Current Issue

• 2010, Vol. 1 No. 1
  Published on:19 March 2010    Next issue

  Suggestion for Making Rapid Advances in Automotive Safety in China

  Albert I. KING

  2010, 1(1):  1-5.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.001

  Abstract ( 2885 )   PDF (1498KB) ( 2045 )  

  In order to make rapid advances in automotive safety in China, it is critical that safety engineers designing future vehicles in China should take bold and radical action to skip over the many steps undertaken by previous designers in the process of coming up with a modern and safe vehicle. The current trend of working towards meeting safety standards and relying on anthropomorphic test devices (ATD’s), such as the Hybrid III dummy, as the only guide will inevitably lead to a slow path of progress towards a safer vehicle followed by designers in Europe and the US in the past. This process can be accelerated considerably if the ATD is replaced by a computer model of the human and all designs are based on computer simulations. This will result in a much faster design cycle and a vehicle that is truly safe for the human occupant. Safety standards can still be met through a final crash test involving ATD’s.

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  Developing Advanced Low-Emission and Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Technologies Eyeing 2020 and Beyond

  Yasuhiro DAISHO

  2010, 1(1):  6-13.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.002

  Abstract ( 2239 )   PDF (1801KB) ( 3104 )  

           Ultimately stringent emission regulations will be imposed on gasoline and diesel vehicles between 2010 and 2016 in Japan, the USA and the EU. To comply with these regulations, automakers are being forced to develop ultra low-emission engine systems by optimizing combinations of technologies related to combustion, aftertreatment and fuel. These vehicles are expected to retain their positions as state of the art technologies for two decades to come. Toward 2020 and beyond, more emphasis will be placed on improvements in fuel economy and the use of renewable energy and fuels such as electricity and biofuels to reduce oil dependence in the transportation sector, thereby mitigating global warming. The hybrid vehicle is a very promising alternative option for significantly improving fuel efficiency, followed by the electric vehicle. Cost-effective permanent magnetic motors, lithium-ion batteries and electric and electronic devices are essential for these vehicles. The use of advanced lightweight materials will also be more important to enhance energy efficiency for all vehicle categories. The materials include high-tensile steel, plastics and light metals. Fuel cell vehicle technologies, however, must overcome many difficult and uncertain issues before practical use is possible, although these vehicles possess favorable features and deserve fundamental research. These advanced environmentally friendly motor vehicle technologies should properly be shared among motored and motorizing countries from the viewpoint of global environment.

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  Perspectives of research for enhancing active safety based on advanced control technology

  Masao NAGAI

  2010, 1(1):  14-22.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.003

  Abstract ( 2327 )   PDF (2797KB) ( 2720 )  

           This paper considers the scope and the methodologies for enhancing active safety of road vehicles by sensing and control technologies. First of all, statistical data of traffic accidents in Japan is introduced, and the development of the drive recorder for accident / incident survey and analysis is described. Based on vehicle dynamics data, the algorithm of the drive recorder for capturing near-miss incident data is introduced. The second part of this paper reviews the control problem of vehicle dynamics on micro-scale electric vehicle for enhancing vehicle dynamics and driving assistance function. In particular, the direct yaw moment control using in-wheel-motors and the active front steering control algorithm are described. The third part of the paper introduces the advanced driver assistance system adapted to driver characteristics and traffic situations. This part mainly describes the adaptive system which adjusts the assist maneuver depending on individual driver behavior and situation, and some experimental investigations using the active interface vehicle and driving simulator. Finally, some perspectives and new challenges for future research on vehicle control technology are mentioned.

