Automotive Science and Engineering

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In this paper a new type of multi-objective differential evolution employing dynamically tunable mutation factor is used to optimally design non-linear vehicle model. In this way, non-dominated sorting algorithm with crowding distance criterion are combined to fuziified mutation differential evolution to construct multi-objective algorithm to solve the problem. In order to achieve fuzzified mutation factor, two inputs as generation number and population diversity and one output as the mutation factor are used in the fuzzy inference system. The objective functions optimized simultaneously are namely, vertical acceleration of sprung mass, relative displacement between sprung mass and unsprung mass and control force. Optimization processes have been done in two bi- and three objective areas. Comparison of the obtained results with those in the literature has shown the superiority of the proposed method of this work. Further, it has been shown that the results of 3-objective optimization include those of bi-objective one, and therefore it gives more optimum options to the designer

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A combined hydraulic engine mount and buffer is proposed in this study for use in the mid-priced vehicle. In some vehicle design projects, an engine is selected to use in a new car design. To achieve the desired vibration conditions, the mount can be redesigned with exorbitant costs and long-term research. The idea of using a buffer in the combination of the conventional engine mount is to suggest a solution with affordable price which can improve mount vibration specifications. As a case study, the engine of Renault L90 (Dacia Logan), which name is K4M engine, is selected to use in the national B class automotive platform design. This automotive platform is designed at Automotive Engineering Research Center of Iran University of Science and Technology. The hydraulic engine mount is modeled in CATIA. Some tests are done to validate the simulation results. The conventional and buffer-equipped mount characteristics, which are determined by CATIA, is imported to Adams/Vibration software to evaluate the vibration behavior of the engine mounts. The results show that the use of buffer reduces the stiffness of mount, which should be 2 to 3 times lower than engine's frequency excitation. In some directions, the buffer-equipped mount has a better modal energy and isolation characteristics.

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Considering the present business competitive scenario, the automotive industry is under pressure to achieve higher productivity. A high level of performance and quality standard could be achieved through improving the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of the equipment in an automotive industry. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the performance measurement through OEE theory in an Iranian automotive industry. Data and basic information collected from the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) of the production assembly lines. In this case study, two different assembly lines such Peugeot and Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) were studied. The results indicated that the indices such availability rate, performance and quality for Peugeot assembly line obtained an OEE value of 0.99, 0.70 and 0.38, respectively, and, these indices for SUV assembly line obtained as 0.99, 0.39 and 0.53, respectively. Statistical analysis results of net operating time parameter for two assembly lines revealed that there is significant difference in the confidence level of 5% (P-value < 0.05). In addition, the OEE index for Peugeot and SUV assembly lines gained 0.27 and 0.21 over a period of one year. Consequently, to improve the OEE in the automotive assembly lines, managing the time losses by systematic planning of manufacturing and the implementation of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) are suggested.

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Premature combustion that affects outputs, thermal efficiencies and lifetimes of internal combustion engine is called “knock effect”. However knock signal detection based on acoustic sensor is a challenging task due to existing of noise in the same frequency spectrum. Experimental results revealed that vibration signals, generated from knock, has certain frequencies related to vibration resonance modes of the combustion chamber. In this article, a new method for knock detection based on resonance frequency analysis of the knock sensor signal is introduced. More specifically at higher engine speed, where there is additional excitation of resonance frequencies, continuous wavelet transform has been proposed as an effective and applicative tool for knock detection and a formula for knock detection threshold based on this method is suggested. Measurement results demonstrate that this technique provide 15% higher accuracy in knock detection comparing to conventional method.


 

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In cruise control systems, the performance of the controller is important. Hence, in order to have accurate results, the nonlinear behavior of a vehicle model should also be considered. In this article, a vehicle with a nonlinear model is controlled by using a nonlinear method. The nonlinear term of the model is the generated torque of engine, which is a polynomial equation. In addition, feedback linearization is used as a nonlinear method in order to design two parallel controllers to control the movement of the vehicle. These two parallel controllers are used to control braking and gas pedals which are in charge of the angular velocity of the wheels. To check the performances of controllers, first, each controller is used separately. Finally, two parallel controllers are used to track the reference signal. Comparison between results shows that the designed controller is able to reduce the convergence time of about 10 seconds. This improvement is near 35% in comparison with near studies. In addition, it can reduce the error between the velocity of the vehicle and the values of the reference signal that results in more safety for passengers.

