Development of Calculation Software for Automotive Side Swing Door Closing Energy

The existing research of the automotive side swing door and the closing angle via tests and simulations. In these tests, the closing energy is mainly conducted by measuring the closing energy door closing velocity and initial door closing angle are usually not taken into consideration, so the accuracy of the test data cannot be ensured, and, meanwhile, simulations require a great deal of manpower and time. Moreover, frequent tests would give rise to the increasing research and development costs. In this paper, in response to the deficiencies of these current methods, the complicated door closing process is decomposed into the closing processes of different subsystems of door, which includes weather strip seal＇, air-binding effect, door weight, hinge, check-link and latch. Mathematical models of those subsystems are established according to their working principles during the door closing process. In addition to the theoretical research, an Excel-based software using Visual Basic Application programming language is developed to realize the mathematical models, which aims to calculate the energy consumption of the subsystems. The energy consumption of different subsystems of a production vehicle door is measured to verify the accuracy of the calculation sottware developed. The proposed research provides not only the theoretical basis for the future door closing energy research, but also an interactive method and system, effectively improving the quality and efficiency of vehicle door design.

Necking of Q&P Steel during Uniaxial Tensile Test with the Aid of DIC Technique

A lot of research has been focused on the necking process during the plastic deformation of sheet metals, but the localized necking is rarely distinguished form diffused necking by experiments, due to the limit of measurement equipment and method. Quenching and Partitioning (Q&P) steel is a 3rd generation advanced high strength steel (AHSS). Its good combination of high strength and ductility ensures potential application in automobile industry. Uniaxial tensile tests of QP980 steel sheet at five strain rates are performed to investigate the necking process and the effect of strain rate on necking behavior of Q&P steel. Digital image correlation (DIC) method is applied during tensile tests, and evolutions of major strain, minor strain and normal strain distributions along gauge section of the tensile specimens are obtained. The diffused and localized necking strains are determined according to SWIFT necking theory and HILL necking theory respectively. The test results indicate that with the increasing of strain rate in the investigated range, the diffused necking strain decreases from 0.152 to 0.120 and localized necking strain decreases from 0.245 to 0.137. Meanwhile, the difference of the two strains decreases form 0.096 to 0.017. Thus it can be concluded that strain rate has an influence on both necking strains during the deformation of QP980 steel sheet. Diffused and localized necking strains are determined by uniaxial tensile tests with the aid of DIC technique and the effect of strain rate on necking strains is evaluated.

Prediction of Cross-Tension Strength of Self-Piercing Riveted Joints Using Finite Element Simulation and XGBoost Algorithm

Self-piercing riveting(SPR)has been widely used in automobile industry,and the strength prediction of SPR joints always attracts the attention of researchers.In this work,a prediction method of the cross-tension strength of SPR joints was proposed on the basis of finite element(FE)simulation and extreme gradient boosting decision tree(XGBoost)algorithm.An FE model of SPR process was established to simulate the plastic deformations of rivet and substrate materials and verified in terms of cross-sectional dimensions of SPR joints.The residual mechanical field from SPR process simulation was imported into a 2D FE model for the cross-tension testing simulation of SPR joints,and cross-tension strengths from FE simulation show a good consistence with the experiment result.Based on the verified FE model,the mechanical properties and thickness of substrate materials were varied and then used for FE simulation to obtain cross-tension strengths of a number of SPR joints,which were used to train the regression model based on the XGBoost algorithm in order to achieve prediction for cross-tension strength of SPR joints.Results show that the cross-tension strengths of SPR steel/aluminum joints could be successfully predicted by the XGBoost regression model with a respective error less than 7.6%compared to experimental values.

Direct Yaw Moment Control for Distributed Drive Electric Vehicle Handling Performance Improvement

