Automotive Engineering Commons^™

2013 Fall Engr333 Project Final Report, 2013 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

During the fall of 2013, the Engineering 333 class was asked the question, “what would it take for Calvin College to operate a biofuel vehicle from campus resources?” The three primary considerations included:

• Determining the optimal biofuel feedstock in terms of availability, transportation, and processing.
• Selecting a biofuel vehicle for conversion or purchase to operate on the selected feedstock.
• Designing the infrastructure and process required for operating the selected biofuel vehicle. The design and research described below proposes an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective method for integrating a biofuel vehicle into Calvin’s existing infrastructure.

2013 Fall Engr333 Student Seminar Presentation, Claire Philippi, Karl Bratt, Mike Houtman, Brandon Koster

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Fall 2013 class of ENGR333.

2013 Fall Engr333 Vehicle Poster, 2013 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

Waste vegetable oil (WVO) was chosen by the class as the best fuel source for the Calvin Biofuel Vehicle Project. The class then considered vehicle options and selected a lawnmower to be powered by WVO.

2013 Fall Engr333 Fuel And Facilities Poster, 2013 Fall Engr333

ENGR 333

The objective of the project was to answer the question: “What would it take for Calvin College to operate a biofuel vehicle from campus resources.” The class split into 3 teams:

• Fuel/Feedstock
• Facilities/Infrastructure
• Vehicle

Loading Path Determination For Tube Hydroforming Process Of Automotive Component Using Apdl, E. Masoumi Khalil Abad, Amir Ghazanfari, R. Hashemi

Faculty Publications, Mechanical Engineering

In this study, an extended stress-based forming limit diagram (FLD) for prediction of necking based on the Marciniak and Kucznski (M-K) model is represented and applied in tube hydroforming. The bulge forming of a straight tube is simulated by finite element method and verified with published experimental data. This adaptive simulation technique is based on the ability to detect the onset and growth of defects (e.g., bursting and wrinkling) and to promptly readjust the loading paths. Thus, a suitable load path is determined by applying Adaptive Simulation Method in ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL).

Development Of A Hybrid Vehicle Powertrain Test Laboratory, Bennet Samuel Soundarraj

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

During the last two years, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has installed and tested a fully functional eddy-current chassis dynamometer testing facility on campus. An automotive test facility requires a systems engineering approach to install, calibrate and commission a chassis dynamometer. This thesis shows that, the dynamometer test facility was successfully installed, commissioned and documented to safely support the power train development and testing. We can currently test the EcoCAR vehicle and a number of other front-wheel-drive vehicles at our university campus using the eddy current chassis dynamometer.

Coded Aperture Aided Navigation And Geolocation Systems, Jamie R. Morrison, John F. Raquet, Michael J. Veth

AFIT Patents

A micro air vehicle having a navigation system with a single camera to determine position and attitude of the vehicle using changes the direction to the observed features. The difference between the expected directions to the observed features versus the measured direction to the observed features is used to correct a navigation solution.

2013 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2013 ENGR333 project focused on production and use of biofuels at Calvin University.

I asked the students “What would it take for Calvin College to operate a biofuel vehicle from campus resources?”

Customer

The customer for this project was Calvin’s Physical Plant director Phil Beezhold.

Use Of A Rolling Road System In Crosswind Conditions, Mau-Kuo Chen

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wind tunnel testing continues to play an important role in vehicle aerodynamic development. Accurate results are strongly associated with whether the wind tunnel can closely simulate the on-road conditions, including the Reynolds number and all boundary conditions. Rolling road systems (or moving belts) have been a successful tool for many auto makers and racing teams to simulate the relative motion between the stationary vehicle model and the floor in the test section. The mechanism of the rolling road system is simple, but how it affects the adjacent flow field and how this flow interacts with the flow underneath the vehicle …

Exploring Factors Contributing To Injury Severity At Freeway Merging And Diverging Locations In Ohio, Worku Y. Mergia, Deogratias Eustace, Deo Chimba, Maher Butros Qumsiyeh

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Identifying factors that affect crash injury severity and understanding how these factors affect injury severity is critical in planning and implementing highway safety improvement programs. Factors such as driver-related, traffic-related, environment-related and geometric design-related were considered when developing statistical models to predict the effects of these factors on the severity of injuries sustained from motor vehicle crashes at merging and diverging locations. Police-reported crash data at selected freeway merging and diverging areas in the state of Ohio were used for the development of the models. A generalized ordinal logit model also known as partial proportional odds model was applied to …

