Vehicle sideslip estimation and compensation for banked road

The sideslip driving status is of fundamental importance to the stability of a vehicle. This paper presents a practical vehicle sideslip driving status estimation method that uses ESP (electronic stability program) sensors. ESP sensors such as wheel speed, lateral acceleration, yaw rate and steering wheel angle sensors are used to determine the sideslip driving status and distinguish a banked road. This estimation algorithm contains front-rear sideslip and banked road detection methods. The proposed sideslip estimation algorithm was designed to use the analytical redundancy of these sensors and Lagrange interpolation methods. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed estimation and compensation algorithm were investigated using vehicle tests. This paper presents the results of two cases that were used for the experimental verification: a curved flat road and banked road.     

Development of Headform Impactor Finite Element Model Considering the Hyperelastic and Viscoelastic Responses of Rubber

To evaluate and analyze the pedestrian injury risk of automobiles, the finite element models of headform impactors are used. In this study, a modeling method that can accurately estimate the peak of the headform impactor impact pulse and head injury criterion (HIC) was developed. The headform impactor skin has the characteristics of both hyperelasticity and viscoelasticity. Therefore, compression tests, stress relaxation tests, and rheometer tests were conducted, and the hyperelastic and viscoelastic models were developed. The models were combined and used in the finite element analysis. The new headform impactor model was verified to accurately estimate the peak of impact pulse and HIC at the certification test of the headform impactor.     

“五星”中国造——奇瑞A3C-NCAP碰撞试验点评

一直以来,自主品牌轿车在C—NCAP的试验场上似乎总显得有些心有余而力不足,从没没和“五星”扯上什么关系。但最新一批公布的C—NCAP碰撞试验结果却让我们着实兴奋了一把,因为里面有一个非堂响亮的名字——奇瑞A3,它的响亮来自于它头上萦绕的“五星”光环。不错,奇瑞A3用自己的强势表现和最终的成绩向世界宣告,自主品牌也可以造出“五星级”的家用轿车。     

Development and performance analysis of an automotive power seat for disabled persons

As the number of disabled people grows, independence and mobility become a priority for those individuals. To achieve this goal, a ‘Turny-type power seat’ was developed in this study to assist a disabled person rise from a vehicle without trouble. The design and modeling of the power seat were performed using AutoCAD and CATIA software. The major motions of the power seat system are swiveling, sliding, and extending, which are accomplished primarily by DC motors, chains, and gears. Most of the power seat parts were made from mild steel. Welding technology was used throughout the frame fabrication. To ensure the safety and stability of the power seat, various tests were performed, and the results analyzed. The static analysis of the power seat was carried out by ANSYS 11.0. The results showed that the power seat conformed to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The durability test was performed by repeatedly rotating and sliding the power seat under loading conditions. Dynamic crash simulation was carried out using the LS-DYNA software. The durability test ensured a longer life of the power seat, while the crash analysis showed a small rotational distortion that was not harmful to passengers. However, the front seat had a slightly larger forward displacement, which was not comfortable for passengers. Therefore, further modifications of the power seat should be done to improve the performance, with attention given to the reduction of the forward displacement in the event of a crash.     

Vibrational characteristics of automotive transmission

A mathematical model of an automotive transmission is developed, that considers the flexibility of the shafts, bearings, and gear teeth, and gyroscopic effects of geared rotors. The transverse, torsional, and axial motions are strongly coupled due to helical gearing. The excitation forces acting on the automotive transmission are classified into first, second, and third grades, based on the magnitudes of the forces that are determined by the perturbation method. The excitation forces are caused by the mass imbalances among gears, misalignment of shafts, clearance and non-linear deformation of bearings, transmission errors, and the periodic variation of the gear mesh stiffness. A bench test on loading conditions is carried out for the third speed of the automotive transmission. The experimental results of vibration characteristics are compared with those from theoretical analysis. The results show good agreement, i.e., within a tolerance of 3.3%.     

Method for control of steering angles for articulated vehicles using virtual rigid axles

Many methods we have been developed to control the rear wheels of a vehicle, but most of them are designed for automobiles with four wheels. The AWS (all wheel steering) control method for articulated vehicles is currently applied only to Phileas vehicles developed by APTS, but the control algorithm for this system has yet to be reported. In the present paper, a new algorithm is proposed after the AWS ECU (electronic control unit) of the Phileas vehicle was tested and analyzed in order to understand the existing steering algorithm. The new algorithm considers the vehicle geometry, stability of handling, and safety, and can be easily applied to multi-axle vehicles. In order to verify the AWS algorithm, the trajectory and steering angles of each algorithm were compared using the commercial software ADAMS. Turning radius, swing-out, and swept path width were also investigated to determine the turning performance of the proposed algorithm.     

