Fatigue strength assessment including welding residual stress of spot welded joints subjected to cross-tension loads

This paper presents a method to assess of fatigue strength for resistance spot welded joints, which incorporates welding residual stress effects. To achieve this, first, a non-linear finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to simulate the spot-welding process. To validate the FEA results, the numerically calculated welding residual stresses of spot welds were then compared with experimental results measured by X-ray diffraction method. The residual stress distributions showed good agreement between calculations and experiments. To evaluate the effects of welding residual stress on the fatigue design criterion of resistance spot welded joints subjected to cross-tension load, the stress amplitude (σ_a-res) taking into account welding residual stress at a spot weld was proposed based on a modified Goodman equation incorporating the residual stress effect. Using the stress amplitude σ_a-res at the nugget edge of a spot weld, the ΔP ? N_f relations obtained as the fatigue test results for spot welded joints were systematically rearranged to the σ_a-res ? N_f relation. It was found that the proposed stress amplitude (σ_a-res) provides more reasonable and accurate fatigue design criterion of spot welded joints subjected to cross-tension load.     

Vehicle velocity estimation using effective inertia for an in-wheel electric vehicle

In this study, a vehicle velocity estimation algorithm for an in-wheel electric vehicle is proposed. This algorithm estimates the vehicle velocity using the concept of effective inertia, which is based on the motor torque, the angular velocity of each wheel and vehicle acceleration. Effective inertia is a virtual mass that changes according to the state of a vehicle, such as acceleration, deceleration, turning or driving on a low friction road. The performance of the proposed vehicle velocity estimation algorithm was verified in various conditions that included straight driving, circle driving and low friction road driving using the in-wheel electric vehicle that was equipped with an in-wheel system in each of its rear wheels.     

Comparison study on characteristics of nano-sized particle number distribution by using condensation particle counter calibrated with spray and soot type particle generation methods

In the year 2011, the Particle Measurement Program (PMP) in Europe started the regulation of the diesel vehicle’s nano-sized particle number density (PN) due to its high degree of harm to the human body. Concretely, the standard level of PN emission was introduced in the Euro 5+ and 6 emissions regulation with a limit (<6.0 × 10¹¹#/km) for diesel light-duty vehicle. Therefore, the determination of suitable and sophisticated instruments for reliable particle sampling and analysis was essential in taking exact experimental data. Now, among the PN emission measuring devices suggested by the PMP, condensation particle counter (CPC) is a key equipment for measuring the particle number density in real time and it has been used extensively. However, CPC can cause different results depending on operating conditions of the saturator and condensation that induce different rates of particle growth. This study was conducted to analyze the effect of CPC calibrated by a two-particle generator with spray and soot type methods applied on the nano-sized particle distribution’s parameters such as number concentration and linearity. Also, in order to ensure the reliability for particle sensor system named as PPS, which had emerged as a useful diagnostic to making spatially and temporally resolved quantitative measurements of diesel PN concentration, it was compared with calibrated CPC system. As a result, nano-sized particle measuring system with CPC calibrated by spray type particle generator had a much higher counting efficiency, indicating a larger nano size available than soot type particle generator. And, comparative experimental results on the correlation between the particle number of CPC to a reflectance PPS system showed that above 5,000 #/cm ³ in number concentrations measured by CPC as well as PPS were found to be similar with good linear relationship.     

Impact technique for measuring global dynamic stiffness of engine mounts

Engine mounts are used for engine vibration isolation. The dynamic performance of the mount depends on the orientation. Measurements of the dynamic properties of engine mounts are usually performed in the axial direction because of the problem related to actuator loading direction and set up costs. Impact technique is developed here to measure the dynamic driving point stiffness and driving point shear stiffness of engine mount in a single setup. The compressive and shear frequency-dependent stiffnesses are obtained in the vertical orientation. A transformation matrix is used to calculate the frequency-dependent stiffnesses and loss factors in other orientations. Three different designs of engine mounts are used to verify the accuracy of the transformation model. The correlation coefficient between calculation and measurement results show R²≥ 0.995 along the X- and Y-axes. For the Z-axis, mounts B and C showed R²≥ 0.95 and mount A 0.687 ≤ R²≤ 0.791.     

