<p>Since the incorporation of electronic controls into automobiles in the 1970s, the complexity of automotive software has steadily increased. Recent cars and trucks have more electronics and lines of code than modern aircraft. This complexity has made the commoditization of the software exceptionally challenging. The AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture (AUTOSAR) standard was created to enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 and Tier 2 Suppliers, Vendors, and other players in automotive software to freely buy, sell, and integrate software components for automotive applications. AUTOSAR does this through a standardized set of software interfaces and a methodology for enabling software exchange, allowing software tools to interoperate. This study explored how AUTOSAR practitioners go about the business of conducting the methodology and its perceived benefits and problems. A global survey of AUTOSAR practitioners was conducted to collect company and respondent demographic information and details concerning specific practices. The survey results indicated practitioners believe AUTOSAR was good at abstracting hardware from the software and between the software components. Respondents also indicated that the AUTOSAR methodology was complicated and not sufficiently prescriptive, leading to inconsistent interpretation and application. Based on the survey results, it was concluded that more work is needed to provide more decisive clarity and direction for AUTOSAR practitioners.</p>

The automotive industry is facing a great challenge - reducing the weight of their vehicles. Carbon fibre composites are regarded by many as the only real option as traditional engineering materials are now running out of potential for further weight reduction. In this doctoral thesis a framework is presented which will provide guidelines for the conceptual phase of the development of an automotive composite body structure. The framework is initiated by defining ideal material diversity, as well as initial partition of the body structure based on process and material selection. Then, a further analysis of the structures is made in order to evaluate whether a more cost efficient solution can be found by further dividing the structure. Such a differential design approach is analysed in the third part of the work, studying both the financial and structural effects of such partitioning. In order to increase the understanding of the intimate relationship between design, material and manufacturing process, balancing manufacturing and structural optimization is addressed. Finally, drape simulation tools are used to assess the geometric complexity of composite structures in order to further quantify suitable split lines in cases of differential design approach. Different carbon fibre composite material systems and processes are compared and evaluated in the work. The results show that a high-performance material system with continuous fibres is both more cost and performance effective as compared to industrialised, discontinuous fibre composites. Further analysis shows the importance of balancing the design for manufacturing and the structural weight optimization of the structures in order to reach a cost and weight effective design. When restricting composite design freedom with manufacturing constraints, the great benefits of structural composites disappear and with this both weight and cost effectiveness. / <p>QC 20160418</p>

<p> Environmental concerns are driving the automotive industry towards more sustainable and efficient forms of transportation such as electric vehicles. The electric drivetrains present in the various types of electric vehicles are much more efficient than traditional internal combustion engine drivetrains and produce fewer greenhouse gases. The most popular type of motor used in electric vehicle drivetrains is the permanent magnet synchronous motor. This can be attributed to its inherent high power density, large torque to weight ratio, and high reliability and efficiency. Advanced control techniques for permanent magnet synchronous motor drives must be developed in order to meet the high performance and efficiency demands of modern electric vehicles. Application of the nonlinear control method known as sliding mode control is the focus of this work. Both first order and higher order sliding mode methods are considered. These control methods provide robustness to modeling inaccuracies, internal parameter variations, and external disturbances. In addition to permanent magnet synchronous motors, the sliding mode control methods are also applied to the buck-boost type DC-DC converter. DC-DC converters have found extensive applications, ranging from consumer electronics to electric vehicles and smart grid synchronization. Computer simulation studies verify the efficacy of the proposed control techniques.</p>

Introduction – The scene for this thesis is set in the highly regulated automotive industry. Recent scandals in the automotive industry have shown that companies have manipulated their emission results in order to pass regulations. The regulations are from the beginning implemented to protect the environment and encourage companies to develop green innovation but the authors question if regulations puts more pressure on the companies than they can handle. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how regulations affect green innovation. Method – The authors adopted a pragmatist research philosophy and used an abductive research method. The empirical data has been gathered through a qualitative study, conducting semi structured interviews with companies within the automotive industry. The abductive research approach meant that the frame of reference has been updated and revised when new data, which was previously not covered in the theory, was gained from the interviews. With a five-step process the authors have analyzed the empirical data with the frame of references and from the result drawn conclusion. Conclusion – The conclusions drawn in this thesis is that regulations have a positive impact on companies green incremental innovation and can have both an inhibitory and a positive effect on radical green innovation. However, there are few underlying factors affecting the outcome such as infrastructure, technology neutrality and communication. Contribution – The contribution of this thesis has added new qualitative knowledge to the research field on how regulations affect green innovation. By localizing and highlighting the factors found in the conclusion, companies and policy makers can cooperate to enhance the development of green radical innovations in the future. Future research - Future researcher are encouraged to investigate how infrastructure, technology neutrality and communication each are affecting green radical innovation. Key words: Green innovation, Regulations, Government policy and the Automotive Industry Paper type: Master thesis