Mathematical model validated by a crash test for studying the occupant’s kinematics and dynamics in a cars’ frontal collision

The aim of the paper was to determine the kinematic parameters that influence the occupant injury risk through a mathematical model. The developed model is a 2D model composed of 4 bodies (2 vehicles, thorax and head). The head and thorax are interconnected with a rotation joint and a torsion spring meant to stiffen the relative movement between the bodies. The thorax is connected with the vehicle body by a linear spring meant to simulate the seatbelt stiffness. The model was solved using Lagrange principle and the validation of the model was made through a crash test performed using the same initial conditions and comparing the obtained values of the displacement, velocity and acceleration parameters with the ones obtained with the mathematical model. The head and torso were chosen due to the fact that they are the common parts of the body that get injured, especially the head with the change of 80 % to cause fatal injury in car’s frontal collision. Once the model was validated, the stiffness of the seatbelt was modified in order to determine the behavior of the occupant in case of car frontal collisions. When the seatbelt stiffness was reduced, the occupant displacement and velocity increased, while by increasing the stiffness, these parameters decreased. The values of the developed model presented a high degree of similarity with the results obtained from the crash test with an error of 10 %. This model can be used by engineers to easily asses the occupant injury risk in case of vehicle frontal collisions.     

Lightweight mixture faults detection method for gasoline engine using on-line trend analysis

Mixture faults detection is meaningful for gasoline engines because proper mixture is the basic prerequisite for healthy running of a combustion engine. Among existing methods for faults detection, the data-driven trend analysis technique is widely used due to the simplicity and efficiency in time-domain. The CUSUM (Cumulative Sum Of Errors) algorithm is good at real-time trend extraction, but it’s easy to be costly on the fuel trim signal during the engine in normal working conditions, which will increase battery energy consumption because engine failure is rarely occurs. Hence, the conventional treatment methods of artifacts in the CUSUM algorithm are modified by means of decay function and detection time analysis. The thresholds are tuned according to the characteristics of artifacts instead of residual variability, which leads to better results of trend extraction and less computation. Then, the revised CUSUM algorithm is used for monitoring the mixture abnormal behaviors, and the mixture faults can be detected in real time through analyzing the variation features of fuel trim signal. The lightweight faults detector using the advanced CUSUM algorithm (FD-A-CUSUM) is evaluated on the experimental data collected from a Ford engine. The validation results show that while engine works under normal conditions, the computation of FD-A-CUSUM has decreased by 72.79 % in comparison with the detection method using the original CUSUM algorithm (FD-O-CUSUM), and the false alarm ratio of FD-A-CUSUM is 3.37 %. Futhermore, the detection results of FD-A-CUSUM for two leakage faults have achieved 91.18 % test accuracy.     

Wave propagation in head on bonnet impact: Material and design issues

Head on bonnet impact is becoming more and more important in automotive design as regulations on pedestrian safety become more demanding. Despite the relatively low amount of energy involved, these impacts are truly dynamic phenomena as the event duration is comparable with the traveling time of the different wavefronts generated by the impact. In this paper, we show that we can build up a simplified model for the impact based on wave propagation analysis. Using this model, we can analyze head acceleration on existing bonnets or predict it on new ones. Head acceleration in a bonnet impact can thus be estimated over the whole area of the bonnet with a few minutes of CPU.     

Application of the reverse 3D scanning method to evaluate the wear of forging tools divided on two selected areas

This study is focused on tools used in the industrial hot forging process of a front wheel forging (eventually–gear wheel) manufactured for the automotive industry. Four different variants were applied for the tools: 2 die inserts were coated with two different hybrid layers (GN + PVD type), i.e. AlCrTiN and AlCrTiSiN, one insert was only nitrided, and one was pad welded, to improve tool durability. The tool wear was analysed and represented by the material degradation on the working surface, based on the 3D scanning and the material growth of the periodically collected forgings. Additionally, the scanned tools were divided into two areas, in which it was found, based on the reliminary analysis, that various degradation mechanisms are predominant. Microstructural and hardness measurements of the analyzed tools were also performed. Based on the results, it was found that, in the central part of the die insert (area A), thermo-mechanical fatigue and wear occurred, while in the area of the bridge insert (area B), only abrasive wear could be observed. For these areas (A and B), the loss of material was determined separately. In area A for the inserts with hybrid layer GN+AlCrTiSiN and gas nitrided, an intensive increase of wear took place, which was not observed for the pad welded and GN+AlCrTiN layer insert, for which, together with the increase of the forging number, a proportional growth of the loss of material occurred. In area B the weakest results were obtained for the insert with GN+AlCrTiSiN layer, while wear of other die inserts grew similar and proportional.     

