The paper describes a method for optimal design of a helicopter tail shaft that considers rotordynamic effects from long shaft assembly. The tail shaft transmits power from the main gearbox (MGB) to the tail rotor of the helicopter and operates at high speeds that may exceed 6000 rpm. While higher speeds allow for weight reduction, they also pose risks associated with supercritical operation, necessitating careful design optimization. The objective of the optimization is to maximize the first three transverse natural frequencies with the constraint of the safety parameter (avoidance of the resonance/critical zone) while minimizing the weight of the system. A Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to obtain the solution to this multiobjective optimization problem, which involves shaft design variables such as length, outer diameter, and wall thickness. In addition, the optimization framework also incorporates system related design variables, including the stiffness of

Sute, Piyush, Verma, Prashant, Mathur, Tanmay, Hajela, Prabhat

Light Weighting of Tractor Components Using Virtual Optimization Technique

2024-26-03901/16/2024

Usually conventional iterative methods of optimization will consume more time to optimize the given design. Mostly, it becomes very difficult if multiple loads are acting on the structure contradicting each other. CAE based optimization technique becomes more useful in such cases to optimize the given design and achieve weight reduction. Optimization methods provide directions to achieve solutions faster, significantly reducing product development time. Nowadays, optimization became inevitable part among the virtual validation processes of design in industries. Various optimization methods have been successfully utilized to design the tractor components, especially mounting brackets, chassis and skid housing in the large off-road vehicle development process. Depending on the design status, different optimization approaches were followed i.e. size, topology and shape. Design freedom and available analysis time determines the type of optimization approach to be used. In case, the design

Dumpa, Mahendra Reddy, Perumal, Solairaj, Redkar, Dinesh, PAGARE, NITIN, Subbaiyan, Prasanna Balaji, MANI, SURESH

Study of changes in Exhaust after treatment system components in M & N category vehicles from RDE Monitoring stage to RDE Compliance stage

2024-26-01501/16/2024

Bharat Stage VI emission norms were implemented in India in two stages: Stage I from 1st April 2020 and Stage II from 1st April 2023. For M & N category vehicles, RDE test along with other applicable certification tests is mandatory for obtaining a BSVI compliance certificate during stages I and II. The RDE test is conducted on the roads in real driving conditions, unlike the Type-I test using a pre-defined cycle on the chassis dynamometer, during which the ambient temperature and other environmental conditions are controlled in a narrow range. During BSVI Stage I for the RDE test, there was no limit for any pollutant. So, it is considered an RDE monitoring stage, and from BS VI Stage II, limits are enforced on a few pollutants (NOX and PN) as notified in notification GSR 226(E) dated March 27, 2023. So, it is considered the RDE compliance stage. During the RDE monitoring phase, emissions from M & N category vehicles are comparatively higher because of several reasons like cost

SINGH, Abhay Pratap, Bathina, Revanth Kumar, Thakare, Kiran Prabhakar

Influence of Rear Suspension Local Stiffness on Full vehicle Ride & handling Performance

2024-26-00611/16/2024

One of the biggest challenges for automotive industry is with respect to material saving and to have control on cost of development and still meeting performance in each aspect. Stringent weight targets help industries to have good margin on component costs. In recent times we have seen vehicle underbody contribution to total vehicle is significant in range of 12% to 18%. Total weight directly impacts the range of electric vehicle which is a key metric for success from real-world usage point of view and customer appeal. Hence control on suspension and frame design for light weighting is prominent trend in industry, this leads to deterioration of suspension compliance as well as vehicle ride and handling performance. Sub-frame and knuckle play crucial role in definition of overall suspension stiffness. Present Study focusses on electric vehicle rear cradle design for weight saving with minimum reduction of stiffness. Understanding compliance which obtained from frame\cradle in vehicle

Asthana, Shivam, Rasal, Shraddhesh, Ganesh, Lingadalu, V, Jesse Daniel, Nidasosi, Basavraj, Ramkumar, J, NAYAK, Bhargav, M, Sudhan, Vellandi, Vikraman