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In this paper, a new version of multi-objective differential evolution with dynamically adaptable mutation factor is used for Pareto optimization of a 5-degree of freedom vehicle vibration model excited by non-stationary random road profile. In this way, non-dominated sorting algorithm and crowding distance criterion have been combined to differential evolution with fuzzified mutation in order to achieve multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm. To dynamically tune the mutation factor, two parameters, named, number of generation and population diversity are considered as inputs and, one parameter, named, the mutation factor as output of the fuzzy logic inference system. Conflicting objective functions that have been observed to be optimally designed simultaneously are, namely, vertical seat acceleration, vertical forward tire velocity, vertical rear tire velocity, relative displacement between sprung mass and forward tire and relative displacement between sprung mass and rear tire. Furthermore, different pairs of these objective functions have also been chosen for bi-objective optimization processes. The comparison of the obtained results with those in the literature unveils the superiority of the results of this work. It is displayed that the results of 5-objective optimization subsume those of bi-objective optimization and, consequently, this achievement can offer more optimal choices to designers.

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In this research, a high-temperature Rankin cycle (HTRC) with two-stage pumping is presented and investigated. In this cycle, two different pressures and mass flow rates in the HTRC result in two advantages. First, the possibility of direct recovery from the engine block by working fluid of water, which is a low quality waste heat source, is created in a HTRC. Secondly, by doing this, the mean effective temperature of heat addition increases, and hence the efficiency of the Rankin cycle also improves.
The proposed cycle was examined with the thermodynamic model. The results showed that in a HTRC with a two-stage pumping with an increase of 8% in the mean effective temperature of heat addition, the cycle efficiency is slightly improved. Although the operational work obtained from the waste heat recovery from the engine cooling system was insignificant, the effect of the innovation on the recovery from the exhaust was significant. The innovation seems not economical for this low produced energy. However, it should be said that although the effect of the innovation on the increase of the recovery cycle efficiency is low, the changes that must be implemented in the system are also low. 

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This paper investigates the effect of temperature on a hybrid energy storage system with various energy management systems. The hybrid energy storage system consists of a fuel cell, ultracapacitor and battery with associated DC/DC and DC/AC converters. The energy management strategies employed are the state machine control strategy, fuzzy frequency/logic decoupling strategy, minimization strategy of equivalent consumption (ECMS) and external energy maximization strategy (EEMS). Initially, a module of 3.3v 2.3Ah LiPo4 batteries consisting of 15 cells in series and 15 rows in parallel are studied without considering the temperature effect. In the next step, the studies are repeated considering the temperature variation effects. The current and SOC associated with the battery, the hydrogen consumption, and battery life are studied for each strategy. The results suggest that the errors associated with the battery life estimation, as well as the battery current are significant with and without considering the temperature effects with the values of 30% and 20%, respectively.

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The present paper aims to improve the dynamical balancing of a slider-crank mechanism. This mechanism has been widely used in internal combustion engines, especially vehicle engines; hence, its dynamical balancing is important significantly. To have a full balance mechanism, the shaking forces and shaking moment of foundations should be eliminated completely. However, this elimination is usually impossible. Hence, in the current study, a multi-objective optimization is carried out to maintain the optimal balance of mechanism. The vertical and horizontal components of shaking forces and shaking moment are considered as objective functions. Also, the design variables are included the mass, the moment of inertia and the mass center location of mechanism links. The length of mechanism links is also considered constant for achieving a fixed slider course. The four-objective optimization is applied using a differential evolution algorithm. The optimization results are presented in Pareto diagrams as suitable tools for selecting a mechanism with desired characteristics according to the importance of each objective function. The optimal mechanism is finally introduced by the mapping method. The comparison of optimized mechanisms and the original one indicates a significant reduction of shaking forces and shaking moment as well as the reduction of energy consumption.

