Effects of stack array orientation on fuel cell efficiency for auxiliary power unit applications

The commercial fuel cell products currently appearing on the market are self-contained fuel cell engines. These engines can be used for many applications that are presently dominated by internal combustion engines or batteries. Vehicle mounted fuel cell auxiliary power units have been attracting attention lately. Additionally, there is a market based incentive to use multiple small fuel cell arrays in place of a single large fuel cell for some applications. Typically, fuel cells are designed to operate as stand-alone units. This paper investigates the ability of small commercial stacks to operate in common array arrangements. Although an individual Nexa is able to produce 1500 W, Dual Nexas do not maintain that capability while in array configurations. With an overall load share ratio of 1.02:1 the series array reliably produced 2900 W of power, while with an overall load share ratio of 1.09:1 the parallel array reliably produced only 2800 W of power. This study shows that array orientation affects both system stack net efficiency and individual stack net efficiency. The information gained from this study may be helpful for fuel cell design and integration.     

Improved theoretical modeling of a cyclone separator as a diesel soot particulate emission arrester

Particulate matter is considered to be the most harmful pollutant emitted into air from diesel engine exhaust, and its reduction is one of the most challenging problems in modern society. Several after-treatment retrofit programs have been proposed to control such emission, but to date, they suffer from high engineering complexity, high cost, thermal cracking, and increased back pressure, which in turn deteriorates diesel engine combustion performance. This paper proposes a solution for controlling diesel soot particulate emissions by an improved theoretical model for calculating the overall collection efficiency of a cyclone. The model considers the combined effect of collection efficiencies of both outer and inner vortices by introducing a particle distribution function to account for the non-uniform distribution of soot particles across the turbulent vortex section and by including the Cunningham correction factor for molecular slip of the particles. The cut size diameter model has also been modified and proposed by introducing the Cunningham correction factor for molecular slip of the separated soot particles under investigation. The results show good agreements with the existing theoretical and experimental studies of cyclones and diesel particulate filter flow characteristics of other applications.     

Low cost design of parallel parking assist system based on an ultrasonic sensor

This paper presents a low cost design and implementation of a parallel parking assist system (PPAS) based on ultrasonic sensors. Generally, a PPAS requires several types of sensors, such as an ultrasonic sensor, camera sensor, radar sensor and laser sensor for parking space detection. However, our proposed PPAS only requires two ultrasonic sensors on the front and lateral sides for parking space detection. Moreover, a steering angle sensor and wheel speed sensor installed in the vehicle are used to obtain vehicle position information for localization in ultrasonic range data. The hardware architecture of the PPAS based on an electronic control unit (ECU) module, sensor modules and a human machine interface (HMI) module was proposed. Moreover, the software architecture of the PPAS is based on system initialization, scheduling, recognition and a control algorithm. In particular, a novel sensor algorithm was proposed to minimize the vehicle corner error of the ultrasonic sensor. A prototype of the PPAS based on the proposed architecture was constructed. The experimental results demonstrate that the implemented prototype is robust and successfully performs parking space detection and automatic steering control. Finally, the low cost design and implementation of the PPAS was possible due to the cheap ultrasonic sensors, simple hardware design and low computational complexity of the proposed algorithm.     

Model-based control of an electropneumatic brake system for commercial vehicles

A properly functioning brake system is critical for ensuring the safe operation of any vehicle on roadways. Commercial vehicles such as trucks, tractors-trailers and buses are equipped with an air brake system that uses compressed air as the energy transmitting medium. This paper presents a model-based control scheme for an electropneumatic brake system for use in commercial vehicles. A mathematical model for an electropneumatic brake system was developed and corroborated with experimental data. A control scheme was developed based on this model and was used to regulate the pressure of air inside the brake chamber according to a desired pressure trajectory. This control scheme was implemented on an experimental test bench, and its performance was studied for various values of the controller parameter. The control scheme was tested for various desired pressure trajectories reflecting actual brake operation.     

Controller design for soft-disability remedy of the electric power steering system

The electric power steering (EPS) system is designed to reduce the effort exerted by driver on the steering wheel. One of the most common and critical failures of EPS is the soft-disability of the torque sensor or the loss of its signal, which leads to the instant shutdown of the EPS system while turning and causes serious traffic accidents. In this paper, a novel controller based on the self-alignment torque (SAT) estimation was designed to remedy the soft-disability of EPS system. After the SAT estimation method was verified by the empirical Magic Formula (MF) tire model, the remedy control strategy based on the SAT estimation was developed and evaluated by simulations under step and sinusoidal inputs. To further evaluate the performance of the controller on a real vehicle, experiments on a real EPS system were implemented under step and sinusoidal inputs. The results of simulation and experiment using the controller based on estimated SAT showed this controller to be feasible and capable of eliminating the abrupt reaction torque increment caused by shutdown of EPS and of remedying the soft-disability of EPS system under common input signals.     