For a distributed drive electric vehicle（DDEV） driven by four in-wheel motors, advanced vehicle dynamic control methods can be realized easily because motors can be controlled independently, quickly and precisely. And direct yaw-moment control（DYC） has been widely studied and applied to vehicle stability control. Good vehicle handling performance： quick yaw rate transient response, small overshoot, high steady yaw rate gain, etc, is required by drivers under normal conditions, which is less concerned, however. Based on the hierarchical control methodology, a novel control system using direct yaw moment control for improving handling performance of a distributed drive electric vehicle especially under normal driving conditions has been proposed. The upper-loop control system consists of two parts： a state feedback controller, which aims to realize the ideal transient response of yaw rate, with a vehicle sideslip angle observer; and a steering wheel angle feedforward controller designed to achieve a desired yaw rate steady gain. Under the restriction of the effect of poles and zeros in the closed-loop transfer function on the system response and the capacity of in-wheel motors, the integrated time and absolute error（ITAE） function is utilized as the cost function in the optimal control to calculate the ideal eigen frequency and damper coefficient of the system and obtain optimal feedback matrix and feedforward matrix. Simulations and experiments with a DDEV under multiple maneuvers are carried out and show the effectiveness of the proposed method： yaw rate rising time is reduced, steady yaw rate gain is increased, vehicle steering characteristic is close to neutral steer and drivers burdens are also reduced. The control system improves vehicle handling performance under normal conditions in both transient and steady response. State feedback control instead of model following control is introduced in the control system so that the sense of control intervention to drivers is relieved.

Key Techniques and Applications of Adaptive Growth Method for Stiffener Layout Design of Plates and Shells

The application of the adaptive growth method is limited because several key techniques during the design process need manual intervention of designers. Key techniques of the method including the ground structure construction and seed selection are studied, so as to make it possible to improve the effectiveness and applicability of the adaptive growth method in stiffener layout design optimization of plates and shells. Three schemes of ground structures, which are comprised by different shell elements and beam elements, are proposed. It is found that the main stiffener layouts resulted from different ground structures are almost the same, but the ground structure comprised by 8-nodes shell elements and both 3-nodes and 2-nodes beam elements can result in clearest stiffener layout, and has good adaptability and low computational cost. An automatic seed selection approach is proposed, which is based on such selection rules that the seeds should be positioned on where the structural strain energy is great for the minimum compliance problem, and satisfy the dispersancy requirement. The adaptive growth method with the suggested key techniques is integrated into an ANSYS-based program, which provides a design tool for the stiffener layout design optimization of plates and shells. Typical design examples, including plate and shell structures to achieve minimum compliance and maximum bulking stability are illustrated. In addition, as a practical mechanical structural design example, the stiffener layout of an inlet structure for a large-scale electrostatic precipitator is also demonstrated. The design results show that the adaptive growth method integrated with the suggested key techniques can effectively and flexibly deal with stiffener layout design problem for plates and shells with complex geometrical shape and loading conditions to achieve various design objectives, thus it provides a new solution method for engineering structural topology design optimization.

Investigation on Yield Behavior of 7075‑T6 Aluminum Alloy at Elevated Temperatures

Aluminum alloys have drawn considerable attention in the area of automotive lightweight.High strength aluminum alloys are usually deformed at elevated temperatures due to their poor formability at room temperature.In this work,the yield behavior of 7075 aluminum alloy in T6 temper(AA7075-T6)within the temperature ranging from 25°C to 230°C was investigated.Uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests with the aid of induction heating system were performed to determine the stress vs.strain curves and the yield loci of AA7075-T6 at elevated temperatures,respectively.Von Mises,Hill48 and Yld2000-2d yield criteria were applied to predicting yield loci which were compared with experimentally measured yield loci of the AA7075-T6.Results show that yield stress corresponding to the same equivalent plastic strain decreases with increasing temperature within the investigated temperature range and the shape of yield loci evolves nearly negligibly.The experimental yield locus expands with an increase of equivalent plastic strain at the same temperature and the work hardening rate of AA7075-T6 exhibits obvious stress-state-dependency.The nonquadratic Yld2000-2d yield criterion describes the yield surfaces of AA7075-T6 more accurately than the quadratic von Mises and Hill48 yield criteria,and an exponent of 14 in the Yld2000-2d yield function gives the optimal predictions for the AA7075-T6 at all investigated temperatures.

Studies of High-Efficiency Electrical Steels Used in Electric Vehicle Motors

Application of permanent magnet synchronous motor(PMSM) has been increasingly popular in electric vehicle(EV) area since cost-effective electrical steels were recently discovered.This paper mainly presents the performance and characteristics of EV motors using varieties of high-efficiency electrical steels.At first,the electro-magnetic and mechanical properties of electrical steels are described.Low loss,high induction and excellent mechanical strength are critical criteria to evaluate the electrical steel.However,the gage of electrical steel is a crucial factor to affect the properties.Secondly,the basic principle and algorithm for calculation of efficiency of an EV motor are explained.Finally,the modeling and experimental results for different gages of electrical steel sheets used in EV motors are analyzed.

