Browse Topic: Downsizing
The implementation of enablers on a luxury sport utility vehicle is used to illustrate the development process for reduction of road noise. The vehicle in this case study was launched into production with two tuned mass dampers for reduction of low frequency road noise content which was amplified by frame modes. Additionally, resonators were integrated into the wheels (rims) to address the dominant cavity resonance frequencies. The results of this successful production implementation are illustrated herein. An RNC (road noise cancellation) system was integrated into the case vehicle to assess its performance relative to the passive enablers listed above. This production representative (embedded software solution) RNC system utilized the vehicle’s existing audio system for creation of active noise to cancel noise content which was predicted using accelerometers mounted to the vehicle chassis. A comparison of in-vehicle noise indicated a significant reduction at low frequencies (at all
The prime target of IEA (international energy association) to reduce global average emission by 50% in 2030 has prompted focused R&D on automotive emission reduction as well as NEV (new energy vehicles). Of these strategies, engine downsizing constitutes the group of strategies employed to meet lower emission and fuel consumption targets in IC engines. Downsizing strategies have been proved successful in reducing emissions. There is widespread trend of downsizing existing engines with a goal to produce lower emissions along with equal or better performance. To achieve the stated goals downsized engines are usually charged or employ higher compression ratios. This raises NVH as well as structural issues that need further analysis. While the concept of downsizing has been studied in deep, its structural effects and NVH related issues are of concern. This paper throws light into different engine downsizing strategies and their effect on NVH. The variations in unbalanced forces, increase
Small engines are considered as independent power units with less than 25 horsepower of power output. They are commonly used in construction and industry appliances, as Electric Generators, Hydraulic pumps, and in homologated racing series. The work presented in this document evaluates the mechanical attributes of a small engine piston as a pressure of 3.1 MPa is applied to the top surface. The methodology used aims to create a series of improvements such as mass reduction and geometry optimization, keeping the initial mechanical properties of the Aluminum A380 piston. To achieve this, a comparison between three iterations of SOLIDWORKS® Topology Optimization Analysis is made. Each iteration contains the same two constraints, two loads applied to the body and a geometric fixture. The constraints include a constraint for region preservation and a value of at least 10% of mass reduction for each iteration. The loads include a load applied on the top end of the piston and a load applied
The optimization of the exhaust port shape for best mass flow is an excellent opportunity to improve fuel economy, emissions, and knock sensitivity of internal combustion engines (ICE). This is valid for many different types of combustion systems including gasoline, alcohols, alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or hydrogen, and e-fuels. Nowadays, so-called cylinder-head integrated exhaust manifolds (IEM) guide the exhaust gas from the combustion chamber to the turbocharger. This specific design requires lots of strong bends and turnings of the exhaust ports in very narrow space, since they need to be guided through a labyrinth of bolts, water cores, and oil passages. In fact, this challenges the avoidance of increased pressure drops, reduced mass flow rates, and deterioration of port flow efficiencies. The optimization of the individual port by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a proper means to minimize or even eliminate these drawbacks. Meanwhile, there are
In today’s era, due to increasing energy demands, it is necessary to make vehicles lightweight without affecting their strength. In order to achieve this, the subassemblies of the automobile should be optimized. Optimizing the product not only saves energy consumption but also reduces the material required for manufacturing and increases the overall performance of the product. Taking the same as the base, this article focuses on optimization of a straight bevel gear pair used in automotive differential and performing finite element analysis (FEA) to validate its results. FEA is carried out on the optimized bevel gear to check its durability, and topology optimization is performed on the optimized gear to reduce the mass. Finally, the optimized gear is checked for fatigue. For design optimization, nonlinear multi-objective problem is formulated with a number of teeth and modules as the design parameters. Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA)-II algorithm is chosen for
The brake system is of vital importance when engineering a new vehicle due to its implication with both safety and overall performance. One of the main questions that arise when designing the brake system, not only in terms of performance but also in efficiency and fuel economy is how to make a better brake rotor. When designing the brake rotor, thinking about mass reduction and design optimization is a desire not only for high-performance motorsport, but for daily user applications. The impact on the vehicle performance would lead to improved fuel economy and braking safety. In this work, we propose to exploit some characteristics that can optimize the rotor design to achieve better performance, compared to a baseline design proposed. Some constructive characteristics are kept constant such as the rotor diameter and thickness. The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations is considered in this study as a benchmark to future physical prototypes experiments. Within the
