Browse Topic: Financial management
Zero emission vehicles are essential for achieving sustainable and clean transportation. Hybrid vehicles such as Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) use multiple energy sources like batteries and fuel cell stacks to offer extended driving range without emitting greenhouse gases. Optimal performance and extended life of the important components like the high voltage battery and fuel-cell stack go a long way in achieving cost benefits as well as environmental safety. For this, energy management in FCEVs, particularly thermal management, is crucial for maintaining the temperature of these components within their specified range. The fuel cell stack generates a significant amount of waste heat, which needs to be dissipated to maintain optimal performance and prevent degradation, whereas the battery system needs to be operated within an optimal temperature range for its better performance and longevity. Overheating of batteries can lead to reduced efficiency and potential safety hazards
The switch to electrified off-highway vehicles can help reduce reliance on hydraulic components that decrease system efficiency via parasitic losses. The off-highway machine industry is embracing new technologies to optimize operations, specifically regarding electric and hybrid off-highway equipment. The electric off-highway equipment market is poised for growth, with an expected 12.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2025-2034, reaching over $17 billion, according to Market Research Future. These off-highway vehicles operate on tough terrain and require unprecedented amounts of power for long duty cycles. Diesel engines have always been the conventional application for this kind of work, but now hybrid and electric vehicles are starting to gain traction thanks to new innovations and more investment. While the implications of replacing traditional combustion engines with hybrid or electric counterparts can be intimidating, learning the challenges and opportunities each option
In addition to providing safety advantages, sound and vibration are being utilized to enhance the driver experience in Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). There's growing interest and investment in using both interior and exterior sounds for pedestrian safety, driver awareness, and unique brand recognition. Several automakers are also using audio to simulate virtual gear shifting of automatic and manual transmissions in BEVs. According to several automotive industry articles and market research, the audio enhancements alone, without the vibration that drivers are accustomed to when operating combustion engine vehicles, are not sufficient to meet the engagement, excitement, and emotion that driving enthusiasts expect. In this paper, we introduce the use of new automotive, high-force, compact, light-weight circular force generators for providing the vibration element that is lacking in BEVs. The technology was developed originally for vibration reduction/control in aerospace applications
It is a fool's errand to make timely comments - in print! - about our current political turmoil. Even so, it feels important to place a marker in the sand to note the ongoing political reign of tariff threats, the upheaval potential of a demolished regulatory state affecting road and vehicle safety, and the damage that cuts to electric vehicle support might do to American automakers attempting to keep technological pace with their global automaker peers. It's a lot. The mainstream press is reporting the broad strokes of the industry's reaction to the new president. Ford CEO Jim Farley said Trump's erratic threats and changes are adding “a lot of cost and a lot of chaos” to the automotive industry and that a 25% tariff would “blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we've never seen.” Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan said that profitability would suffer under any tariffs, whether those are the general 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico (now seemingly canceled after Trump backed down), just-announced
This research explores the use of salt gradient solar ponds (SGSPs) as an environmentally friendly and efficient method for thermal energy storage. The study focuses on the design, construction, and performance evaluation of SGSP systems integrated with reflectors, comparing their effectiveness against conventional SGSP setups without reflectors. Both experimental and numerical methods are employed to thoroughly assess the thermal behavior and energy efficiency of these systems. The findings reveal that the SGSP with reflectors (SGSP-R) achieves significantly higher temperatures across all three zones—Upper Convective Zone (UCZ), Non-Convective Zone (NCZ), and Lower Convective Zone (LCZ)—with recorded temperatures of 40.56°C, 54.2°C, and 63.1°C, respectively. These values represent an increase of 6.33%, 11.12%, and 14.26% over the temperatures observed in the conventional SGSP (SGSP-C). Furthermore, the energy efficiency improvements in the UCZ, NCZ, and LCZ for the SGSP-R are
Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers.
The automotive industry is facing unprecedented pressure to reduce costs without compromising on quality and performance, particularly in the design and manufacturing. This paper provides a technical review of the multifaceted challenges involved in achieving cost efficiency while maintaining financial viability, functional integrity, and market competitiveness. Financial viability stands as a primary obstacle in cost reduction projects. The demand for innovative products needs to be balanced with the need for affordable materials while maintaining structural integrity. Suppliers’ cost structures, raw material fluctuations, and production volumes must be considered on the way to obtain optimal costs. Functional aspects lead to another layer of complexity, once changes in design or materials should not compromise safety, durability, or performance. Rigorous testing and simulation tools are indispensable to validate changes in the manufacturing process. Marketing considerations are also
The future of wireless technology - from charging devices to boosting communication signals - relies on the antennas that transmit electromagnetic waves becoming increasingly versatile, durable and easy to manufacture. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of British Columbia believe kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to create intricate three-dimensional designs, could provide a model for manufacturing the next generation of antennas. Recently published in the journal Nature Communications, research from the Drexel-UBC team showed how kirigami - a variation of origami - can transform a single sheet of acetate coated with conductive MXene ink into a flexible 3D microwave antenna whose transmission frequency can be adjusted simply by pulling or squeezing to slightly shift its shape.
