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Vehicles involved in rollover crashes can leave debris trails which can include glass from broken windows. The glass patterns can be useful to identify the vehicles path during the rollover and the location and orientation of the vehicle at various vehicle-to-ground impacts. The location of glass, which is often window specific, can be used to identify where the window fractured during the rollover sequence. The longevity of the glass debris fields, subject to various real-world conditions and disturbances (i.e. slope, weather, mowing, soil type, etc.), was tested over a period of two years. The glass debris fields were placed and mapped in multiple locations across the United States. Periodically during each year, the glass debris fields were examined and the new field extents were mapped. The comparison between the original debris field and the subsequent debris fields are presented.

This paper proposes a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) strategy for active trailer steering (ATS) in order to improve the lateral stability of articulated heavy vehicles (AHVs). Optimal controllers based on the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) technique have been explored to enhance the lateral stability of AHVs; these controllers are designed under the assumption that the vehicle model parameters and operating conditions are given and they remain as constants. However, in reality, the vehicle system parameters and operating conditions may vary. To address the variable payloads of trailer(s), the controller based on MRAC technique is adopted. A three degrees of freedom (DOF) linear yaw-plane tractor-semitrailer model is generated to design the control law. The reference model is also developed using the linear yaw-plane model with the LQR technique. The effectiveness of the MRAC controller is demonstrated using numerical simulations under an emulated single lane-change maneuver.

Nowadays, off-highway vehicles enjoyed a significant status in the national defense and civil construction. There is no doubt that the working conditions of off-highways are quite different from the conventional passenger cars, hence, their suspensions are particularly designed. Since the hydro-pneumatic suspension technology is maturely applied in engineering machinery, this paper presents a concept for a novel energy-harvesting device, which is applied in off-highway vehicles based on hydro-pneumatic suspension, namely, electro-hydraulic energy-harvesting suspension (EHEHS). The EHEHS took the fundamental of mechanism-electronic-hydraulic system, which consisted the following elements: a cylinder, 2 check valves, a hydro-pneumatic spring, a hydraulic motor, a DC motor, a processing circuit and a battery. In the EHEHS system, the cylinder is used to transmit the vibration energy into hydraulic energy, which is stored in hydro-pneumatic spring.

With the diesel emissions and fuel consumption regulations and laws being tightened up, Common Rail System (CRS), capable of accurate and high-pressure diesel fuel injection, has become very popular in the world, and this CRS market is expected to continue to grow in the future. As use of the CRS becomes widespread, CRS is supposed to be used in a wide variety of environment, e.g. bad fuel (for example, much dust [1] and/or water), which increases concerns of CRS reliability. In an attempt to cope with such bad fuel properties, CRS and Fuel collected from the market was investigated. And based on this result, a new test method was worked out to simulate fuel stresses in the market. This test method verified the improved design of CRS with enhanced fuel robustness. This paper describes the new test method and the fuel robustness-enhancing effect of CRS based on the test method.

Fuel spray propagation and its morphology are important aspects for the in-cylinder mixture preparation in Diesel engines. Since there is still a lack of suitable measurements with regard to large 2-stroke marine Diesel engines combustion systems, a comprehensive data set of spray characteristics has been investigated using a test facility reflecting the specific features of such combustion systems. The spray penetration, area and cone angle were analysed for a variation of gas density (including the behaviour at evaporation and non-evaporating conditions), injection pressure and nozzle diameter. Moreover, spray and swirl flow interaction as well as fuel quality influences have been studied. To analyse the impacts and effects of each measured parameter, an empirical correlation for the spray penetration has been derived and discussed for all measurements presented.

The spray characteristics and inside flow of a marine diesel injector were investigated both experimentally and numerically. From the experiments, we observed that the penetration of the sprays in the early injection stage gradually increases. This phenomenon differs significantly from that of the small automobile diesel injector, in which penetration increases linearly with time. Using the momentum method to obtain injection rate measurements, we observed an injection rate spike at each injection event just after the injection began. The observed spray results show that the small portion of fuel remaining inside the nozzle from the previous injection event is ejected first, and then the main volume of fuel is ejected. Both fuels accumulate as spray droplets and gradually accelerate after the early injection stage. Numerical simulations of the injector's inside flow show that the fuel injection rate becomes saturated in needle lifts larger than 0.3 mm.

