Robust optimization design method for powertrain mounting systems based on six sigma quality control criteria

This paper presents a robust optimization design method based on Six Sigma quality control criteria to improve the design of a powertrain mounting system (PMS). The powertrain is modeled as a rigid body having six degrees of freedom (DOF) connected to a rigid base by four rubber mounts, and each mount is simplified as a three-dimensional spring-damper element in its local coordinate system (LCS). The calculation method based on energy decoupling is used to estimate the decoupling ratios of a PMS. The location and static stiffness of each mount and the orientations of the two anti-torsion mounts are selected as uncertain design variables, and the nominal values of these design variables are optimized to obtain a robust Six Sigma design for a PMS. The uncertain design variables are characterized by a perturbation or percent variation around their nominal values. The generalized reduced gradient (LSGRG2) optimization method is employed to solve the robust optimization problem, and a second-order Taylor series expansion is used to estimate the statistical properties of the performance constraints and objectives. The optimization results show that the robust design ensures good robustness or high reliability for the natural frequencies, decoupling ratios, and frequency separation constraints of a PMS.     

Simple estimation of high-frequency radiation from a muffler shell

The acoustic design of exhaust mufflers has mainly focused on reducing the discharge noise from the tailpipe. However, the noise that is transmitted through the muffler jacket and the endplate becomes important since the muffler reduces the amount of discharge noise when it has an optimized design. It is known that the contribution to the overall exhaust noise of the muffler shell is significant in the mid- and high-frequency ranges. The current problem is that there are no appropriate computational tools at high frequencies. A simple method to analyze the 1/3-octave band of sound radiating from an arbitrary shape (like a muffler) was employed to predict the band spectrum of the radiated noise. The calculation method included formulating the boundary integral, which was modified into a quadratic form in order to enable the prediction of the intensity levels in a band analysis. Monopole and dipole source terms in the conventional BEM were transformed into the auto- and cross-spectra of the two vibrating sources, in which the cross-spectra could be eventually omitted by assuming that the correlation coefficients were negligible. The method was adopted in an abrupt calculation of the shell noise in 1/3-octave band levels without nonuniqueness problem. In comparison with the measured data, the simulation result showed roughly 3-dB errors at most of the field points, excluding several special points that were normal to the shell and exhibited a maximum 5-dB error.     

Modeling,parameter estimation and nonlinear control of automotive electronic throttle using a Rapid-Control Prototyping technique

An electronic throttle consists of a DC motor, spur gears, a return spring, a position sensor, power electronics and an electronic control unit. Fast and precise position control of this electromechanical system is relatively difficult due to very high friction and the strong nonlinearity of the spring. Simple application of linear control, such as PID, fails. In this paper, two new controller structures suitable for different reference signal types are described. The key component of the position controller is the friction compensator based on either/both feedforward or feedback principles. The quality of the resulting behavior was measured using several criteria including the measure of control activity around the equilibrium position. The control activity directly influences the vibration, the noise and the wear of the servo system. The proposed controllers demonstrated superior behavior compared with other published structures.     

卵砾石层管推进工程超挖及卡钻对管材与土壤互制行为的影响研究

非明挖工法在都市施作时,常因困难地质(如卵砾石层)或障碍物而造成施工困难、工期延误或发生灾损。本文主要针对非明挖施工法里的管推进施工法(Pipe-jacking Method),探讨管推进工法施工时可能遭遇的困难,以及施工困难状况下之管材土体互制行为。探讨的施工困难包括超挖、挤压、卡钻等问题。本研究针对超挖范围、卡钻位置、阻力大小以及推进力施加位置等,以ABAQUS有限元素软件进行三维数值仿真,探讨直线推进施工中的问题。     

Conceptual design of economic hybrid vehicle system using clutchless geared smart transmission