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  Automotive Safety

  Dynamic response and energy relationship of a passenger’s different parts in vehicle crash

  ZHANG JinHuan, LI ZhiGang, XU ShuCai

  2010, 1(1):  23-29.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.004

  Abstract ( 1987 )   PDF (2228KB) ( 1806 )  

  In order to illustrate the energy distribution of passenger during vehicle crash, a new division of dummy was proposed based on the regulation and NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) on dummy injury criterion both in home and abroad. Some formula about response and energy of each part of a dummy was developed. On this basis, one computer model verified by test was simulated to analyze the ride-down energy and restraint system energy in time and displacement domain. Dynamic response and energy, energy density, ride-down efficiency of four parts of dummy was compared. Finally, the traditional method in which the acceleration of the whole dummy was replaced by the chest acceleration was compared with the new method. The results show that the traditional method produces approximately 10% error, and is not be able to assess the energy change trends, especially after the peak value. The research results have significance in understanding the responses, energy distribution of all parts of the human body, as well as the proper restraint system design.

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  String Stability of Adaptive Cruise Control Systems with Servo-loop Dynamics

  ZHOU Jing, PENG Hui

  2010, 1(1):  30-39.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.005

  Abstract ( 1843 )   PDF (2017KB) ( 2378 )  

  String stability is a fundamental issue that has to be addressed for stable vehicle platooning in intelligent transportation systems. In this paper, the string stability conditions of six Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) algorithms are presented and analyzed. The ACC control system is simplified so it consists of a main-loop control algorithm and a servo-loop approximated by a first-order lag. Six main-loop control laws of increasing complexity are examined, all of which are designed to maintain a desired constant time-headway between vehicles. The infinity norm of the vehicle range error transfer function is used as the metric to assess string stability. It is demonstrated that string stability generally imposes inequality constraints on the main-loop feedback gains and/or the servo-loop time constant. The strictness of these constraints depends on the feedback information employed, as well as the nature of the feedback control design.

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  Intelligent Anti-lock Braking Control of Hybrid Buses

  CHEN Ziqiang, YANG Lin

  2010, 1(1):  40-48.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.006

  Abstract ( 2110 )   PDF (1828KB) ( 2725 )  

  This paper proposes an intelligent anti-lock braking control of hybrid buses through a neuro-fuzzy controller (NFC) by combining the fuzzy logic algorithm and the artificial neural network. The braking torque distribution between the integrating starting generator (ISG) and the friction disc brake is addressed through the proposed NFC. The experimental results show that the braking performance and the braking regeneration can both be optimized through the NFC for vehicle safety and fuel economy.

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  Frontal crashworthiness structure design of mini electric passenger cars

  WANG Dazhi, YU ChengXiang

  2010, 1(1):  49-52.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.007

  Abstract ( 1945 )   PDF (1887KB) ( 2743 )  

  Based on the development of mini electric passenger car made by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Motor, in this paper, the mass allocation and the compartment packaging of the mini electric car are discussed and compared to that of traditional motor car. The load path and the available crash space were specially designed with respect to the concentrated large mass, and then the frontal structure was optimized through Comput Aidd Engineering (CAE) simulations. The results show that the car achieves good structure crashworthiness in full frontal and offset frontal impacts. The load path and structure design method described in this paper can be used for this kind of electric cars’ development.

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  Crash test and safety assessment for compressed natural gas vehicles

  SUN Zhendong, ZHANG Zhending, ZHU Haitao

  2010, 1(1):  53-58.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.008

  Abstract ( 1778 )   PDF (2425KB) ( 2160 )  

  Vehicle crash safety is the first question in automotive development and production process. As compressed natural gas (CNG) automobile has high pressure pipelines and high-pressured gas storage system feature, the CNG automobile should satisfy the traditional crash safety requirements, but also the requirements of corresponding compressed gas system. But there are not requirements regarding the CNG automobile collision standards in China, and it is also at blank in this aspect research. In view of the CNG automobile structure features and the characteristics, we have studied and analyzed related domestic and foreign CNG automobile collision safety rules and test methods and have established the domestic CNG automobile collision security appraisal system. Through the three kind collision modes of four impact tests result analysis to a certain kind vehicle, we have exposed the questions of CNG automobile which exist in the collision security aspect, as well as the improvement methods which we should adopt. It has guiding sense in enhancing CNG automobile safety in China and instituting CNG automobile collision security standard in China.