Design of power split transmission: Design of dual mode power split transmission

The power split type hybrid system transmits engine power by dividing it into the electrical unit and the mechanical unit. Its power transmission efficiency is highest at the mechanical point (MP), where the full power is transmitted to the mechanical unit. In this study, the equation for the MP was derived for the gear ratios of a general 4-node lever model. The MP characteristics for the transmission ratio (TR) of the input split and compound split structures were examined using the equation derived. Using the examined input split and compound split structures, a systematic design method for the dual mode power split transmission was proposed. In the dual mode power split transmission, the MP could be positioned at the desired TR, and the input split and compound split modes could be selectively used according to the clutch combination, which leads to the operation of the vehicle within a high system efficiency range.     

Effects of injection parameters on the spray characteristics of swirl and slit injectors using the Mie-scattering method

We investigated the effects of injection parameters such as injection pressure, ambient pressure, and ambient temperature on spray characteristics. We calculated the turbulence occurring point (t _c ), defined as the time required to generate a vortex, and the deceleration point (t _b ), defined as the time when spray penetration begins to decelerate, to elucidate the breakup mechanism of the test injectors. The spray velocity coefficient (C_v) was obtained to evaluate the spray characteristics. As the ambient pressure increases in the case of a slit injector, C_v decreases. We investigated the effects of nozzle tip shape according to injection pressure, ambient pressure, and fuel properties on spray characteristics and provide a C_v value of 0.38 for the swirl injector with a spray angle of 60° and the slit injector under atmospheric conditions. The value of C_v in the case of a slit injector was reduced by increasing the ambient pressure. Our results suggest that C_v of a swirl injector is constant regardless of changes in ambient pressure, injection pressure, and fuel properties. On the other hand, C_v of a slit injector is altered by changes in ambient pressure.     

Experimental research of the EQ6110HEV hybrid electric bus using an on-line debugging system

This paper describes the on-line debugging software developed by our research team. The software has five functions and can be helpful in achieving rapid development for hybrid electric buses. In addition, the software can monitor system states continuously and also modify parametric maps or update control programs using its on-line programming function. Based on the on-line debugging system, the hybrid propulsion control system is designed, and all the working modes of the hybrid electric bus are tested. Finally, experiments are carried out that verify that the debugging system is feasible and reliable. The test results show that the hybrid electric bus can reduce fuel consumption by about 19.1 percent, in comparison with conventional buses.     

杭州湾跨海大桥混凝土结构耐久性原位监测预警系统

为了确保杭州湾跨海大桥混凝土结构达到百年设计使用寿命,评价混凝土结构耐久性状况的动态发展,通过对预埋式钢筋腐蚀无损监测传感系统的国际合作研究,确定了基于电化学原理和辅助光纤技术的耐久性监测技术思路,制定了该工程耐久性动态预报监测平台的构架技术方案,捕获了结构各部位腐蚀预警的个性化判据,优化了全桥测点的布置,集成、改良并安装了控制关键部位的全套系统(共计48套监测单元)。工程实测结果表明:测试数据稳定,并且与实验室研究数据吻合。     

Fault detection method for electric parking brake (EPB) systems with sensorless estimation using current ripples

A fault detection method with parity equations is proposed in this paper. Due to its low cost implementation, the velocity of the motor is not measurable in electric parking brake (EPB) systems. Therefore, residuals are not reliable when estimating the motor velocity with a low-resolution encoder. In this paper, we propose a fault detection method with sensorless estimation using current ripples that estimates the position and velocity of the motor by detecting periodical oscillations of the armature current caused by rotor slots. In addition, this method can estimate the position and velocity of the motor with less computational effort than a state observer. Moreover, the method is less sensitive to motor parameters than model-based estimation methods. The effectiveness of this method is validated with experimental data, and the simulation results show that various faults have their own residual patterns. Therefore, we can detect the presence of faults by monitoring the residual signals.     

Development of electrostatic diesel particulate matter filtration systems combined with a metallic Flow-Through Filter and electrostatic methods

A 3000 cc diesel engine attached to an engine dynamo was used to test three newly developed electrostatic Diesel Particulate matter filtration Systems (DPS 1, 2, and 3) under four steady-state engine operating conditions: idle, 2000 rpm with no load, and 2000 rpm under 25% and 50% loads. Of the two developed alternatives, DPS 1 and DPS 2, DPS 2 comprises an ionization section, electrostatic field additional section and Flow-Through Filter (FTF), which achieved almost 90% removal of particulate matter (PM) under the engine’s operating conditions, and the efficiency of the FTF was maintained between 20% and 50%. Comparing the long-term performance of DPS 2 and DPS 3 (effectively a serial combination of two DPS 2s) with a commercially-available Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), the DPS 2 and DPS 3 achieved almost the same efficiency for removing PM as the DPF but had significantly improved (75%∼90% lower) differential pressure drops.