Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Design Of A Modified Stewart Platform Manipulator For Misalignment Correction, Adekunle Ayoko

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

This thesis work is about the design of a modified Stewart platform manipulator for misalignment correction. The common version of the Stewart platform uses six actuators. The traditional Stewart platform of this kind has a moving top plate and a fixed base plate. However, in this research, the modified design of the traditional Stewart platform is studied. It is designed to be an easy connect-disconnect platform that can wrap around different structures with different cross sections and symmetrically designed. It is able to adjust position easily by using four identical but independent linear actuators populated evenly in two parts fastened …

Active Management Assistant System For Embry-Riddle Ecocar 3 Hybrid Supervisory Control System, Matthew Nelson, Blair Cutting, Michael J. Aleardi

Student Works

The Embry-Riddle EcoCAR 3 team is developing a prototype hybrid Chevrolet Camaro utilizing a customized vehicle powertrain controller. This controller is serving to ensure system safety, vehicle operation, and consumer drivability while also incorporating advanced driving aids to achieve both the desired performance levels one expects from a Camaro as well as vehicle efficiency. This vehicle must reach the team set vehicle technical specifications of a 4.9 second 0 to 60 time while maintaining a 53 miles per gallon gasoline equivalence rating.

In order to reach the efficiency goal, the team is developing an Active Management Assistance System utilizing computer …

Electronic Deer Warning System, David Zhuo, Anlang Lu

Computer Engineering

Deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) are extremely dangerous, often injuring or even killing drivers. Unfortunately, this form of automotive accident is commonplace in the United States. According to the NHTSA, DVCs result in 200 human deaths a year.2

Despite these deadly incidents, there currently are no deployed federal or state systems for preventing DVCs. There are many consumer electronic deer deterrent products, but their long-term effectiveness is questionable.3 In fact, there does not appear to be much research into electronic deer deterrent systems. Aside from constant audio output and electric shock, no other means of electronic deterrent exist. Even if fixed deterrents …

Traction And Launch Control For A Rear-Wheel-Drive Parallel-Series Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Adam Michael Szechy

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Hybrid vehicles are becoming the future of automobiles leading into the all-electric generation of vehicles. Electric vehicles come with a great increase in torque at lower RPM resulting in the issue of transferring this torque to the ground effectively. In this thesis, a method is presented for limiting wheel slip and targeting the ideal slip ratio for dry asphalt and low friction surfaces at every given time step. A launch control system is developed to further reduce wheel slip on initial acceleration from standstill furthering acceleration rates to sixty miles per hour. A MATLAB Simulink model was built of the …

Application Of Floating Pedal Regenerative Braking For A Rear-Wheel-Drive Parallel-Series Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle With An Automatic Transmission, Dylan Lewis Lewton

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As the world continues to move further away from our reliance on fossil fuels, hybrid vehicles are becoming ever more popular. Braking is a system on both hybrid and normal vehicles that involves a significant amount of power and energy. A hybrid can recapture some of that energy using regenerative braking. In this thesis, a method is devised to blend hydraulic and regenerative braking in the most effective manner. A MATLAB Simulink model was built to simulate a parallel-series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The model allows for the implementation of a regenerative brake controller that utilizes floating pedal regen, custom …

Investigation Of Low Reynolds Number Flow And Heat Transfer Of Louvered Surfaces, Pradeep R. Shinde

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the investigation of flow behavior at low Reynolds numbers by the experimental and numerical performance testing of micro-channel heat exchangers. An experimental study of the heat transfers and pressure drop of compact heat exchangers with louvered fins and flat tubes was conducted within a low air-side Reynolds number range of 20 < Re_Lp < 225. Using an existing low-speed wind tunnel, 26 sample heat exchangers of corrugated louver fin type, were tested. New correlations for Colburn j and Fanning friction f factor have been developed in terms of non-dimensional parameters. Within the investigated parameter ranges, it seems that both the j and f factors are better represented by two correlations in two flow regimes (one for Re_Lp = 20 – 80 and one for Re_Lp = 80 – 200) than a single regime correlation in the power-law format. The results support the conclusion that airflow and heat transfer at very low Reynolds numbers behaves differently from that …

Drive Time

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

The Vocational Training Council, HKDI's parent body, has recently formed an alumni association that includes Chelsia Lau, a graduate of Lee Wai Lee Technical Institute who has become one of the world's most accomplished automotive designers. She talked to Summer Cao about her twenty years with the Ford Motor Company.