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  Sliding mode-based DTC-SVM control of propulsion motors for electric

  FU Hong, CHEN Quanshi, TIAN Guangyu

  2010, 1(1):  59-66.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.009

  Abstract ( 2312 )   PDF (2169KB) ( 1864 )  

  Abstract: A motor-gearbox directly coupled integrated powertrain for electric and hybrid vehicles is presented due to its high efficiency, reduced cost and simple structure. At the same time, a direct torque control with space vector modulation (DTC-SVM) technique is applied in the motor controller to meet the need of driving and shift performance. In order to adapt complicated driving environment and improve the robustness of the system, sliding mode-based torque and speed controllers are developed. The stability and robustness of the proposed controllers are analyzed. Computer simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control system. The simulation results illustrate that fast response and small ripples are achieved using the proposed control scheme. It is also shown that the control system is robust against load variations, measurement errors and parameter uncertainty. Therefore, the proposed control scheme is suitable for control of the propulsion motor for plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles.

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  Preparation and application of iron-tetrasulfphthalocyanine in Ni-MH battery

  WANG Fang, WU Feng, CHEN Shi

  2010, 1(1):  67-73.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.010

  Abstract ( 1737 )   PDF (2196KB) ( 2249 )  

  In Ni-MH battery, oxygen evolution causes a high inner pressure during charge and overdischarge, and an inappropriate eliminating way of the oxygen in the battery results in accumulation of heat. This is the main obstacle to develop and apply high capability and high power battery. In this paper, iron-tetrasulfphthalocyanine was prepared and added into batteries as an electrochemical catalyst. Experimental results show that iron-tetrasulfphthalocyanine can effectively activate the gases which are produced during charge in Ni-MH battery, therefore decrease the reduction potential of Oxygen and the oxidation potential of Hydrogen. And the performance of battery was improved significantly. With the aid of DMol3 software, the activation of oxygen and hydrogen by iron-tetrasulfphthalocyanine was simulated and analyzed. From the calculated results the activation process gets a reasonable explanation.

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  Effects of compression ratio and fuel cetane number on ultra-high EGR low temperature diesel combustion

  LI Tie, Masaru Suzuki, Hideyuki Ogawa

  2010, 1(1):  74-82.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.011

  Abstract ( 2227 )   PDF (2387KB) ( 1574 )  

  To analyze the effects of lowered combustion temperature and improved fuel-air mixing with ultra high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on smoke reduction, fuels with five cetane numbers as well as three compression ratios were systematically examined. Smokeless combustion was realized 1) at the “premixed-combustion state” when the premixed duration defined as the period between the end of fuel injection and ignition is larger than 4ºCA regardless of combustion temperature; and also 2) with sufficiently low combustion temperature at the “premixed-combustion transition state” when the premixed duration is between 0 and 4ºCA. A combination of low compression ratio and low cetane number fuel is advantageous to realize smokeless combustion, but the issue with increased pressure rise rate should be addressed. Finally, with optimized intake oxygen concentration, injection timing, compression ratio and cetane number, the operation load range of clean diesel combustion is discussed.

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  Particle number emission from a vehicle diesel engine with biodiesel fuel

  TAN Pi-Qiang, HU Zhi-Yuan, LOU Di-Ming

  2010, 1(1):  83-88.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8484.2010.01.012

  Abstract ( 2276 )   PDF (1785KB) ( 2124 )  

  Biodiesel fuels were used on a direct injection, high pressure common-rail diesel engine. Effects of biodiesel on emissions of exhaust gas and particle number of the diesel engine are studied using an AVL AMA i60 and an Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer (EEPS), respectively. The neat biodiesel, two different blends of petroleum diesel/biodiesel (10% and 20%, v/v biodiesel blends), and the base petroleum diesel (B100, B10, B20 and B0 fuels) were tested without engine modification. For all test fuels, the particle number and size distribution show unimodal or bimodal log-normal distribution. With the biodiesel blend ratios increasing, the number of nucleation mode particles increases and accumulation mode particles decreases, and the total particle number ascend at most engine operating conditions, especially at higher engine load. Nucleation mode particles dominates the total particle number, and accumulation mode particles shows more effects at lower engine load with lower blend ratios of biodiesel fuel.

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