Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of A Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Impact Attenuator For A Formula Sae Vehicle Using Finite Element Analysis, John T. Rappolt

Master's Theses

The Hashin failure criteria and damage evolution model for laminated fiber reinforced polymers are explored. A series of tensile coupon finite element analyses are run to characterize the variables in the physical model as well as modeling techniques for using an explicit dynamic solver for a quasi-static problem. An attempt to validate the model on an axial tube crush is presented. It was found that fiber buckling was not occurring at the impactor-tube interface. Results and speculation as to why the failure initiation is incorrect are discussed. Lessons learned from the tube crush are applied successfully to the quasi-static Formula …

The Implications Of Self-Driving Cars On Insurance, Amanda Lobello

Honors Projects in Mathematics

Self-driving cars, also known as autonomous vehicles, are being researched and tested by automakers, technology industry leaders, and other institutions. Lawmakers and politicians are discussing the legislation that will affect the fate of such technology. Primary benefits include safety, mobility, free time, less traffic, and green effects. However, there are also obstacles to the implementation of self-driving vehicles including consumer acceptance, legal liability, and cost. With the potential shift in responsibility from driver to automaker, rating factors for insurance may change, weighing more heavily on the model of the car as a factor. The fate of auto insurance is in …

Design Of Timing Circuit For Fuel Injection Conversion And Development Of Laboratory To Analyze Engine Performance Using A Dynamometer, Aditi Jayram Limaye

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A fundamental facility was built to analyze some of the basic parameters involved in engine performance, namely torque and power output of the engine. One of the objectives was to convert a carbureted engine into a fuel injection or (Fl) engine. This was achieved by designing and creating a timing circuit that is required to trigger the electronic fuel injector or (EFI). The facility was designed around a dynamometer and a fuel delivery system; that provided a specialized tool to analyze engines and injectors.

The results from the carbureted experiments and the FI experiments were compared to the rated specifications …

A Mechanical Regenerative Brake And Launch Assist Using An Open Differential And Elastic Energy Storage, David H. Myszka, Andrew P. Murray, Kevin Giaier, Vijay Krishna Jayaprakash, Christoph Gillum

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Regenerative brake and launch assist (RBLA) systems are used to capture kinetic energy while a vehicle decelerates and subsequently use that stored energy to assist propulsion. Commercially available hybrid vehicles use generators, batteries and motors to electrically implement RBLA systems. Substantial increases in vehicle efficiency have been widely cited.

This paper presents the development of a mechanical RBLA that stores energy in an elastic medium. An open differential is coupled with a variable transmission to store and release energy to an axle that principally rotates in a single direction. The concept applies regenerative braking technology to conventional automobiles equipped with …

An Empirical Approach To The Re-Creation Of Vehicle Drive Cycles, Andrew J. Larson

Open Access Theses

Vehicles such as buses, delivery trucks, mining equipment, and motorsport vehicles often repeat a highly defined pattern, route, or track during normal use. For these vehicles, standard dynamometer drive cycles are of little use. It was proposed that deriving a vehicle drive cycle from empirical data collected from on-board vehicle sensors would produce more accurate vehicle characteristic predictions for special purpose vehicles. This study answers the question "Is it possible to use recorded vehicle data to replicate a real world driving scenario for the purpose of vehicle diagnostics?" To reduce the complexity of the project, an electric go-kart was used …

Composite Tie Rod Research, Design And Testing For Sae Baja, Amanda M. Nauman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Composite materials have become increasing popular in recent years. For the Baja SAE team, composites are typically only used for body panels. To grow as a team and to earn additional points in design competition, it was decided to explore composite use in mechanical applications, specifically for the tie rods. Research was conducted, looking into composite materials basics, types, and material properties. Additionally, manufacturing was explored, including a few projects separate from the tie rod application. 3D models were created after the materials were selected, and FEA analysis was conducted on the parts. Once theoretical testing was finished, the physical …

