Automotive Engineering Commons^™

Traffic Light Detection And V2i Communications Of An Autonomous Vehicle With The Traffic Light For An Effective Intersection Navigation Using Mavs Simulation, Mahfuzur Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Intersection Navigation plays a significant role in autonomous vehicle operation. This paper focuses on enhancing autonomous vehicle intersection navigation through advanced computer vision and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication systems. The research unfolds in two phases. In the first phase, an approach utilizing YOLOv8s is proposed for precise traffic light detection and recognition, trained on the Small-Scale Traffic Light Dataset (S2TLD). The second phase establishes seamless connectivity between autonomous vehicles and traffic lights in a simulated Mississippi State University Autonomous Vehicle Simulation (MAVS) environment resembling a small city with multiple intersections. This V2I system enables the transmission of Signal Phase and Timing …

Comparison Of Methods For Estimating Instantaneous Turn Radius Of Ackermann Steering Vehicles, Kenneth Gennaro Stutts

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The instantaneous turn radius of an Ackermann steering vehicle is the distance to a point in space about which the vehicle will travel in an arc during a turn. There are at least six ways to estimate instantaneous turn radius and each method uses different inputs and has distinct advantages and disadvantages. In this thesis, six different methods will be used to estimate the instantaneous turn radius of a vehicle traveling on a closed circuit. This testing will clarify similarities and differences between the methods. This thesis clarifies which method will be the most appropriate for a given set of …

Experimental Study On The Impact Of Low Thermal Inertia Thermal Barrier Coatings On Ppci-Diffusion Gci Combustion, Kunal Vedpathak

All Theses

The application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) has been studied in homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI), conventional diesel combustion (CDC), and spark ignition (SI). Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) combines the low soot and NOx emissions of HCCI with combustion controllability through fuel stratification. GCI has become an interesting prospect due to the reduction in gasoline consumption due to the electrification and hybridization of the light-duty sector. It can be used as a preferred combustion mode in heavy-duty engines to reduce emissions with minimal modifications. GCI exhibits better combustion efficiency than HCCI. Advances in material technology have combined low thermal conductivity …

Av Operation And Energy Efficiency Improved Through The Evaluation And Demonstration Of Av Sensor Technology, Nicholas Brown

Dissertations

The majority of states have passed legislation or have signed an executive order enacting safe testing, development, and deployment of level 4 and level 5 autonomous vehicles (AVs) in accordance with SAE standard J3016, which has led to an increase in the frequency of AV testing. The major driving force behind the push for AVs on public roads appears to be the increases the number of AVs on the road to decrease the chances of fatalities from distracted drivers. There are reports of disengagement from companies, which are required to report them to operate within California. The continuance of disengagements …

Advancing Winter Weather Adas: Tire Track Identification And Road Snow Coverage Estimation Using Deep Learning And Sensor Integration, Parth Kadav

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Cfrp Delamination Density Propagation Analysis By Magnetostriction Theory, Brandon Eugene Williams

All Dissertations

While Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) have exceptional mechanical properties concerning their overall weight, their failure profile in demanding high-stress environments raises reliability concerns in structural applications. Two crucial limiting factors in CFRP reliability are low-strain material degradation and low fracture toughness. Due to CFRP’s low strain degradation characteristics, a wide variety of interlaminar damage can be sustained without any appreciable change to the physical structure itself. This damage suffered by the energy transfer from high- stress levels appears in the form of microporosity, crazes, microcracks, and delamination in the matrix material before any severe laminate damage is observed. This …

Controlled Manipulation And Transport By Microswimmers In Stokes Flows, Jake Buzhardt

All Dissertations

Remotely actuated microscale swimming robots have the potential to revolutionize many aspects of biomedicine. However, for the longterm goals of this field of research to be achievable, it is necessary to develop modelling, simulation, and control strategies which effectively and efficiently account for not only the motion of individual swimmers, but also the complex interactions of such swimmers with their environment including other nearby swimmers, boundaries, other cargo and passive particles, and the fluid medium itself. The aim of this thesis is to study these problems in simulation from the perspective of controls and dynamical systems, with a particular focus …

Husker Motorsports Active Drag Reduction System, Creighton Hughes, Evan Killian, Micah Busboom, Aj Johnson, Jude Steffen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Formula SAE is a multifaceted competition that involves student teams designing and competing with an open-wheel style race car. There are 5 different dynamic events included in the competition. Each event requires a unique aerodynamic setup to have the best performance possible. This design project focuses on a drag reduction system (DRS) that will improve aerodynamic performance, resulting in faster lap times and increased competitiveness. Key features include a direct electronic actuation mechanism that will allow the rear wing to be adjusted during a race. The benefits of the DRS system, include increased speed, improved handling, and greater fuel efficiency …

