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Exhaust gas air-fuel ratio (A/F) sensors are common devices in powertrain feedback control systems aimed at minimizing emissions. Both resistive (using TiO2) and electrochemical (using ZrO2) mechanisms are used in the high temperature ceramic devices now being employed. In this work a new mechanism for making the measurement is presented based on the change in the workfunction of a Pt film in interaction with the exhaust gas. In particular it is found that the workfunction of Pt increases reversibly by approximately 0.7 V at that point (the stoichiometric ratio) where the exhaust changes from rich to lean conditions. This increase arises from the adsorption of O2 on the Pt surface. On returning to rich conditions, catalytic reaction of the adsorbed oxygen with reducing species returns the workfunction to its original value. Two methods, one capacitive and one thermionic, for electrically sensing this workfunction change and thus providing for a practical device are discussed.

A new method to predict brake squeal occurrence was developed by MSC under contract to Ford Motor Company. The results indicate that the stability characteristics of this disc brake assembly are governed mainly by the frictional properties between the pads and rotor. The stability is achieved when the friction coefficient of the pads is decreasing as the contact force increases. Based on the results, a stable brake system can be obtained without changing the brake structure by incorporating the appropriate frictional coefficient in the brake system. The method developed here can be also used as a tool to test the quality of any brake design in the early design stage.

Transport vehicles consume a large amount of fuel with low efficiency, which is significantly affected by drivers' behaviors. An assessment system of eco-driving pattern for buses could identify the deficiencies of driver operation as well as assist transportation enterprises in driver management. This paper proposes an assessment method regarding drivers' economic efficiency, considering driving conditions. To this end, assessment indexes are extracted from driving economy theories and ranked according to their effect on fuel consumption, derived from a database of 135 buses using multiple regression. A layered structure of assessment indexes is developed with application of AHP, and the weight of each index is estimated. The driving pattern score could be calculated with these weights.

A new method for detecting the low power conditions on electronically-controlled diesel engines used in on-road vehicles has been developed. The advantage of this method is that it uses readily available diagnostic tools and engine installed sensors with no necessity for a dynamometer test. Without removing the engine, it gives an estimate of the real engine power which is accurate to 5%.

This paper describes method which experimentally reproduces the most prevalent bearing fatigue failure modes experienced in ball and roller bearing applications. Generally, bearing fatigue life is divided into two groups. One is a surface-originating type of fatigue. The other is a subsurface-originating type of fatigue. The mechanism of each type of fatigue has been studied. Bearing materials were developed for long-life based on the study of the mechanism of fatigue. However, the condition of the evaluation method, or life test, may be different from the actual application conditions. For instance, the subsurface-originating type of fatigue is tested under extremely heavy loads. The surface-originating type of fatigue is tested with severely contaminated lubrication. There is the possibility that the evaluation methods do not simulate the failure modes that are actually present in the field.

This paper provides a review of the solubility parameter theory and its application to predicting elastomer/fluid compatibility. Emphasis is placed on describing the theory and translating the results of swell data into a more easily understood method than has previously been used. Numerous solubility parameters arc presented as well as swell test details. The swell data results are then used to determine solubility parameters which, upon comparison with other fluid or elastomer solubility parameters, determine compatibility. This procedure is especially important because it enables the results of swell tests to be used to identify elastomer/fluid compatibility of molecularly complex fluid additives or special elastomer mixtures.

Road test simulation on test rig is widely used in the automobile industry to shorten the development circles. However, there is still room for further improving the time cost of current road simulation test. This paper described a new method considering both the damage error and the runtime of the test on a multi-axial test rig. First, the fatigue editing technique is applied to cut the small load in road data to reduce the runtime initially. The edited road load data could be reproduced on a multi-axial test rig successfully. Second, the rainflow matrices of strains on different proving ground roads are established and transformed into damage matrices based on the S-N curve and Miner rules using a reduction method. A standard simulation test for vehicle reliability procedure is established according to the proving ground schedule as a target to be accelerated.

The paper covers a new generation of manual transmissions for light and medium-duty trucks, vans and buses, initially introduced in a 5-speed version. The product reflects levels of driving comforts which are new to this class of vehicle worldwide with respect to shiftability, shift feel, noise emission, efficiency and durability.

During the development process of brake discs for commercial vehicles, heat cracks are a frequent problem. Since no profound model to forecast the occurrence of cracks has been presented yet, their prediction is hardly ever possible. The standardized heat crack test puts the brake disc under severe thermomechanical load and therefore forces it into cracking. In this paper, results from a series of heat crack tests on the dynamometer are presented, which provide insight into the hidden processes that accelerate or slow down the heat crack propagation in brake discs. This includes an extensive experimental setup using a thermographic camera, a set of capacitive displacement sensors, a pyrometer, and sliding thermocouples as well as a unique eddy-current heat crack detector that was developed at TU Darmstadt. Continuous monitoring of disc deformation, surface temperature, and crack propagation at high sampling rates provides the base for a new, profound causal model.

