Mathematical model for optimising the sequence for clearing snow from the manoeuvring area during winter operations

This article considers the optimisation of the sequence for clearing snow from stretches of the manoeuvring area of an airport. This issue involves the optimisation of limited resources to remove snow from taxiways and runways thereby leaving them in an acceptable condition for operating aircraft. The airfield is divided into subsets of significant stretches for the purpose of operations and target times are established during which these are open to aircraft traffic. The document contains several mathematical models each with different functions, such as the end time of the process, the sum of the end times of each stretch and gap between the estimated and the real end times. During this process, we introduce different operating restrictions on partial fulfilment of the operational targets as applied to zones of special interest, or relating to the operation of the snow‐clearing machines. The problem is solved by optimisation based on linear programming. The article gives the results of the computational tests carried out on five distinct models of the manoeuvring area, which cover increasingly complex situations and larger areas. The mathematical model is particularised for the case of the manoeuvring area of Adolfo Suarez Madrid—Barajas Airport. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Highlights
• Optimal sequence for clearing snow from the manoeuvring area of an airport.
• Contains optimising algorithms solved using CPLEX LP‐based tree search.
• Restrictions on partial fulfilment of operational targets applied to subsets of significant stretches, used for planning the operation of snow‐clearing machines.
• Model applied to the case of the manoeuvring area of Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas Airport.
• Conclusions are given on the results of the computational tests carried out. There are five models of the manoeuvring area which cover increasingly complex situations and larger areas.

     

Dual objective active suspension system based on a novel nonlinear disturbance compensator

This paper proposes an active suspension system to fulfil the dual objective of improving ride comfort while trying to keep the suspension deflection within the limits of the rattle space. The scheme is based on a novel nonlinear disturbance compensator which employs a nonlinear function of the suspension deflection. The scheme is analysed and validated by simulation and experimentation on a laboratory setup. The performance is compared with a passive suspension system for a variety of road profiles.     

Robust inspection technique for detection of flatness defects of oil pans

This paper discusses two different methods for the detection of flatness defects present on the mounting surfaces of oil pans using laser-scanned point clouds. The first method involves registration, which is a widely used method in the field of 3D data inspection: scanned point clouds are registered with CAD data and the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm is used for further comparison. The second method is our proposed method, a simple yet effective method for measuring the flatness of an oil pan mounting surface. The process is based on the construction of a reference plane on the scanned surface. The oil pan mounting surface is scanned by a 3D laser scanner, obtaining point cloud data that is then further processed to reduce noise. Using this processed data, a reference plane parallel to the direction of the mounting surface is defined at the mean position of the mounting surface. The direction of the reference plane is determined by the normal vector of the mounting surface. Construction of the reference plane is carried out by the singular value decomposition (SVD) technique. The deviation of the surface from the reference plane is measured by calculating the error distance between the points of the surface to the reference plane using the least-squares method.     

Design process to minimize roof surface defects using a flexural function and Finite Element analysis

The appearance and exterior precision of passenger cars aesthetics has become an important factor in the automotive industry. During vehicle assembly, the curvature of the roof can change slightly and create cosmetic defects that affect the exterior appearance. The critical factor causing curvature change on the roof is the thermally driven expansion of an elastomer-based mastic sealer which is applied between the exterior roof panel and support rail during the frame assembly process. Therefore the expansion of the mastic sealer was modeled to predict the curvature change in the roof panel. In order to evaluate the causes and predict the curvature change quantitatively, a Finite Element (FE) simulation of the oven heating and mastic curing was performed. Validation of the simulation model was performed by comparing the local deformation and amount of the curvature change on the roof obtained from the actual process. In order to minimize the curvature change, the Taguchi method was used in conjunction with the FE model where a total of eight factors were chosen to perform a sensitivity analysis. In order to exclude the deformation due to residual stress resulting from the oven process, it was selected as a noise factor. Response was taken as the maximum curvature change calculated by a flexural function which was used to distinguish absolute curvature that is not affected by the horizontal or vertical movement of roof panel. A total of 18 cases were analyzed with length of each sealer, pitch of sealer, and rail location being identified as the most influential factors affecting the curvature change. Using the optimum values, the amount of curvature change in the roof panel was reduced by 12 percent.     

