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In this paper, we propose algorithms for cost minimization of physical wires that are used to connect electronic devices in the vehicle. The wiring cost is one of the most important drivers of electrical architecture selection. Our algorithms perform wire routing from a source device to a destination device through harnesses, by selecting the optimized wire size. In addition, we provide optimized splice allocation with limited constraints. Based on the algorithms, we develop a tool which is integrated into an off-the-shelf optimization and workflow system-level design tool. The algorithms and the tool provide an efficient, flexible, scalable, and maintainable approach for cost analysis and architecture selection.

In-vehicle electronics are becoming more and more important; the functionalities are being distributed across several electronic control units (ECUs). These can be divided into body systems as well as new powertrain and chassis control systems. It is foreseen that the value of software per vehicle will increase for a normal vehicle. This situation creates the demand to perform a study to understand the trends and impacts of a massive electrification of the vehicle. This study and survey aims to identify the current status of the Vehicles E/E Architectures and the In-Vehicle Networks of Brazilian B entry vehicles. It is important to have in mind that Brazilian market represents about 70% of the total South America automotive industry. The study was divided into two parts: The first part approaches the topics above in generality. Goal was to identify the current electrical architecture elements affecting the B entry vehicles versus the main attributes for this kind of segment.

In-vehicle electronics are becoming more and more important; the functionalities are being distributed across several electronic control units (ECUs). These can be divided into body systems as well as new powertrain and chassis control systems. It is foreseen that the value of software per vehicle will increase for a normal vehicle. This situation creates the demand to perform a study to understand the trends and impacts of a massive electrification of the vehicle. This study and survey aims to identify the current status of the Vehicles E/E Architectures and the In-Vehicle Networks of Brazilian B entry vehicles. It is important to have in mind that Brazilian market represents about 70% of the total South America automotive industry. The study was divided into two parts: The first part approaches the topics above in generality. Goal was to identify the current electrical architecture elements affecting the B entry vehicles versus the main attributes for this kind of segment.

Experimental data and analysis show the relationship between arcing watts, the time of the arc exposure and the degree to which common polymers experience damage. Arcing test apparatus for 125V DC and 48 volt DC are shown. Arc gap control allows 125-volts to mimic arcs in lower voltage systems. Arcing current waveforms depict the chaotic behavior of arcs and differences due to anode / cathode materials. Levels of degradation are defined and used for “Constant Damage Contours” for Vinyl, Carpeting and Sound insulation. The polymers were exposed to conditions of constant arcing watts for increasing times. Connecting the points of “first flame” establishes a “contour of constant damage”. The data indicates that a “3 second flame free” limit is between 50 and 100 watts. 4000 watts of arcing takes 1/4 to ½ second to cause burning. The influence of circuit resistance on the maximum arc power transfer is presented.

Two electrical fuel pumps were performed with different fuels in two different vehicles. The pumps accumulated 60.000 km and 190.000 km in passenger cars. Both vehicles and pumps were designed to operate exclusively with gasohol (E22), one of the pumps was tested with 60% ethanol in volume of gasoline blend (E60) for 60.000 km from June-2001 to February-2004. The other pump was tested with gasohol (E22) for 190.000 km from August 2000 to February-2004. The test conditions represented the actual use of the vehicles. Such test is not common vehicle manufacturers practice application because it requires a considered long period of time for evaluation procedure. This test helps both the analysis of soak time influence and the running time. This paper presents a tribological analysis of the components in order to compare the influence of both fuels on wear mechanisms or other degradation that could be influenced by the non usual E60 fuel.

Electric vehicles are seen as a key driver to address the issue of global warming, mainly through their zero tailpipe emissions operation and energy efficiency improvements. However, this does not solve the problem of urban chaos, related to traffic congestion and parking space cluttering, which contribute to increase human stress and overall economic productivity decrease. To address all these issues, electric urban buses come as an obvious solution, and they also have the advantages of being quieter than regular buses and of promoting a better travel experience to passengers. Nowadays there are already electric buses operating in some parts of the world and one of the main concerns is their high weight, which is mainly due to the amount of batteries they carry in order to have an adequate range.

A planar dielectric barrier discharge device has been tested for exhaust emission reduction in simulated engine exhaust. This device's electrical characteristics have been measured and are presented in this paper. The device consists of two dielectric barriers which act like series capacitors, with the gas gap between them. At low gap voltages, the gas gap also acts like a capacitance, with a much smaller capacitance than the barriers. At higher voltages, the gas gap breaks down and a blue–purple glow visually fills the gap. The partially ionized gas conducts charge across the gap, building electrical charge on the dielectric barrier inner surface. When the AC excitation voltage peaks and starts to go toward an opposite polarity, the discharge momentarily extinguishes, trapping charge in the dielectric barrier capacitance.

Electrical power, command signals and data are transferred across the Space Station Freedom solar alpha rotary joint by roll rings, which are incorporated within the Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA) designed and manufactured by Honeywell Space Systems Operations. A developmental model of the UTA was tested at the NASA Lewis Research Center using the Power Management and Distribution DC test bed. The objectives of these tests were to obtain data for calibrating system models and to support final design of qualification and flight units. This testing marked the first time the UTA was operated at high power levels and exposed to electrical conditions similar to that which it will encounter on the actual Space Station. Satisfactory UTA system performance was demonstrated within the scope of this testing.

A method for modeling electric vehicles has been developed and applied in the prediction of electric vehicle performance and range over variable driving cycles. This model is also applicable for studies of the size, power rating, and costs of electrical drivetrain components. The details of the battery and motor simulation used in the model are described. The battery simulation characteristics are compared with the results of life-cycle tests performed on lead-acid batteries. A method for sizing and rating a battery for electric vehicle applications is suggested.

