel discs at selected loads and rubbing speeds allows good correlation with known engine behavior. In comparison with wear and friction data obtained by the four ball method, this pin and disc test gives better correlation with engine tests than the Modified Four Ball Test.

To meet future needs for heavy truck cooling, a novel high performance radial compact cooling system (CCS) was developed. Measurements with a prototype system were conducted in a component wind tunnel and with truck-installed systems in a climatic vehicular wind tunnel. The CSS is compared to conventional axial and side-by-side systems. In comparison with a conventional axial system, the performance per unit volume of the CCS is 42% higher, the noise level is about 6 dB lower and the power consumption of the radial fan is 70% of the axial fan leading to significant savings in fuel consumption.

Engine mounts are an integral part of the vehicle that helps in reducing the vibrations generated from the engine. Engine mounts require a simple yet complicated amalgamation of two very different materials, steel and rubber. Proper adhesion between the two is required to prevent any part failure. Therefore, it becomes important that a comprehensive study is done to understand the mating phenomenon of both. A good linking between rubber and metal substrate is governed by surface pretreatment. Various methodologies such as mechanical and chemical are adopted for the same. This paper aims to present a comparative study as to which surface pretreatment has an edge over other techniques in terms of separation force required to break the bonding between the two parts. The study also presents a cost comparison between the techniques so that the best possible technique can be put to use in the commercial vehicle industry.

This paper describes the results of a series of fatigue studies relating the lives of several weld geometries. Rotating beam and axially loaded specimens were used. A comparison between steel and plastic (polyvinylchloride scale models is made. Using plastic scale models of welded structures for fatigue life determination is the ultimate goal of this work.

“Today, wearing parts are regularly subjected to abnormal loading conditions. They must be able to accept these conditions without failure. In continuous operations, unscheduled downtime greatly increases maintenance costs, not to mention the cost of lost production. White iron castings offer premium abrasion resistance for many of these applications, but are often not used due to the possibility of brittle failure and the difficulty of mechanical attachment. This paper discusses the properties and applications of a composite of martensitic white iron and mild steel. This laminate will accept medium to high impact without loss of service failure, and can be installed by mechanical means or with welded attachment.”

A Vehicle-Engine-Cooling (VEC) system computer simulation model was used to study the transient performance of control devices and their temperature settings on oil, coolant and cab temperatures. The truck used in the study was an International Harvester COF-9670 cab over chassis heavy-duty vehicle equipped with a standard cab heater, a Cummins NTC-350 diesel engine with a McCord radiator and standard cooling system components and aftercooler. Input data from several portions of a Columbus to Bloomington, Indiana route were used from the Vehicle Mission Simulation (VMS) program to determine engine and vehicle operating conditions for the VEC system computer simulation model. The control devices investigated were the standard thermostat, the Kysor fan-clutch and shutter system. The effect of shutterstat location on shutter performance along with thermostat, shutter and fan activation temperature settings were investigated for ambient temperatures of 32, 85 and 100°F.

Water-cooled charge air cooling is being considered as part of various technology solutions in response to 2007 US, 2010 US, EU4 and EU5 emissions standards. As manufacturers determine appropriate engine and vehicle solutions to meet the upcoming emissions standards, charge air cooling requirements are increasing due to higher turbocharger outlet temperatures and pressures, higher EGR rates, and requests for intake manifold temperature control to manage combustion and exhaust temperatures. Valeo and EMP have collaborated on the development and testing of a water cooled charge air cooler (WCCAC), controlled by a 12 volt brushless motor coolant pump. The system design addresses material temperature limitations of air-air aluminum CAC's and has the potential to simplify the packaging of the air induction system.

Current trends in environmental and emissions regulations are driving changes in new engine systems, and increasing the need for more effectively sealed joints in exhaust systems. At the high temperatures in these exhaust systems it is difficult for traditional gaskets to provide an effective seal, as they degrade at high operating temperatures. This paper introduces a coating that has both excellent temperature stability and good compliance, thus forming an excellent sealing enhancement for metallic layers in exhaust system gaskets. Temperature stability data is presented along with sealing data, which illustrate the superior performance of this material compared to current systems.

A software tool has been developed to aid designers and process engineers in the development and improvement of heat treat processes. This tool, DANTE™, combines metallurgical phase transformation models with mass diffusion, thermal and mechanical models to simulate the heating, carburization, quenching and tempering of steel parts. The technology behind the DANTE software and some applications are presented in this paper.

In order to fulfill the technical requirements of a high-efficiency low-emissions off-road horizontal diesel engine, a unique design is proposed and optimized in this paper for the cooling water jacket structure with a forced-cooling closed-loop cooling system. The cooling water flow rate, temperature, and pressure at the inlet and several other critical locations of the cooling water jacket were measured and analyzed at different engine operating conditions for the water jacket designs. A numerical simulation model of the coolant flow and the cooling system was built and used to analyze the thermal/fluid characteristics of the coolant flow in the water jacket. The impact of different structural and packaging design parameters on coolant flow and heat transfer was investigated. The design deficiency of an original (earlier) design of the water jacket was pointed out and an improved design was proposed.