PREDICTION OF OPTIMIZED DESIGN UNDER DYNAMIC LOADS USING ML

2022-01-09493/29/2022

The stamped components play important roles in supporting many sub-systems within engine and transmission assembly. In few cases, the stamped components will not meet the design criteria whereas, due to overdesign in few other components, there will be opportunities to reduce the mass. Hence in CAE simulations, it would require to perform multiple iterations to enhance the component design by varying multiple design parameters (such as thickness, bend radius, material, etc.,) as per allowable limit. The conventional process of design enhancements will follow unidirectional parametric changes, though it helps in meeting the design criteria, it would be very difficult to produce the best optimized design within the limited time span. With the aid of Altair-HyperMorph technics, multiple design parameters can be controlled simultaneously, and DOE analyses are performed using Altair-HyperStudy to extract simulated results corresponding to the pre-defined design parameters. These DOE results

S, Siddesh, Nayak, Swarnendu Bikash, Freiman, David

An Analytical Model for Cost-Efficient Structural Materials Selection in Battery Electric Vehicles

2022-01-02663/29/2022

The secular trend of automotive body structure light-weighting for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is constrained by simultaneous and increasingly challenging vehicle cost, fuel economy and passenger safety standards. Mass optimization via materials selection in ICE vehicles, therefore, is ultimately dependent on the normalized cost of mass reduction solutions and the associated implications on passenger safety and vehicle performance metrics. These constraints have resulted in development and implementation of increasingly high specific-strength solutions for metallic components in the body structure and chassis. In contrast, mass optimization in battery electric vehicles is subject to alternative performance metrics to fuel efficiency, although considerations for vehicle safety and cost naturally remain directionally similar. In this study, an analytical model adapted from constrained optimization methodologies for BEV mass optimization is employed for determination of

Enloe, Charles M., Mohrbacher, Hardy

Development of an electric vehicle battery module laser welding process using SYSWELD and validation by test data

2022-01-03763/29/2022

With lightweight design in modern electric vehicles to achieve high energy efficiency, high strength and thin materials are widely adopted. For battery modules, 5000 and 6000 aluminum are typically utilized as a structural material with a thickness range between 1 to 5 mm. Laser welding is one of the most optimum welding tools for joining such a thin material due to its unique advantages, e.g., high welding speed, high accuracy, high energy yet the smallest heat affect zone, etc. This paper aims to develop an FE modeling procedure using SYSWELD to simulate the laser welding process used in electric vehicle battery module manufacturing. A sequentially-coupled thermo-mechanical analysis procedure is developed based on the welding processes for 6063 T6 aluminum alloys and the dissimilar joint between 6063 T6 and 5083 aluminum alloys. Different heat source models for laser welding are studies and compared. The effectiveness of the developed modeling procedure is confirmed by a large number

Song, Shaopin, JIANG, Weiran, Ding, Peiran

Stiffness optimization process using topology optimization techniques and lattice structures

2022-32-00781/9/2022

In recent years, topology optimization technology has been widely applied as a means of achieving weight reduction. On the other hand, the development of additive manufacturing technology (3D printing) is making it possible to manufacture structures called lattices. In this paper, we show that it is possible to create even stiffer structures by combining both technologies, and we develop a design process that includes optimization calculations.

NAGAMOTO, Hiroyuki, KOBAYASHI, Koji, FUJITA, Hideyuki

Development of 1520 MPa Class Lightweight Suspension Springs

2022-32-00241/9/2022

The spring is an important component part of the suspension of motorcycles and automobiles. As the spring constitutes an unsprung weight, the suspension complies more quickly if the spring weighs less. Especially in off-road motorcycles, which are often subjected to extremely hard conditions such as full acceleration and braking, quick turning and jumping, a reduction of unsprung weight contributes to an enhancement of dynamic performance. As an effective means to reduce weight, use of the light-weight titanium instead of the commonly used steel is seen in some examples. However, applications of titanium are limited only to large-diameter springs because of its higher cost and challenging in coiling. To achieve a steel spring that weighs lower than a titanium counterpart, we aimed at a spring that features such a fatigue strength that allows stressing as higher as to 1520 MPa. Three technical options are used, 1) Shot peening, 2) Removal of decarburized surface on wire material, 3