Next-generation vehicles which include Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles are studied and expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The number of small delivery hybrid trucks has increased in the commercial vehicle class. The engine load of a commercial hybrid truck is reduced by using an electric motor. Fuel economy of the hybrid truck is improved with the assist. On the other hand, exhaust-gas temperature is decreased, and it has a negative effect on the purification performance of aftertreatment system. In this report, the fuel performance and emission gas characteristics of marketed small hybrid trucks were surveyed using the chassis dynamometer test system.

Partially premixed combustion (PPC) is a promising way to achieve high efficiency and low engine-out emissions simultaneously in a heavy-duty engine. Compared to Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), it can be controlled by injection events and much lower HC and CO emissions can be achieved. This work focuses on the transition from HCCI to PPC and combustion and emissions characteristics during the process are investigated. Injection strategies, EGR and boost pressure were the main parameters used to present the corresponding effect during the transition.

Real time data transfer over Ethernet, with an inhomogeneous physical layer is studied. Within the Ethernet network 100Base-TX and BroadR Reach© physical layers are used. Synchronization of devices via Ethernet is investigated and synchronized transfer of video streams is shown. Purpose-built Ethernet-Physical Layer Adapters (E-PLAs) are applied. It is demonstrated that an Ethernet network with different physical layers may be used for real time data transfer with just a little trade-off in synchronization and transfer delay.

Advanced Non-linear topology optimization methods have been addressed as the most promising techniques for light weight and performance design of Powertrain structures. The theoretical achievements are obtained both mechanically and mathematically. Nowadays, the great challenge lies in solving more complicated engineering design problems with multidisciplinary objectives or complex structural systems. The purpose of this paper is to provide a forum to present new developments in structural Non-linear topology optimization. The advantage of the proposed method is that structural optimization on irregular design domains can be carried out easily. Furthermore, this method integrates the stress analysis and the boundary evolution within the framework of finite element methods. In this paper, mainly focused on the Commercial Vehicles Powertrain component i.e. Transmission Housing.

To compete with the current market trends there is always a need to arrive at a cost effective and light weight designs. For Commercial Vehicles, an attempt is made to replace existing Gear Shift Fork from FC Iron (Ferro Cast Iron) to ADC (Aluminum Die Casting) without compromising its strength & stiffness, considering/bearing all the worst road load cases and severe environmental conditions. ADC has good mechanical and thermal properties compared to FC Iron. Feasible design has been Optimized within the given design space with an extra supporting pad for load distribution. Optimization, Stiffness, Contact pattern has been done using OptiStruct, Nastran & Ansys for CAE evaluation. A 6-speed manual transmission is used as an example to illustrate the simulation and validation of the optimized design. Advanced linear topology optimization methods have been addressed as the most promising techniques for light weighting and performance design of Powertrain structures.

A vehicle of interest in this paper was a light agriculture truck. In order to obtain reliable predictions of stress generated in the frame under loads, a combination of experimental tests and computer simulations was arranged. Since the focused deformations were bending and torsion modes, the truck driven up one-wheel ramp and two-wheel ramp was investigated. Strains results obtained from both tests and simulations were compared. The discussions and conclusions were made regarding the accuracy and further improvements of the simulations.

Mining operations which utilise Haul Trucks to move product or overburden have to also build and maintain a network of roads which the Haul Truck can operate on. As the development of the mine progress typically the road network changes and the maintenance of a mining road can influence the productivity of the mine and specifically the Haul Truck fuel consumption on the mine. The current class of Ultra class Haul Trucks can have a Gross mass from 450t to 590t with 60lt to 90lt engines developing 1,830kW to 2,800kW. By managing the roughness of the mining road network the rolling resistance of the Haul Trucks can be controlled/managed within a defined band and hence the mine can control part of the Haul Truck fuel consumption. Conversely constantly maintaining mine roads affects the productivity of the mine. Typically the decision to conduct maintenance work on a Haul Road is made subjectively, based on the feel of how rough the roads are getting.