Creation And Validation Of A Novel Bayesian Calibration Method With Griddy Gibbs Sampling, Hannah Stewart

All Theses

Computer models of physical systems are widely used in lieu of, or in tandem with, experimental testing. It is critical to verify the accuracy of computer models through the process of calibration. Typical calibration methods are often computationally expensive and therefore cannot be performed in real time. This thesis presents a novel Bayesian calibration method using a Griddy Gibbs sampling algorithm to improve calibration speeds. This method was verified in two applications: a location-dependent dataset in the heat transfer analysis of an engine piston, and time-dependent tire forces in a drum test. The proposed method was directly compared to a …

Safe Navigation Of Quadruped Robots Using Density Functions, Andrew Zheng

All Theses

Safe navigation of mission-critical systems is of utmost importance in many modern autonomous applications. Over the past decades, the approach to the problem has consisted of using probabilistic methods, such as sample-based planners, to generate feasible, safe solutions to the navigation problem. However, these methods use iterative safety checks to guarantee the safety of the system, which can become quite complex. The navigation problem can also be solved in feedback form using potential field methods. Navigation function, a class of potential field methods, is an analytical control design to give almost everywhere convergence properties, but under certain topological constraints and …

Experimental Investigation Of Low Thermal Inertia Thermal Barrier Coatings For Spark Ignition Engines, John Gandolfo

All Theses

The application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) in spark ignition (SI) engines has historically been avoided due to the knock penalty associated with higher surface temperatures induced by the ceramic layer. However, advances in low thermal inertia coatings (i.e., temperature swing coatings) that combine low thermal conductivity with low volumetric heat capacity can prevent excessively high surface temperatures during the intake stroke and reduce or avoid knock while improving performance and efficiency. This thesis experimentally evaluates the effectiveness of these low thermal inertia coatings in a single-cylinder research engine representative of modern SI engines.

First, four pistons coated with a …

Building An Application Model For Efficient Ride Booking In Ride-Hailing Industry, Nikunjkumar Butani

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop an efficient ride booking application in the ride-hailing sector. The objective of the research is to provide users with an easy way to book rides at reasonable prices and convenient times. This project helps to promote the ride-hailing industry by providing guidance for the creation of real-time applications. This project answered three questions. 1. What are the technology and infrastructure requirements for developing a consolidated online application for centralized ride sharing? 2. What are other examples of application aggregators in other industries than transportation and how do they work? 3. What are …

Framing Automation Trust: How Initial Information About Automated Driving Systems Influences Swift Trust In Automation And Trust Repair For Human Automation Collaboration, Scott Anthony Mishler

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The study examines how trust in automation is influenced by initial framing of information before interaction and how later active calibration methods can further influence trust repair or dampening after an automation error in a three-experiment study. As more human drivers begin to use automated driving systems (ADSs) for the first time, their initial understanding of the system can influence their trust leading to a miscalibration of trust. Prior studies have investigated how trust develops through interactions with an automated system, but few have looked at integrating swift trust and framing to calibrate trust before interaction and investigate further active …

Methods For Control Of The Technical And Operational Parameters Of Vehicles, Erkin Uljaev, Utkirjon Murodillaevich Ubaydullaev

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The necessity of automating the control and evaluation of the technical and operational indicators of motor vehicles (ATS) is substantiated. A classification of the main technical and operational indicators of vehicles has been carried out. Motor vehicles can be classified according to dimensions, weight, carrying capacity, cross-country ability, speed, maneuverability and other indicators. A brief review and analysis of well-known technical means of foreign firms, designed to automate the control and evaluation of the technical and operational indicators of vehicles and agricultural machinery, has been carried out. It is noted that more than 90% of the considered devices and means …

Mathematical Model Of An Industrial Robot Built On The Basis Of Linear Motion Mechatron Modules, Matyokubov Nurbek Rustamovich, Rakhimov Temurbek Omonboyevich

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The use of Industry 4.0 technologies in modern production serves to increase production efficiency. Robots and robotic complexes with innovative intelligent control are widely used in industrial production. However, studying their mechanical part, linear motion mechatronic modules and control system is a complex object. The variety and complexity of control methods and operating modes negatively affects the operator's working time and production productivity. In such cases, it is necessary to improve control methods and develop technologies used in industry, including robots and robotic manipulators, which allow to perform short movements with high accuracy and speed. In the article, the mathematical …

Life Cycle Energy Assesment Of Advanced Fiber Reinforced Composite Design And Manufacturing Methodologies, Urjit Lad

All Theses

Automotive industry at large is focused on vehicle light-weighting since a 6%-8% increase in fuel efficiency can be achieved with a 10% reduction in vehicle weight [1]. With the growing demand for cost-effective and sustainable light weighting of automobile structures, interest has increased in the application of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) composites for use in the Body-in-White (BiW), which can account for up to 40% of the total vehicle weight. Traditional FRP composite manufacturing processes like vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, autoclave consolidation or use of automated fiber placement have been successfully used for marine and aerospace applications. However, these …

