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<p>Active secondary suspension in trains has been studied for a number of years, showing promising improvements in ride comfort. However, due to relatively high implementation and maintenance costs, active technology is not being used in service operation to a large extent. The objective of this study is to develop an active lateral secondary suspension concept that offers good ride comfort improvements and enables centring of the carbody above the bogies when negotiating curves at unbalanced speed. Simultaneously, the active suspension concept should be a cost-effective solution for future series production. The thesis consists of an introductory part and three appended papers.</p><p>The introductory part describes the concept of active secondary suspension together with different actuator types and control methods. Further, the present simulation model and applied comfort evaluation methods are presented. The introductory part also comprises a summary of the appended papers, an evaluation of track forces and suggestions for further work.</p><p>Paper A presents the initial development of an active lateral secondary suspension concept based on sky-hook damping in order to improve vehicle dynamic performance, particularly on straight tracks. Furthermore, a Hold-Off-Device (HOD) function has been included in the suspension concept in order to centre the carbody above the bogies in curves and hence avoid bumpstop contact. Preparatory simulations as well as the subsequent on-track tests in the summer of 2007 showed that the active suspension provides improved passenger ride comfort and has significant potential to be a cost-effective solution for future implementation.</p><p>In Paper B, measurement results from on-track tests performed in 2008 are presented. The active secondary suspension concept was slightly modified compared to the one presented in the first paper. One modification was the implementation of a gyroscope in order to enable detection of transition curves and to switch off the dynamic damping in these sections. Ride comfort in the actively suspended carbody was significantly improved compared to that in the passively suspended car. The satisfactory results led to implementation of the active suspension system in long-term tests in service operation in the beginning of 2009.</p><p>In Paper C, a quarter-car model in MATLAB has been used to investigate a more advanced control algorithm: <em>H</em>_∞ instead of sky-hook. <em>H</em>_∞ control provides more flexibility in the design process due to the possibility to control several parameters. In particular, this is done by applying weight functions to selected signals in the system. When comparing the two control strategies through simulations, the results show that <em>H</em>_∞ control generates similar carbody accelerations at the same control force as sky-hook; however, the relative displacement displacement is somewhat lower.</p>

<p>Over the past century, the automobile has become an integral part of modern industrializedsociety. Consumer demands, regulatory legislation, and the corporate need togenerate a profit, have been the most influential factors in driving forward the evolutionof the automobile. As the comfort, safety, and reliability of the automobile haveincreased, so has its complexity, and most definitely its mass.The work within this thesis addresses the twofold problem of economy and ecologywith respect to sustainable development of automobiles. Specifically, the conflictingproblems of reducing weight, and maintaining or improving noise, vibration, andharshness behaviour are addressed. Potential solutions to these problems must also beexecutable at the same, or preferably lower production costs. The hypothesis is that byreplacing acoustic treatments, aesthetic details, and complex systems of structural componentsboth on the interior and exterior of the vehicle with a single multi-functionalbody panel, functionality can be retained at a reduced mass (i.e. reduced consumptionof raw materials) and reduced fiscal cost.A case study is performed focusing on the roof structure of a production vehicle. Fullvehicle and component level acoustic testing is performed to acquire acoustic functionalrequirements. Vibro-mechanical testing at the component level is performedto acquire structural functional requirements complimentary to those in the vehiclesdesign specifications. Finite element modelling and analysis is employed to createa model representative of the as-tested component and evaluate its acoustic and mechanicalbehaviour numerically. Results of numerical simulations are compared withthe measured results for both acoustic and mechanical response in order to verify themodel and firmly establish a set of acoustic and mechanical constraints for future work.A new, multi-layered, multi-functional sandwich panel concept is proposed which replacesthe outer sheet metal, damping treatments, transverse beams, and interior trimof the existing structure. The new panel is weight optimized to a set of structural constraintsand its acoustic properties are evaluated. Results show a significant reductionin mass compared to the existing system with no degradation of the acoustic environment.A discussion of the results is presented, as is a suggestion for future research.</p>