Kato, Hideki, Kasatori, Shinji, Kameda, Hirokatsu, Suzuki, Shoichi

Weight Reduction of Double wishbone-arm Component in the Suspension system of an Automobile using Generative Design

2021-28-025810/1/2021

This work uses the Generative Design approach to achieve a weight reduction of the wishbone arm used in the vehicle suspension system. The suspension system of Haynes Roadster an open two-seater club racing car is taken for this study. Detailed calculations were done to understand the dynamic loads acting in the wishbone arm during acceleration, braking, and cornering. The above-calculated loads, material, domain, fabrication techniques are used as design parameters and weight reduction as the objective in the Generative design to obtain a final output. The various design iterations will be proposed by the algorithm based on the parameters and objectives defined. Generative design uses a machine learning approach which is time-saving and also eliminates the need for redoing and refining the initial designs by giving us optimum designs based on our usage as well as manufacturing requirement at the early stage. Different models created by Generative Design are then compared with the

P G, Sachin, Elsen, Renold, V, Vijayaragavan, B, Beno Prince

Sound Package Optimization of Passenger Bus Using Hybrid Statistical Energy Analysis

2021-26-02689/22/2021

Increasing Demands for high fuel efficiency requires imperative light weighting of automotive structure, but this adversely affects the NVH performance since transfer path of noise sources like engine, road, wind to vehicle interior through the panels weakens. Also increasing customer centric approach drives the urge to provide world-class comfort that is cost-effective too. Sound Packaging helps us to optimize these transfer paths through the panel, and can effectively complement efforts of Testing Team, by reducing the redundant iterations required to conclude to most effective trims to be put on. Statistical Energy Analysis Based Simulations is employed for carrying out these iterations at the Virtual Validation Gateway itself. Baseline Vehicle is fully modeled as per the criterion required by inherent SEA theory and simulated within frequency range of 200Hz-10KHz. Trims application areas are identified and layered Trims are applied at these locations to compare its effectiveness

Bhangale, Rajesh, SOUNDATTE, Nitin, shinde, Nikhil, Chavan, Pruthviraj

Continuous Fiber Reinforced Composite Container for N1 category of Vehicles

2021-26-02519/22/2021

The small commercial vehicle business is driven by demand in logistic, last mile transportation and white goods market. And to cater these businesses operational and safety needs, they require closed container on vehicle. As of now, very few OEM's provide regulatory certified container vehicle because of constrains to meet inertia class of the vehicle. The paper focuses on design of a durable and extremely reliable container, made of the low-cost economy class glass fiber & core material. The present work provides the means to design the composite container for the N1 category of the vehicle. The weight of after-market metal container ranges between 300-350 Kgs for this category of vehicle, which affects the overall Fuel Economy and Emission of the vehicle. A detailed CAE analysis is done to design composite container suitable to meet inertia class targets and to achieve weight reduction of 30-40% as compared to metal container. The design is validated and optimised using Inertia

Khandekar, Dhiraj Baburao, Ankur, Manjeet Singh

Development Work for a New Damping Standard SAE J3130

2021-01-11228/31/2021

Standards organizations develop standards depending on the need in the market place. With the change in vehicle design, lightweighting structures, and body panels made out of aluminum and composites, SAE’s Acoustical Materials Committee is developing a new damping standard. This standard is also very suitable in determining the damping performance of materials used in the off-highway applications, where the thickness of the steel body panel is much greater than in the automotive application. The general methodology of this standard is based on the mechanical impedance measurement method and has been developed with the general consensus of automotive engineers, suppliers, and independent test laboratories. This method is essentially based on the fact that a bar is excited at the center by a shaker. The force exerted by the shaker and the corresponding vibration is measured at that point to determine the frequency response function of the mechanical impedance signal. This paper discusses