Most hybrid vehicles employ the continuously variable transmission (CVT or eCVT) currently as their choice of the transmissions. Recently, an automated geared transmission (AGT) or dual clutch transmission (DCT) is being tried for some hybrid vehicles for the better fuel economy than the CVT hybrid. However, this AGT or DCT is using automated clutches which require the hydraulic power in addition to the slippage in the clutch plate invoking some energy loss as well as wear. Also, they require a motor with significant power to match to the engine power. The clutchless geared smart transmission (CGST) has no clutch and the clutch function is performed by a planetary gear system controlled by a motor-generator. The hybrid vehicles proposed here using CGST may have some merits in durability, fuel efficiency, and cost since they do not have clutches. The motor used for the clutch function can be also working for power merge with the engine in propelling the vehicle. The proposed hybrid system can be either mild hybrid or full hybrid by adopting a different capacity of battery with much smaller motor-generator due to the planetary gear system compared to the other type hybrid vehicles. In this study, the prospects of newly proposed CGST hybrid system are examined in practical aspects compared with AGT hybrid or DCT hybrid systems.     

Operating speed pattern optimization of railway vehicles with differential evolution algorithm

The railway transportation system has much advantage in eco-friendliness, punctuality and safety compared to any other transportation system. Most of the railway system administrators have to control and operate under limited resources such as trains and facilities. It is necessary to control traveling time and energy consumption for efficient operation in the railway systems, because the board rate of passenger is inconstant with time variance. It is common that the shorter traveling time causes the greater energy consumption. In this study, a new optimization method considering operation time or energy consumption is proposed by using differential evolution algorithm and some cases are reviewed. The total energy change due to operation time variation are investigated by using the proposed optimization method for tangent and gradient track conditions. Both cases, the total energy decreases exponentially. However, because of gradient the total energy are saturated after a certain time for gradient track.     

Research on control strategy for differential steering system based on H mixed sensitivity

The differential steering system (DSS) of electric wheel vehicle gets rid of the restrictions of traditional steering system completely. As an ideal steering technology, it not only realizes the perfect combination of the road feel and the steering portability, but also realizes the harmony and unification between the steering maneuverability and safety. The structure and basic theory of the DSS of electric wheel vehicle are discussed in this paper. Based on these, the dynamic model of the steering system is built. Considering of the uncertainties and disturbances existing in the model, the H_∞ mixed sensitivity control theory is applied to achieve better tracking performance and road feel in the process of steering. Then, a H_∞ mixed sensitivity controller is designed to restrain the effect of the road disturbance and model uncertainties. The simulation results indicate that the DSS with the designed controller can effectively restrain the effect of noises and disturbances caused by random motivation from road, torque sensor measurement and model parameter uncertainty, and enable the driver to obtain satisfactory road feel.     

Modeling and control strategy development of a parallel hybrid electric bus

This paper presents the system modeling, control strategy design, and experiment validation of a parallel hybrid electric bus with an automatic manual transmission (AMT) and a dry clutch. The mathematical model representation and the system architecture of the powertrain are first described. Next, a complete control scheme including energy management strategy and coordinated control of the AMT and the clutch is presented. The controller and powertrain models are then integrated in a way that the power management and the hybrid driveline perform in real world. The analysis and validation through model simulation and comparison with experiment data are conducted. A good agreement between the model and experiment demonstrates the efficacy and credibility of the integrated model. The integrated model is employed in both simulation and bench-test assessments for the development of a hybrid control unit. The results indicate that the model-based design methodology is beneficial to systematically analyzing and understanding the dynamics of hybrid electric powertrain.     

Design and implementation of a new clamping force estimator in Electro-Mechanical Brake systems

In this paper, an improved clamping force estimator is proposed for Electro-Mechanical Brake (EMB) systems by using the motor rotor position information and the hysteresis characteristics of mechanical parts in the EMB. A cascaded type of a force/position control system with a force sensor or an estimator was designed and implemented to control the clamping force and to keep the clearance gap in EMB systems. The EMB Hardware-In-the-Loop-Simulation (HILS) results show that the proposed force estimator yields better estimation performance than the existing estimator and that the clamping force control system based on the estimator can be also used for the fault tolerant control of the system.