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One of the most significant issues of recent decades is pollution and dangers that may threat the environment. Different approaches were presented to protect the environment and target various sources of pollution. Old vehicles are one of the major sources of pollution in megacities as they consume and emit a lot of emissions. Therefore governments in different countries try to levy tax on pollution to motivate people to drive environment friendly and more efficient vehicles.
Tehran is one of the cities suffering rigorously from poor air quality. As a result, approximately 44 days in each year the air quality reckons as unhealthy for all residents. One of the suggested solutions is replacing conventional taxis across the city with hybrid electric vehicles. In this article this solution for the city of Tehran, Iran will be discussed and its feasibility will be evaluated using life cycle assessment.  
In order to conduct this, first data associated with air quality, pollution and taxis distribution in the city were presented. Then different designated vehicles were evaluated based on their technical performance and the emission they generate in different stages. Using the proposed model a comprehensive cost is defined and different vehicles were compared and the most viable choices by various considerations is introduced.

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In this experimental study, heat transfer and pressure drop, ΔP, of a coolant nanofluid, obtained by adding alumina nanoparticles to Ethylene Glycol-water mixture (60:40 by mass), in a automotive radiator have been investigated. For this purpose, an experimental setup has been designed and constructed. The experiments have been performed for base fluid and nanofluid with different volume fractions of 0.003, 0.006, 0.009 and 0.012 and under laminar regime with various coolant flow rates of 9, 11 and 13 lit/min and two air velocities of 3.75 and 2.85 m/s. The thermophysical properties have been calculated using the recently presented temperature dependent models. According to the results, the heat transfer and ΔP increase with increasing the coolant flow and nanoparticles volume fraction. Increasing the air velocity causes enhancement of heat transfer. Although Nusselt number decreases when nanofluid is utilized, it enhances as the nanoparticles volume fraction increases. The performance evaluation using nanofluid in the car radiator shows remarkable enhancement in radiator thermal efficiency. However, the ratio of heat transfer rate to the needed pumping power (Merit parameter) decreases.

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This study uses real driving cycles of a city bus and a standard driving cycle “WLTP” to implement a full comparison for energy demand and fuel consumption for different propulsion systems (i.e., Diesel ICE, Fuel cell and Electric engines). To better understand the comparison, a life cycle assessment is conducted using “GREET” and “GHGenius” software, which represents a clear demonstration of side effects and emissions of each engine on the environment. The results show that for “WLTP” cycle the bus needs 2423kJ energy for traveling each kilometer while the averaged amount of energy for traveling one kilometer of real driving cycle reaches to 1708kJ. By computing total energy use of  an electric bus we conclude, electric buses use almost 58% of electric energy for driving and the rest is lost. Then fuel cell and internal combustion engine buses have energy efficiency of 36% and 24% respectively. Concerning LCA analysis, it becomes apparent that unlike efficiency, electric buses are not environmentally benign as fuel cell buses. LCA analysis showed that fuel cell buses that use steam reforming hydrogen production process are a cleaner option than electric buses. Finally, since diesel buses produce the most emission, especially CO2, and consume the most energy in the total life cycle, they have no advantage for public transportation fleet.

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Traffic control is a major and common problem in large-scale urban decision-making, particularly in metropolises. Several models of intelligent highways have been proposed to tackle the issue, and the longitudinal speed control of vehicles remains a key issue in the field of intelligent highways. Many researchers have been investigating the longitudinal speed control of vehicles. However, their proposed models disregard important and influential presumptions. In the present study, the longitudinal dynamics control of vehicles in the presence of nonlinear factors, such as air resistance, rolling resistance, a not ideal gearbox, an internal combustion engine and a torque converter, is investigated. Moreover, considering the presented model and using model reference adaptive control, a proper controller is designed to control the longitudinal speed of intelligent vehicles. The results of the proposed model, which is validated by commercial software, are in good agreement with real-world situations. Hence, a positive step is taken for controlling longitudinal speed of intelligent vehicles on an intelligent highway platform.