Saha, Pranab

Metamaterials R&D TARGETS NVH ABATEMENT

21AUTP05_045/1/2021

Nissan readies its lightweight acoustic solution for 2022 production - will Hyundai follow? Acoustics engineers have a broad variety of materials from which to choose for reducing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) in vehicles. But their selection often comes with a measurable downside: added mass. It's not uncommon for a new vehicle to gain 100 lb (45 kg) or more during development as various absorbers, reflective barriers and absorber-barrier combinations - typically baked-on mastics, blankets, injected foams and acoustic glazing - are brought to bear. In an era where “lightweighting rules” and engineers are rewarded on a per-gram basis for cutting vehicle weight, materials researchers are betting on new developments to win the NVH-versus-mass battle. So-called metamaterials offer significant promise here, with a potential added benefit of being less costly than the traditional NVH solutions used by OEMs.

Brooke, Lindsay

Preliminary Structural Design of a Fowler Flap High-lifting Device

2020-36-00283/26/2021

The design of high lift device has great importance in development of transport aircraft, for both manufacturers and operators. With this motivation, a preliminary structural design of a 4-bar mechanism as an actuator of a single-slotted Fowler flap was developed. Fundamental concepts about the subject, such as overlap, gap and Fowler motion, was presented. Aiming the aerodynamic requirements, the mechanism was synthesized in order to reach three critical points: cruise, landing and take-off. For landing and take-off conditions, the loads were estimated and applied on the flaps to evaluate and to size the linkage system. The kinematics and kinetics of the movement was studied by two methods: analytical and numerical by multibody simulation. In order to refine the sizing, a finite element analysis was employed to determine the margins of safety and to drive optimization studies. Thus, with static and fatigue analysis performed and safety margins calculated, the topological optimization

Lima, D. Z., Aguiar, J. B., Ferreira, W. G.

Transitioning from IC Engine to Electric Vehicle: An Optimized Wheel End Solution

2020-01-163210/5/2020

This paper discusses the change in vehicle parameters when moving from a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) to an electric motor. In particular, the paper discusses the impact on the wheel end bearings, which must handle higher GAWRs (gross axle weight ratings) at lower center of gravity heights on electric vehicles. These changes require bearings to handle higher loads. Typically, larger loads increase the bearing size and with it, the mounting interface dimensions for auxiliary components. In this paper, The Timken Company demonstrates an alternative bearing design that can handle higher electric vehicle GAWRs but allows for continuity in the surrounding brake corner components - potentially saving OEMs significant design costs and delays. This solution focuses on the mid- and large-size SUV market where bearing capacity could be a limiting factor for electric vehicle variants - driving significant wheel end brake corner design changes to accommodate the larger bearings

Fernandes, Ryan, Parsons, Elizabeth, Gromosiak, Mike

All-composite EV wheel heads to production

20AUTP10_1210/1/2020

Designed for EV and niche applications, the first commercially viable, low cost, lightweight, all-composite wheel moves to the next phase of development with a pilot production run. The product-development consortium, made up of Carbon ThreeSixty, Far-UK, Composite Integration and CNC Robotics, along with Bitrez Ltd as the preferred resin formulator, says it will manufacture 50 ACRIM (All Composite Reduced Inertia Modular) wheels by the end of 2020. The consortium announced three full vehicle sets are scheduled for proving on MOTIV, a unique and versatile autonomous vehicle (AV). The AV uses Gordon Murray Design's iStream Superlight technology (see www.sae.org/news/2020/02/motiv-av-pod for more on the gullwing AV prototype) and two sets of world-first overmolded RTM (resin transfer molding) wheels, which are headed for qualification testing. The consortium appears ready to challenge the world's most prominent source of production-vehicle carbon-fiber wheels, Australian outfit Carbon

