Active roll control of an experimental articulated vehicle

A new experimental articulated vehicle with computer-controlled suspensions is used to investigate the benefits of active roll control for heavy vehicles. The mechanical hardware, the instrumentation, and the distributed control architecture are detailed. A simple roll-plane model is developed and validated against experimental data, and used to design a controller based on lateral acceleration feedback. The controller is implemented and tested on the experimental vehicle. By tilting both the tractor drive axle and the trailer inwards, substantial reductions in normalized lateral load transfer are obtained, both in steady state and transient conditions. Power requirements are also considered. © IMechE 2005.

Implementation of semi-active damping on a tri-axle heavy-vehicle suspension

A semi-active truck damper was developed in conjunction with a commercial shock absorber manufacturer. A linearized damper model was developed for control system design purposes. Open- and closed-loop damper force tracking control was implemented, with tests showing that an open-loop approach gave the best compromise between response speed and accuracy. A hardware-in-the-loop test facility was used to investigate performance of the damper when combined with a simulated quarter-car model. The input to the vehicle model was a set of randomly generated road profiles, each profile traversed at an appropriate speed. Modified skyhook damping tests showed a simultaneous improvement over the optimum passive case of 13 per cent in vertical body acceleration and 8 per cent in dynamic tyre forces. Full-scale vehicle tests of the damper on a heavy tri-axle trailer were carried out. Implementation of modified skyhook damping yielded a simultaneous improvement over the optimum passive case of 8 per cent in vertical body acceleration and 8 per cent in dynamic tyre forces. © IMechE 2008.

An experimental semi-active anti-roll system

The use of anti-roll bars to provide additional roll stiffness and therefore to reduce the trade-off between ride and rollover performance has previously been studied. However, little work has been carried out to investigate the benefits of a switchable roll stiffness. Such a semi-active anti-roll system has the ability to have a low roll stiffness during straight-ahead driving for improved ride performance and high roll stiffness during cornering for improved roll performance. Modelling of such a system is conducted and the model is validated against a semi-active anti-roll system fitted to an experimental vehicle. Experimental and theoretical investigations are used to investigate the performance of such a system with several different strategies employed to switch to the high-stiffness state. The use of an air suspension on the vehicle to roll into corners is also investigated, as is the possibility of exploiting the road layout by allowing the vehicle to be in a low-roll-stiffness configuration during a corner, and then to switch to the high-roll-stiffness configuration midcorner, hence 'locking in' a roll angle. The best rollover performance improvement that was achieved was 12.5 per cent. © IMechE 2008.

Vibration and stress analysis in the presence of structural uncertainty

At medium to high frequencies the dynamic response of a built-up engineering system, such as an automobile, can be sensitive to small random manufacturing imperfections. Ideally the statistics of the system response in the presence of these uncertainties should be computed at the design stage, but in practice this is an extremely difficult task. In this paper a brief review of the methods available for the analysis of systems with uncertainty is presented, and attention is then focused on two particular "non- parametric" methods: statistical energy analysis (SEA), and the hybrid method. The main governing equations are presented, and a number of example applications are considered, ranging from academic benchmark studies to industrial design studies. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Parameter measurement for heavy-vehicle fuel consumption modelling

A mathematical model is developed to predict the energy consumption of a heavy vehicle. It includes the important factors of heavy-vehicle energy consumption, namely engine and drivetrain performances, losses due to accessories, aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, road gradients, and driver behaviour. Novel low-cost testing methods were developed to determine engine and drivetrain characteristics. A simple drive cycle was used to validate the model. The model is able to predict the fuel use for a 371 tractor-semitrailer vehicle over a 4 km drive cycle within 1 per cent. This paper demonstrates that accurate and reliable vehicle benchmarking and model parameter measurement can be achieved without expensive equipment overheads, e.g. engine and chassis dynamometers.