This paper presented one calculation method of the contact load, which is the load acted on the spring at the moment when the second-level stiffness of the spring just begins to work. In the proposed method, the contact load calculation mainly based on the dynamic load of the unsprung mass and the road grades and the commonly driving speed were also considered. A semiempirical formula of the contact load was put forward. Then the contact load of the commercial bus's rear suspension was respectively calculated by using the proposed formula and traditional methods(geometric mean method and average load method) to compare each other and to verify the new method. Later, the spring samples were respectively manufactured based on the calculation results. At last, the validation tests were respectively performed in an automotive proving ground.

The Malaysia National Automotive Policy (NAP 2014) focuses on the systemic changes needed for the country to develop a competitive and sustainable automotive manufacturing sector. Alternative electric vehicles (EV) -including the public transport sector, in particular buses - forms part of this strategy. This also features in the Transport Scenarios for the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan for 2020. Kuala Lumpur's population is expected to reach 10 million by 2020, the current public transport system is beset by problems, e.g. route congestion, a growing trend of private car ownership among a rising middle-class, and a range of environmental and infrastructure issues which must be challenged. A human-centred design approach to public transport focuses on developing (future) scenarios to accommodate the 2020 economic, environmental and social considerations building on Design for Sustainability (DfS), user needs, behaviour change and inclusivity principles.

This paper presents an industrial application of the Analytical Target Cascading (ATC) methodology to the optimal design of commercial vehicle steering and suspension system. This is a pilot study about the suspension and steering design of a semi medium bus, whose objective is to develop and introduce an ATC methodology to an automobile development process. In the conventional process, it is difficult not only to find design variables which meet the target of Ride and Handling (R&H) performance using a detailed full car model, but also to figure out the interrelation between the vehicle and its subsystems. In this study, ATC methodology is used in order to obtain the optimal values such as geometric characteristics satisfying both the vehicle's R&H target and the subsystem (suspension and steering system) 's target.

In order to improve the handling and stability of a light bus at high speed, a virtual model was established in Adams-Car and its anti-roll bar and bushing parameters were virtually optimized. The tyre mechanical characteristics were firstly tested by using a plate-type tyre tester and the Magic Formula parameters of the tyre were obtained. Then the virtual bus model's handling performance were studied by the simulation of central steering test and steady static circular test. An optimal matching method was put forward. By using genetic algorithm to conduct optimization, the optimised parameters were obtained. After that the anti-roll bar and bushing samples were respectively manufactured. At last, the comparative trials were performed in an automotive proving ground, and the subjective evaluation of the light bus's handling and stability was taken by three specialized assessors.

Among the auxiliary systems on electric and hybrid electric vehicles the electric air conditioning (eAC) system causes the largest load on the high voltage battery and can significantly impact the energy efficiency and performance of the vehicle. New methods are being investigated for effective management of air conditioning loads through their integration into vehicle level energy management strategies. For this purpose, a fully integrated vehicle model is developed for a commercially available hybrid vehicle and used to develop energy management algorithms. In this paper, details of the eAC model of this vehicle are discussed, including steady state component validation against rig data. Also results of simulating the cabin pull-down are included.

The paper aims at numerically modeling the flow and thermal processes occurring in an agricultural tractor using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and determines the comfort level of the tractor operator during working condition. The motive of the investigation is to develop and demonstrate capabilities of CFD as an automotive analysis tool. The work describes a methodology that significantly stream lines the process of thermal flow taking place in a tractor by utilizing state-of-the art computer simulation of air flow and heat transfer. The numerical investigation carried out with a three-dimensional geometry of the vehicle assembly and the measurements were taken from the vehicle. The geometry created with Pro/Engineer formed the domain for the automatically generating discretized grid contained the majority of the main components within the underhood environment.

Hydraulic suspension systems with different interconnected configurations can decouple suspension mode and improve performance of a particular mode. In this paper, two types of interconnected suspensions are compared for off-road vehicle trafficability. Traditionally, anti-roll bar, a mechanically interconnected suspension system, connecting left and right suspension, decouples roll mode from the bounce mode and results in a stiff roll mode and a soft bounce mode, which is desired. However, anti-roll bars fail to connect the front wheel motions with the rear wheels', thus the wheels' motions in the warp mode are affected by anti-roll bars and it results an undesired stiffened warp mode. A stiffened warp mode limits the wheel-ground contact and may cause one wheel lift up especially during off-road drive. In contrast with anti-roll bars, two types of hydraulic suspensions which interconnect four wheels (for two-axis vehicles) can further decouple articulation mode from other modes.