Advanced Chassis Control Systems for Vehicle Handling and Active Safety

In this paper chassis controls for vehicle handling and active safety have been reviewed. In particular, we have observed the effectiveness and limit of 4WS and DYC. It is pointed out that DYC is more effective in vehicle motion with larger side-slip and/or higher lateral acceleration and taking the nonlinearity of tire and vehicle dynamics into consideration is essential for introducing the control law for the chassis controls and their integration/coordination. We wish to emphasize that there is a need to further propose control laws based on deeper observation and understanding on the tire and vehicle dynamics.     

At-sea towing of a Mega-Float unit

A huge floating offshore platform (359m long, 60m wide, and 3m deep) was towed into the Pacific Ocean for a validation experiment for a floating airport. Full-scale measurements of towline tension and the bending strain on the upper-deck were made during towing. The measured bending moment agreed well with numerical calculation without taking the draught and towing speed into consideration.     

Sensitivity analysis of side-slip angle observer based on a tire model

We investigated the sensitivity of an observer based on a tire model using simulation in linear and nonlinear regions. In the linear region, we investigated the influence of vehicle speed by doing the same simulation at three speed levels. In the nonlinear region, the simulation condition was set such that the vehicle became unstable. In the linear region, steering input and cornering stiffness have a relatively large effect on the estimation error because these quantities determine tire side force. In the nonlinear region, the road surface's friction coefficient becomes a crucial factor. In both the regions, the observer is sensitive to yaw rate and longitudinal speed.     

Short sleep duration,sleep disorders,and traffic accidents

Sleepiness is an important factor in traffic accidents caused by human error. The purpose of this paper is to review a number of studies conducted over the years regarding the effect of the lack of sleep on the incidence of traffic accidents as well as the individual effects of various sleep disorders on accidents. In addition, we discuss recent advances in methods of detecting sleepiness and strategies for preventing traffic accident by using these methods.     

A hybrid analytical model of sterilization effect on marine bacteria using microbubbles interacting with shock wave

The present paper reports on a hybrid analytical model consisting of a biological probability model and a physical impact model proposed to predict the cell viability ratio of a sterilization method for marine bacteria using microbubbles interacting with a shock wave. The physical impact model of interaction between a microbubble and a shock wave is developed on the basis of the bubble motion analysis with experimental pressure data and a one-dimensional numerical simulation. An underwater shock wave produced by microbubble motion is simulated using a second-order finite differential scheme by means of bubble surface velocity variation obtained from Herring’s bubble motion equation, and the radius of the sterilized space around a microbubble is estimated by the critical pressure that just causes cell wall damage of marine bacteria. The sterilization effect predicted by the present hybrid analysis shows a good agreement with the bio-experimental result.     

Experimental verification of shock sterilization for marine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vibrio</Emphasis> sp. using microbubbles interacting with underwater shock waves

In this paper, shock sterilization using the motions of microbubbles induced by underwater shock waves is verified experimentally. A bio-experiment is carried out using marine Vibrio sp.. Underwater shock waves are produced by electric discharge in a semi-ellipsoidal discharge reflector. The shock waves are focused to increase the pressure that the generated microbubbles are exposed to. The microbubbles are generated independently. The microbubble generator can produce microbubbles of around 50 μm diameter by means of Kelvin–Helmholz instability and Venturi effect. Propagation behavior of shock waves and generation process of microbubbles are captured by high-speed camera. The experimental results show that the supply of microbubbles increases the potential of shock sterilization. In addition, it is found that shock waves without microbubbles also have the capacity of sterilization, and this means that cavitation bubbles generated behind converging shock waves contribute to inactivating marine bacteria.     

Causality of future and spot grain prices between China and the US: Evidence from soybean and corn markets against the surging import pressure

As the boom of the world grain market phases out, the challenge for Chinese government has gradually moved from retarding grain exports to restraining imports. This study tries to examine the causalities of soybean and corn price movement among the United States (US) future market, Chinese domestic future market and Chinese spot markets. We find that the daily prices of all these three types of grains belong to I(1) series, and there are long-run integrations. Also Chinese soybean future prices adjust more quickly than its spot prices, while Chinese corn future prices adjust slower. This paper finds that the soybean price movement originates from the US future market, then passes through Chinese future market, and finally reaches Chinese spot market, while the corn price movement starts in Chinese spot market, then spreads to the future markets in both China and the US. Finally, this paper also provides some policy implications on how to release the pressure from the grain imports.     

A Review of Four-Wheel Steering Studies from the Viewpoint of Vehicle Dynamics and Control

As the four-wheel steering (4WS) system has great potentials, many researchers' attention was attracted to this technique and active research was made. As a result, passenger cars equipped with 4WS systems were put on the market a few years ago. This report tries to identify the essential elements of the 4WS technology in terms of vehicledynamics and control techniques. Based on the findings of this investigation, the report gives an outline and perspective of the research areas involved.     

Static and Dynamic Performance of Permanent Magnet Suspension for Maglev Transport Vehicle

The design and performance of a mechanical air gap controller for a maglev transport vehicle are described. The basic requirement for a functional design of the controller is derived first and its effectiveness is shown by experiments. After the construction of dynamic vehicle models dynamic characteristics of the maglev vehicle are introduced and the stability criteria for magnetic levitation are derived. The effect of a dead zone in the mechanical air gap controller and nonlinear characteristics of the magnets, which are expected to exert a large influence on vehicle levitation performance, are investigated by simulations. The simulation results show that a low control lever ratio causes sudden deterioration of the levitation performance if there exists a dead zone in the controller, and a suitable control lever ratio which is unaffected by the dead zone is proposed. Finally, field test results with an actual maglev transport vehicle are shown and the dynamic levitation performance of the vehicle is discussed.     

电喷法及空燃比法车载测量汽车油耗

介绍了两种车载测量油耗的新方法。电喷法通过高频采样系统测量电喷脉宽,计算得到油耗;空燃比法测量记录进气流量计电压及空燃比等信号,计算得出油耗。两种新方法与汽车尾气CVS取样测量的对比试验表明:两种新方法具有优良的测量精度和稳定性。