Pressure model based coordinated control of VGT and dual-loop EGR in a diesel engine air-path system

This paper describes a pressure-model-based coordinated control method of a variable geometry turbine (VGT) and dual-loop exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in a diesel engine air-path system. Conventionally, air fraction or burnt gas fraction states are controlled for the control of dual-loop EGR systems, but fraction control is not practical since sensors for fractions are not available on production engines. In fact, there is still great controversy over how best to select control outputs for dual-loop EGR systems. In this paper, pressure and mass flow states are chosen as control outputs without fraction states considering the availability and reliability of sensors. A coordinated controller based on the simple control-oriented model is designed with practical aspects, which is applicable for simultaneous operations of high pressure (HP) EGR, low pressure (LP) EGR, and VGT. In addition, the controller adopts the method of input-output linearization using back-stepping to solve the chronic problems of conventional pressure-based controllers such as coupling effects between operations of HP EGR, and VGT. The control performance is verified by simulation based on the proven GT-POWER model of a heavy-duty 6000cc diesel engine air-path.     

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.     

Automobile aerodynamics influenced by airfoil-shaped rear wing

Computational model is developed to analyze aerodynamic loads and flow characteristics for an automobile, when the rear wing is placed above the trunk of the vehicle. The focus is on effects of the rear wing height that is investigated in four different positions. The relative wind incidence angle of the rear wing is equal in all configurations. Hence, the discrepancies in the results are only due to an influence of the rear wing position. Computations are performed by using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations along with the standard k-ε turbulence model and standard wall functions assuming the steady viscous fluid flow. While the lift force is positive (upforce) for the automobile without the rear wing, negative lift force (downforce) is obtained for all configurations with the rear wing in place. At the same time, the rear wing increases the automobile drag that is not favorable with respect to the automobile fuel consumption. However, this drawback is not that significant, as the rear wing considerably benefits the automobile traction and stability. An optimal automobile downforce-to-drag ratio is obtained for the rear wing placed at 39 % of the height between the upper surface of the automobile trunk and the automobile roof. Two characteristic large vortices develop in the automobile wake in configuration without the rear wing. They vanish with the rear wing placed close to the trunk, while they gradually restore with an increase in the wing mounting height.     

Degree of fault isolability and active fault diagnosis for redundantly actuated vehicle system

This paper proposes á degree of fault isolability concept and active fault diagnosis method for redundantly actuated vehicle systems. Fault isolability is a structural property related to system dynamics and composition of actuators and sensors. Existing research on testing fault isolability has involved checking whether the system is isolable, i.e., binary in nature. A continuous value rather than a binary metric is needed to evaluate how isolable a given system fault is based on a specific measurement set. After fault components are isolated, the fault type and magnitude are estimated by analyzing residual vectors. In a redundantly actuated system, the number of controls/actuators is greater than the system mobility. Thus, the control input distribution to achieve a given control objective is not unique. In the case of a fault, the active fault diagnosis system adjusts the control input distribution to diagnose the fault. Thus, much more system information can be identified by additional excitation through a redundantly actuated system, which improves the fault diagnosis performance. Simulation results of a four-wheel independently driven and steered vehicle model validated the proposed degree of fault isolability and the effectiveness of the proposed active fault diagnosis method.     

不同稳定剂对SBS改性沥青稳定效果的对比研究

通过试验测试不同老化时间样品的针入度、软化点和延度比较其相容性和路用流变学性能指标的变化,分析体系宏观稳定性和稳定剂性能特征,并通过形态结构照片分析稳定剂改善的效果。结果表明,加入稳定剂后改性沥青的高温储存稳定性明显改善,同时加入FD-06无硫稳定剂的改性沥青在热储存过程中性能更加稳定,不易离析。沥青中的部分组份具有化学活性,利用其活性点,引入带有活性基团的反应物,并通过被引入分子的化学结构的调节改善SBS与沥青的相容性,从而制备储存稳定性良好的SBS改性沥青。化学改性技术的应用提高了路用改性沥青的性能/价格比。     

A fundamental investigation of tilt control systems for narrow commuter vehicles

One way of addressing traffic congestion is by efficiently utilizing the existing highway infrastructure. Narrow tilting vehicles that need a reduced width lane can be part of the solution if they can be designed to be safe, stable, and easy to operate. In this paper, a control system that stabilizes the tilt mode of such a vehicle without affecting the handling of the vehicle is proposed. This control system is a combination of two different types of control schemes known as steering tilt control (STC) and direct tilt control (DTC) systems. First, different existing variations of both STC and DTC systems are considered and their shortcomings analysed. Modified control schemes are then suggested to overcome the deficiencies. Then a new method of integrating these two control schemes that guarantees smooth switchover between the controllers as a function of vehicle velocity is proposed. The performance of the proposed STC, DTC, and integrated systems is evaluated by carrying out simulations for different operating conditions and some experimental work. The design of a second-generation narrow tilting vehicle on which the developed control system has been implemented is presented.