Virtual Prototyping And Validation For Autonomous Assistive Mobility, Amogh Venkataramana Reddy

All Theses

Physical disability in humans is something that no one has control over. It is catastrophic for people to experience it, and sometimes hinders them from enjoying the essence of life. Though disability is something people have no control over, they do have control on how they can go forward and make life beautiful and meaningful. Wheelchairs have helped people with disabilities in mobility, allowing them to move around with the help of others or sometimes on their own. This research will focus on development of an autonomous assistive mobility robot to help the disabled using virtual prototyping tools for development …

Attention And Task Engagement During Automated Driving, James Richard Unverricht

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many young drivers suffer fatal crashes each year in the United States at a rate approximately three times greater than more experienced drivers. Automated driving systems may serve to mitigate young drivers high crash rates but remain underexplored in research. This dissertation project examined the effects of levels of automation and interestingness of auditory clips on latent hazard anticipation in young drivers during simulated driving. Participants drove a vehicle at varying levels of vehicle automation (SAE Level 0, 2, or 3) in simulated scenarios, each containing a latent hazard event during which a boring, neutral, or interesting auditory clip was …

Multiphysics Diesel Aftertreatment System Modeling For Reduced Emissions From Hybrid Electric Heavy-Duty Powertrains, Uday Srivastav

All Theses

Hybridization of heavy-duty on-road vehicles presents an opportunity to significantly reduce internal combustion engine emissions in real-world operation. These gains can be realized through the coordination of the electric drive, engine, and aftertreatment systems. Accurate Multiphysics models of all powertrains sub-systems are required to achieve the goal of reduced emissions. This research aims to develop a model of a highly complex diesel engine aftertreatment system. This study focuses on utilizing transient data for calibration and validation of the aftertreatment system and reducing the run time when compared to real-time experiments. The calibration focuses on two physical phenomena, thermal behavior and …

Solar-Powered Mobility: Charting The Course For A Brighter Future With Solar Vehicles, Ravi Nayak

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Solar-powered vehicles utilize photovoltaic panels to harness solar energy, offering a promising solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable transportation. This research project focused on the challenges and limitations of solar-powered vehicles and aims to provide solutions for their widespread adoption. The research questions explored in this study are: (Q1) How do different geographical locations and climate regions affect the feasibility and practicality of solar-powered vehicles due to variations in sunlight availability? (Q2) How has the adoption of solar-powered vehicles contributed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions? (Q3) What policies and incentives can promote the adoption of …

Integrated Energy-Aware Motion Planning And Charge Scheduling Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Hayleyesus Alemayehu

All Theses

The growing demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is driven by their operational convenience, cost-effectiveness, availability, and adaptability to various scenarios. In energy-constrained environments, optimizing energy consumption and ensuring a continuous power supply for UAVs is crucial for mission success. The objective of this thesis is to address this issue by integrating energy-aware motion planning and charge scheduling for UAVs by utilizing a charger hosted on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), whose rendezvous locations and routes are jointly computed to minimize overall energy consumption.

This thesis proposes a hierarchical trajectory and control framework comprising local and global planners for each …

Energy-Aware Coordination Of Automated Vehicles, Nathan Goulet

All Dissertations

Energy is an inherently limited resource for two reasons: the sources utilized to obtain energy are limited; and the methods used most often to convert energy also generate pollutants that the planet has a limited capacity to absorb or compensate for without adverse effects. Efficiently utilizing energy is, therefore, an important topic. As around 16% of the energy consumed in the United States is by light vehicles, a significant impact can be made if vehicle energy consumption is reduced. The advent of connected and automated vehicles offers unprecedented opportunities to optimize their behavior with respect to energy consumption through trajectory …

Improved Vehicle-Bridge Interaction Modeling And Automation Of Bridge System Identification Techniques, Omar Abuodeh

All Dissertations

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognizes the necessity for cost-effective and practical system identification (SI) techniques within structural health monitoring (SHM) frameworks for asset management applications. Indirect health monitoring (IHM), a promising SHM approach, utilizes accelerometer-equipped vehicles to measure bridge modal properties (e.g., natural frequencies, damping ratios, mode shapes) through bridge vibration data to assess the bridge's condition. However, engineers and researchers often encounter noise from road roughness, environmental factors, and vehicular components in collected vehicle signals. This noise contaminates the vehicle signal with spurious modes corresponding to stochastic frequencies, impacting damage monitoring assessments. Thus, an efficient and reliable SI …