The automotive industry is continuously striving to reduce vehicle mass by reducing the mass of components including wheel bearings. A typical wheel bearing assembly is mostly steel, including both the wheel and knuckle mounting flanges. Mass optimization of the wheel hub has traditionally been accomplished by reducing the cross-sectional thickness of these components. Recently bearing suppliers have also investigated the use of alternative materials. While bearing component performance is verified through analysis and testing by the supplier, additional effects from system integration and performance over time also need to be comprehended. In a recent new vehicle architecture, the wheel bearing hub flange was reduced to optimize it for low mass. In addition, holes were added for further mass reduction. The design met all the supplier and OEM component level specifications. Vehicle testing, however, revealed that the wheel bearing developed high assembled lateral runout (ALRO) and
Over the years, Internal Combustion engines have evolved drastically from large naturally aspirated engines to small sized forced aspiration engines which have a power output comparable to that of higher capacity engines. Engine downsizing has become more prominent in the present world due to higher focus being exerted on Fuel Economy and tighter emission norms. In the process of achieving these highly efficient engines, their cooling systems are also designed to handle the higher thermal operating conditions. This leads to a negative impact on the cold NEDC cycle by resulting in a longer warmup periods to get the engine upto its optimum operating temperature. This has a major effect on both the combustion efficiency as well as the frictional resistance of the engine. Switchable coolant pumps are one way to address this problem by creating zero flow conditions to warmup the engine by restricting any unnecessary heat rejection and improving the in-cylinder temperature. Since cold NEDC
Ever since mainstreaming of automobiles, engineers are focusing on making the vehicles better by means of making them more efficient, powerful and less polluting. In this study, venues of improving low end torque via improvement in volumetric efficiency as well as proper selection of turbochargers is done. An in-depth analysis of gas dynamics with respect to valve timing is studied along with the AVL Boost 1D simulation. It was found that volumetric efficiency starts to improve when there is a reduction in exhaust - exhaust valve overlap. There is an improvement found in the fresh air ratio (lambda) as the residual gas content is reduced. After the selection of valve timing, turbocharger optimization is done with comparison between two turbine sizes. Along with turbocharger comparison, technology comparison is also done namely between normal electronic VGT (Variable Geometry Turbo) (bigger turbine) and electronic VGT coupled with waste gate (smaller turbine). Dynamic as well as static
Complex FEAD system in modern powertrain is reality today due to demanding regulation, hybrid powertrain and increasing customer expectation. Gasoline engines are going to be preferred over diesel engines specially for passenger car application. These downsized engines lead to increase engine excitation and so to higher dynamics. Use of overrunning alternator pulley (OAP) is globally accepted as cost effective and technically proven product for FEAD system to make it robust by optimizing the system performance such as belt tension, hub load, slippage and vibrations to improve fuel consumption and to reduce engine emissions. OAP is a mechanical device with one-way clutch unit which eliminates the torsional vibrations coming from engine crankshaft and ensures only accelerating proportions of crankshaft forces are transferred to alternator which means reduction in force level of belt drive system. This paper describes the advantage of usage of OAP to achieve reduction in fuel consumption
Noise & Vibration refinement of automotive vehicles is becoming important parameter due to its influence on environmental aspect and comfort perceived by occupants. NVH parameters are driving factors in current vehicle design strategy. Drivers comfort is extremely important, and driver’s expectations from commercial and heavy-duty trucks are as good as refined passenger cars. Other trends in commercial vehicle segment such as engine downsizing, weight, cost reduction and meeting stringent emission norms have influenced vehicle design dynamics. These parameters are critical and often contribute to vehicle NVH issues. Considering these new trends in commercial vehicle segment, it becomes challenging for an NVH engineer to provide optimized solutions. NVH issues could be related to the various subsystems such as driveline, axle, transmission steering wheel etc. in the vehicle and its resonant frequencies. In commercial vehicles, driveline design parameters, power train mounting system and
The body strength, stiffness and crashworthiness are the key aspects for the mass reduction of the commercial bus body frame. Heavy computation cost is one of the critical problems by the finite element (FE) method to accomplish a high-efficient multi-objective optimizing design. Starting from this point, in this paper, the surrogate model method is adopted to optimize the electric bus frame to reduce the mass as possible while guaranteeing the side-impact strength. The optimizing objective comprises the total mass and side-impact intrusion while the performances of static strength and stiffness in bending and torsion conditions are chosen as the constraints in optimization. First, an FE model is developed to perform the static strength analysis, modal analysis and side-impact strength analysis. Nine groups of candidate variables are determined as the optimizing design variables by sensitivity analysis. Then surrogate models have been formulated based on the methods of least squares
The objective of this study was to evaluate the fuel saving potential of various hybrid powertrain architectures for medium and heavy duty vehicles. The relative benefit of each powertrain was analyzed, and the observed fuel savings was explained in terms of operational efficiency gains, regenerative braking benefits from powertrain electrification and differences in vehicle curb weight. Vehicles designed for various purposes, namely urban delivery, utility, transit, refuse, drayage, regional and long haul were included in this work. Fuel consumption was measured in regulatory cycles and various real world representative cycles. A diesel-powered conventional powertrain variant was first developed for each case, based on vehicle technical specifications for each type of truck. Autonomie, a simulation tool developed by Argonne National Laboratory, was used for carrying out the vehicle modeling, sizing and fuel economy evaluation. Performance based sizing rules implemented in Autonomie
