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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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

A new bumper system which provides 8 kph (5 mph) vehicle protection with superior quality, outstanding durability and high value is in production. The system includes five new technologies: Hot stamped, ultra high strength front beam, 970 N/mm2 (160 KSI) which also is the #1 body structure crossmember. Ultra high strength roll formed rear beam 1150 N/mm2 (190 KSI). polypropylene foam isolators designed for controlled energy management Thermoplastic olefin (TPO), injection molded fascias Two component urethane paint for long term color, gloss and scratch resistance. This bumper system, installed on over 100,000 vehicles so far, meets both MPV and passenger car 8 kph standards. Consumer and insurance industry trends indicate increasing demand for Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) bumper systems which meet 8 kph criteria. The major competitors in the MPV market (Aerostar, Grand Caravan, Toyota Previa, GM APV's, and Mazda MPV) have either 0 kph or at best 4 kph systems.

The proposed wire mesh particulate trap employs a radical design for controlling the regeneration process. A prototype for a 6.2 L diesel engine was designed, built and tested to demonstrate performance characteristics and to correlate with an analytical evaluation. Presented in this paper is the first round of test data achieved thus far. Regeneration is initiated by an electric heating element embedded in the wire mesh, and a single butterfly valve controls the division of flow between the wire mesh and bypass channels. The trap design relies on oxygen in the exhaust gases for regeneration and employs a closed-loop control logic to limit the maximum temperature during regeneration. Test results indicate an ability to achieve high collection efficiencies at low pressure drops and a controlled regeneration process. Work continues to explore the regeneration characteristics under variable engine operating conditions.

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.

To reduce heat transfer between hot gas and cavity wall, thin Zirconia (ZrO2) layer (0.5mm) on the cavity surface of a forged steel piston was firstly formed by thermal spray coating aiming higher surface temperature swing precisely synchronized with flame temperature near the wall resulting in the reduction of temperature difference. However, no apparent difference in the heat loss was analyzed. To find out the reason why the heat loss was not so improved, direct observation of flame impingement to the cavity wall was carried out with the top view visualization technique, for which one of the exhaust valves was modified to a sapphire window. Local flame behavior very close to the wall was compared by macrophotography. Numerical analysis by utilizing a three-dimensional simulation was also carried out to investigate the effect of several parameters on the heat transfer coefficient.

Presenting a brand new approach to heat exchangers for engines, transmissions, hydraulic systems, etc. This new heat exchanger is made of only two pieces of circular extruded aluminum profiles: Core and shell. No soldering: The core and the shell is assembled by a minimum of automated work. In an oil to water cooling application, the active surface on the oil side of the core is enlarged by fins 0.2 mm thick, 0.3 mm spacing, and 3 mm high. The fins are made in unique production machines and enlarge the active surface area approximately five times compared to a conventional heat exchanger of the same dimensions. The principle utilizes the low pressure drop at laminar flow and avoids the disadvantage of low heat transfer after a certain laminar flow length. The result is approximately three times higher oil heat dissipation, combined with very low oil pressure drop, compared to conventional technique.

The design and development of a new four-stroke two-cylinder diesel engine family of 1.29 litre capacity for off road are discussed. The engine is in naturally aspirated and turbocharged and intercooled versions and rated from 11.9 kW/1500 rpm to 25.7 kW/2500 rpm. The engines were tuned for air and fuel flows, air utilisation, fuel air mixing, performance and emissions at steady state at a development lab and later certified in national labs. The high altitude capability of the TCIC was checked using a model. The engines rated at less than 19 kW satisfy India Generator set and off road norms of India and Europe equivalent to USTier4 standard, and at higher ratings, standard equivalent to US Tier4-interim. In the second part of the paper, the design of coolant and oil pumps, oil cooler for TCIC engine and the piston with steel oil control ring are discussed. The higher loaded TCIC engines use fillet hardened crankshafts of chromium molybdenum steel.

A farm tractor protection cab made of thin steel sheet pressings is described. The cab is designed and produced using entirely automotive-type procedures. Curved glasses and a dampening suspension of the glasses are found to be an important means of achieving a low noise level in the cab. Using the pressing technique when producing a steel cab makes it possible to give the various cab details rigidity with a minimum of material. When welded together, these details form a very stiff cab body, which gives the necessary mechanical strength. The curved surfaces, the radii, and the round forms, which from a tooling point of view are natural for pressed steel parts, also have a vibration-dampening effect on the entire cab construction, thus making it easier to design a quiet tractor cab. Mounted on a farm tractor of conventional design, the cab meets the noise rating number ISO N85.

Recent research on carburized steels has demonstrated a correlation between the toughness properties of a carburized steel and the fatigue performance in combined load testing (high-cycle fatigue plus overload). The data presented suggest that, for applications where loads above the fatigue limit are encountered, both processing and alloying must be considered. Results from a number of investigations are reviewed to illustrate that high-cycle fatigue properties are controlled primarily by the processing, whereas toughness characteristics, such as resistance to random cyclic loading, are a result of the alloying.

This paper presents a safety mechanism that is supposed to be used to enhance in the agricultural tractors. A tractor instability situation may be occurring when drawbar force becomes large enough to cause no load (weight) on its front axle. This endangers the tractor stability and the tractor will be overturned rearward. The proposed tractor safety mechanism is based on monitoring the location of tractor center of gravity and progressively shifting forward in a dead weight to counteract for the effect of tractors front lift-up. A laboratory tractor model has been developed in such a way that the lift of its front is sensed and accordingly a mechanism that shifts a movable dead weight ahead to the front a distance that automatically ensures its longitudinal stability. Such arrangement provides a solution that practically ensures longitudinal tractor stability in the situations when maximum drawbar-pull is suddenly developed.