Effective method for knock signal denoising in internal combustion engine

Uncontrolled expansion of combustion wave in spark ignited internal combustion engine causes knock effect which seriously degrades efficiency and lifetime of the engine. Thus, accurate knock detection and control are essential for obtaining a desired performance from the engine. Usually, knock sensor is used to detect this phenomenon but it has limited accuracy especially at engine high-speed rotations because of natural vibration and external noises. In this study an effective method based on Non-Local Mean (NLM) algorithm has been proposed to improve the knock detection accuracy. This method is evaluated based on four different indicators and four engine cylinders. The results show 52.9 % improvement in knock detection. Also feasibility of real time execution of this method based on embedded hardware has been studied.     

Wind pressure distribution and wind-induced dynamic response for spatial groined latticed vaults

The wind pressure distribution and wind-induced vibration responses of long-span spatial groined latticed vaults (SGLVs) were numerically simulated, which always are ones of the most important problems in the structural wind resistance design. Incompressible visco-fluid model was introduced, and the standard k-εtwo equation model and semi-implicit method for pressure linked equation (SIMPLE) were used to describe the flow turbulence. Furthermore, the structural dynamic equation was set up, which is solved by Newmark-β method. And several sort of wind-induced vibration coefficients such as the wind-induced vibration coefficient corresponding to the nodal displacement responses and wind loads were suggested. In the numerical simulation where the SGLV consisting of the cylindrical sectors with different curved surface was chosen as the example,the influence on the relative wind pressure distribution and structural wind-induced vibration responses of the closed or open SGLV caused by such parameters as the number of cylindrical sectors, structural curvature and the ratio of rise to span was investigated. Finally, some useful conclusions on the local wind pressure distribution on the structural surface and the wind-induced vibration coefficients of SGLV were developed.     

Improvement of the second order approximation of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics

The smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), as a fully Lagrangian particle method, has been successfully applied to astrophysical problems and extended to elastic dynamics and computational fluid dynamics.High order derivatives have to be approximated when elastic dynamics problems are modeled. However, the approximation errors in SPH could lead to computational failure in the case that the order of derivative is high.A novel method was proposed in order to improve the accuracy of SPH method, which shows the relationship between the selected functions and their SPH approximations. The entire involved system was represented by a finite number of particles that carry individual mass and occupy individual space, and the integral interpolation was approximated by a summation interpolation. In addition, error comparison was made between SPH method with and without the present improvement.     

Numerical modeling of ground response during diaphragm wall construction

Construction of diaphragm wall panels may cause considerable stress changes in heavily overconsolidated soil deposits and can induce substantial ground movement. The 3D Lagrangian method was adopted to model the mechanical response of ground, including horizontal normal stress and shear stress, lateral ground displacement and vertical ground surface settlement, during the slurry trenching and concreting of diaphragm wall panels. Numerical results show that slurry trenching leads to horizontal stress relief of ground, reducing the horizontal stress of the ground from initial K0 pressure to hydrostatic betonite pressure. Wet concrete pressure lies between the hydrostatic bentonite pressure and the initial K0 pressure, so it can compensate partially the horizontal stress loss of the ground adjacent to the trench and thus reduce the lateral movement of the trench face as well as the vertical settlement of the ground surface.     

A data model applied to the knowledge-based ICAS

Image-guided computer aided surgery system (ICAS) contributes to safeness and success of surgery operations by means of displaying anatomical structures and showing correlative information to surgeons in the process of operation. Based on analysis of requirements for ICAS, a new concept of clinical knowledge-based ICAS was proposed. Designing a reasonable data structure model is essential for realizing this new concept. The traditional data structure is limited in expressing and reusing the clinical knowledge such as locating an anatomical object, topological relations of anatomical objects and correlative clinical attributes. A data structure model called mixed adjacency lists by octree-path-chain (MALOC) was outlined, which can combine patient's images with clinical knowledge, as well as efficiently locate the instrument and search the objects' information. The efficiency of data structures was analyzed and experimental results were given in comparison to other traditional data structures. The result of the nasal surgery experiment proves that MALOC is a proper model for clinical knowledge-based ICAS that has advantages in not only locating the operative instrument precisely but also proving surgeons with real-time operation-correlative information. It is shown that the clinical knowledge-based ICAS with MALOC model has advantages in terms of safety and success of surgical operations, and help in accurately locating the operative instrument and providing operation-correlative knowledge and information to surgeons in the process of operations.     

Power network parameter estimation method based on data mining technology

The parameter values which actually change with the circumstances, weather and load level etc.produce great effect to the result of state estimation. A new parameter estimation method based on data mining technology was proposed. The clustering method was used to classify the historical data in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) database as several types. The data processing technology was impliedto treat the isolated point, missing data and yawp data in samples for classified groups. The measurement data which belong to each classification were introduced to the linear regression equation in order to gain the regression coefficient and actual parameters by the least square method. A practical system demonstrates the high correctness, reliability and strong practicability of the proposed method.