Paper describes analysis of the design process of modern automotive LPG and CNG containers. Over decade experience in the field of both computer based analysis as well as in the real conditions testing has been collected and presented in the paper. Authors present the potentials of modern FEM methodologies in the optimization and production of lightweight steel containers. It has been proved that the most sophisticated numerical analysis have to be followed by the construction verification, particularly considering direct exposure to fire. Bonfire test have become obligatory for both liquid and compressed gases containers. Properly chosen fire protection system, together with the adequate level of quality of materials applied for its production together with proper directing of the gas flowing out from safety devices are the essential factors defining gas containers fire safety.

A lumped-parameter thermal network model, based on the analogy between heat transfer and electric current flow, is presented for hybrid powertrain cooling systems. In order to optimally select the powertrain components that are commercially viable and meet performance, emission, fuel economy and life targets, it is necessary to consider the influence of cooling architecture. Especially in electric and hybrid vehicles, temperature monitoring is important to increase power and torque utilization while preventing thermal damages. Detailed thermal models such as FEA and CFD are considered for component level assessments as they can locate thermal hotspots and identify possible design changes needed. However, for the system level analysis, the detailed numerical models are not suitable due to the requirement of high computation effort.

This paper presents some of the history of the Spacemetal process development; a discussion of the core forming machine, a description of the welder where corrugated core and facing sheets are joined; the quality control process employed for inspecting the finished product; and some of the material properties and applications. FOREWORD Development of a production process and the machines for fabrication of a resistance welded steel sandwich was made by Missile Division, North American Aviation, Inc. Development was carried forward under contract AF 33(600)-26154 from the Manufacturing Methods Branch, Industrial Resources Division of the Air Materiel Command USAF.

A method for the analysis of a damaged bearing is described. An emphasis is placed on obtaining complete and accurate application information; conducting a thorough visual examination; making physical measurements as necessary; and conducting metallurgical tests. The method has been used for tapered roller bearings as well as a variety of other components of various steel types and processing histories.

Abstract Turbocharging can provide a low cost means for increasing the power output and fuel economy of an internal combustion engine. Currently, turbocharging is common in multi-cylinder engines, but due to the inconsistent nature of intake air flow, it is not commonly used in single-cylinder engines. In this article, we propose a novel method for turbocharging single-cylinder, four-stroke engines. Our method adds an air capacitor-an additional volume in series with the intake manifold, between the turbocharger compressor and the engine intake-to buffer the output from the turbocharger compressor and deliver pressurized air during the intake stroke. We analyzed the theoretical feasibility of air capacitor-based turbocharging for a single-cylinder engine, focusing on fill time, optimal volume, density gain, and thermal effects due to adiabatic compression of the intake air.

The titanium alloy system offers a range of properties conducive to weight/space savings. These properties include high strength, low elastic modulus and low density, which uniquely suit them for spring applications. By utilizing titanium in various spring designs, suspension engineers can save up to 60% of the weight and 20-30% of the space for a comparable steel spring. The primary impediment to widespread titanium part production and use in the past was cost. A new low cost titanium alloy system designed specifically for suspension and drive train application has been tested and proved to limit this cost problem. Working with titanium in their suspension designs, engineers will save significant weight/space over comparable steel and aluminum components.

Developed to cut down on maintenance costs and increase the earning power of the vehicle, this family of suspensions provides for improved vehicular behavior - items such as stability, braking, cornering, and overall ride. The suspensions utilize a principle of providing a cushioned variable rate ride through the use of molded rubber springs. Floating walking beams distribute weight equally on both axles in the case of tandems. The axles are positively located by upper wishbones and lower torque rods. The parallelogram thus formed prevents windup and axle hop. The correct use of metals shows a substantial weight saving in the entire model range.

A new concept in conventional truck cab vibration isolation has been developed by Holland Neway International. The system provides a significant improvement in ride comfort for the truck cab occupants in the truck of the twenty-first century. The single point isolator incorporates inclined sleeve type air springs to achieve a very low natural frequency, typically 0.9 - 1.1 hertz. A unique variable geometry damping system is used in conjunction with the sleeve springs to allow the configuration to achieve significant improvements in vibration isolation. The passive variable geometry control operates essentially undamped until large displacement disturbances are encountered allowing maximum possible isolation performance. Since the isolator natural frequency occurs in a region where the human physiology is most tolerant of vibratory motion, a high level of ride comfort is achieved.

Exhaust gas air-fuel ratio (A/F) sensors are common devices in powertrain feedback control systems aimed at minimizing emissions. Both resistive (using TiO2) and electrochemical (using ZrO2) mechanisms are used in the high temperature ceramic devices now being employed. In this work a new mechanism for making the measurement is presented based on the change in the workfunction of a Pt film in interaction with the exhaust gas. In particular it is found that the workfunction of Pt increases reversibly by approximately 0.7 V at that point (the stoichiometric ratio) where the exhaust changes from rich to lean conditions. This increase arises from the adsorption of O2 on the Pt surface. On returning to rich conditions, catalytic reaction of the adsorbed oxygen with reducing species returns the workfunction to its original value. Two methods, one capacitive and one thermionic, for electrically sensing this workfunction change and thus providing for a practical device are discussed.