North American automakers and EV battery firms have five years to erase China's dominance in technology and manufacturing or they may face the reality of buying batteries from China for the foreseeable future. That was the message from battery-analysis company Voltaiq CEO Tal Sholklapper at a media briefing in Detroit. “We're in the final innings now,” Sholklapper said. “If the industry around batteries and electric vehicles and all the follow-on applications wants to make it, we're going to have to change the way we play.”
This study aims to explore the multifaceted influencing factors of market acceptance and consumer behavior of low-altitude flight services through online surveys and advanced neuroscientific methods (such as functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI, electroencephalography EEG, functional near-infrared spectroscopy fNIRS) combined with artificial intelligence and video advertisement quantitative analysis. We conducted an in-depth study of the current trends in low-altitude flight vehicle development and customer acceptance of low-altitude services, focusing particularly on the survey methods used for market acceptance. To overcome the influence of strong opinion leaders in volunteer group experiments, we designed specialized surveys targeting broader online and social media groups. Utilizing specialized knowledge in aviation psychology, we designed a distinctive questionnaire and, within just 7 days of its launch, gathered a significant number of valid responses. The data was then
An SAE white paper on the different engineering approaches taken by traditional automakers and recent arrivals indicates that each category is remarkably aware of the others' strengths and weaknesses. Sven Beiker, a management lecturer at Stanford University, authored the report “Two Approaches to Mobility Engineering.” He gathered commentary from every corner of the vehicle ecosystem, from suppliers to software companies to manufacturers, and summarized the findings in a presentation at WCX 2024 in Detroit. Rather than “old companies,” Beiker likes to refer to traditional automakers as “incumbents.” Here are a few common observations from the report, which will be published this summer: Newer players are better at simplifying complexity, such as Tesla's ability to build vehicles with fewer parts. Older automakers are better at managing complexity, such as integrating disparate systems. Newer companies are constrained by financial resources and a shortage of available talent
Quantum computing and its applications are emerging rapidly, driving excitement and extensive interest across all industry sectors, from finance to pharmaceuticals. The automotive industry is no different. Quantum computing can bring significant advantages to the way we commute, whether through the development of new materials and catalysts using quantum chemistry or improved route optimization. Quantum computing may be as important as the invention of driverless vehicles. Emergence of Quantum Computing Technologies in Automotive Applications: Opportunities and Future Use Cases attempts to explain quantum technology and its various advantages for the automotive industry. While many of the applications presented are still nascent, they may become mainstream in a decade or so. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio.
Vehicle quality and affordability will always be the most distinguishing summative characteristics in a fully saturated and highly competitive market. While vehicle quality differentiates between brands in any market segment, affordability remains the key decisive factor for many buyers in each segment. Equally important, affordability is a critical factor in achieving equity in transportation by providing reasonably priced vehicles with quality fitting the needs of different users. Keeping in mind that the cost of quality is usually in conflict with affordability, the main challenge during the different phases of the vehicle design and development process from inception to production becomes the achievement of the multi-objective conflicting goals of maximizing affordability and quality at the same time. In this paper, guided by quality characteristics framework, that accounts for affordability as a context and structured participation of the customers during the vehicle realization
Metal cutting/machining is a widely used manufacturing process for producing high-precision parts at a low cost and with high throughput. In the automotive industry, engine components such as cylinder heads or engine blocks are all manufactured using such processes. Despite its cost benefits, manufacturers often face the problem of machining chips and cutting oil residue remaining on the finished surface or falling into the internal cavities after machining operations, and these wastes can be very difficult to clean. While part cleaning/washing equipment suppliers often claim that their washers have superior performance, determining the washing efficiency is challenging without means to visualize the water flow. In this paper, a virtual engineering methodology using particle-based CFD is developed to address the issue of metal chip cleanliness resulting from engine component machining operations. This methodology comprises two simulation methods. The first is the virtual chip test
The demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been steadily increasing in recent years, led by the factors like environmental concerns, government incentives, and improvements in EV technology. The EV’s growth is expected to increase in the coming years as EVs become more affordable and more models become available on the market. Predicting the price of electric vehicles provides valuable insights on the EV market and inform a range of business, consumer, financial, and policy decisions. Predicting the price of electric vehicles using simple linear regression involves building a linear regression model with a single independent variable usually the vehicle’s characteristics or features to predict the dependent variable the price.This work has predicted the price of Electric Vehicle using a data set prepared for the Indian context. It has been predicted that there is significant correlation between battery capacity in Ah and the vehicle price. The measured RMSE value is 26274.942642891292
Harvard researchers have realized a key milestone in the quest for stable, scalable quantum computing, an ultra-high-speed technology that will enable game-changing advances in a variety of fields, including medicine, science, and finance.
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