Designing A Heat Sink For Lithium-Ion Battery Packs In Electric Vehicles, Evan Foreman, Dylan Irvine, Aaron Jackson, Christopher Brandon Remington, Sam Endrizzi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report addresses the concepts and implementation of fluid cooled heat sink designs for an electric or hybrid vehicle battery. To determine the battery’s temperature and heat flux profile, testing was performed by measuring these values at multiple locations on a lithium-ion pouch battery using heat flux sensors and thermocouples during the charge and discharge cycles of the battery. Once the data was collected and analyzed, trendlines were fit to the heat flux data then used to create equations for the heat flux profile during the discharging stage. Each equation represented a specific region on the battery geometry. Four heat …

Inkjet Printing: Facing Challenges And Its New Applications In Coating Industry, Sadegh Poozesh

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

This study is devoted to some of the most important issues for advancing inkjet printing for possible application in the coating industry with a focus on piezoelectric droplet on demand (DOD) inkjet technology. Current problems, as embodied in liquid filament breakup along with satellite droplet formation and reduction in droplet sizes, are discussed and then potential solutions identified. For satellite droplets, it is shown that liquid filament break-up behavior can be predicted by using a combination of two pi-numbers, including the Weber number, We and the Ohnesorge number, Oh, or the Reynolds number, Re, and the Weber number, …

Crash Frequency Analysis Of Left-Side Merging And Diverging Areas On Urban Freeway Segments: A Case Study Of I-75 Through Downtown Dayton, Ohio, Deogratias Eustace, Aline Aylo, Worku Y. Mergia

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes the effect of left- and right-side merging and diverging areas and other variables such as light condition, roadway pavement condition, drivers’ age and presence of construction work zones on the occurrence frequency of crashes. A 6.5-mile (10.5-km) section of I-75 that passes through downtown Dayton, Ohio was considered. The area of interest has a high traffic volume and consists of different geometric design challenges including closely spaced merging and diverging ramps. A four-year record of crash data (2005–2008) and a statistical modeling technique that assumes a negative binomial distribution on generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to …

Physics-Based Modeling And Control Of Powertrain Systems Integrated With Low Temperature Combustion Engines, Mehran Bidarvatan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) holds promise for high thermal efficiency and low Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) exhaust emissions. Fast and robust control of different engine variables is a major challenge for real-time model-based control of LTC. This thesis concentrates on control of powertrain systems that are integrated with a specific type of LTC engines called Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI). In this thesis, accurate mean value and dynamic cycleto- cycle Control Oriented Models (COMs) are developed to capture the dynamics of HCCI engine operation. The COMs are experimentally validated for a wide range of HCCI steady-state and …

A Quantitative Investigation Of The Water Condensation Inside Tubes Of Compact Charge Air Cooler, Robin Cash

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

To address the need of increasing fuel economy requirements, automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are increasing the number of turbocharged engines in their powertrain line-ups. The turbine-driven technology uses a forced induction device, which increases engine performance by increasing the density of the air charge being drawn into the cylinder. Denser air allows more fuel to be introduced into the combustion chamber, thus increasing engine performance. During the compression process, the air is heated to temperatures that can cause pre-ignition, resulting in reduced engine functionality. The introduction of the charge air cooler (CAC) is therefore, necessary to extract heat from …

Design And Implementation Of A Mobile Test Cell, Timothy J. Okkema

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In this thesis, a modular powertrain mounting and instrumentation system is developed to increase engine testing efficiency in the Michigan Technological University Mobile Laboratory (Mobile Lab). This method is specifically designed for use in an on-the-road application with limited space where traditional engine test cell designs are not practical. This system is made to be robust, but simple enough that it can easily be built by future powertrain test engineers. In addition, a wall mounted diesel system was developed to provide common rail injection pressures to add the ability for conversion of mechanical injected diesel engines. And finally, an engine …

Addressing New Skills Needed For The Automotive Industry Through A Motorsports Educational Pathway, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Mileta M. Tomovic, Alok K. Verma, Nathan Luetke, Steve Branch

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The automotive industry has higher-skilled positions available that need engineers and engineering technologists qualified and capable to work in a high-paced, advanced manufacturing sector. Various educational programs across the country offer programs related to the motorsports area at the Associate of Science level. There are also various articu-lation agreements that enable students to continue their education to the baccalaureate level. These programs try to fill in the gap related to the skills shortage in systems and new design methods and processes. The main strength of such educational pathways is that students, who are trained to work as technicians with an …

Design Of The University Of Akron's 2015 Fsae Electric Vehicle Braking System, Nicholas D. Galbincea

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The following report encompasses the design of the 2015 University of Akron’s FSAE formula electric braking system. The system is one based on hydraulic braking and designed for a one man performance racing vehicle. The objective of the system is to convert the kinetic energy of the vehicle into thermal energy, allowing the vehicle to decelerate optimally and safely. The design includes three major categories: calculation and evaluation of the hydraulic system in order to select calipers and master cylinders, the design of the pedal box, and the design of the rotors.

