<p> </p><p>As technique and requirement of today’s products keeps expending, Acreo AB has been researching for automotive radar that fulfills these requirements, e.g. higher resolution, faster system and lower cost.</p><p>The purpose of this master thesis work has been to evaluate a previous design and implement changes. The work has resulted in a PCB card that will be used to compare the performance between two radar modules. The demonstrator has been developed in two versions – first based on the existing GaAs-chipset (Gallium Arsenide) and a second with the inclusion of a low cost SiGe-chipset (Silicon Germanium).</p><p>The outcome of this work proves that some requirements cannot be fulfilled and therefore a next-generation radar demonstrator has been proposed. The new radar demonstrator includes changes that can fulfill the requirements.</p><p> </p>

<p>The ambition to lower fuel consumption has been a goal for the vehicle industrysince many years.  During the first oil crisis in the seventies this first came intolight and it has become more relevant during the last years climate change debate.Fuel costs are also an issue.  Reducing lifetime costs, in which fuel is 30 %, givesa competitive advantage to the vehicle producer.  Over the years the drive trainhas been made efficient to the point where a reduction in fuel consumption due toimprovements in the drive train is highly expensive to develop.  The fact that thedriver behavior is a big factor in the vehicle’s fuel consumption has recently comeinto attention.  This master thesis has been performed at Scania in Södertälje andpresents a way to give the driver advice in advance of difficult road segments.  Theadvice will help the driver drive in a fuel efficient manner. Focus is put on a specificcase where the vehicle approaches a downhill and advice is given for the driver tolet the vehicle coast up to the start of the downhill so that the vehicle can regainits speed in the downhill.  The detection of the downhill is made with look-aheadtechnology where a GPS and a digital 3D road map makes the topography of theroad segment ahead available.</p>

<p>Reversing with a trailer is very difficult and many drivers hesitate to even try it. This thesis examines if active steering, particularly AFS (Active Front Steering), can be used to provide assistance.</p><p>For analysis and controller design a simple geometric model of car and trailer is used. The model seems to be accurate enough at the low speeds relevant for trailer reversing. It is shown that the only trailer dependent model parameter can be estimated while driving. This enables use with different trailers.</p><p>Different schemes to control the system are tested. The main approach is to use the steering wheel as reference for some appropriate output signal, for example the angle between car and trailer. This makes reversing with a trailer more like reversing without a trailer. To turn left, the driver simply turns the steering wheel left and drives. Test driving, as well as theoretical analysis, shows that the resulting system is stable. Of the eight drivers that have tested this type of control, five found it to be a great advantage while two considered it more confusing than helpful.</p><p>A major problem with this control approach has to do with the way AFS is constructed. With AFS, the torque required to turn the front wheels results in a reaction torque in the steering wheel. Together with the reference tracking controllers, this makes the steering wheel unstable. Theoretical analysis implies that this problem has to be solved mechanically. One solution would be to combine AFS with electric power steering.</p><p>This thesis also presents a trajectory tracking scheme to autonomously reverse with a trailer. Starting from the current trailer position and the desired trajectory an appropriate turning radius for the trailer is decided. Within certain limits, this will stabilize the car as well. The desired trajectory can be programmed beforehand, but it can also be saved while driving forward. Both variants have been tested with good results.</p>

Road and rail vehicles and aircraft rely mainly or solely on friction brakes. These brakes pose several problems, especially in hybrid vehicles: significant wear, fading, complex and slow actuation, lack of fail-safe features, increased fuel consumption due to power assistance, and requirement for anti-lock controls. To solve these problems, a contactless magnetic brake has been developed. This concept includes a novel flux-shunting structure to control the excitation flux generated by permanent magnets. This brake is wear-free, less-sensitive to temperature than friction brakes, has fast and simple actuation, and has a reduced sensitivity to wheel-lock. The present dissertation includes an introduction to friction braking, a theory of eddy-current braking, analytical and numerical models of the eddy-current brake, its excitation and power generation, record of experimental validation, investigation and simulation of the integration of the brake in conventional and hybrid vehicles.

