Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Doing 'True Science': The Early History Of The 'Institutum Divi Thomae,' 1935-1951, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

This essay focuses on the origins and early history of the Institutum Divi Thomae (hereafter referred to as the IDT or Institutum), thus describing one particularly rich episode illustrating the relationship between American Catholicism and science during the middle of the twentieth century. The IDT was established by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1935; its faculty and students, while working in the area of cancer research, published hundreds of scientific and technical papers, developed a number of commercial products, and received considerable publicity in both the religious and secular press during the first two decades of its existence. However, with …

Auto Racing, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

As a consequence of new sponsors, personalities, race tracks, and television exposure, automobile racing — and in particular NASCAR — reached unprecedented popularity during the 1990s. Indeed, NASCAR became a "way of life" for many Americans.

Drive-By Shootings, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Although often associated with Southern California and young gang behavior, the drive-by shooting became commonplace during the 1990s across America.

Review: 'Fighting Traffic: The Dawn Of The Motor Age In The American City', John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

During the early 1960s, as the Golden Age of the automobile in America began to wane, several commentators, including Lewis Mumford, raised the critical question of whether the automobile existed for the modern city or the city for the automobile. How and when the automobile became central to urban life is deftly addressed in Peter Norton’s Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City. This study is certainly one of the most important monographs focusing on the place of the automobile in American society within a historical context to appear in recent times; it interestingly supplements …

Review: 'Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, And American Motors', John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Nash, Hudson, and now even American Motors are automobile brands that have largely disappeared from the American memory. Yet, despite riding the twentieth-century economic roller coaster and operating in the shadow of the Big Three, these firms made sustained, significant technological and economic contributions. Charles K. Hyde’s Storied Independent Automakers is the author’s latest foray into the area of automotive business history, following work on the Chrysler Corporation and the Dodge brothers. A professor of History at Wayne State University, Hyde has written a needed critical business history on an important topic that complements the vast amount of “buff” and …

Design And Construction Of A Motorcycle Drum To Disc Brake Conversion, Matthew Pekin

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design and construction of a motorcycle drum to disc brake conversion. The conversion involved creating a custom caliper mount and machining wheel spacers.

The Design And Construction Of A Rear Bumper With Incorporated Spare Tire Rack, Alan C. Isaacson

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project outlines the design and construction of a rear bumper with incorporated spare tire and equipment rack for a 1946 Willys CJ2A Jeep. The spare tire rack is capable of swinging out away from the vehicle to allow for the use of the vehicle’s tailgate. The bumper was designed for strength, functionality and aesthetic qualities alike. Additionally, the bumper design considered all vehicle codes and regulations.

Compliant Air Skates, An Experiment, Samuel Feldtkeller, Cody Anderson, Kevin Daily, Eliana Stefani

Mechanical Engineering

There is currently a gap in the market of train levitation systems: wheeled trains and MagLev trains exist, but none utilize the low friction and high efficiency aspect of trains levitated by air skates. An air skate, is an air bearing that uses a pressure difference along its annular body to create a thin flow of air which is strong enough to "levitate" the weight of the skate. We have designed a compliant air skate that can glide over 0.04[in] defects in surfaces without touching down. After having made compliant skirts out of fiberglass and silicone, our setup of three …

Electric Vehicle Torque Vectoring And Rear Steering Control System, Garrett Heinen, Vincent Lee, Michael Parker, Michael Saggese

Mechanical Engineering

NDA

Injury Severity Data For Front And Second Row Passengers In Frontal Crashes, Theresa Atkinson, Leszek Gawarecki, Massoud Tavakoli

Crash Safety Center Publications

The data contained here were obtained from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration׳s National Automotive Sampling System – Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) for the years 2008–2014. This publically available data set monitors motor vehicle crashes in the United States, using a stratified random sample frame, resulting in information on approximately 5000 crashes each year that can be utilized to create national estimates for crashes. The NASS-CDS data sets document vehicle, crash, and occupant factors. These data can be utilized to examine public health, law enforcement, roadway planning, and vehicle design issues. The data provided in this brief are a subset …

Injury Severity Data For Front And Second Row Passengers In Frontal Crashes, Theresa Atkinson, Leszek Gawarecki, Massoud S. Tavakoli

