Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Evaporator Modeling And An Optimal Control Strategy Development Of An Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System For A Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Application, Dhruvang Rathod

All Dissertations

The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has proven to be a promising technology for Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) systems in heavy duty diesel engine applications. However, due to the highly transient heat source, controlling the working fluid flow through the ORC system and maximizing the heat recovery is a challenge for real time application. To that end, this research resulted in the following main developments.

The first new development is in the area of heat exchanger modeling. The heat exchanger is a key component within the WHR system and it governs the dynamics of the complete ORC system. The heat exchanger …

Comparison Of Lqr And Lqr-Mrac For Linear Tractor-Trailer Model, Kevin Richard Gasik

Master's Theses

The United States trucking industry is immense. Employing over three million drivers and traveling to every city in the country. Semi-Trucks travel millions of miles each week and encompass roads that civilians travel on. These vehicles should be safe and allow efficient travel for all. Autonomous vehicles have been discussed in controls for many decades. Now fleets of autonomous vehicles are beginning their integration into society. The ability to create an autonomous system requires domain and system specific knowledge. Approaches to implement a fully autonomous vehicle have been developed using different techniques in control systems such as Kalman Filters, Neural …

The Design Of An Innovative Automotive Suspension For Formula Sae Racing Applications, Jared Darius

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis details an analytical approach to an innovative suspension system design for implementation to the Formula SAE collegiate competition. It focuses specifically on design relating to geometry, mathematical modeling, energy element relationships, and computer analysis and simulation to visualize system behavior. The bond graph approach is utilized for a quarter car model to facilitate understanding of the analytical process, then applied to a comparative analysis between two transverse half car models. The second half car model contains an additional transverse linkage with a third damper, and is compared against the baseline of the first half car model without the …

Autonomous Watercraft Simulation And Programming, Nicholas J. Savino

Student Scholar Showcase

Automation of various modes of transportation is thought to make travel more safe and efficient. Over the past several decades, advances to semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles have led to advanced autopilot systems on planes and boats, and an increasing popularity of self-driving cars. We predicted the motion of an autonomous vehicle using simulations in Python. The simulation models the motion of a small scale watercraft, which can then be built and programmed using an Arduino Microcontroller. We examined different control methods for a simulated rescue craft to reach a target. We also examined the effects of different factors, such as …

Finite Element Model Validation And Testing Of An Off-Road Vehicle Under Dynamic Loading Conditions, Mackenzie Susan Cunningham

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In the vehicle design life cycle, validation tests consume a significant portion of the available development time. With a short, one-year design cycle, the Embry-Riddle Baja Team leverages computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools to simulate critical test cases whose loading conditions can be accurately represented by a series of static loads and constraints. Using these conditions, a Finite Element Model (FEM) can be employed to accurately predict the effects of the loading conditions in the components. During the initial design of the front suspension, one major load case was determined to be the main failure load. However, after validation testing the …

A Fea/Cfd Study Of Heat Transfer To Semi-Trailer Disc Brake Wheel-End Components During A Braking Event, Justin P. Fisher

Masters Theses

Foundation air disc brakes bring Class 8 semi-trailers to a stop by converting kinetic energy into thermal energy. Recently, side skirts have been added to the underside of semi-trailers to improve fuel economy. The reduction in airflow under the trailer they create has potential to increase brake temperatures by reducing convection heat transfer. This will require an increase in conduction and radiation heat transfer to the surrounding wheel-end parts. Additional heat transfer to the surrounding parts could increase the temperatures in the hub and bearing to damaging levels.

CFD analyses were developed to model the airflow under the semi-trailer with …

Cfd Study Of Aerodynamic Drag Reduction Tool Of A Generic Sports Utility Vehicle (Suv), Samira Ishrat Jahan

Masters Theses

The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) has been a popular automobile choice in North America for over 50 years due to its seating and hauling versatility and good towing capacity. This widespread popularity has resulted in manufacturers pushing for increased horsepower and cabin size. Unfortunately, the limiting factor has been fuel economy which is governed by the vehicle aerodynamics. A reduction in aerodynamic drag can result in better fuel economy. The goal of this study is to reduce the aerodynamic drag of a generic SUV and the efficient application of drag reduction devices to control flow separation. An initial study has …