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Braking test is one of the most important tests of a mechanized technical inspection line. In this study, the effect of tire pressure changes on the accuracy of the braking test results is investigated at technical inspection centers. This study is conducted in three stages. In the first step, the braking efficiency at different tire pressures is examined using a roller brake tester. In the second step, the tests at different pressures and velocities on the road are done. These tests are carried out in terms of stopping distance, to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the first step test results. The results of the first and second steps showed that the effect of tire pressure changes on the braking efficiency is significant. In the third step, the braking test results of a thousand vehicles that received technical inspection certificate are studied. Analysis of these results, considering the results of the first and second steps cleared that about 16% of vehicles that received technical inspection certificate have lower braking efficiency than the minimum acceptable efficiency. The obtained results specified the necessity of adjusting the pressure of tires before the braking test at vehicle technical inspection centers in Iran.
 

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This paper introduces a new configuration of ladder chassis containing a set of linear wave springs to improve the lateral stability of road vehicles. The governing equations for lateral stability of the ladder frame equipped with linear wave springs were derived. In order to investigate this new system a unit base of the ladder frame equipped with linear wave springs and a typical ladder frame were modeled using FEM methods (ABAQUS) with the same size conditions. This comparative study is utilized to validate the derived equations and also to compare the effectiveness of the new designed system with typical ladder frames. Results indicate that the new system has considerably improved the lateral stability of the vehicle during road transportation and also noticeably decreased the stress on the side and cross members.

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In this study, a multi-objective differential evolution with fuzzy inference-based dynamic adaptable mutation factor with hybrid usage of non-dominated sorting and crowding distance (MODE-FM) is utilized for Pareto optimization of a 5-degree of freedom nonlinear vehicle vibration model considering the five conflicting functions simultaneously, under different road inputs. The significant conflicting objective functions that have been observed here are, namely, vertical seat acceleration, vertical forward tire velocity, vertical rear tire velocity, relative displacement between sprung mass and forward tire and relative displacement between sprung mass and rear tire. Different road inputs are, namely, double-bump, stationary random road and non-stationary random road. It is exhibited that the optimum solutions of 5-objective optimization contain those of 2-objective optimization and, as a result, this important matter creates more options for optimal design of nonlinear vehicle vibration model.

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In this paper, firstly chaotic behavior of the lateral dynamics of vehicle is investigated by the use of numerical tools including Lyapunov exponent and bifurcation diagrams. To this end rout to chaos along with period doubling and quasi-periodic responses are demonstrated in terms of bifurcation diagrams. After chaos analysis, a novel controller commensurate with the chaotic characteristics of the system, in conformity with Poincaré map is represented to suppress the chaotic behavior of lateral movement. The Poincaré map of the system is derived by means of a neuro fuzzy network. A robust Fuzzy system on the basis of nonlinear Ott-Grebogi-Yorke (OGY) method forms the control system. Closed-loop results of the system shows effectiveness of the chaos controller in extreme conditions.

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Today, a large part of a vehicle's performance depends on its suspension. These expectations are addressed in this paper, including ride comfort, road-holding, and lateral stability. Due to the high statistics of lateral overturning, preventing lateral overturning and providing lateral stability of the vehicle is one of the most important goals of this paper. In this paper, a new type of suspension based on the Series Active Variable-Geometry is used by designing a simple Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) to improve vehicle dynamics. On the contrary previous studies in this field, asymmetric distribution of control command has been used to increase the usefulness of suspension in standard road roughness and during longitudinal and transverse maneuvers. In this paper, by simulating crosswind and double lane change maneuvers, several ideas have been used to command the suspension links, and a 25% to 30% improvement in vehicle dynamic performance parameters has been achieved.

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In this paper, analysis and control of the chaotic vibrations in bounce dynamic of vehicle have been studied according to the comparison of controller based on the nonlinear control and chaos controller on the basis of the chaotic system properties. After modeling the vehicle dynamic, the chaotic behavior of the uncontrolled system was determined using combination of the numerical analysis including bifurcation diagrams and max Lyapunov exponent. The system parameters values were then identified in the quasi-periodic and chaotic behavior system. In order to eliminate the chaotic vibrations, the control signal was first developed using a nonlinear fast-terminal sliding mode control algorithm that its control gains are estimated online by fuzzy logic which was designed for vehicle vertical dynamics. Then the delayed feedback control was designed based on the development of Pyragas algorithm to control the system based on the properties of the chaotic system and generation of a small control signal. Comparison of the feedback system depicts priority of the Fuzzy-Pyragas controller in less energy consumption and better behavior.