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This thesis presents a systematic study of human responses to different motions and strategies of car body tilt control regarding ride comfort, working/reading ability and motion sickness on high-speed tilting trains. Experiments with test subjects were performed in a tilting train on curved track as well as in a moving vehicle simulator. The study is multi-disciplinary, combining knowledge and methods from the fields of railway technology, human factors and vestibular science. The main experiment in a tilting train was performed with about 75 seated test subjects, mainly students from Linköping University, making three test runs. In total, these subjects participated in about 210 individual test rides, each with a duration of about 3 hours. Additional tests on comfort disturbances with pushbutton technique have been reported in the project. The simulator experiments used a total of about 75 subjects, making some 320 test rides each of about 30 minutes duration. Test motions consisted of combinations of horizontal (lateral) acceleration and roll acceleration, together with either roll or horizontal acceleration. Rate of change of horizontal acceleration (jerk) and roll velocity were of the same order of magnitude as in a tilting train environment, but horizontal acceleration alone was about half the magnitude. Horizontal and vertical vibrations from a tilting train were added to the test motions, and train seats and interior train noise were also introduced to create a "train feeling". Test designs and methodology have been developed during the course of the experiments. The test subjects answered questionnaires, four times per test run in the train experiment and each 5 minute in the simulator experiment. The investigated variables were: estimated average ride comfort, estimated ability to work or read, and occurrence of symptoms of motion sickness (dizziness, nausea and not feeling well). Lateral and vertical accelerations together with roll motions were monitored and recorded for later evaluation. Results from the train experiments show that the estimated average ride comfort was about 4 on a 5-degree scale, which indicates “good”. Results also show that a reduced tilt compensation of the lateral acceleration while curving together with a reduced tilt velocity of the car body reduce the provocation of motion sickness. However, a reduction in tilt compensation may produce an increased number of comfort disturbances due to lateral acceleration in the car body. Regression analysis shows that motion doses from roll acceleration may be used to predict the incidence of motion sickness. The simulator experiments show that the primary sources of provocation of nausea and motion sickness are the motion doses from roll and lateral acceleration in the horizontal plane. The study proposes a hypothesis and a model of provocation of motion sickness. It is shown that motion sickness has a time decay, or leakage. A model for this leakage is proposed. The determinative types of motion for provocation of nausea and motion sickness in tilting trains are identified and future tilting train and/or simulator experiments are proposed in order to further investigate their influence. / <p>NR 20140805</p>

The thesis project is performed at ÅF Industry at their chassis department in Trollhättan, where their focus lay at chassis and body functions for the automotive industry. There are many functions in a car now a day, the act and function names for those functions have a huge variety between automotive brands. ÅF want a catalogue, with a collection of functions and what they do, how they act, pros and cons, and in- &amp; output, with focus on steering, propulsion, and suspension actuators.    Through benchmarking, all functions have been collected in a list of functions for five different automotive brands. Another student from Karlstad University, worked parallel with a similar thesis, focusing on braking actuators. Some information passed through our theses to help each other during the benchmark. From the benchmark, five datasheets were made, to add to the catalogue. Out of those five functions one had to pass the elimination matrix to be tested and evaluated.   In this thesis, the function to be tested were Drive Profile with focus on suspension. The function was tested in a Saab 9-5 Aero equipped with an VBOX 3i at NEVS test track. Test method for the test was ISO 3888-2 severe lane-change, obstacle avoidance. The result for the test was that Sport profile was stiffer than Comfort and Intelligent, and therefore recovered the roll rate much quicker in hard cornering. The profile to choose, while entry a hard cornering is the Sport profile because of the fast roll rate recovery, also the steering torque felt way better for the driver with the Sport profile activated.     It is concluded that it is a problem with all variety of function names. Especial for customer who wants to compare cars when he/she is going to buy a new car.

The report is an overview article, as a result of our investigation at the field of laser welding applied to electromobility cells manufactured in an aluminium housing. This project was proposed by the University of Skövde in collaboration with ASSAR Centre. The key results presented are based on the study of the following parameters: laser type and power, shielding gases, welding modes, patterns and layout. The conclusions of the project define the final selection of each parameter in order to achieve minimum defects and optimal electrical performance by minimizing the contact resistance.