Dealing properly with electronics and software will be a strong competitive advantage in the automotive sector in the near future. Electronics are driving current innovations and are at the same time becoming a larger part of the cost of the vehicle. In order to be successful as an automotive manufacturer, innovations must be introduced in the vehicle without compromising the final price tag. Also, the electronics has to compete with, and win over, the dependability of well known and proven mechanical solutions. Structure related costs can be reduced by designing a modular system, volume related costs can be reduced by utilizing fewer electronic control units that shares software performing a variety of functions. To achieve a modular system careful consideration must be applied in the architecture design process. Architecting is commonly referred to as an art, performed in a qualitative manner. This thesis provides a quantitative method for architecture design and evaluation targeting modular architectures. The architecture design method is based on a simple underlying information model. This model is extended through practical experiences in case studies to include support for configuration and documentation. An information model is a key enabler for managing the increasing complexity of automotive embedded systems. The model provides the basis for establishing the analyzable documentation that is required to ensure the dependability of the systems, specifically in terms of need for reliability, maintainability and safety. An information model supports traceability both within the product, across components, and also between different organizational units using different views of the product throughout the lifecycle. Further, some general issues of systems engineering and model based development related to the engineering of automotive embedded systems are discussed. Considerations for introducing a model based development process are covered. Also, the maturity of development processes and requirements on tools in an automotive context are evaluated. The ideas and methods presented in this thesis have been developed and tried in an industrial setting through a range of case studies. / QC 20101027

University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Computer and Information Science

As technique and requirement of today’s products keeps expending, Acreo AB has been researching for automotive radar that fulfills these requirements, e.g. higher resolution, faster system and lower cost. The purpose of this master thesis work has been to evaluate a previous design and implement changes. The work has resulted in a PCB card that will be used to compare the performance between two radar modules. The demonstrator has been developed in two versions – first based on the existing GaAs-chipset (Gallium Arsenide) and a second with the inclusion of a low cost SiGe-chipset (Silicon Germanium). The outcome of this work proves that some requirements cannot be fulfilled and therefore a next-generation radar demonstrator has been proposed. The new radar demonstrator includes changes that can fulfill the requirements.

The ambition to lower fuel consumption has been a goal for the vehicle industrysince many years.  During the first oil crisis in the seventies this first came intolight and it has become more relevant during the last years climate change debate.Fuel costs are also an issue.  Reducing lifetime costs, in which fuel is 30 %, givesa competitive advantage to the vehicle producer.  Over the years the drive trainhas been made efficient to the point where a reduction in fuel consumption due toimprovements in the drive train is highly expensive to develop.  The fact that thedriver behavior is a big factor in the vehicle’s fuel consumption has recently comeinto attention.  This master thesis has been performed at Scania in Södertälje andpresents a way to give the driver advice in advance of difficult road segments.  Theadvice will help the driver drive in a fuel efficient manner. Focus is put on a specificcase where the vehicle approaches a downhill and advice is given for the driver tolet the vehicle coast up to the start of the downhill so that the vehicle can regainits speed in the downhill.  The detection of the downhill is made with look-aheadtechnology where a GPS and a digital 3D road map makes the topography of theroad segment ahead available.

This thesis presents a numerical method of predicting both static and dynamic denting phenomena in automotive body panels. The finite element method is used as a predictive tool to assess panel performance prior to production of tooling. A custom software package has been developed to transform existing finite element forming models into ready-to-run finite element denting models, minimising the effort required to perform dent simulations. Over 50 multi-step finite element models were performed. Each of these models simulated the forming, springback and subsequent denting of either 1. 05mm thick AA5754, or0. 81mm, 0. 93mm or 1. 00mm thick AA6111 aluminum sheet. Experimental validation of dent predictions using this method has shown that the trends in both static and dynamic dent resistance have been captured quite well. These validation studies demonstrated the sensitivity of the results to various parameters such as panel thickness, pre-strain, curvature and thickness, as well as numerical formulation parameters. It has been determined that it is particularly important to use forming data within the denting models for accurate results to be obtained.

An examination of static and dynamic dent resistance of structural panel assemblies representing automotive hoods is described in this thesis. Fabricated panel assemblies incorporating typical components of real automotive parts were tested. The panel assemblies included an AA5754 inner panel using an array of teacup supports and an AA6111 closure panel joined with automotive mastic. The assemblies allowed for parametric assessment of numerous factors affecting dent resistance including: panel thickness, panel curvature, panel support configuration and dent site location. An extensive experimental program evaluated various panel combinations under both static and dynamic denting conditions. The measured results illustrate various trends of the different factors affecting dent resistance. The experimental database allows a qualitative assessment of dent resistance for full-scale automotive parts. The importance of support conditions is highlighted. The influence of mastic thickness is found to be a critical consideration. Numerical simulations of the dent test were undertaken using finite element techniques. The numerical predictions offer varying degrees of accuracy. The quantitative results are limited, due to numerical concerns, but the qualitative trends are generally well captured. As well, the relative importance of the various parametric factors is well represented in the numerical results. The interaction of the components at the teacup supports proved to critical to the predictive ability of the models. The method developed to model the interaction was somewhat limited by the available material models within the numerical code used, but offers promise for improved results in future simulations. The modelling method is readily transferred to full-scale automotive panels for assessment of dent resistance early in the design cycle.