Advanced permanent magnet motor drive modeling for automotive application under matlab/simulink environment

This paper proposes an advanced permanent magnet (PM) motor drive modeling for dynamic analysis of automotive control systems with PM motor drives. To enhance the reusability of the proposed PM motor drive model, each component is modeled in an object-oriented manner according to the physical partitioning of a real drive system, and userfriendly and well-organized interfaces are also proposed. These characteristics enable this model to be used as a kind of a programming library. A multi-level modeling strategy is also proposed, which helps make a compromise between model accuracy and simulation speed without structural modification of the system model. The model and modeling strategy developed allow for a comprehensive analysis of each component and dynamic analysis of the total system. System simulation results show the practical effectiveness of the proposed modeling strategy.     

Evaluation of low-temperature diesel combustion regimes with n-Heptane fuel in a constant-volume chamber

The concept of Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) has been advancing rapidly because it may reduce emissions of NOx and soot simultaneously. Various LTC regimes that yield specific emissions have been investigated by a great number of experiments. To accelerate the evaluation of the spray combustion characteristics of LTC, to identify the soot formation threshold in LTC, and to implement the LTC concept in real diesel engines, LTC is modeled and simulated. However, since the physics of LTC is rather complex, it has been a challenge to precisely compute LTC regimes by applying the available diesel combustion models and considering all spatial and temporal characteristics as well as local properties of LTC. In this paper, LTC regimes in a constant-volume chamber with n-Heptane fuel were simulated using the ECFM3Z model implemented in a commercial STAR-CD code. The simulations were performed for different ambient gas O₂ concentrations, ambient gas temperatures and injection pressures. The simulation results showed very good agreement with available experimental data, including similar trends in autoignition and flame evolution. In the selected range of ambient temperatures and O₂ concentrations, soot and NOx emissions were simultaneously reduced.     

Effects of gasoline, diesel, LPG, and low-carbon fuels and various certification modes on nanoparticle emission characteristics in light-duty vehicles

This study was focused on experimental comparisons of the effects of various vehicle certification modes on particle emission characteristics of light-duty vehicles with gasoline, diesel, LPG, and low-carbon fuels such as bio-diesel, bioethanol, and compressed natural gas, respectively. The particulate matter from various fueled vehicles was analyzed with the golden particle measurement system recommended by the particle measurement programme, which consists of CVS, a particle number counter, and particle number diluters. To verify particle number and size distribution characteristics, various vehicle emission certification modes such as NEDC, FTP-75, and HWFET were compared to evaluate particle formation with both CPC and DMS500. The formation of particles was highly dependent on vehicle speed and load conditions for each mode. In particular, the particle numbers of conventional fuels and low-carbon fuels sharply increased during cold start, fast transient acceleration, and high-load operation phases of the vehicle emission tests. A diesel vehicle fitted with a particulate filter showed substantial reduction of particulate matter with a number concentration equivalent to gasoline and LPG fuel. Moreover, bio-fuels and natural gas have the potential to reduce the particulate emissions with the help of clean combustion and low-carbon fuel quality compared to non-DPF diesel-fueled vehicles.     

适应性之动态测重站控制策略(英文)

公路管理机构常用动态测重技术(WIM)来减少车辆滞留和执行超重车辆通行法.一般的做法是采用固定阈值(即合法重量极值)来初步过滤和分类车辆.如果某卡车的动态测重读数超过该阈值,该卡车会被指示去静态测重作进一步的检查,如:超重属实则可能开出处罚传票.适应性测重阈值法能充分利用动态测重技术并增强其操作效率.当在测重站等候的车辆很多时,阈值将增大,以避免测站阻塞,同时仍然可以逮住严重超重的违规车辆.当等候车辆少时,该阈值降低,以尽量多地检查车辆.主要阐述对适应性测重法的操作和设计的估算,并建立了一个高速路匝道出口动态测重站的微观模拟模型.然后,模拟和测试了动态阈值调节策略.结果表明,在广泛的条件下,适应性法总是优于传统的静态阈值操作法.在交通流量需求很大条件下,该算法抓住的超重卡车比静态操作的多44%以上,同时,其平均车辆滞留只为在静态操作情况下的30%.换句话说,所提出的适应性测重法更有效地控制了超重并满足了交通流量的要求.