Study Of Cooling-Drag In A Generic Passenger Car Using Cfd And Wind Tunnel, Md Maruf Hossain

Masters Theses

The focus of the study is to explore aerodynamic aspects of cooling airflow. As a result of this study, an efficient multi-domain aero-thermal model was developed to analyze the cooling drag of a generic passenger vehicle. Cooling drag is described as the additional force that the production vehicle has to overcome while moving in comparison to the force if all the openings were closed. Though this model was developed based on the sedan class vehicle, the applied methodology could be generalized for other ground vehicle types. As a part of the presented model, a unique simplified geometric model is developed …

10_Fdr_Written_Project Central Vehicle Controller For Hybrid Racecar, Elias D. Bello, Trammell J. Saltzgaber, Leina C. Mcdermott, Alex S. Newman, Jennifer Jain

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Our ENGS 89/90 team has designed and tested a new central vehicle controller for the Dartmouth Formula Racing team's hybrid racecar. The new controller allows for the implementation of various control strategies, logs data from sensors onboard the vehicle, and is accompanied by well-documented firmware and hardware and an automotive-grade enclosure.

Torsional Stiffness Of A Race Car, Reiley A. Schraeger, Cameron Kao, Raymond Deng, Omar Roman

Mechanical Engineering

Torsional stiffness plays a major role in any road vehicle. To understand torsional stiffness of a vehicle and make future iterations and improvements, a proper torsional stiffness jig is required to prove accurate and useful data. This report encompasses the new and improved testing jig and potential improvement ideas for more accurate results. With real data result relating to FEA calculations, designers can be confident in the FEA changes to torsional stiffness is accurate and will yield the probably results they desired. This report shows the methodology, manufacturing process and testing procedure to use on any Baja or SAE vehicle …

Sensing And Quantifying A New Mechanism For Vehicle Brake Creep Groan, Dejian Meng, Lijun Zhang, Xiaotian Xu, Yousef Sardahi, Gang Chen

All Engineering Faculty Research

This paper investigates the creep groan of a vehicle’s brake experimentally, analytically, and numerically. Experimentally, the effects of acceleration on caliper and strut, noise, brake pressure, and tension are measured. The results show that the measured signals and their relevant spectra broadly capture the complex vibrations of creep groan. This includes the simple stick-slip, severe stick-slip vibrations/resonances, multiple harmonics, half-order harmonics; stick-slip-induced impulsive vibrations, steady/unstable vibrations, and their transitions. Analytically, a new mathematical model is presented to capture the unique features of half-order harmonics and the connections to fundamental stick-slip/resonant frequency and multiple harmonics. The analytical solution and the experimental …

Myopic Versus Farsighted Behaviors In A Low-Carbon Supply Chain With Reference Emission Effects, Jun Wang, Xianxue Cheng, Xinyu Wang, Hongtao Yang, Shuhua Zhang

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Research

The increased carbon emissions cause relatively climate deterioration and attract more attention of governments, consumers, and enterprises to the low-carbon manufacturing. This paper considers a dynamic supply chain, which is composed of a manufacturer and a retailer, in the presence of the cap-and-trade regulation and the consumers’ reference emission effects. To investigate the manufacturer’s behavior choice and its impacts on the emission reduction and pricing strategies together with the profits of both the channel members, we develop a Stackelberg differential game model in which the manufacturer acts in both myopic and farsighted manners. By comparing the equilibrium strategies, it can …

Dynamic Analysis Of Vehicle Performance For Changes To Rear Axle Housing, Diane Peters, Yaomin Dong, Vimal Patel

Mechanical Engineering Presentations And Conference Materials

This paper explores the performance improvements of a 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 resulting from changes to the rear axle housing. In previous work, described in [1, 2], the rear axle housing was optimized in order to minimize its weight. It was expected that the decrease in weight would lead to improved fuel economy; in this work, the vehicle was simulated for the EPA highway drive cycle (HWFET) both before and after the optimization of the housing, in order to quantify the changes in fuel economy. It was found that the optimization of the housing did produce a modest improvement …