Cost-efficient Thermal Management for a 48V Li-ion Battery in a Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle

The 48V mild hybrid system is a cost-efficient solution for original equipment manufacturers to meet increasingly stringent fuel consumption requirements.However,hybrid functions such as auto-stop/start and brake regeneration are unavailablewhen a 48V battery is at very low temperature because of its limited charge and discharge capability.Therefore,it is important to develop cost-efficient thermal management to warm-up the battery of a 48V mild hybrid electric vehicle(HEV)to recover hybrid functions quickly in cold climate.Following the model-based“V”process,we first define the requirements and then design different mechanisms to heat a 48V battery.Afterward,we build a 48V battery model in LMS AMESim and conduct co-simulation with simplified battery management system and hybrid control unit algorithms in MATLAB Simulink for analysis.Finally,we carry out a series of vehicle experiments at low temperature and observe the effect of heating to validate the design.Both simulation results and experimental data show that a cold 48V battery placed in a cabin with hot air can be heated effectively in the developed“Enhanced Generator Mode with 48V Battery”mode.The entire design is in a newly developed software that cyclically charges and discharges a 48V battery for quick warm-up in cold temperature without needing any additional hardware such as a heater,making it a cost-efficient solution for HEVs.

A Human Active Lower Limb Model for Chinese Pedestrian Safety Evaluation

A subsystem impactor test for pedestrian lower limb injury evaluation has been brought in China New Car Assessment Protocol(CNCAP).Concerning large anthropometric differences of the people from different countries,the present study aims to establish and validate a finite element lower limb model representing 50th Chinese male size for pedestrian safety research,then compare its biomechanical responses with the general models currently in wide use in the world for pedestrian safety evaluation.Concerning the vehicle-pedestrian impact loading environment,the previously developed lower limb model with three-dimensional muscles was adjusted and validated through the related experiments.Then,the biomechanical responses of the validated model were compared with the Total Human Model for Safety(THUMS)and Advanced Pedestrian Legform Impactor(aPLI)models by combing with four typical vehicles.The results showed that both consistency and significant differences of biomechanical responses existed between the present model and the other two models.The injury measurements of the thigh region of the present model showed extremely large differences with the other two models,while the tibia and Medial Collateral Ligament(MCL)injury measurements show similar values.Thus,it can be concluded that directly using the aPLI or THUMS models for Chinese pedestrian safety evaluation is not robust concerning both kinematic responses and injury measurements.

A Discrete Tire Model for Cornering Properties Considering Rubber Friction

In this paper,a discrete tire model of comering properties for road vehicles relating to tire grip performance,which is important for driving stability and safety,is presented.The proposed tire model combines realistic rubber friction related to velocity and tire grip performance with deformation of the carcass.The model can describe the stress and strain of the carcass and tread,and the rubber friction coefficient at each point of the contact patch,which is affected by the di stribution of the slip velocity.Meanwhile,the model incorporates the effects of the viscoelastic rubber material and power spectrum of the road,which are explicitly reflected in the rubber friction model.First,an improved rubber friction model based on the Persson theory of rubber friction is introduced in this paper.A discrete analytical tire model,which considers carcass compliance and the discretization of the tread,is then proposed.In addition,important phenomena of tire properties arising from the carcass compl iance and rubber friction are analyzed and the effectiveness of the discrete analytical tire model is validated experimentally.The proposed model provides a new way to optimize the grip performance of a tire by adjusting the tire or rubber physical parameters even before the tire is made.

Grouped pair-wise comparison for subjective sound quality evaluation

In subjective sound quality pair-wise comparison evaluation, test time grows with square of the number of sound stimulus. For this reason, subjective evaluation of large quantity of stimulus is difficult to carry out with pair-wise comparison method. A grouped pair-wise comparison （GPC） method is proposed to greatly decrease time and difficult of subjective comparison test, in which stimuli in the whole evaluation corpus are divided into N test groups, with reference-link stimuli configured in each group. Derived from subjective results of each group, final results of all stimuli are reconstructed, and their perceptual attributes of sound quality can be analyzed. With car interior noise as example, realization of subjective sound quality evaluation with GPC method is introduced. The results of GPC evaluation are in good agreement with those obtained from paired comparison and semantic differential methods.