Search results for "Automotive engineering"
showing 10 items of 483 documents
Integrated Mathematical Model of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack (PEMFC) with Automotive Synchronous Electrical Power Drive
2008
In this work, the mathematical dynamical model of a PEMFC stack has been developed and implemented in Matlab environment. Lots of simulations have been executed in two different load conditions. Firstly with a resistive load and finally with a synchronous electrical power drive in automotive load conditions. The innovation in this field consists in the integration in PEMFC stack mathematical dynamic model of a synchronous electrical power drive one for automotive purposes. As regards the simulations with a synchronous electrical power drive, the complete mathematical model allows to evaluate the PEMFC stack performances and electrochemical efficiency. This represents a useful design tool.
Test cycles for the characterization of electrical drives devoted to wheelchair applications
2003
Today electrical wheelchairs are giving valuable increase of the quality of life of disabled people in developed countries. Despite the increasing diffusion of such an aid tool, specific standards for the characterization of their electric drives are not so developed as those available for urban electric vehicles. This paper presents a proposal for the test characterization of a wheelchair drive by means of test cycles with fixed speed trajectories. To this aim, the method, which is well known in the field of automobiles, has been purposely adapted and the obtained simulation results are satisfactory.
UPS fuel cell based: An innovative back-up system
2007
The aim of the paper is to evaluate the technical feasibility and aspects related to the use, in an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), of fuel cells instead of traditional electrochemical batteries. The proposed system, named UPS-FCB (Fuel Cell Based) presents a modular and versatile system configuration; particularly it is possible to integrate it with traditional UPS. Moreover the system features can be modified in terms of power, reliability, back-up time, etc., by changing the power devices. A detailed experimental analysis has been carried out on a passive stand-by UPS integrated with a FCB; experimental results can be easily extended to the other possible system architectures. © 2007…
A nonlinear dynamical approach to the path correction of multi-steering articulated vehicles
2020
When designing articulated tractor-trailer systems, engineers should take care to contrast some undesired phenomena associated with the lateral dynamics: the path off-tracking, namely the trajector...
Proof of concept of wayside railroad wheel inspection using a laser-air hybrid ultrasonic technique
2003
Non-destructive inspection of railroad wheels is performed in maintenance shops, where wheels are removed and inspected individually. No technique is yet available to the railroad industry to perform wayside inspections of wheels on a moving train. The characteristics of laser and air-coupled ultrasound are discussed to justify the use of a laser-air hybrid ultrasonic technique. Laser generation of ultrasound is combined with air-coupled detection to provide a flexible non-contact and remote technique that would enable the railroad industry to perform wayside inspections of moving railroad wheels. The present paper describes Proof of Concept set-up and results of the experiments performed a…
A Refined Model for Knock Onset Prediction in Spark Ignition Engines Fueled With Mixtures of Gasoline and Propane
2015
In the last decade, gaseous fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas (NG), widely spread in many countries, thanks to their prerogative of low cost and reduced environmental impact. Hence, bi-fuel engines, which allow to run either with gasoline or with gas (LPG or NG), became very popular. Moreover, as experimentally demonstrated by the authors in the previous works, these engines may also be fueled by a mixture of gasoline and gas, which, due to the high knock resistance of gas, allow to use stoichiometric mixtures also at full load, thus drastically improving engine efficiency and pollutant emissions with respect to pure gasoline operation without noticeable power los…
Computer active control of damping fluid of a racing superbike suspension scheme for road safety improvement spin-off
2008
This paper describes in detail a computational investigation of a newly-conceived scheme of hydraulic active racing motorcycle suspension and its design application based on a computer-aided control of damping fluid. Through ad hoc tests on a full-scale model setup and the theoretical approach of a non linear 8th-order suspension scheme, this study gives enhancement of the damping fluid active control on the feedback branch of the entire control system for significant improvement of the suspension response to typical road inputs. Briefly, the fluid flow in suspension dampers - generated through well-suited high-pressure hydraulic circuit - shall be conveniently controlled in direction and m…
Optimization of a Vehicle Shape by CFD Code
2005
In this paper, fluid dynamics simulations have been executed using a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) commercial code, on a Maserati Biturbo mod. 222 - 1988. At first some surfaces are optimised, choosing the more important ones for the reduction of the resistance, by a manual variation of their geometry, hence a large surface is optimised in an automatic way, by means of an own software, developed in the MatLab environment, returning the optimised surface according to a specific objective function (the resistance in this paper). The aerodynamics resistance results are given under the form of aerodynamics penetration coefficient CD, taking into account the vehicle shape effect, the speed,…
Simulation approach for improving CNC milling machines accuracy for single axis motion
2010
CNC milling machines are widely used in manufacturing processes. In time, their accuracy is decreasing, which directly influences the accuracy of the manufactured parts. This research proposes a simulation-based method for improving the accuracy of the above mentioned machines, which is suitable to be applied at the shop floor level. A model of the feed drive, using a dc servomotor as actuator, is the core of the proposed approach. Matlab & Simulink based simulation diagrams were built in order to test the behavior of the system.
Why do older drivers reduce driving? Findings from three European countries
2003
The objective of this study was to find out the reasons, which lead drivers to reduce their driving in varying cultural settings. Data on the prevalence of reduced driving, the reasons for and factors associated with reduced driving were obtained from Finnish, German and Italian home-dwelling active drivers (n=710) aged 55 and older. The subjects were interviewed in autumn 1995 at their homes with a standardized questionnaire as a part of the European project Keeping the Elderly Mobile: Technology to Meet Their Outdoor Mobility Needs. In the Finnish and German samples 62% and in the Italian sample 44% of the active drivers stated that they had reduced their driving. These persons drove fewe…