Shuttleworth, Jennifer

Altair honors lightweight advances

20AUTP09_089/1/2020

Fitting for an industry that collectively is accelerating electric-vehicle launches, Harley-Davidson's LiveWire electric motorcycle won the Full Vehicle category of the 8th annual Altair Enlighten Awards, the vehicle and component lightweighting competition conducted by Altair and the Center for Automotive Research. Winners were recognized on August 4 in conjunction with CAR's virtual Management Briefing Seminars. In the Module category, Toyota won for its new, one-piece resin seatback in the 2021 Sienna minivan's folding third row, replacing a 15-piece steel frame. Mubea took top honors in the Enabling Technology category with its glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) tension leaf spring that offers weight savings of up to 75% compared to conventional designs.

Gehm, Ryan

A Generic Testbody for Low-Frequency Aeroacoustic Buffeting Phenomena

2020-01-15156/3/2020

Raising demands towards lightweight design paired with a loss of originally predominant engine noise pose significant challenges for NVH engineers in the automotive industry. Wall thickness reductions particularly emphasize low frequency contributors due to decreasing panel stiffness. From an aeroacoustic point of view, low frequency buffeting ranks among the most frequently encountered issues. The phenomenon typically arises from rooftop or side-window buffeting, structural transmission of hydrodynamic wall pressure fluctuations or, as indicated in this work, through rear vent excitation. A convenient workflow to simulate structure-excited buffeting contains a strongly coupled vibro-acoustic model for structure and interior cavity excited by a spatial pressure distribution obtained from CFD. In the case of rear vent buffeting no validated workflow has been published yet. While approaches have been made to simulate the problem for a real-car geometry, such attempts suffer from

Engelmann, Rafael, Gabriel, Christoph, Schoder, Stefan, Kaltenbacher, Manfred

Process for Producing High-Quality, Lightweight Mirrors

TBMG-370186/1/2020

Virtually all conventional lightweight mirrors are made by optically grinding and polishing an already lightweighted blank. Mirrors made this way always risk print-through to the optical surface. In some cases, this can be removed by a zero-pressure process, such as ion-beam polishing, although these processes tend to be slow and costly. Lightweighting after optical polishing is not an option for conventional materials as their inhomogeneous qualities and internal stresses cause the lightweighting to distort the optical surface.

Improvement of Tightening Reliability of Bolted Joints Using Elliptical Confidence Limit in Calibrated Wrench Method

2020-01-02184/14/2020

The calibrated wrench method is used in the tightening of bolts in manufacturing industries in the case of a large amount of tightening work. It is important to apply a large initial clamping force to ensure tightening reliability and prevent self-loosening, fatigue breakage, and so forth. In this method, the clamping force of bolted joints is controlled using a torque wrench. However, since the clamping force is indirectly applied by a wrench, it varies greatly in the case of a large amount of tightening in a factory. Therefore, the calibrated wrench method is not so accurate from the viewpoint of clamping force control. It is conventionally thought that the distribution of the clamping force has the shape of a rhombus. When tightening torque and clamping force are considered to be two independent random variables, the clamping force is distributed within an elliptical confidence limit. Here, we show that the distribution of equivalent stress also has an elliptical confidence limit

Hareyama, Soichi, Manabe, Ken-ichi, Kobayashi, Satoshi

Phenolic SMC for Automotive Fire Resistance

2020-01-07714/14/2020

Phenolic resins that meet REACH compliance and contain lower free-formaldehyde are safer to handle, compound, and mold. These resin systems do not contain any styrene or require any fillers to achieve their rated fire resistance. A commercial phenolic sheet-molding compound (SMC) is presented that achieves a 2-minute cycle time and addresses the unique requirements in an electrified vehicle architecture. This new SMC material includes all the industrially relevant considerations including material processing, shelf life, and surface finish. Other topics such as material hybridization and comparison to incumbent materials also discussed. The resin system uses a water-based phenolic resole which is acid-cured. This chemistry presents several unique challenges and opportunities for the industry such as managing formulation pH and appropriate methods for quality control. A demonstrator battery cover highlights the superior fire performance, impact resistance, and light weighting that is