In order to reduce high-frequency harmonic noise produced by the blower in the auxiliary system of a fuel cell vehicle (FCV), a narrowband active noise control (ANC) method instead of conventional passive mufflers is adopted since the blower demands clean air condition and expects good acoustic performance. However, in ANC practical applications, the frequency difference between reference signal and actual primary signal, i.e., frequency mismatch (FM), can significantly degrade the high-frequency performance of narrowband ANC system. In this paper, a new narrowband ANC system is proposed to compensate for the performance degeneration due to the existence of FM and improve noise reduction at high frequencies. The proposed system consists of two parts: the Filtered Error Least Mean Square (FELMS) algorithm filtering the primary signals at wide frequency range other than those at the targeted frequencies, and the FM removal algorithm proposed by Yegui Xiao.

This paper describes the problem of vehicle trajectory tracking control in the plane (X, Y). While following this trajectory, and to test some of the extreme cases, several types of faults are produced. Some of these faults may be described by a decrease in tires inflation pressures. For that reason, an analytical model representing the comportment of the vehicle and integrating these faults is proposed. In order to use this model in the control, several validations are made by the advanced simulator VE-DYNA. As a second step of this work, the controller design is made; this controller acts on the steering angle and on the torques of the wheels. It is based on the principles of the predictive control. The controller is tested in two cases: in the normal case where the task is to follow a predefined trajectory without faults, and in the other case where the task is the same but faults described by tires pressures decrease are produced.

To reduce heat transfer between hot gas and cavity wall, thin Zirconia (ZrO2) layer (0.5mm) on the cavity surface of a forged steel piston was firstly formed by thermal spray coating aiming higher surface temperature swing precisely synchronized with flame temperature near the wall resulting in the reduction of temperature difference. However, no apparent difference in the heat loss was analyzed. To find out the reason why the heat loss was not so improved, direct observation of flame impingement to the cavity wall was carried out with the top view visualization technique, for which one of the exhaust valves was modified to a sapphire window. Local flame behavior very close to the wall was compared by macrophotography. Numerical analysis by utilizing a three-dimensional simulation was also carried out to investigate the effect of several parameters on the heat transfer coefficient.

This paper discusses the development of a new hydraulic pump for use in heavy duty truck power steering systems. It is hydraulically balanced in terms of shaft bearing loads and end plate deflection forces. It is capable of operation up to 2000 psi and 10 gpm output. It also includes a relief valve bypass to reservoir feature which makes it more tolerant of sustained relief valve operation. The design is easily adaptable to various mounting and reservoir configurations. In addition, the paper describes some of the tests which were used to evaluate the new design.

Presenting a brand new approach to heat exchangers for engines, transmissions, hydraulic systems, etc. This new heat exchanger is made of only two pieces of circular extruded aluminum profiles: Core and shell. No soldering: The core and the shell is assembled by a minimum of automated work. In an oil to water cooling application, the active surface on the oil side of the core is enlarged by fins 0.2 mm thick, 0.3 mm spacing, and 3 mm high. The fins are made in unique production machines and enlarge the active surface area approximately five times compared to a conventional heat exchanger of the same dimensions. The principle utilizes the low pressure drop at laminar flow and avoids the disadvantage of low heat transfer after a certain laminar flow length. The result is approximately three times higher oil heat dissipation, combined with very low oil pressure drop, compared to conventional technique.

The new generation of air disc brakes developed by PERROT is suitable for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) from classes 4 to 8. Their design, construction and function is described in this paper. In addition, it is explained in which way the brakes are tested and proven on the different test rigs and in the vehicle.

Due to the variability of real traffic conditions for vehicle testing, real-world vehicle performance estimation using simulation method become vital. Especially for heavy duty vehicles (e.g. 40 t trucks), which are used for international freight transport, real-world tests are difficult, complex and expensive. Vehicle simulations use mathematical methods or commercial software, which take given driving cycles as inputs. However, the road situations in real driving are different from the driving cycles, whose speed profiles are obtained under specific conditions. In this paper, a real-world vehicle performance estimation method using simulation was proposed, also it took traffic and real road situations into consideration, which made it possible to investigate the performance of vehicles operating on any roads and traffic conditions. The proposed approach is applicable to all kind of road vehicles, e.g. trucks, buses, etc. In the method, the real-road network includes road elevation.

A new type of screw pump has inherent design features (e.g. balanced design, low bearing loads, wear-adjustable rotors, low rubbing loads, …) which may allow efficient, reliable, and maintainable operation in numerous applications, particularly for pumping low-viscosity fluids. Initial tests on an 87 gal/min prototype pumping lubricating oil at pressures up to 500 lb/in2 and speeds up to 1800 rev/min achieved good performance with little wear over 3400 hours of operations. Performance projections indicate volumetric efficiencies of 50 percent should be reached using the existing prototype pumping 1200 lb/in2 water in one stage.

Pulse width modulation (PWM) has been used to alter the performance of on-off hydraulic control valves to make them perform as proportional type flow control valves. Nonlinear performance resulting from time delays in valve switching as well as valve wear due to continuous cycling continue to persist as operational problems. This paper examines a new technique called modified PWM control. The method was found to provide accurate control with a minimum of valve chatter.