Wall-wetting model based method for air-fuel ratio transient control in gasoline engines with dual injection system

Modern gasoline engines with dual injection system improve combustion efficiency by using the two injection commands simultaneously. Due to the different dynamics in the two injection paths, the transient air-fuel ratio (A/F) performance when the injection authority is changed remarkably affects the emission performance of the engine system. For this kind of engines, this paper proposes a model-based design approach that gives a dynamic feedforward compensation for achieving good transient A/F performance. Actually, this work centers on discussing the mean-value model parameters for characterizing the wall-wetting phenomenon when the port injection authority is changed under different engine operation conditions. Moreover, from the view of practice, taking into account the event-based physics of the engine system, significant calibration for the model parameters that are employed for achieving the feedforward compensation is investigated experimentally. Finally, experimental validation results demonstrate the improvement of the transient A/F performance by using the control scheme.     

Development of estimation algorithms for vehicle’s mass and road grade

In controlling the longitudinal motion of electrified vehicles such as hybrid vehicles and PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles), the variation of the driving resistance loads (or driving loads) such as road grade and actual vehicle mass, is the most influential factor which limits the control performance. Measuring the driving load is not impossible, but it is costly since additional sensors have to be mounted on the vehicle. In this study, methods for estimating vehicle mass and road grade are designed to compensate for the driving loads. The proposed methods are verified using simulation tools and then evaluated experimentally.     

Dynamic analysis of energy storage unit of the hydraulic hybrid vehicle

A new configuration of hydraulic hybrid vehicle (HHV) was presented, which mainly consists of an engine, high-pressure accumulator, lower-pressure reservoir and hydraulic transformer (HT) connected to common pressure rail (CPR), and the working principle of hydraulic hybrid vehicle has been described to extend its energy-regenerated potential. Moreover, the mathematical models of the instantaneous pressure ratio of HT and the characteristic parameters of parallel and series accumulator (i.e. effective volume, specific energy, and charge-discharge efficiency) based on lumped parameters method were built, respectively. The simulation and experimental tests of dynamic characteristics of HT and accumulator were done, the result shows that the theoretical analysis was the same as the experimental results by comparing them in the curve trend, and the series accumulator was much superior to parallel accumulator in terms of pulsation damping of hydraulic transformer, that is the simulation results reasonably and appropriately.     

Systems-on-chip approach for real-time simulation of wheel–rail contact laws

This paper presents the development of a systems-on-chip approach to speed up the simulation of wheel–rail contact laws, which can be used to reduce the requirement for high-performance computers and enable simulation in real time for the use of hardware-in-loop for experimental studies of the latest vehicle dynamic and control technologies. The wheel–rail contact laws are implemented using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device with a design that substantially outperforms modern general-purpose PC platforms or fixed architecture digital signal processor devices in terms of processing time, configuration flexibility and cost. In order to utilise the FPGA's parallel-processing capability, the operations in the contact laws algorithms are arranged in a parallel manner and multi-contact patches are tackled simultaneously in the design. The interface between the FPGA device and the host PC is achieved by using a high-throughput and low-latency Ethernet link. The development is based on FASTSIM algorithms, although the design can be adapted and expanded for even more computationally demanding tasks.     

Intelligent speed adaptation: Preliminary results of on-road study in Penang,Malaysia

The first field experiment with intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) in Malaysia was held in December 2010 in the State of Penang. Eleven private cars were instrumented with an advisory system. The system used in the present study included a vocal warning message and a visual text message that is activated when the driver attempts to exceed the speed limit. When the driver decreases the speed, the warning stops; otherwise it is continuously repeated. The test drivers drove the vehicles for three months with the installed system, and the speed was continuously logged in all vehicles. The warning was however only activated in the second month of the three month period. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of an advisory ISA on driving speed, traffic safety, and drivers' attitude, behavior, and acceptance of the system. To examine these effects, both the survey and the logged speed data were analyzed and explored. The results show a significant reduction in the mean, maximum and 85th percentile speed due to the use of the system. However, there was no long-lasting effect on the speed when the system was deactivated. In the post-trial survey, drivers declared that the system helped them well in following the speed limits and that it assisted them in driving more comfortably. Furthermore, the warning method was more accepted compared to a supportive system, such as active accelerator pedal (AAP). After the trial, most drivers were willing to keep an ISA system.     

Catalyzing Coastal Management in Kenya and Zanzibar: Building Capacity and Commitment

Site-based projects were initiated in Chawka Bay-Paje, Zanzibar, and Nyali-Bamburi-Shanzu, Kenya, to demonstrate the benefits of an integrated coastal management (ICM) approach for addressing coastal issues such as tourism development and enhancement of resource-dependent village economies in eastern Africa. A two-year, multidonor project used three primary strategies to make rapid, but sustainable, progress toward ICM. These included using interagency government teams for ICM planning, adopting an internationally recognized framework for ICM as a project ''road map,'' and explicitly incorporating capacity-building strategies into all aspects of the project. Within two years, integrated ICM action strategies, prepared through participatory processes, were being implemented at both sites, and both teams were working to expand the scale and scope of ICM in their nation. More importantly, the project helped create committed, capable, interagency groups that continue to work together to address urgent ICM issues.