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Mechanically plated finishes primarily used by the automotive industry have been specified for the following reasons: 1) Torque drive relationships. 2) Assured product reliability through elimination of hydrogen embrittlement. 3) Simplicity of coating application and waste treatment. 4) Corrosion protection. 5) Multiple coating applications. Current automotive industry trends are toward weight reduction, involving the use of lighter weight metals in fabrication. Fastener components and their protective coatings must also be compatible to the bimetallic surfaces with which they come in contact. Promising new mechanical plating developments are geared toward supplying finishes with characteristics necessary for bimetallic fastening while keeping cost factors in perspective.

Production equipment has been developed for plating with aluminum by ion vapor deposition. This offers a new dimension in protective finishes to the corrosion engineer. The equipment called the Ivadizer™, deposits a uniform, dense coating of pure aluminum which provides outstanding corrosion protection. In addition there are no embrittlement problems, the coating can be used at temperatures up to 925°F (496°C), and both the process and the coating are environmentally clean. Because of its performance advantages, ion vapor deposited aluminum can be used in a wide range of applications, and is particularly effective as a replacement for cadmium. Interest in and demand for the coating is progressing rapidly in the aerospace and other industries.

Possessing hardness, strength, toughness, dimensional stability, elevated temperature strength and hardness, and resistance to wear, tool steels merit consideration as candidate materials for automotive engine and other components which encounter demanding service requirements. The properties of ten tool steel grades, which are considered to be most promising for selected automotive applications, are discussed.

The durability requirements of the diesel engine exhaust valve have been satisfied through the use of several iron, nickel, and cobalt base alloys. There have been cases where iron base austenitic alloys were found deficient in one or more physical or mechanical properties, and they were replaced with a nickel or cobalt base super alloy, often with a wide margin of design safety. Strategic alloying elements such as cobalt, tungsten, and nickel have escalated in price at a significant rate, thus increasing the cost of the super alloys. An improved austenitic alloy has been developed to provide adequate performance while retaining the cost effectiveness of iron base systems. During this development program, the alloy was designed to minimize its susceptibility to manufacturing problems which have been associated with prior valve materials.

The engineer and metallurgist, working as a team, have made a tremendous step forward in worldwide conservation of energy. Replacing cast and malleable iron castings with aluminum castings in the automotive industry has greatly reduced the weight of the car. Designing castings in one piece where there is an assembly of component parts is a more economical and mechanically sound procedure.

High integrity aluminum castings are potential replacements for cast iron in current vehicle weight reduction programs. Domestically, several cast aluminum structural-type components are already realities, saving weight and contributing to improved fuel economy; wheels, brake drums, master brake cylinders and power steering housings. In Europe, suspension components, wheel hubs and disc brake calipers are cast in aluminum for some car models, indicating the functional and economic feasibility of such parts. Alloy and process technology already exist to enable production of realiable, high strength aluminum castings. Domestic automotive product engineers are urged to carefully consider and thoroughly test such aluminum castings along with the many other weight reduction possibilities currently being investigated.

The design, construction, testing, and competition of the Mini Baja 77 winning vehicle was performed as an academic assignment by senior Mechanical Engineering students. The nature of the course is explained; the educational benefits explored. The vehicle design criteria and their relationship to the morphology of the design process are developed. The tradeoffs and compromises by the group required to develop an optimum design were extensive. The actual design is presented in a series of photographs, and examples of the required tradeoffs are illustrated thereby. An analysis of the educational benefits of this type of competition is presented along with recommendations for expanding the concept.

Mini-Baja 1977 represents an attempt on the part of the academic community to increase the industrial readiness of engineering students. The object of this simulated industrial design and fabrication project is to construct a marketable, manufacturable, high-performance one-man, all-terrain vehicle for the least possible cost. Each university started with the same air cooled engine and a $550 manufactured cost limitation. The designs evolved from a series of performance vs. cost, styling vs. cost, and design features vs. cost decisions. Because of the close simulation to the actual industrial design process, engineering students have found this type of competition to be a valuable addition to their education.

In Japanese automotive industry considerable changes have been done in not only design of exhaust train but also materials to be used due to non-leaded gasoline as well as emission controls. Especially application ratio of heat-resisting and stainless steel has increased rapidly and at the same time manufacturing technique and performance improvement of raw-materials have been made for heat-resisting steel for passenger cars. We have explained for the current trend in materials used for exhaust train such as reactor, catalytic convertor, other part of exhaust train, engine valves, valve seat inserts.

A Rough Terrain Vehicle has been designed, constructed and tested by Mechanical Engineering Students for the Mini-Baja 77 Races. This one seat vehicle has an eight horsepower engine, five speed transmission, independent front wheel suspension and disc brake. The gear train has been matched to the engine performance curves. A wooden mockup was used to establish the man-machine interface. The design and construction of this vehicle was the assigned problem in “Mechanical Engineering Practice”. This paper presents the design of this vehicle and then comments on the effectiveness of this project in achieving the objectives of this course.

The Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards of the American Trucking Associations can be used by manufacturers to improve heavy-duty vehicles. After verifying the accuracy and significance of the data the manufacturing, engineering, technical service and marketing departments can all use the information to improve vehicles and provide better service to the user.

DuPont operates a medium-sized fleet consisting of 200 tractors and 450 trailers. These units are based in Wilmington, Delaware, and at six other terminals. We have three basic goals in specifying our fleet and in establishing programs for its operation: low maintenance costs, fuel economy, and safety. To maintain our program and to work toward improved results, we make use of a variety of management tools. A major contributor is the Burlington reports. Every maintenance dollar we spend is programmed into the system. These reports provide us with all fuel and maintenance data to accurately determine costs and to develop methods to improve existing cost and fuel savings programs. Three examples will be given to show how we use the reports to make some significant decisions in our operation. The first two will deal with replacement of equipment and the third with driver influence.

The flow around a bluff body with a slanted rear surface is influenced very dramatically by changing the angle of the rear surface slant and at some slant angles an excessively high drag is generated. To learn more about this critical behavior a series of detailed experiments was conducted on a vehicle-like bluff body, investigating the effect of ground proximity, Reynolds number, free-stream turbulence and of rounding of the upper edge of the slanted surface. The results of these experiments showed that although these various factors could change the critical slant angle and the size of the drag overshoot, the basic critical behavior was always present.

Maintenance records, often talked about, but seldom deemed creditable when management determines that some type of action is required. Comparing maintenance performance and costs has been a frustrating as well as a misleading exercise. In 1969, the American Trucking Associations, Inc. undertook the development of the first uniform vehicle maintenance reporting system by and for the industry. The basic research included for hire carriers, private carriers, government fleets, as well as manufacturers and suppliers. The end product was released in 1970 under the title Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards. This was ultimately shortened to VMRS. Since 1970, VMRS has been adopted and installed in a large number of fleets in the United States, Canada and Europe. The results have been significant. Industrywide data base reports have become available where, for the first time, true and meaningful statistics are being generated using VMRS.

The American Automobile Association is a federation of 211 affiliated automobile clubs with 932 offices in the United States and Canada which serve nearly 19 million members. As a not-for-profit organization, each club provides a wide range of services directly to its members and engages in public service activities on behalf of motorists and travelers in general. The clubs constantly review their services and activities with the objective of determining those areas where they can provide significant benefits. The development and implementation of a new pilot automotive repair service program with significant implications for the consumer and the automobile repair industry is the subject of this paper.

An algorithm for quantitative vehicle replacement and repair limitations studies was developed by the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. in early 1976. It computes; (a) whether it is less expensive to replace a vehicle or to continue using it: (b) the magnitude of cost avoidance or cost increase that would result from vehicle replacement over a projected period of time. Computations can be performed either manually or with the aid of computer systems. Simulations are performed on the basis of either cost per mile or cost per period of operation. These costs include the cost of purchase, money, maintenance, fuel and all other associated expenses. The “cost of money” can be applied with any degree of sophistication that may be required. This algorithm is currently utilized as a planning aid by Con Edison. It has been computerized as a feature of: (a) The Con Edison Transportation Information System (“TIS”) and (b) “Vehcile Maintenance Reporting Standards” (VMRS).

A new fuel control system has been developed which records vehicle utilization and fuel and oil use automatically at the fueling installation. The system provides security against unauthorized fuel use, is free from any manual input and is very practical and economical to install and operate.

An ASTM Task Force was formed in December, 1976 to develop a Laboratory Engine Dynamometer Deposit and Wear Test. A 2.3 liter, four cylinder engine and an unleaded reference gasoline were selected. Reference oils for which field data were available were obtained from industry. The Task Force defined test support hardware for both engine and test stand. The effect of operating variables on engine deposits was studied. A test procedure, based on correlation with field service, is nearing completion. It is expected that this procedure will be capable of defining lubricant performance in terms of motor oil classifications.

Theoretical and experimental results of an initial study of X-band swept frequency radar as a means of target discrimination for automotive radar are presented. A simple analytical model is used to demonstrate that the frequency dependence of radar returns from an object is related to the number and position of its scattering centers. Experimental measurements show that obstacles such as oil drums and road signs are simple targets comprised of a single scattering center while automobiles are very complex targets having a large number of interacting scattering centers. Analysis of the data indicates that X-band swept frequency radar has the ability to distinguish between simple and complex targets; however, targets posing potentially serious hazards cannot be distinguished from those which do not.

The ASTM Sequence IIIC test was established to evaluate the thickening characteristics of engine oils as well as to determine their control of high-temperature deposits. It is one of several tests used to define SE-quality engine oils. This paper describes the replacement of the obsolete 1967, 7.0 L Oldsmobile engine with a 1978, 5.7 L Oldsmobile spark-ignition engine. While retaining the capability to evaluate engine oil thickening resistance and deposit control, the revised test also includes the capability to evaluate valve train wear. The valve train wear results with the new test correlate well with valve train wear observed in field tests.