Automotive Science and Engineering

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In this article, rubber bumpers of Double - Wishbone suspension system have been modeled and analyzed. The objective of the present work is to predict the performance of these products during deformation, represent an optimum method to design, obtain stiffness characteristic curves and utilize the results in the automotive suspension dynamic analysis. These parts are nonlinear and exhibit large deformation under loading. They have an important role to limit the motion of wheels and absorb energy. In this study, nonlinear FE model using ABAQUS software was used to obtain the bumper load - displacement curve. Then a laboratory test was done on the bumper to get this curve. The comparison between numerical and experimental results shows a good adaptation. A less than 2 percent difference has been observed between them. Thus, we can use this numerical method to simulate bumpers easily and accurately.

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Parametric design optimization of an automotive body crashworthiness improvement is presented. The thicknesses of parts are employed as design variables for optimization whose objective is to increase the maximum deceleration value of the vehicle center of gravity during an impact. Using the Taguchi method, this study analyzes the optimum conditions for design objectives and the impact factors and their optimal levels are obtained by a range analysis of the experiment results. A full frontal impact is implemented for the crashworthiness simulation in the nonlinear dynamic code, LS-DYNA. The controllable factors used in this study consist of the six inside foreheads structural parts, while design parameters are relevant thicknesses. The most interestingly the maximum deceleration of the vehicle center of gravity is reduced by 20% during a full frontal impact while several parts experience mass reduction.

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This article aims at strategic vision to technology and suggests a strategic planning for this purpose. The main emphasis in this article is on strategic report compilation in the framework of strategic vision and covers issues such as identification of strategic planning dimensions and strategic vision levels, technology priority setting, environment monitoring, focus on costumer needs, methods of strategic vision compilation and future research methods. This article also concentrates on R&D strategies in a separate section. Furthermore, a separate section is dedicated to strategic vision in automotive industry and issues are discussed related to Iran Khodro Co. strategic visions. At the end, a model is presented for strategic vision compilation.

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New product development (NPD) is described in the literature as the transformation of a market opportunity into a product available for sale. In the automotive industry, within the context of ISO/TS16949:2002 (the automotive quality management system international standard),  these related to the product realization process (PRP) which consists of Three main phases such as planning, Implementation and sales, and  five sub-phases called  “Planning”, “Product Design”, “Process Design and Development”, “Product and Process Verification and Validation”, and “Production”. These phases could be done concurrently and have correlated activities.

 There has been a wide range of working in new product development but in automotive section no contributes has been done before. The paper proposes a contribution between the new product development performance factors of a same project in a developed country and developing country. It shows the differences of employee and systems ways of thinking in two above mentioned categories. The  main factors were extracted from literatures which are Goal clarity; Process formalization, Process Concurrency, Iteration, Learning, Team Leadership, Team Experience, Team Dedication, Internal Integration, External integration, Empowerment and Architecture. Having differences of people and systems thinking of new product development process of automotive engineering in two different working stations will be helpful in developing a complete model for performance measurement of a new product development in automotive industry. The questionnaires were made to analyze the value of each factor via employee view and system view and distribute in two different bases. The differences are illustrated in the paper.

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Off-road cars’ windshields are vulnerable to different types of stones, road debris and pebbles due to common off paved and gravel surfaces in which they drive. Any attempt to design windshield that minimizes injury and death of occupants during a vehicle accident requires a thorough understanding of the mechanical behavior of automotive windshield subjected to foreign object impact loads.

In this study, some drop ball tests in different impact energy levels are conducted in order to monitor fracture behavior of an off-road automotive windshield. Also dynamic crack patterns of laminated glasses are examined based on the impact energy levels and impact conditions. In addition, the acceleration which is imposed to impactor during the accident is recorded. The experimental results are compared to an analytical approach regarding the resultant impact force as well. There is a good agreement between the impact forces of experimental test results and analytical approaches ones. All in all, in low velocity impacts, impact energy releases through powdering region in impact area, radial cracks and strain energy in PVB. It is concluded that in lower impact energy levels, the higher impact speed, the more number of radial cracks. In addition, at higher energy levels, number of radial cracks decease due to higher strain energy levels in PVB interlayer. Therefore, in low velocity impacts, number of radial cracks has reverse relationship with penetration depth in PVB interlayer.