The development of new components that have a structural commitment and still achieve mass reduction is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated materials for production for the automotive market for commercial and passenger vehicles. To achieve this level of demand the use of composite materials such as carbon fiber, glass fiber or a compound of the two has become a reality, however the production rate was still considered a problem for medium volume parts (up to one hundred thousand parts per year). The work demonstrates the construction and simulation of a PoC (proof of concept) using these composites in a warm stamp process where the material a thermoset composite plate is preheated to the working temperature, then it is inserted in a tool preheated stamping, remaining closed for a few minutes where the material is consolidated and then the part is extracted already cured without the need for cooling, thus ensuring the projected production tackt compared to the autoclave
The Brazilian logistic system constantly aims to increase the efficiency of cargo transportation in its trips. One way is to use a the most volume to allocate the cargo, whit the least gross vehicle weight, in such a way that the transported net weight is higher. That way the highway semitrailers industry looks that their manufacturers develop lighter and robust products, not leaving aside reliability and safety. Through this motivation, this paper has the objective to achieve a study of a comparison on how a van can be used in favor of logistic transportation. Allowing to increase volume by decreasing structural parts of the chassis, and also decreases the weight of the semitrailer by reducing the mass of components through the increase of resistance of the vehicle chassis frame and van, where the van can be a factor that only increases weight to the set
Nowadays, due to the internal combustion engine (ICE) industry’s orientation toward downsizing, modern efficient cooling systems with lower power consumption, small size, and high compactness are essential. To improve these items, applying precision cooling and boiling phenomenon are inevitable. Having an appropriate coolant flow velocity that leads to utilize only the advantages of boiling heat transfer has always been a challenge. Two experimental test rigs, one for modeling and accurate prediction of subcooled flow boiling and the other for measurement and validation of coolant velocity in a water jacket by particle image velocimetry (PIV) method, are set up. An accurate and robust empirical correlation for modeling of subcooled flow boiling that occurs in the water jacket is developed. Then, through a three-dimensional (3D) thermal analysis, the heat transfer parameters such as heat flux and temperature distribution of the ICE cylinder block and head are obtained numerically
Knocking combustion is a major obstacle towards engine downsizing and boosting—popular techniques towards meeting the increasingly stringent emission standards of SI engines. The commercially available gasoline is a mixture of many chemical compounds like paraffins, isoparaffins, olefins and aromatics. Therefore, the modeling of its combustion process is a difficult task. Additionally, the blends of certain compounds exhibit non-linear behavior in comparison to the pure components in terms of knock resistance. These facts require further analysis from the perspective of combustion chemistry. The present work analyses the effects of blending ethanol to FACE-C gasoline. A range of pressures, temperatures, and equivalence ratios has been considered for this purpose. The open source softwares Cantera version 2.4.0 and OpenSMOKE++ Suite have been used for the simulations. Moreover, the present work proposes a skeletal chemical kinetic mechanism for six component gasoline surrogates with
Gear rattle is due to impact noise of unloaded gears in transmission having freedom to move in backlash region. Engine order vibrations in the presence of backlash in meshing pairs induce the problem. It is a system behavior wherein flywheel torsional vibrations, the pre-damper characteristics and transmission drag torque plays a vital role in an engine idle condition (hot & cold). Idle rattle is a severe issue, which is highly noticeable in cold condition or after 1st engine crank. Gear rattling observed in idle condition is idle gear rattle or neutral gear rattle, specifically in cold condition is a “Cold idle rattle” and this is one of the critical noise parameters considered for entire vehicle NVH. Damper mechanism in the clutch, is used to serve better isolation (by reducing the input excitation to transmission parts) of vibrations between engine and transmission their by reducing gear rattle intensity. Engine firing order, engine downsizing, down speeding (means high peak torque
Although supercharged system has been widely employed in downsized engines, the effect of supercharging on the intake flow characteristics remains inadequately understood. Therefore, it is worthwhile to investigate intake flow characteristics under high intake pressure. In this study, the supercharged intake flow is studied by experiment using steady flow test bench with supercharged system and transient flow simulation. For the steady flow condition, gas compressibility effect is found to significantly affect the flow coefficient (Cf), as Cf decreases with increasing intake pressure drop, if the compressibility effect is neglected in calculation by the typical evaluation method; while Cf has no significant change if the compressibility effect is included. Compared with the two methods, the deviation of the theoretical intake velocity and the density of the intake flow is the reason for Cf calculation error. For the transient intake condition, such increase of intake flow velocity with
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