Interior sound field refinement of a passenger car using modified panel acoustic contribution analysis

Panel acoustic contribution analysis (PACA) is a practical engineering tool for the reduction of interior structure-borne noise in passenger cars. In this study, the current PACA method has been improved for sound field refinement of the entire interior. Two new parameters, the “acoustic contribution sum” and the “total sound field contribution”, are introduced to analyze the interior sound field characterized with multiple field points and sound pressure peaks, and to evaluate the integrated acoustic contributions of auto body panels. In addition, a systematic methodology for automotive interior sound field refinement is also proposed on the basis of the modified PACA method. An example of a passenger car model demonstrates the application of the sound-field-refinement methodology and shows the advantage of using damping layers at optimum locations on the auto body. The example also shows that the modified PACA method has practical significance for refining the interior sound field and decreasing added mass in accord with the trend towards lightweight auto bodies.     

The 2008 New Zealand public transport management act: Rationale, key provisions, and parallels with the United Kingdom

In January 2009, following a lengthy industry review and consultation process, the New Zealand Public Transport Management Act (PTMA) came into force. The Act allows Regional Transport Authorities, as the primary procurers of public transport services, to place either a control or a contracting requirement upon services that are registered as commercial requiring no subsidy. The imposition of either the control or the contracting requirement is designed to facilitate greater system integration, improve service continuity and enhance services to the customer, andallow the Authority to invest in key strategic projects, such as integrated fares and ticketing, so as to grow patronage.The PTMA’s other objective is to ensure improved value for public subsidies. Recent years have seen significant subsidy inflation for seemingly little commensurate benefits. The Act will allow the Regional Transport Authority to achieve greater value for money through improved farebox, a shift to longer, larger contracts to increase competition in the market, a more appropriate allocation of risk, and the removal of the ability of operators to ‘game’ the current system by using strategically placed commercial services as barriers to competition.Similar concerns have also stimulated new legislation in the UK and this paper illustrates the parallels in the environment and proposed response.     

Asymmetric regular sampling SPWM method based on tangent-secant midpoint approximation applied to intermediate frequency inverter power supply北大核心CSCD

［Objective］In order to reduce the switching frequency of an intermediate frequency inverter power supply, ensure the quality of the output waveform and realize digitalization easily, a SPWM sampling method based on a tangent-secant midpoint approximation is proposed. ［Methods］It is proven by deduction that the quantitative relationship of the natural sampling method can be approximated, and a Matlab/Simulink simulation model is built. The algorithm is designed and applied to an intermediate frequency inverter device, and the correctness of the proposed method is verified in the two aspects of simulation and experiment. ［Results］The simulation results show that the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the output waveform based on the tangent-secant midpoint approximation method is 2.64%, lower than the 3.99% of the symmetrical regular sampling method. The waveform quality of the tangent-secant midpoint approximation method is obviously better than that of the symmetrical regular sampling method, as it not only reduces the switching frequency but also takes into account the requirements of THD. ［Conclusions］SPWM sampling based on tangent-secant midpoint approximation is applied to the intermediate frequency power supply and is able to effectively overcome the shortcomings of the low-quality output waveform and high switching frequency of the symmetrical regular sampling method. Both theoretical analysis and engineering practice verify the rationality and correctness of the proposed method, and it can be widely extended to the field of intermediate frequency power supply installation. © 2022 Journal of Clinical Hepatology. All rights reserved.     

Review of research on ship flow field measurement technology北大核心CSCD

通过对舰船周围流场信息进行精细化描述,即可从流动机理角度反馈舰船宏观水动力表现的内在本质,而优质的流场测试技术是保证流场精细化描述的必要手段。从舰船流场测试的工程需求出发,根据技术特点梳理现阶段舰船流场试验测试技术的发展现状、应用场景及特性问题,建议从硬件升级与技术融合、算法更迭与功能扩展、数据同化与机器学习等角度切入,以推动流场测试技术朝着综合性、专业化、高效化等方向快速发展。     

Numerical analysis of transient fluid-structure interaction of warship impact damage caused by underwater explosion using the FSLAB北大核心CSCD

［Objectives］This paper aims to address the numerical simulation problems of the dynamic response of ships subject to near-, medium- and far-field underwater explosions by establishing several numerical methods and calculation models. ［Methods］First, load and fluid-structure interaction models are established on the basis of the Eulerian finite element method and acoustic finite element method using the field-split technique, and FSLAB fluid-structure interaction software is developed. Next, near-, medium- and far-field underwater explosions are numerically simulated respectively. The shock wave propagation law, bubble shape and load evolution characteristics of near free-surface and near-wall underwater explosions are obtained, and the shock response characteristics of a spherical shell and ship subject to far-field underwater explosions are analyzed. Finally, the FSLAB software results are compared with the analytical solutions, reference solutions and experimental data. ［Results］The results show that the FSLAB fluid-structure interaction software developed in this paper is effective and accurate in simulating the impact damage of underwater explosions on warships. ［Conclusion］This study can provide a basis and support for the power assessment of underwater anti-explosion and shock design of warships. © 2022 Journal of Clinical Hepatology. All rights reserved.