Drivability Of The Fiat 500 Multi-Air Engine Under Simulated Poor Maintenance, Andrew Croxell

ASA Multidisciplinary Research Symposium

The FIAT Multi-Air valve-train uses hydraulic, mechanical, and electric components to control engine intake valves for more precise combustion. However, the incorporation of electronics and hydraulics creates additional potential for drivability issues. This study will simulate poor vehicle maintenance in a FIAT 500 Multi-Air engine to identify drivability concerns generated.

Research On The Impact Of Geometric Parameter On The Cross-Section Precision In Rotary Draw Bending Of High-Strength Steel Tube With Rectangular Section, Hongliang Yang, Zhongwen Xing, Zhao Hao

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Fatigue Analysis Of The Welded Region In The Automotive Torsion Beam Rear Suspension System, Nan Zhan, Xiaochuan Zhang

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Deformation Mechanism And Process Optimization Of Mechanical Clinching Joining Technology Used For Steel And Aluminum Alloy Sheets, Yanli Song, Genpeng Zhu, Lin Hua, Dingguo Dai

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Numerical Simulation And Experiments Analysis On Stiffness Control Mechanism Of Hyperboloid Shallow Shells, Zhao Lihong, Yu Haiping, Xing Zhongwen, Lei Chengxi, Wu Bin

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Latest Development In Virtual Casting Of Lightweight Metals, Qigui Wang

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Research On The Impact Of Geometric Parameter On The Cross-Section Precision, Yang Hong Liang, Xing Zhong Wen, Hao Zhao

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Simulation On The Sealing Of Aluminum Ball Joint, Haobin Tian, Xiaohang Liu, Xuelei Li, Jun Feng

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Design And Manufacturing Of Automotive Parts With Tailored Mechanical Properties, Lin Hua, Yanli Song, Yu Han, Yuhan Shen

The 8th International Conference on Physical and Numerical Simulation of Materials Processing

No abstract provided.

Obstacle Filtering Alogrithm For Control Of An Autonomous Road Vehicle In Public Highway Traffic, Qian Wang, Beshah Ayalew

Publications

This paper presents an obstacle filtering algorithm that mimics human driver-like grouping of objects within a model predictive control scheme for an autonomous road vehicle. In the algorithm, a time to collision criteria is first used as risk assessment indicator to filter the potentially dangerous obstacle object vehicles in the proximity of the autonomously controlled vehicle. Then, the filtered object vehicles with overlapping elliptical collision areas put into groups. A hyper elliptical boundary is regenerated to define an extended collision area for the group. To minimize conservatism, the parameters for the tightest hyper ellipse are determined by solving an optimization …

Safety Of Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide Battery Packs In Transit Bus Applications, Timothy Cleary, Marc Serra Bosch, Jim Kreibick, Joel Anstrom

Mineta Transportation Institute

The future of mass transportation is clearly moving toward the increased efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction of hybrid and electric vehicles. With the introduction of high-power/high-energy storage devices such as lithium ion battery systems serving as a key element in the system, valid safety and security concerns emerge. This is especially true when the attractive high-specific-energy and power-chemistry lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) is used. This chemistry provides great performance but presents a safety and security risk when used in large quantities, such as for a large passenger bus. If triggered, the cell can completely fuel its own fire, …

Industrial Solid-State Energy Harvesting: Mechanisms And Examples, Matthew Kocoloski, Carl Eger, Robin Mccarty, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock

J. Kissock

This paper explores the potential for solid-state energy harvesting in industrial applications. In contrast to traditional heat recovery, the output of solid-state devices is electricity, which can be readily used in virtually any plant. The progress in harvesting waste heat via thermoelectric and thermionic generators is described. With second law efficiencies now approaching 50% and 80% respectively, we show that these technologies are on the cusp of practical use. Finally, we present an example of energy harvesting using thermionic devices in an industrial application. The example considers energy harvesting from a furnace at a glass manufacturing facility where exhaust gases …

Analysis Of The Electric Vehicles Adoption Over The United States, Ali Soltani-Sobh, Kevin Heaslip, Aleksandar Stevanovic, Ryan Bosworth, Danilo Radiviojevic

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

Increasing the use of electric vehicles (EVs) has been suggested as a possible method to decrease fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to mitigate the causes of climate change. In this study, the relationship between the market share of electric vehicles and the presence of government incentives, and other influential socio-economic factors were examined. The methodology of this study is based on a cross-sectional/time-series (panel) analysis. The developed model is an aggregated binomial logit share model that estimates the modal split between EV and conventional vehicles for different U.S. states from 2003 to 2011. The results …

Parametric Design, Modeling, And Optical Evaluation Of Retroreflective Prismatic Structures, Sama Hussein

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Retroreflectors (RR) are defined as passive optical structures that redirect incident light to its originating source. Specific types of retroreflectors called inverted cubes (ICs) function through total internal reflection (TIR) and are used in various applications such as measurement tools, traffic signs and automotive rear and side lighting. This thesis aims to model, analyze, fabricate and study a novel type of IC retroreflectors called right triangular prism (RTP). A parametric approach is used to model existing IC geometries from a generic unit cube and is then implemented to model the novel RTP geometry. Those elements are then tested by optical …

Energy Information Augmented Community-Based Energy Reduction, Kevin P. Hallinan, Harvey Enns, Stephenie Ritchey, Phil Brodrick, Nathan Lammers, Nichole Hanus, Mark Rembert, Tony Rainsberger

Harvey Enns

More than one-half of all U.S. states have instituted energy efficiency mandates requiring utilities to reduce energy use. To achieve these goals, utilities have been permitted rate structures to help them incentivize energy reduction projects. This strategy is proving to be only modestly successful in stemming energy consumption growth. By the same token, community energy reduction programs have achieved moderate to very significant energy reduction. The research described here offers an important tool to strengthen the community energy reduction efforts—by providing such efforts energy information tailored to the energy use patterns of each building occupant. The information provided most importantly …

Energy Consumption Modeling And Analyses In Automotive Manufacturing Plant, Lujia Feng, Laine Mears

Publications

Manufacturing plants energy consumption accounts for a large share in world energy usage. Energy consumption modeling and analyses are widely studied to understand how and where the energy is used inside of the plants. However, a systematic energy modeling approach is seldom studied to describe the holistic energy in the plants. Especially using layers of models to share information and guide the next step modeling is rarely studied. In this paper, a manufacturing system temporal and organizational framework was used to guide the systematic energy modeling approach. Various levels of models were established and tested in an automotive manufacturing plant …

Modeling The Impact Of Battery Degradation Within Lifecycle Cost Based Design Optimization Of Heavy-Duty Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Ashish P. Vora

Open Access Dissertations

The optimal design of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powertrains from a systems perspective is critical to realize the maximum benefits for a given application. This is particularly true in the heavy-duty vehicle space where the major challenges are: (i) greater emphasis on economic viability, (ii) reluctance to take on risk associated with new technologies, and (iii) numerous diverse applications that preclude a one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid-electric powertrain design. Past studies on HEV powertrain design have either ignored battery degradation, or failed to holistically capture its impact from a lifecycle cost perspective. The focus of this effort is the development of …

Test Cell Set-Up To Enable Drive-Cycle Testing Of A Variable Valve Actuation Enabled Camless Diesel Engine, Alexander Harrison Taylor

Open Access Theses

The previous facility which was used for engine testing at Purdue's Ray W. Herrick Laboratories utilized an eddy current dynamometer which is only suited for steady-state testing and throttle snaps. To better utilize a pre-existing camless diesel engine, which is is enabled via variable valve actuation, it was desired to perform transient drive-cycle tests. To accomplish this goal, a variable frequency drive AC dynamometer was required. Given that a brand new facility was constructed, the team was presented with an opportunity for ground up design of a test cell.