Review: 'American Cars, 1973‐1980: Every Model, Year By Year', Jack O'Gorman

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

This title, part of an ongoing series, chronicles American cars made between 1973 and 1980. Entries include background on the nameplate, models available, cost, and measurements of the vehicle. Photos of the cars are shown by manufacturer and year, and the advertising slogans used to sell the cars are a nice touch to open each entry.Appendixes include minor makes and "replicars" (a copy of a vintage or classic automobile), option groups and packages, tire sizes, identification and recalls, and manufacturer logos. This work for American car enthusiasts may be better suited in the circulating collection than the reference collection and …

Impact-Acoustic Evaluation Method Of Internal Crack In Rubber Composite Structure, Qin Shen

All Dissertations

The main objective of this work is to investigate the impact acoustic method as a means of nondestructive testing (NDT) for internal cracks in a rubber composite structure, such as that found in a tire. As demonstrated in this dissertation, this approach is an effective and economical alternative to the current NDT methods for tires casing integrity inspection. There are two separate aspects of the impact acoustic signals considered in this work: the impact force signal and the resultant acoustic signal. First, a contact dynamics model is developed based on the Hertz’s impact theory and modified for rubber composite materials. …

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation And Coverage Hole Patching In Wireless Sensor Networks, Guyu Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a study of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) navigation and coverage hole patching in coordinate-free and localization-free Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Navigation and coverage maintenance are related problems since coverage hole patching requires effective navigation in the sensor network environment. A coordinate-free and localization-free WSN that is deployed in an ad-hoc fashion and does not assume the availability of GPS information is considered. The system considered is decentralized and can be self-organized in an event-driven manner where no central controller or global map is required.

A single-UGV, single-destination navigation problem is addressed first. The UGV is equipped …

Tdma Slot Reservation In Cluster-Based Vanets, Mohammad Salem Almalag

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are a form of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) in which vehicles on the road form the nodes of the network. VANETs provide several services to enhance the safety and comfort of drivers and passengers. These services can be obtained by the wireless exchange of information among the vehicles driving on the road. In particular, the transmission of two different types of messages, safety/update and non-safety messages.

The transmission of safety/update message aims to inform the nearby vehicles about the sender's current status and/or a detected dangerous situation. This type of transmission is designed to …

Team Effectiveness And Project Management In A Student Team Environment, Rahul Girish Patel

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The objective of this research study was to assess if students enrolled in MSU - Mankato's Automotive Engineering Technology (AET) program required a project management course. At present, a project management course is not included in the AET program. A survey instrument based on "The Team Effectiveness Critique" by Susan Trimble was developed to answer the research question. AET students enrolled in Senior Design courses were the main focus of this study. Survey results indicated that AET Senior Design students who had taken a project management course prior to a Senior Design course had good ratings in survey categories of …

Steam, Electricity & Gas : Historical Perspectives On What We Drive Today And Why, Michael Edward Flinton

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

Indeterminate Masses, Elements And Models In Information Fusion, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper at the beginning, we make a short history of the logics, from the classical Boolean logic to the most general logic of today neutrosophic logic. We define the general logic space and give the definition of the neutrosophic logic. Then we introduce the indeterminate models in information fusion, which are due either to the existence of some indeterminate elements in the fusion space or to some indeterminate masses.

The best approach for dealing with such models is the neutrosophic logic, which is part of neutrosophy. Neutrosophic logic is connected with neutrosophic set and neutrosophic probability and statistics.

Mode And Implementation Of A Hybrid Control System For A 2-Mode Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Zhenhua Zhu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Automotive transportation consumes more than 71% of the world's total petroleum energy. The vehicle will have to use less because it will take less than 30 years to consume the rest of the proven conventional oil reservoir if the fuel consumption keeps the current trend. One of the methods to improve the vehicle efficiency is to develop Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). An HEV combines an internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric motor(s) powered by batteries or capacitors to achieve better fuel economy. Among the HEVs, 2-Mode HEV combines an ICE and two electric motors with two planetary gear sets and …

The Effects Of External Motivation And Real-Time Automated Feedback On Speeding Behavior In A Naturalistic Setting, Ian J. Reagan, James P. Bliss, Ron Van Houten, Bryan W. Hilton

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: In this field experiment, the authors tested an alerting system and a monetary incentive system with the objective of reducing speeding more than 5 mph faster than the posted speed limit.

Background: Speeding is a factor in a significant number of traffic fatalities. The systems tested in this project have been evaluated outside but not within the United States. These studies indicated that similar systems led to reductions in speeding.

Method: For this study, eight vehicles were instrumented such that vehicle speed and speed limits were linked in real time. A total of 50 participants drove assigned vehicles for …