An Advanced Simulation Architecture For Testing Autonomous And Connected Vehicles Enabled By Virtual Reality, Defu Cui

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

With the advancement of intelligent transportation systems, autonomous driving and connected driving are seen as potential solutions to alleviate traffic congestion, enhance traffic safety, and improve efficiency. Extensive testing and validation of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and connected vehicles (CVs) including connected autonomous vehicles are crucial to ensure their safety and reliability. However, testing and validating AVs and CVs on public roads faces challenges such as high costs, inadequate support from transportation infrastructure with communication technologies, and safety concerns, among others. Simulations have become essential tools for testing autonomous driving and connected driving. As mixed traffic involves multiple domains including traffic …

Topological Interpolation Method For Modeling Dynamic Systems, Isamiddin Xakimovich Siddikov, Dilnoza Maxamadjanovna Umurzakova

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The method of simulation structural-complex continuous-discrete control systems is discussed. For simulation and calculation of dynamic processes in continuous-discrete systems topological interpolation method is proposed, based on application of hybrid methods of space of state variables and interpolation of signals. The essence of the method is that the dynamics of the investigated system, considered at the final interval, is broken down into subintervals, on each of which the processes are described by linear ordinary system differential equations. The computational efficiency of the proposed method was evaluated by comparison with standard methods such as the Runge-Kutta-Merson method. The use of this …

Thermoplastics Foams: An Automotive Perspective, Sai Aditya Pradeep, Srishti Shukla, Nathaniel Brown, Srikanth Pilla

Publications

The automotive industry has witnessed a massive shift in terms of materials used, ranging from being a metallic heavyweight in the 1950s to employing a hybrid sandwich of multiple material systems. This apparent shift can be attributed to achieving improvements in performance, safety and fuel efficiency, along with responding to the various environmental regulations imposed by different governments. The recent advocacy of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 54.5 MPG by 2025 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1] has spurred the sector at large towards the use of lightweight materials.

On The Measurement Of Nakazima Testing Based Out-Of-Plane Forming Limit Curves Using 2d Digital Image Correlation, Akshat Agha, Fadi Abu-Farha

Publications

The strain compensation method for measuring in-plane forming limit curves (FLCs) using 2D digital image correlation developed previously [A method of measuring in-plane forming limit curves using 2D Digital Image Correlation, SAE Int. J. Mater. Manf., 2023] was modified and extended to more versatile and popular out-of-plane FLCs. The current study introduces a straightforward strain compensation technique for measuring Nakazima testing based out-of-plane FLCs utilizing an affordable single-camera (2D) DIC system. In this study, forming tests are performed on two automotive-grade sheet metal alloys: DP980 steel and a 6xxx series aluminum alloy using the Nakazima test method. The experiments are …

Composites 4.0: Enabling The Modernization Of Legacy Manufacturing Assets In South Carolina, Amit Makarand Deshpande, Gayatri Keskar, Sai Aditya Pradeep, Saeed Farahani, Srikanth Pilla

Publications

Composites 4.0 is the implementation of Industry 4.0 concepts to plastics and composites manufacturing with the goal to overcome the complexities associated with these materials. Due to very complex process-structure-property relationships associated with plastics and composites, a wide range of process parameters need to be tracked and monitored. Furthermore, these parameters are often affected by the tool and machinery, human intervention and variability and should thus, be monitored by integrating intelligence and connectivity in manufacturing systems. Retrofitting legacy manufacturing systems with modern sensing and control systems is emerging as one of the more cost-effective approaches as it circumvents the substantial …

Improving Autonomous Vehicles Operational Performance Using Resilience Engineering, Johan Fanas Rojas

Dissertations

Autonomous vehicles are expected to revolutionize the transportation industry by providing a safer and more efficient means of transportation. However, as autonomous vehicles are deployed on public roads, they are exposed to significant risks, both in terms of safety and system performance. Recent studies have highlighted a range of errors and accidents associated with autonomous vehicles, underscoring the need for a systematic approach to improve their operational resilience. Resilience engineering, a discipline focused on designing and analyzing complex systems to better cope with unexpected events and disruptions, offers a promising framework for addressing these challenges. Despite the potential benefits of …

Enabling Energy Efficiency In Connected And Automated Vehicles Through Predictive Control Techniques, Farhang Motallebiaraghi

Dissertations

The transportation sector is a significant contributor to global energy consumption and emissions, necessitating the development of sustainable transportation systems. In this regard, connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) have emerged as a potential solution to transform the transportation industry. By harnessing advanced mapping and location technologies, Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication, CAVs offer the promise of improving efficiency, reducing traffic congestion, and enhancing safety and comfort. However, the adoption of CAVs also brings about various challenges, including energy efficiency concerns that need to be addressed to fully realize their potential benefits. This dissertation investigates energy-efficient control techniques for transportation …