With constantly changing regulations on emissions, heavy commercial vehicles manufacturershave to adapt for their products to preserve their quality while meetingthese new requirements. Over the past decades, noise emissions have become a greatconcern and new stricter laws demand companies to decrease their vehicle pass-bynoise target values.To address the requirements from different disciplines, Scania follows a simulationdriven design process to develop new concept models EATS. The collaboration amongengineers from different fields is thereby necessary in order to obtain higher performancesilencers. However, the pre-processing step in terms of acoustic simulationsis time-consuming, which can slow the concept development process.In this thesis, a new method was introduced to automate the pre-processing of silenceracoustic models and allow for design optimisation based on acoustic performanceresults. A common Scania product study case was provided to several theseswithin the NXD organisation. The collaboration among the master thesis workersaimed to demonstrate the benefits of KBE and MDO and how they can be integratedwithin Scania’s current concept development and product introduction processes.The performed work was divided in the following steps: data collection, methoddevelopment and concluding work. The first step consisted in gathering sufficientknowledge by conducting a thorough literature review and interviews. Then, an initialmethod was formulated and tested on a simplified silencer model. Once approvedand verified, the method was applied to the study case EATS.The study case showed that a complex product can have its acoustic pre-processingstep automated by ensuring a good connectivity among the required software anda correct denomination of the geometrical objects involved in the simulations. Themethod investigated how morphological optimisations can be performed at bothglobal and local levels to enhance the transmission loss of a silencer. Besides optimisingthe acoustic performance of the models, the method allowed the identificationof correlations and inter-dependencies among their design variables and ouput parameters.

In 1999, California Air Resources Board (CARB) implemented a regulation that required all gasoline cars sold in California be fitted with an Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery System (ORVR). The ORVR system is designed to prevent Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from escaping into the atmosphere during refuelling by storing the gas vapours in a carbon canister. Due to the complex nature of the fuel system, making design changes could have large implications on the ORVR performance of the vehicle. It is therefore desirable to develop a CFD model that can predict the effects of design changes, thereby reducing the need to perform physical tests on each design iteration. This master thesis project was performed at the Fuel Systems department at Volvo Cars in order to help reduce project lead times and product development costs by incorporating CFD as a part of the fuel system development cycle. The CFD results obtained were validated through experimental tests that were also performed as part of this project. In this master thesis project, a CFD model was developed to simulate the refuelling of gasoline for a California specification Volvo XC90 with an OPW-11B pump pistol. The model was set up in STAR-CCM+ using the Eulerian Volume of Fluid model for multiphase flow, the RANS realizable k-epsilon turbulence model and the two layer all y+ wall treatment. The effects of the carbon canister were modelled as a porous baffle interface in the simulations where viscous and inertial resistances of the porous media were adjusted to obtain a desired pressure drop across the canister. This method proved to be a suitable simplification for this study. The effects of evaporation as well as a chemical adsorption model for the carbon canister have been excluded from the project due to time limitations. It was found that the CFD simulations were in good agreement with the experimental results, especially with respect to capturing the overall behaviour of the fuel system during refuelling. It was found that resolving the flow spatially (and temporally) in the filler pipe was a crucial part in ensuring solver stability. A pressure difference between experiment and simulation was also observed as a consequence of excluding evaporation from the CFD model. After the CFD model had been verified and validated, changes to different parts of the fuel system were investigated to observe their effects on ORVR performance. These included changing the recirculation line diameter, changing the carbon canister properties and changing the angle of how the pump pistol was inserted into the capless unit. It was found that the recirculation line diameter is a very sensitive design parameter and increasing the diameter would result in fuel vapour leaking back out into the atmosphere. Similarly, increasing the back pressure by swapping to a different carbon canister would result in the leakage of fuel vapour. On the other hand, insignificant changes in system behaviour were observed when the fuel pistol angle was changed.

Tougher legal demands on pollutions require a better developed understanding of the processes that take place in the cylinder. The thesis contributes with a cylinder model that uses the same set of equations for intake, compression,expansion/combustion and exhaust. The cylinder model describes the states temperature, pressure and the mass fraction of air.The model is able to simulate the gas exchange with compressible flows over the valves, it handles VVT, CRB and blowby. The combustion is modeled with asingle Vibe function that describes the heat release and the consumption of air.The model is general enough to be able to simulate both SI and CI engines. The calibrations that are needed are the discharge coefficient CD values for intake and exhaust valves, blowby, and heat release/transfer parameters. Furthermore, the engine geometry parameters have to be provided to be able to calculate the instanteneous cylinder volume. The model has shown good agreement for cylinder pressure curves with and without combustion and can handle phasingof the valve lifts. That shows that the model can handle the important casesin combustion engines. It is easy to replace sub models in the cylinder model e.g. single Vibe with double Vibe. In the model, in the cylinder is calculated and the average instantenous torque for the entire engine is calculated from thestates in one cylinder. These two calculations have shown good agreement withthe stationary measurments done in an engine test cell. The model is able to use fixed step lengths for even processor loads, the size of the step lengths are resonable for real time implementation on an ECU.