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In the current paper, a biomechanical model of human body with unique structure is developed for evaluating the biodynamic responses, the vibration transmissibility and the transmitted accelerations to vertical vibration for the seated position with ignoring backrest support. In this regard, the 6-DoF Lumped-parameter model with six concentrated masses which are connected with linear springs and dampers is presented. Further, the full vehicle model is developed in ADAMS/CAR software in order to utilize the accelerations of seat under various roads excitation for different amount of vehicle speeds. Also, the vibration transmissibility and transmitted accelerations in vertical direction are measured for the different segments of human body including: Pelvis, Abdomen and Diaphragm, Chest, Torso, Back, Head and Neck. Finally, vibration transmissibility and transmitted accelerations due to the roughness of the roads surfaces are investigated for the different segments of human body in frequency domain from 0 to 50 Hz. As it is illustrated the maximum values for transmissibility for different body segments occurred for frequencies equivalent 20 to 30 Hz, it can be concluded that the human body is more sensitive to vibration with frequencies under 30 Hz.

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This article presents a phased array antenna employing MEMS phase shifter. The proposed phased array antenna consists of eight square patch antennas operating at 10.4 GHz with a bandwidth of 400 MHz. Feed line for each patch passes through a MEMS phase shifter realized by a series of bridges above the transmission line. The distance between the bridge and the transmission line underneath it is adjusted using a control signal applied to them, which in turn, introduces a loading effect on the feed signal. This changes the effective length of the feed line and provides phase shifts with 15-degree resolution. Low loss conversion units are employed in order to couple the phase shifter and microstrip lines. The integrated numerical analysis approach applied to phased array antenna employing MEMS phase shifter and the scattering parameters and radiation patterns at different steering angles demonstrate the effectiveness of employing MEMS phase shifters in designing phased array antennas. The proposed design methodology might be applied to other frequency bands, such as millimeter-wave for automotive applications. Employment of MEMS phase shifters instead of solid-state ones provides high linearity, high power handling, and wide frequency range of operation.

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Nowadays, lightweight automotive component design, regarding fuel consumption, environmental pollutants and manufacturing costs, is one of the main issues in the automotive societies. In addition, considering safety reasons, the durability of the automotive components, as one of the most important design requirements should be guaranteed. In this paper, a two-step optimization process including topology and shape optimization of an automotive wheel, as one of the most significant chassis components, is studied. At first, topology optimization method with volume and fatigue life constraints is used to obtain the optimal initial lightweight design, followed by shape optimization technique to improve the fatigue life. The results show 31.841% weight and 33.047% compliance reduction by topology and also 652.33% average minimum fatigue life enhancement, by the shape optimization. Therefore, the proposed two-step optimization method is qualified in designing the lightweight automotive wheel. The method used in this study can be a reference for optimization of other mechanical components.

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In this experimental study, heat transfer and pressure drop, ΔP, of a coolant nanofluid, obtained by adding alumina nanoparticles to Ethylene Glycol-water mixture (60:40 by mass), in a automotive radiator have been investigated. For this purpose, an experimental setup has been designed and constructed. The experiments have been performed for base fluid and nanofluid with different volume fractions of 0.003, 0.006, 0.009 and 0.012 and under laminar regime with various coolant flow rates of 9, 11 and 13 lit/min and two air velocities of 3.75 and 2.85 m/s. The thermophysical properties have been calculated using the recently presented temperature dependent models. According to the results, the heat transfer and ΔP increase with increasing the coolant flow and nanoparticles volume fraction. Increasing the air velocity causes enhancement of heat transfer. Although Nusselt number decreases when nanofluid is utilized, it enhances as the nanoparticles volume fraction increases. The performance evaluation using nanofluid in the car radiator shows remarkable enhancement in radiator thermal efficiency. However, the ratio of heat transfer rate to the needed pumping power (Merit parameter) decreases.

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In this paper, mechanical properties of welded single lap joints of pure aluminum sheets produced by severe plastic deformation (SPD) are considered. SPD in form of a large pre-strain was imposed to aluminum sheets through the constrained groove pressing (CGP) process. Furthermore, CGPed specimens are joined using the resistance spot welding (RSW) method. Welding time and force are maintained evenly. Welding current is raised until ideal failure mode is observed. Finally, mechanical properties of fusion zone, heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal of welded SPDed specimens are derived. The results show that by increasing the pre-strain in specimens, an improvement in yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, load carrying capacity, maximum displacement before failure and nugget diameter is observed. Furthermore, sensitivity of these parameters to CGP pass number is considered. Finally, it has been shown that fusion zone and HAZ hardness values can increase by increasing the CGP pass number.