Hybrid drivetrain hardware combines an electric motor and a transmission, gear box, or hydraulic unit. With many hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) hardware designs the transmission fluid is in contact with the electric motor. Some OEMs and tier suppliers have concerns about the electrical properties of automatic transmission fluids (ATFs). Lubrizol has conducted a fundamental research project to better understand the electrical conductivity of ATFs. In this paper, we will present conductivity data as a function of temperature for a range of commercially available ATFs. All fluids had conductivities ranging from 0.9 to 8x10-9 S/cm at 100 °C and can be considered insulators with the ability to dissipate static charge. Next we will deconstruct one ATF to show the relative impact of the various classes of lubricant additives. We find that more polar additives have a larger effect on conductivity on a normalized (per weight %) basis.

This paper will review the development of electrical connectors and their implementation into the heavy equipment industry. It will also describe the problems involved in the continuation of this implementation and the possible solutions to associated problems.

Because of the rising costs of engine tests, bench testing is a necessity in engine oil development. Which bench test to use remains a problem. Recently, we have reported on the use of electrical contact resistance (ECR) coupled with a ball-on-disk tribometer to study the formation and the durability of antiwear films from binary additive mixtures. This paper extends the ECR study to fully formulated fresh oils run in both fired gasoline engines and the ECR bench test. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses of used Sequence VE engine parts from highash fully formulated lubricants are shown and the relationship of ECR film formation to fired-engine test performance is discussed.

Modern Passenger Car Motor Oils (PCMOs) are formulated to provide superior wear, oxidation, and deposit control under the most demanding driving conditions. In most PCMOs, zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZnDTP) has been the dominant antiwear and antioxidant agent for well over 50 years. Unfortunately, the phosphorus in ZnDTP may partially deactivate the exhaust emission catalyst. To ensure that the catalysts function for at least 120,000 miles, engine manufacturers are exploring phosphorus limitations for upcoming PCMO performance categories. This paper explores the antiwear film formation of low phosphorus engine oils using the Electrical Contact Resistance bench test. A prototype ILSAC GF-4 formulation blended with varying amounts and types of ZnDTP was tested at temperatures typical of operating engines. Secondary ZnDTP was found to produce the best films under the broadest temperature range.

Justifying the use of electric control systems for such an important duty as control of lift engines (in, say, VTOL transport) and elimination of a mechanical linkage must devolve on past experience, as regards both technical capabilities and reliability. This paper describes an electrical engine control that has extensive service experience and discusses its reliability record. A more modern control is also described, to illustrate available techniques. In addition, the requirement peculiar to jet lift engines, and the engine failure case, are demonstrated by a typical system for multi-engine aircraft. Some suggestions for instrumentation and display are given.

This paper describes in general terms the design and development principles of electrical engine controls and how these must be formulated so that a given performance and reliability of the equipment can be attained. Reliability is emphasized in those areas that require special attention in equipment of this nature. The two systems that are currently in use are described fully. Finally, the advantages of electrical systems for controls are presented and examined with respect to present-day electrical technology and its potential development.

Aluminum wire is receiving increased attention for automotive applications due to the potential for cost and weight savings. Termination of aluminum wire is problematic due to the tenacious surface oxide on the strands. The oxide is an electrical insulator and is difficult to displace during termination. Consequently, many of the strands within a crimped wire bundle can be electrically isolated from the terminal, which can result in higher than expected crimp resistance, less stable crimp resistance, and the potential for excess heating of the termination. Prior solutions employed additives such as brass powder to puncture the oxide film and form a diffusion bond between strands, or features such as screens or serrations that increase wire deformation and displace the oxide mechanically to promote strand-strand bonding. Both solutions have drawbacks. Additives increase cost and process complexity and can serve as contaminants to adjacent processes.

As a means to reduce exhaust emission, narrowing nozzle hole diameter is known to be an effective method of improving fuel atomization. In general, Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is more effective than other machining techniques because there is no burring and no machining force is apply to the tool, but the drawback to EDM is a low removal rate. An EDM drilling device by using piezoelectric elements has been newly developed. This device can drive a wire electrode at a high response of 5kHz. As a result of high response, this device can drill holes 0.1-0.5mm in diameter 3 times more efficiently than a conventional electrical discharge machine.

Republic Aviation Corp. had a manufacturing problem with drilling the speed brake door of the F-105 airplane. The door is composed of annealed and heat treated Rene 41, Inconel X and titanium. To overcome this problem, electrical discharge machining was utilized to produce required holes, resulting in significant cost savings over traditional methods.

Due to the ever continuous integration of new electronic functions onboard vehicle, the electrical power needs are increasing. Indeed the power demand increase has several impacts on energy distribution. New power generation systems such as hybrid are emerging. In order to increase vehicle availability and dependability, energy management is the key. Devices such as power switches and battery monitoring systems are implemented. In the meantime available space in the engine compartment is becoming crucial. Thus many cars have their batteries delocalized in the trunk. These major electrical architecture evolutions have to be studied in detail in order to optimize solutions cost while ensuring a high level of dependability. How to combine 30% of electrical power increase, 20% of weight and cost decrease while improving vehicle reliability at the same time?

The increasing use of carbon fibre (CF) material in vehicle structures is driven by its beneficial physical properties. To date, within the vehicle design process, electrical performance has been very much a secondary consideration. In this paper, the electrical parameters of CF are compared and contrasted with the more traditional alternatives, and approaches and solutions are proposed to address the issue of short-circuits through the body structure.