轿车用转向节试验方法

为了减少转向节作为安全件在客户使用过程中发生疲劳及冲击断裂的风险,文章对轿车用转向节设计验证方法进行研究,采用台架疲劳试验和台架冲击试验的方法对某轿车用转向节进行了验讧。通过试验,加强了样件薄弱处的设计并对不合格样件进行了整改。经批量市场考验,通过台架疲劳及冲击验证的转向节在客户使用过程中减少了断裂的风险,提高了产品的质量,具有非常高的使用价值。,     

交通分布建模理论综述

在道路规划和设计过程中,交通量的预测一般都采用四阶段法。作为四阶段法的第二个阶段,如何准确地建立交通的分布模型一直是一个难点。由于每个交通出行都是个体行为,而四阶段法作为集计模型,需要将个体的出行行为转化成宏观层面的交通分布,因此,在交通分布层面应反应出个体出行是检验交通分布模型是否合理的标准。基于熵的最大值原理,该文对交通分布建模方法及理论进行了综述。     

不容忽视的径向力——记一起因径向力引起的桥梁混凝土开裂事件

"径向力"是预应力混凝土中不可避免的应力,在桥梁设计中,一般设计人员都会加以重视,但因施工因素(如波纹管的偏位)出现的径向力,若超出桥梁容许范围,将会出现桥梁开裂、崩裂等问题,势必会降低桥梁的耐久性。该文对一起因径向力引起桥梁开裂事件的发生原因、解决方法,以及善后工作作了全面描述。     

宁静交通街道设计探讨

多年以来,我国的城市道路建设均以满足日益增长的汽车需要为主,追求良好的线形指标和四通八达的道路网,却忽视了城市居民对生活品质的要求,从而带来了诸如噪声污染和汽车尾气污染等一系列城市病.该文借鉴国外的道路设计经验,提出了一系列旨在实现宁静交通的街道设计方法,真正体现了"城市--让生活更美好"的上海世博理念.     

不停车收费系统的概述

不停车收费系统是当前解决道路收费拥挤的十分有效的途径之一,也是当前智能交通系统发展的一个重要内容和方向。从我国道路收费现状及问题出发,详述了ETC系统的发展现状及其主要的技术环节,同时简述了其发展的特征和未来的发展趋势。     

Development of a low-noise cooling fan for an alternator using numerical and doe methods

An alternator, which converts mechanical rotational energy into electrical energy, is an important component of a vehicle. Alternators operate over a broad range of rotational speeds, typically from 3,000 RPM to 18,000 RPM, which demands a cooling fan producing sufficient airflow, ideally with a minimum of noise. In the current study, an optimized alternator-cooling fan was developed through a linked DOE(Design OF Experiment) process and numerical analysis. The SC/Tetra and FlowNoise S/W programs were used to calculate flow rates and noise levels, respectively, for the newly developed fan. Compared with original model, the numerical results predicted a 3 dBA noise reduction; the measured reduction was 4 dBA.     

Model-based design of a variable nozzle turbocharger controller

Variable Nozzle Turbocharger (VNT) was invented to solve the problem of matching an ordinary turbocharger with an engine. VNT can harness exhaust energy more efficiently, enhance intake airflow response and reduce engine emissions, especially during transient operating conditions. The difficulty of VNT control lies in how to regulate the position of the nozzle at different engine working conditions. The control strategy designed in this study is a combination of a closed-loop feedback controller and an open-loop feed-forward controller. The gain-scheduled proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller was implemented as the feedback controller to overcome the nonlinear characteristic. As it is difficult to tune the parameters of the gain-scheduled PID controller on an engine test bench, system identification was used to identify the plant model properties at different working points for a WP10 diesel engine on the test bench. The PID controller parameters were calculated based on the identified first-order-plus-dead-time (FOPDT) plant model. The joint simulation of the controller and the plant model was performed in Matlab/Simulink. The time-domain and frequency-domain performances of the entire system were evaluated. The designed VNT control system was verified with engine tests. The results indicated that the real boosting pressure traced the target boosting pressure well at different working conditions.     

Development of a navigation algorithm with dead reckoning for unmanned ground vehicles

A navigation algorithm is indispensable for Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). During driving, UGVs follow a global path. In this study, we propose a navigation algorithm using Real Time Kinematic (RTK)-Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) units and encoders to complement global path planning. Sometimes GPS systems lose their signals and receive inaccurate position data due to many factors, such as edifice and barrier obstructions. This paper shows that GPS deviations can be solved using a Dead Reckoning (DR) navigation method with encoders and that position errors can be decreased through the use of RTK-DGPS units. In addition to this method, we will introduce a new waypoint update algorithm and a steering algorithm using RTK-DGPS units.     

Modified lateral control of an autonomous vehicle by look-ahead and look-down sensing

This paper presents a modified lateral control method for an autonomous vehicle with both look-ahead and look-down sensing systems. To cope with sensor noise and modeling uncertainty in the lateral control of the vehicle, a modified LMI-based H lateral controller was proposed, which uses the look-ahead information of the lateral offset error measured at the front of vehicle and the look-down information of the vehicle yaw angle error between the reference lane and the centerline of the vehicle. To verify the safety and the performance of the lateral control, a scaled-down vehicle was developed, and the positioning of the vehicle was estimated with USAT. The proposed controller, which uses both look-ahead and look-down information, was tested for lane changing and reference lane tracking with both simulation and experiment. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed controller has better tracking and handling performance compared with a controller that uses only the look-ahead information of the target heading angle error.     

License plate extraction method for identification of vehicle violations at a railway level crossing

The primary cause of most railroad accidents is vehicle entry into railway level crossings despite warning messages. To identify drivers who violate railway level crossing regulations, vehicle license plate recognition can be applied at railway level crossings. The purpose of this paper is to present an effective method for extracting the license plate region from vehicle images taken at railway level crossings. The method proposed in this paper uses the variation in the gray-level values across the image of a license plate. For license plate region extraction, the character region is first recognized by identifying the character width and the difference between the background region and the character region. The license plate region is then extracted by finding the inter-character distance in the plate region. In addition, the license plate type is identified by the difference in the gray-level value between the background region and the character region. The proposed method is effective in solving the current challenges in extracting the license plate region from the damaged frames of license plates issued for domestic use, including new types of license plates. According to the experimental results, the proposed method yields a high extraction rate of 99.5% for vehicle license plates.