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As alternatives for future refrigeration, heat pumping, air conditioning, or even power generation plants are emerging due to the regulatory changes, R744 (carbon dioxide) is considered as a serious alternative to be the successor of other Halogenated Hydrocarbons Refrigerants (HHR) for the AC-system of vehicles. This paper investigates the heat transfer performance of R744 through a subcritical vehicular condenser, designed and manufactured for the first product based on NP01 platform (Iranian vehicle), at different operating conditions in terms of refrigerant mass flow rate and wind velocity. The experiments carried out in order to investigate the effect of mass flow rate, the R744 inlet temperature was observed to have sudden fluctuations. At the condenser outlet, for the smallest mass flow rate, the least variation of temperature was observed. It was also found out that for higher air velocities through the condenser, the stabilized temperature after the condenser was lower. The results show that the performance of the designed and manufactured automotive condenser based on R744 refrigerant is acceptable which makes it a suitable candidate for automotive applications.
As alternatives for future refrigeration, heat pumping, air conditioning, or even power generation plants are emerging due to the regulatory changes, R744 (carbon dioxide) is considered as a serious alternative to be the successor of other Halogenated Hydrocarbons Refrigerants (HHR) for the AC-system of vehicles. This paper investigates the heat transfer performance of R744 through a subcritical vehicular condenser, designed and manufactured for the first product based on NP01 platform (Iranian vehicle), at different operating conditions in terms of refrigerant mass flow rate and wind velocity. The experiments carried out in order to investigate the effect of mass flow rate, the R744 inlet temperature was observed to have sudden fluctuations. At the condenser outlet, for the smallest mass flow rate, the least variation of temperature was observed. It was also found out that for higher air velocities through the condenser, the stabilized temperature after the condenser was lower. The results show that the performance of the designed and manufactured automotive condenser based on R744 refrigerant is acceptable which makes it a suitable candidate for automotive applications.
 

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The aim of the study was to examine the deformation modes and also degradation of an adhesively bonded rectangular cross section beam used in the automotive body structure. The study included: (1) performing new experimental investigations on the three-point bend behavior of a rectangular cross section beam made by adhesive bonding method. (2) developing a finite element (FE) model to predict the mechanical load displacement behavior and also the degradation modes (i.e. delamination between the adhesive layer and beam wall). The agreement between experimental and FE results demonstrates that the investigated structural element's numerical model was created utilizing accurate assumptions. Finally, the effects of beam wall thickness and overlap length have been investigated in a parametric study using the validated FE model. It was shown that increasing the beam wall thickness resulted in delamination between the adhesive layer and beam wall.

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This paper presents an inhomogeneous lens to radiate a control-table Fan Shaped pattern for long-range automotive applications. Fan Shaped pattern of the designed lens covers more angles in azimuth. The proposed circular aperture inhomogeneous lens is designed based on the critical angle theorem. The profile of the dielectric constant of the proposed lens changes in 3 directions of ρ, φ, and z. The lens is matched to the source and surroundings. A closed-form formula is offered for an arbitrary fan-shaped pattern lens antenna. A compact circular lens with a diameter of 20 mm and thickness of 2.25 mm is simulated in CST full-wave software to validate the design structure.

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Portfolio optimization is the process of distributing a specific amount of wealth across various available assets, with the aim of achieving the highest possible returns while minimizing investment risks. There are a large number of studies on portfolio optimization in various cases, covering numerous applications; however, none have focused exclusively on the automotive industry as one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the global economy. Since the economic activity of this industry has a coherent pattern with that of the global economy, the automotive industry is very sensitive to the booms and busts of business cycles. Due to the volatile global economic environment and significant inter-industry implications, providing an appropriate approach to investing in this sector is essential. Thus, this paper aims to provide an appropriate approach to investing in this sector. In this study, an extended Conditional Drawdown at Risk (CDaR) model with cardinality and threshold constraints for portfolio optimization problems is proposed, which is highly beneficial in practical portfolio management. The feature of this risk management technique is that it admits the formulation of a portfolio optimization model as a linear programming problem. The CDaR risk functions family also enables a risk manager to control the worst ( 1-α)×100%  drawdowns. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model, a real-world empirical case study from the annual financial statements of automotive companies and their suppliers in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) database is utilized.

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This paper presents a single layer circularly polarized (CP) antenna array based on gap waveguide (GW) technology for automotive radar applications. The antenna element is a curved slot that is cut into the top wall of a groove gap waveguide (GGW) structure. An 8×8 slot array antenna is constructed by combining eight sub-arrays of linearly arranged slots, using an 8-way power divider as the feeding network. The power divider and the transition from WR12 to GGW are also designed based on GW technology. The proposed antenna array operates in the frequency band from 76 GHz to 81 GHz, covering the automotive radar working bandwidth. The antenna has a maximum gain of 23.8 dBi and a minimum axial ratio of 0.5 dB. The antenna performance is verified by simulation using CST Microwave Studio.