Methodology for bus structure torsion stiffness and natural vibration frequency prediction based on a dimensional analysis approach

Engineering bus design requires testing of bus structures prototypes in order to guarantee a certain level of strength and an appropriate static and dynamic behavior of the bus superstructure when exposed to road loads. However, experimental testing of real bus structures is very expensive as it requires expensive resources and space. If testing is done on a scale bus model the previous required expenses are considerably reduced. Therefore, a novel methodology based on dimensional analysis applied to bus structure prediction to evaluate the bus structure static and dynamic performance is proposed. The static performance is evaluated attending to torsion stiffness and the dynamic in terms of the natural vibration frequencies and rollover threshold. A scale bus has been manufactured and dimensionless parameters have been defined in order to project the results obtained in the scale bus model to a larger model. Validation of the proposed methodology has been carried out under experimental and finite element analysis.     

Durability prediction for automobile aluminum front subframe using nonlinear models in virtual test simulations

This research work presents fatigue life evaluation techniques for an automotive vehicle aluminum front subframe using virtual test simulation technology with nonlinear suspension components model. The technology was used for improving the accuracy of the polynomial model used in conventional analysis. The proposed nonlinear suspension components models were developed using direct approach. The effects of the nonlinear elements on the prediction of the fatigue life were also analyzed. Actual aluminum front subframe was tested using half-car road test simulator to verify the accuracy of the models. It was found that the proposed nonlinear models yield more accurate results than conventional polynomial models. The proposed virtual test simulation technology with nonlinear suspension components model can be used to predict fatigue life for vehicle chassis structures more accurately.     

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.     

Clamping performance of fastener in windshield wiper assembly using theoretical and experimental methods

Improper clamping of wiper arms can cause problems in the operation of the wiper. An excessive clamping force can cause damage to the wiper arm head. On the other hand, an insufficient clamping force can cause self-loosening of the nut. Given the lack of direct research on the clamping force of the fastener in wiper assembly, this study verifies the existing clamping performance of the fastener in windshield wiper assembly by theoretical and experimental methods. The theoretical calculation results show that all the clamping performance are satisfied under the general snow load condition. However, under the critical load condition, maximum assembly preload and safety margin against slipping are in disagreement with the standard values. This problem is solved by increasing the strength grade of the bolt. The experimental results show a reducing tendency of the clamping force during the snow durability test. However, this reducing clamping force during the 60,000 test cycles is acceptable. In the case of nut reusing more than two times possibly cause a problem of its loosening because of insufficient clamping force. Therefore, it is recommended that the nut should not be reused more than two times.     

Application of a modified thermostatic control strategy to parallel mild HEV for improving fuel economy in urban driving conditions

A modified thermostatic control strategy is applied to the powertrain control of a parallel mild hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) to improve fuel economy. This strategy can improve the fuel economy of a parallel mild HEV by operating internal combustion engine (ICE) in a high-efficiency region. Thus, in this study, experiments of a parallel mild HEV were conducted to analyze the characteristics of the hybrid electric powertrain and a numerical model is developed for the vehicle. Based on the results, the thermostatic control strategy was modified and applied to the vehicle model. Also, battery protection logic by using electrochemical battery model is applied because the active usage of battery by thermostatic control strategy can damage the battery. The simulation results of the vehicle under urban driving conditions show that the thermostatic control strategy can improve the vehicle’s fuel economy by 3.7 % compared with that of the conventional strategy. The results also suggest that the trade-off between the fuel economy improvement by efficient ICE operation and the battery life reduction by active battery usage should be carefully investigated when a thermostatic control strategy is applied to a parallel mild HEV.     

Real-time empirical NO<Subscript>x</Subscript> model based on In-cylinder pressure measurements for light-duty diesel engines

This paper proposes a real-time empirical model of NO_x emissions for diesel engines. The proposed model predicts the level of NO_x emissions using an empirical model developed based on the thermal NO formation mechanism, the extended Zeldovich mechanism. Since it is difficult to consider the exact physical NO formation phenomena in real-time applications, the proposed algorithm adapts the key factors of the NO formation mechanism from the extended Zeldovich mechanism: temperature of the burned gas, concentration of the gas species, and combustion duration where NO is generated. These factors are considered in a prediction model as four parameters: exhaust gas recirculation rate (EGR rate), crank angle location of 50 % of mass fraction burned (MFB50), exhaust lambda value, and combustion acceleration. The proposed prediction model is validated with various steady engine experiments that showed a high linear correlation with the NO_x emission measured by a NO_x sensor. Furthermore, it is also validated for transient experiments.     

Optimal scheduling of the flexray static segment based on two-dimensional bin-packing algorithm

FlexRay is a reliable and hard real-time in-vehicle communication protocol that is strongly promoted by car manufacturers as the de facto standard in the automotive domain. The protocol offers both a time-triggered and an eventtriggered architecture. This paper focuses on the optimal scheduling of the time-triggered component of FlexRay known as the static (ST) segment using a two-dimensional bin-packing technique. To maximize the bandwidth utilization in the ST segment, a fast heuristic as well as an efficient integer linear programming approach are proposed. Our methods directly schedule signals into slots including frame packing, according to signal-based data scheduling and the slot/ cycle multiplexing mechanisms presented by the latest version of the FlexRay protocol. The benefits of our proposed methods are demonstrated by extensive experiments on synthetic and an automotive X-by-wire system case study. An additional test case is examined to emphasize the superior performance of the proposed approach relative to that of existing optimal scheduling approaches.     

Resource-aware integration of AUTOSAR-compliant ECUs with an empirical wcet prediction model

This paper presents an integration method of AUTOSAR-compliant ECUs which can evaluate resource constraints in an early-stage of development. There are three types of resources for an ECU (timing, memory, and interface) which should be carefully managed for successful ECU integration. The proposed method consists of three steps: measurement, prediction, and evaluation. In the first step, a method to measure resource factors for AUTOSAR-compliant software architecture is introduced. Based on the method, a worst-case execution cycle of a runnable, memory section usages of a software component, and interface of legacy ECUs can be obtained. In the second step, the obtained factors are quantitatively predicted according to the architectural designs of the integration ECU. In the case of the timing resource, the worst-case execution time of the integration ECU can be precisely predicted by a proposed empirical model. In the last step, the resource constraints such as CPU, memory, network utilizations can be evaluated with predicted resource factors before implementation. The proposed method was applied to the integration of an in-house engine management system composed of two ECUs. The method successfully provided quantitative measures to evaluate architectural designs of three different integration scenarios.