Mathematics Publications

The data contained here were obtained from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration׳s National Automotive Sampling System – Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) for the years 2008–2014. This publically available data set monitors motor vehicle crashes in the United States, using a stratified random sample frame, resulting in information on approximately 5000 crashes each year that can be utilized to create national estimates for crashes. The NASS-CDS data sets document vehicle, crash, and occupant factors. These data can be utilized to examine public health, law enforcement, roadway planning, and vehicle design issues. The data provided in this brief are a subset …

Energy, Economy, And Environment Analysis And Optimization On Manufacturing Plant Energy Supply System, Lujia Feng, Laine Mears, Cleveland Beaufort, Joerg Schulte

Publications

Increasing attention has recently been drawn to energy consumption in manufacturing plants. Facing the challenges from reducing emissions coupled with rising raw material prices and energy costs, manufacturers are trying to balance the energy usage strategy among the total energy consumption, economy, and environment, which can be self-conflicting at times. In this paper, energy systems in manufacturing environments are reviewed, and the current status of onsite energy system and renewable energy usage are discussed. Single objective and multicriteria optimization approaches are effectively formulated for making the best use of energy delivered to the production processes. Energy supply operation suggestions based …

Annual Meeting And Technology Showcase 2016 | Utah State University Power Electronics Lab, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

The first annual technology showcase brought attendees from around the country to collaborate, network and ideate the future of electrified transportation. The conference was held at the Utah State University Electric Vehicle and Roadway (EVR) testing center. Future conferences will be held at SELECT Faculty locations (Purdue, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, University of Colorado - Boulder, and Olin College of Engineering).

Electric Vehicle And Roadway Conference To Showcase Wireless Charging | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

NEWS RELEASE – May 8, 2016 – The fourth annual Conference on Electric Roads & Vehicles (CERV) will showcase several exciting technologies including a first-ever demonstration of wireless charging of an electric bus in motion.

Sensing, Actuation, And Embedded Control For A Custom Scr Nitrogen Oxides Emissions Reduction System, Anuj Kalidas Sharma

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Diesel engines are the main power source for medium and heavy duty on road vehicles. With the rising standards for mileage of vehicles set by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy and the Environmental Protection Agency, diesel engines should soon be considered in lieu of gas engines. Despite advantages of diesel engines, diesel emissions include harmful gasses like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems have long been used to reduce diesel emissions from medium to heavy-duty diesel engines. Primary focus of this research effort is the implementation and improvement of a SCR system on light …

Smart Gate Driver Design For Silicon (Si) Igbts And Silicon-Carbide (Sic) Mosfets, Abdulaziz Alghanem

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The design of an efficient and smart gate driver for a Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET is addressed in thesis. First, the main IGBT parameters are evaluated thoroughly in order to understand their effects in the design of the gate driver. All known consequences of previously designed gate drivers are studied in order to achieve an optimum gate driver. As a result of this assessment, the designer is able to determine whether adding or removing components from the gate driver circuit are beneficial or not. Then, exhaustive research is done to identify suitable integrated circuits to use for the power …

Human-Assisted Fluid Power Vehicle, Aaron Huntoon

Honors Theses

The rising cost of energy has prompted industrial and technology companies to research and implement renewable or green energy sources in every aspect of their business. This green technology can consist of sources such as: solar, wind, fluid, or others to create energy from renewable sources. The use of these various sources reduces the pollution associated with standard methods of energy development, and it will ultimately drive costs down to benefit the general population. One of the largest benefactors to the use of renewable energy sources is the transportation industry. Billions of people rely on various modes of transportation every …

The Design Of A Racing Simulator: A Three-Phase User Testing Approach, Jakob E. Rouleau, Eric J. Wach

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

No abstract provided.

Accident Events In Automated Vehicles, Peter Hancock, Tiffani Walker, Valarie Yerdon, William Volante, Shu Ling Li

Human Factors and Applied Psychology Student Conference

We are all aware of the increasing penetration of purely automated vehicles into the coming panoply of ground transportation. Much of the test and evaluation procedures of these respective vehicles have occurred on unidirectional, multi-lane highways and freeways where the central computational problem is relatively simple longitudinal and lateral control. In essence, these controls over what Gibson and Crooks labelled the ‘field of safe travel,’ can be affected by a suite of on-board sensors that measure a combination of range (d) and closure velocity (v). These combinatorial kinematics and kinetics can then provide satisficed solutions to the question of relative …

A Comprehensive Optimized Model For On-Board Solar Photovoltaic System For Plug-In Electric Vehicles: Energy And Economic Impacts, Mahmoud M. Abdelhamid

Mahmoud M Abdelhamid