Autojack - Hydraulic Powertrain System, Tyce Vu

All Undergraduate Projects

A primary problem for mechanics and automotive enthusiasts is the risk associated with lifting and securing a vehicle with conventional jack stands. Often times, improper jack-stand installation results in the vehicle collapsing unexpectedly, causing injury and/or death. This problem can be minimized through the application of a newly re-designed vehicle lifting system. The conventional method for lifting cars is time consuming and can be unsafe in many circumstances. A better, safer, and more efficient lift design was needed; the AutoJack. The approach of the AutoJack design was entirely focused on the safety of lifting a vehicle. Safety was improved by …

(Invited) Emerging Role Of Silicon Carbide And Gallium Nitride Based Power Electronics In Power And Transportation Sectors, Prahaladh Paniyil, Rajendra Singh

Publications

Free fuel-based energy sources (solar and wind) are pointing towards a future in which sustainable energy is affordable, abundant and deployed with high energy efficiency. Driven by advancements in the technology of lithium batteries and the availability of low-cost sustainable clean electric power, the electrification of transportation is going through fundamental disruptive transformation. Without any doubt, both power and transportation sectors will provide phenomenal growth of power electronics in the 21st century. Recently, both SiC and GaN are drawing the attention as potential replacement of Si-based power electronics. These may open some new markets where Si based power electronics cannot …

Decarbonising The Automotive Industry: The Future For Irish Motorists., Robert Maher

Theses

This research study is an examination of the current state of the Irish automotive industry, which is being reshaped by the imminent shift to electric vehicles. This transition is designed to assist in solving Ireland's air quality and environmental challenges in line with the worldwide move to combat climate change. The research topic of the decarbonisation of the automotive industry determined the research question: "Decarbonising the Automotive Industry: The Future for Irish Motorists". This inquiry focuses on private cars owned for social, pleasure and domestic use. Secondary research was completed to verify the most prevalent and current existing information. A …

An Analysis Of Resistance Spot Weld Quality Based On Acoustic And Electrical Signatures, Ivan Charles Butler

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

The union of a set of materials by way of Resistance Spot Welding is designed so that once fused together, a substantial amount of intentional, external force must be applied to separate the contents. Therefore, Resistance Spot Welding is often the preferred fusion method in high-volume manufacturing processes. The result of Resistance Spot Welding however is the formation of a weld nugget which is not visible to the naked eye. Destructive and/or ultrasonic methods applied off-line must be used to determine the quality of each weld; both inefficient and expensive processes. The following research analyzes the data fed back during …

Edge Heterogeneous Hardware Evaluation Based On Real Connected And Autonomous Vehicles (Cavs) Workloads, Mustafa Ahmad

Research Opportunities for Engineering Undergraduates (ROEU) Program 2018-19

There has recently been a wide expansion of hardware to assist in autonomous driving tasks. On this project, we focus on using some state-of-the-art deep learning workloads in connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) scenarios,such as object detection and object tracking to evaluate the heterogeneous hardware.

The Autodrive Challenge: Autonomous Vehicles Education And Training Issues, Diane Peters, Jennifer Bastiaan, Juan R. Pimentel, Mehrdad Zadeh

Mechanical Engineering Presentations And Conference Materials

Automotive companies are focusing significant research and development efforts on autonomous vehicles. As they do so, they recognize the need for a large, well-trained workforce that is equipped to conduct these research and development projects, particularly in light of the projected shortages of STEM professionals in the United States. Some of these companies have found various ways to engage with professional societies and with universities to encourage the development of this workforce, and to promote themselves to STEM students while they are still in school. One such effort is the SAE / GM AutoDrive ChallengeTM, a new collegiate competition organized …

Application Of Sensor Fusion For Si Engine Diagnostics And Combustion Feedback, Fnu Muralidhar Nischal

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Shifting consumer mindsets and evolving government norms are forcing automotive manufacturers the world over to improve vehicle performance and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A critical aspect of achieving future fuel economy and emission targets is improved powertrain control and diagnostics.

This study focuses on using a sensor fusion based approach to improving control and diagnostics in a gasoline engine. A four cylinder turbocharged engine was instrumented with a suite of sensors including ion sensors, exhaust pressure sensors, crank position sensors and accelerometers. The diagnostic potential of these sensors was studied in detail. The ability of these sensors to detect …