The new test cell's operation was proved out using a cammed …

Optimal Design Of A Thermoelectric Cooling/Heating System For Car Seat Climate Control (Cscc), Abdulmunaem H. Elarusi

Masters Theses

In this work, optimal design of a thermoelectric device itself (element length, cross section area and number of thermoelements) applied in a car seat climate control (CSCC) is studied analytically using our newly developed optimization method. This method, which is based on the thermoelectric ideal equations along with dimensional analysis allows us to simultaneously obtain the best combination of the thermoelectric parameters in order to improve the performance of the thermoelectric device regarding the cooling/heating power and the coefficient of performance (COP). First, this method was implemented to investigate the optimal design of a readily existing air-to-air thermoelectric system. Then, …

Vision-Aided Navigation For Autonomous Vehicles Using Tracked Feature Points, Ahmed Saber Soliman Sayem

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis discusses the evaluation, implementation, and testing of several navigation algorithms and feature extraction algorithms using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and an image capture device (camera) mounted on a ground robot and a quadrotor UAV. The vision-aided navigation algorithms are implemented on data-collected from sensors on an unmanned ground vehicle and a quadrotor, and the results are validated by comparison with GPS data. The thesis investigates sensor fusion techniques for integrating measured IMU data with information extracted from image processing algorithms in order to provide accurate vehicle state estimation. This image-based information takes the forms of features, such …

Supervisory Control Optimization For A Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle With Consideration Of Battery Thermal Management And Aging, Xueyu Zhang

All Dissertations

This dissertation integrates battery thermal management and aging into the supervisory control optimization for a heavy-duty series hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The framework for multi-objective optimization relies on novel implementation of the Dynamic Programing algorithm, and predictive models of critical phenomena. Electrochemistry based battery aging model is integrated into the framework to assesses the battery aging rate by considering instantaneous lithium ion (Li+) surface concentration rather than average concentration. This creates a large state-action space. Therefore, the computational effort required to solve a Deterministic or Stochastic Dynamic Programming becomes prohibitively intense, and a neuro-dynamic programming approach is proposed to remove …

The Design, Implementation, Evaluation And Results Of A Race Car For The Collegiate Formula Sae Electric Competition, Quinn Jasha Bryan Sullivan

Dissertations and Theses

The Formula SAE Electric competition is a collegiate autocross event in which teams design, build, and race an open-wheeled electric race car. The main motivation is the efficiency advantage of electric motors over internal combustion motors. This thesis presents the design and evaluation of two generations of Portland State University electric race cars.

The constraints are the competition rules, finances, human resources, and time required to complete a race car in one year. The design includes the implementation of existing components: battery cells, controllers, electric motors, drivetrains, and tire data for an optimized race car. Also, several circuits were designed …

Microscale Investigation Of Thermo-Fluid Transport In The Transition Fil, Region Of An Evaporating Capillary Meniscus Using A Microgravity Environment, Kenneth D. Kihm, Jeffrey S. Allen, Kevin P. Hallinan, David M. Pratt

Kevin Hallinan

In order to enhance the fundamental understanding of thin film evaporation and thereby improve the critical design concept for two-phase heat transfer devices, microscale heat and mass transport is to be investigated for the transition film region using state-of-the-art optical diagnostic techniques. By utilizing a microgravity environment, the length scales of the transition film region can be extended sufficiently, from submicron to micron, to probe and measure the microscale transport fields which are affected by intermolecular forces. Extension of the thin film dimensions under microgravity will be achieved by using a conical evaporator made of a thin silicon substrate under …