The results and findings of the proceeding report …

Designing A Heat Sink For Lithium-Ion Battery Packs In Electric Vehicles, Dylan Irvine, Evan Foreman, Christopher B. Remington, Aaron Jackson, Sam Endrizzi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report addresses the concepts and implementation of fluid cooled heat sink designs for an electric or hybrid vehicle battery. To determine the battery’s temperature and heat flux profile, testing was performed by measuring these values at multiple locations on a lithium-ion pouch battery using heat flux sensors and thermocouples during the charge and discharge cycles of the battery. Once the data was collected and analyzed, trendlines were fit to the heat flux data then used to create equations for the heat flux profile during the discharging stage. Each equation represented a specific region on the battery geometry. Four heat …

Modeling And Analysis Of Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (Rcci) Combustion, Mohammadreza Nazemi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) and Premixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) combustion strategies are promising methods for achieving low engine-out NOx and soot emissions as well as high indicated efficiency. However, these combustion strategies have difficulties with controlling the rate of heat release and lack of an adequate combustion phasing control mechanism. A dual-fuel Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion strategy will address these issues due to the existence of precise means for controlling the heat release rate and combustion phasing. In the RCCI strategy two fuels with different reactivity (auto-ignition characteristics, e.g., gasoline and diesel) are blended inside the …

Binder Jet Additive Manufacturing Of Stainless Steel-Hydroxyapatite Bio-Composite, Don Suranga Dhanushka Uduwage

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study was conducted to create a bio-composite with a porous structure using the binder-jet printing additive manufacturing process. The samples were printed by changing the parameters such as layer thickness, roller speed, sintering time and sintering temperature of the X1-Lab binder jet additive manufacturing printer. The samples were printed 80% stainless steel 316 mixed with 20% Calcium Phosphate Tribasic by volume. Eight experiments were attempted to print according to the fractional factorial design of experiment. The effects of changing parameters on the mechanical properties of the new bio-composite was tested using ASTM E-09 compressive strength standards. The compression testing …

Air Flow And Rain Water Penetration Analysis On Generator Enclosures Using Cfd Simulations, Sasanka Andawatta Kankanamge

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Rain water penetration testing on power generator units requires a number of complicated procedures, requiring many resources. As such, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool, "FloEFD for Creo" is used to study the water penetration behavior on a OM924 diesel power generator enclosure in a computational environment. First, the three governing equations in fluid dynamics are derived and explained using simple methods. Next, behavior of rain water droplets upon impact is briefly discussed. Air velocity, volumetric flow rate and static pressure drop were measured physically in the OM924 generator enclosure. Then, a CFD model for the OM924 enclosure was developed …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of The Effects Of Water Injection In A Diesel Engine, Rabun Z. Wallace

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Water injection has been used in internal combustion engines for many years. It has been used to cool combustion temperatures, reduce emissions, and in some instances clean carbon buildup from the cylinder. Research has shown that the water to fuel mass ratio is most effective between 20-30%, so the upper and lower limit were used for simulations in Converge CFD. To validate the CFD model, a case without water injection was compared to experimental data from Sandia National Laboratory. The predicted in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate showed good agreement with the experimental data. Cases were run with the injection …

Objective Predictor Metric Of Annoyance For Hydraulic Engine Mount Cavitation, John Powell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Vehicle acoustics has been found to have a direct impact on customer experience. Unexpected noises play a role in this experience. Hydraulic engine mount cavitation, the noise heard from the collapse of vapor bubbles in the mount, is considered one of those unexpected noises. During the design phase of a vehicle when an unexpected noise is found there is a need for a method to quantify how much of the noise is too much. Subjective evaluations alone are not enough due to variability from engineer to engineer. An objective way needed to be developed in order to evaluate the cavitation …