Active steering of a tractor-semi-trailer

This paper develops a path-following steering control strategy for an articulated heavy goods vehicle. The controller steers the axles of the semi-trailer so that its rear end follows the path of the fifth wheel coupling: for all paths and all speeds. This substantially improves low-speed manoeuvrability, off-tracking, and tyre scrubbing (wear). It also increases high-speed stability, reduces 'rearward amplification', and reduces the propensity to roll over in high-speed transient manoeuvres. The design of a novel experimental heavy goods vehicle with three independent hydraulically actuated steering axles is presented. The path-following controller is tested on the experimental vehicle, at low and high speeds. The field test results are compared with vehicle simulations and found to agree well. The benefits of this steering control approach are quantified. In a low-speed 'roundabout' manoeuvre, low-speed off-tracking was reduced by 73 per cent, from 4.25 m for a conventional vehicle to 1.15 m for the experimental vehicle; swept-path width was reduced by 2 m (28 per cent); peak scrubbing tyre forces were reduced by 83 per cent; and entry tail-swing was eliminated. In an 80 km/h lane-change manoeuvre, peak path error for the experimental vehicle was 33 per cent less than for the conventional vehicle, and rearward amplification of the trailer was 35 per cent less. Increasing the bandwidth of the steering actuators improved the high-speed dynamic performance of the vehicle, but at the expense of increased oil flow.

An investigation into the information exchange between a consultant and client company: a case study

This report deals with collaborations of engineering consultants and clients in the automobile industry.

In these relationships three main challenges have been identified which have to be addressed by the consultancies. Therefore, the research takes the viewpoint of the consulting side. The challenges are

(i) the appropriate project goal definition;

(ii) achieving client satisfaction; and

(iii) dealing with international clients.

An investigation of such a relationship carried out on a case study shows that improvements can be achieved through communication support. The ways to do that are proposed.

基于汽车检测线的实时网络监控系统

在介绍汽车检测线系统的基础上,探讨了实时网络监控在汽车检测线上的应用,为了克服检测过程存在较多人为因素的缺点和解决汽车检测场社会化引起的监管问题,提出了通过控制摄像头多角度拍摄监控照片对被检车辆进行身份认证的新方法,该方法可以方便异地监控端实时了解汽车检测线上的各类检测情况,并且有助于保证检测过程的真实有效性

质子交换膜燃料电池在无缆水下机器人上的应用研究

质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)作为一种新兴的能源,在汽车和航天器上已经获得成功的应用,本文针对水下环境和PEMFC的特点,对PEMFC在无缆水下机器人(UUV)上试验应用的关键技术进行讨论.

一种柔性冲压自动化生产线系统的研制

本文介绍了一种用于大型汽车覆盖件冲压生产的柔性自动化生产线，系统由６台压机、１２台上下料机械手、１台翻转传输装置、４台穿梭传输装置及１台磁力分层装置构成．给出了生产线的主要性能指标、机械手结构简图及单元控制系统框图，简要介绍了系统的工作原理。

变速箱试验环线集成控制系统

研究当前国内外变速箱试验系统的特点,基于现代汽车变速箱生产信息化、网络化和柔性化的要求,依托某变速箱装配线项目,针对其试验环线,提出一种具有并行结构的变速箱自动试验环线,并设计基于Device Net的控制系统,探究试验环线的智能控制。该系统已经进入实际应用,可较好地完成变速箱的性能检测以及试验后的数据分析。

基于数字化生产模型的在线故障诊断技术研究

提出了一种基于数字化的生产模型,使用控制图、故障树分析和专家知识,能够进行制造过程实时监控的诊断,该模型提高了故障诊断系统的可靠性,并提供了可实际操作的可视化建模工具。所开发的在线统计过程控制系统能够根据生产事件的监测,动态响应制造过程变化。该系统运用可视化建模工具,根据专家经验进行故障树建模,通过故障树自动生成专家系统诊断规则库,实现诊断知识的自动获取。将该系统应用于汽车变速箱装配过程的检测与故障诊断,验证了方法的有效性。

一种基于多特征融合的汽车变速箱螺栓在线视觉检测系统

本文根据汽车变速箱装配线螺栓检测的要求,结合检测现场的实际图像特点,采用融合灰度投影与颜色直方图两种特征的方法,利用相似性测度的计算方法,设计了一种变速箱螺栓在线装配质量检测系统,该系统用于实现螺栓的的缺失及漏拧检测,试验结果表明,方法具有良好的实用性,取得了比较理想的效果。