Numerical modeling of hollow-cone fuel atomization,vaporization and wall impingement processes under high ambient temperatures

In the following paper, a numerical study of the atomization, vaporization and wall impingement processes of hollow-cone fuel spray from high-pressure swirl injectors under various ambient temperature conditions was carried out. Also, the availability of applied models and the effect of ambient temperature on spray characteristics is discussed. The Linearized Instability Sheet Atomization (LISA) model combined with the Aerodynamically Progressed Taylor Analogy Breakup (APTAB) model, the improved Abramzon model and the Gosman model are used to calculate the atomization, vaporization and wall impingement processes of hollow-cone fuel spray, respectively. Spray models are implemented with the modified KIVA code. The calculation results of the spray characteristics under two ambient temperatures, including spray tip penetration, spray structure and radial distance after spray-wall impingement are compared to the experimental results obtained by the Laser Induced Exciplex Fluorescence (LIEF) technique. The droplet size distribution, ambient gas velocity field, vapor phase distribution and fuel film mass generated by spray-wall impingement, measurements which are generally difficult to obtain by experimental methods, are also calculated and discussed. Quantitative discussions on the effect of the ambient temperature on the spray development process are conducted. It is shown that the applied models are applicable even in the high ambient temperature condition.     

Investigation of influential factors of a brake corner system to reduce brake torque variation

This paper investigates the brake corner system to reduce brake torque variation in the brake judder problem. A numerical model for determining brake torque variation was constructed using the multi-body dynamics model. Using this model, the brake torque variation for a given disc thickness variation was obtained in the time domain. The multi-body dynamics model was verified by a dynamometer test via the comparison of brake torque variation and load distribution patterns of the pad. To reduce the simulation time and cost required to determine factors that influence the reduction in brake torque variation, a simple mathematical model was constructed and used to determine both the brake torque variation and influential factors. The multi-body dynamics model and dynamometer test were modified on the basis of the results of the simple mathematical model and deformed shape of the multi-body dynamics model. These influential factors were verified to reduce the brake torque variation.     

Optimal solution to the vehicle routing problem by adopting a meta-heuristic algorithm

The delivery service provided by large-scale retailers continues to grow as online sales occupy an increasingly large share of the market. This study aims to tease out efficient vehicle scheduling times as well as optimal delivery routes by applying meta-heuristic algorithms. Monthly data on existing routes were obtained from a branch of Korea’s leading large-scale online retailer. The first task was to examine the status of existing routes by comparing delivery routes created using Dijkstra’s algorithm with existing delivery routes and their vehicle scheduling. The second task was to identify optimal delivery routes through a comparative analysis of the genetic algorithm and Tabu search algorithm, known for its superior applicability amongst other meta-heuristic algorithms. These findings demonstrate that the optimal vehicle routing problem not only has the potential to reduce distribution costs for operators and expedite delivery for consumers, but also the added social benefit of reduced carbon emissions.     

Demonstration of vehicular visible light communication based on LED headlamp

With the emergence of LED lighting, IT convergence technology using the visible spectrum of LEDs, such as Visible Light Communication (VLC), has been highlighted. Among the many VLC applications, vehicular VLCs based on LED headlamps and transportation lighting infrastructure, such as street lamps, traffic lights, etc., are considered good alternatives for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) or Active Safety applications. This paper introduces a demonstration system of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) VLC based on LED headlamps. By applying an inverse 4-PPM modulation scheme satisfying a 75 % dimming level under the light distribution regulation of LED headlamp, the proposed system showed its capability for V2V VLC with a 10 kbps data rate for more than 30 m under day time conditions. By measuring the BER performance according to distance, outdoor V2V VLC was possible for more than 30 m even in the day time.     

Urban driving cycle for performance evaluation of electric vehicles

Nowadays, a number of environmental issues have seriously come to the fore. For this reason, the R & D spending on eco-friendly vehicles that use electric power has been gradually increasing. In general, fuel economy and pollutant emissions of both conventional and eco-friendly vehicles are measured through chassis dynamometer tests that are performed on a variety of driving cycles before an actual driving test. There are a number of driving cycles that have been developed for the for performance evaluation of conventional vehicles. However, there is a lack of research into driving cycle for EV. Because large differences exist between the drive system and driving charateristics of EV and that of CV, a study on driving cycle for EV should be conducted. In this study, the necessity of an urban driving cycle for the performance evaluation of electric vehicles is confirmed by developing the driving cycle. First, the Gwacheon-city Urban Driving Cycle for Electric Vehicles (GUDC-EV) is developed by using driving data obtained through actual driving experiments and statistical analysis. Second, GUDC-EV is verified by constructing EV simulators and performing simulations that use the actual driving data. The simulation results are then compared against existing urban driving cycles, such as FTP-72, NEDC, and Japan 10–15. These results confirm that GUDC-EV can be used as an urban driving cycle to evaluate the performance of electric vehicles and validate the necessity of development of the driving cycle for electric vehicles.     

Numerical Study for Brake Squeal by Machining Patterns on Frictional Surface

Automotive brake noise has become a stubborn problem as automotive cars achieve higher driving torques, since that the increased torque induces the generation of severe noise dissipation during brake operation. Moreover, the global brake tuning market for achieving higher performance of the vehicle has expanded recently. The need to control the noise grows more in this connection. The tuning brake kits have employed cross-drilled and slotted machining pattern on the surface of the rotor. These designs have advantages to improve air ventilation, temperature control, and surface cleaning of brake pad. However, the effects of modal frequency by patterned rotor surfaces are rarely discussed, even if it is highly related with brake squeal phenomenon. Therefore, this study deals with the relationship between patterned surfaces and brake squeal through the numerical methods. The commercial software of a finite element analysis is employed for calculation by varying geometric design factors of each rotor pattern. As a result, the cross-drilled machining patterns are concluded to be an influential factor for in-plane mode frequency while the slotted patterns have more leverage for out-of-plane mode frequency.