Swentek, Ian, Ball, Cedric A., Greydanus, Stephen, Nara, Kameswara Rao

Chassis Lightweighting Hole Placement with Weldline Evaluation

2020-01-04934/14/2020

Vehicle weight driven design comes amid rising higher fuel efficiency standard, and must meet the criteria - pass Proving ground test events that is equivalent customer usage. CAE Fatigue analysis for proving ground (CFP) is behind a success push to digitally simulate vehicle durability performance in high fidelity. The need for vehicle weight reduction often arises late in vehicle development phases when CAE Methods, time, and tangible cost effective opportunities are limited or non-existent. It is necessary to deploy a new CAE Method to identify opportunities for light-weighting hole placement in Chassis structures to deliver a cost effective light-weighting opportunity with no impact on fatigue life. The successful application of this methodology is on truck frame, which is key structural parts for vehicle chassis to support body and suspension and powertrain. By means of artificially adjusting the magnitude of load time history and material fatigue properties S-N curve, fatigue

Song, Gavin

Study on the Quantitative Relationship between Static Stiffness and Modal Parameters of an Aluminum Space Frame

10-04-02-00071/27/2020

In this article, the quantitative relationship between the static stiffness, lightweight factor, and modal parameters of an aluminum space frame was investigated. Modal theory calculation and finite element method were employed in the analysis. Fifty modal parameters were extracted from the finite element model of the frame to calculate the bending stiffness, torsional stiffness, and lightweight factor of the frame. The deviations of the bending stiffness, torsional stiffness, and lightweight factor obtained from the modal theory and the finite element theory were found to be 0.91%, 1.72%, and 1.71%, respectively. It indicates that these two methods have similar accuracy. It was confirmed that the sum of each order modal compliance could be used to calculate the static compliance of the aluminum space frame. The first-order bending mode was found to be the corresponding mode order, which made the largest contribution to the bending stiffness. This method is also applicable for

Wang, Zhenhu, Xia, Erli, Chen, Ziming, Xue, Zhigang, Li, Luoxing

EFFECT OF DEAN NUMBER ON HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS FOR SQUARE CHANNEL HELICAL COIL SUB-COOLED CONDENSER

2019-32-05971/24/2020

Attribute to high heat transfer rate and less complexity, the Helical coil sub-cooled condenser (HCSCC) can provide the most innovative and unique application for the air conditioning system. In the case of automobiles, reduction in air-conditioning load may diminish the vehicular emission, and power consumption as the air-conditioning load is the most power-consuming components after the engine load. Moreover, to solve the problem, we focus on the helical type heat exchanger. It may play a vital role in reducing the weight and increase the performance of the small engine because of the compact structure and lighter weight. The compressor unit is the most vital component of the refrigeration cycle, but the condenser unit is also one of the most critical devices, and the author tried to reduce the power consumption by enhancing the performance of the condenser. The crucial point of this study is to use HCSCC, which exemplify the effect of subsequent flow generation inside the fluid, and

Singh, Hardeep, Washiashi, Junya, Liu, Jun, Ichiyanagi, Mitsuhisa, Suzuki, Takashi

Robotic Helicopter

TBMG-3567712/1/2019

Steadicopter Ltd. Migdal HaEmek, Israel +972-4-9592959

High Rigidity and Light Weight Bumper Material Development in India

2019-28-255311/21/2019

Vehicle weight reduction becomes important at the view point of fuel efficiency improvement and CO2 reduction in India also as well as developed countries. With this background, High tensile and Super high tensile steel application has become increasing. Similarly, weight reduction of big plastic parts like bumper face is one of the most important items, so Honda has developed Thin-wall and light weight bumper face. In the development of light weight bumper, rigidity, impact strength and flowability which are main requirement are contradictory property. It is necessary to develop new material to achieve this technical concern. Moreover, we verified part shape and thickness optimization to achieve part requirement. Established high property material and part manufacturing technology were applied for current CITY firstly, and it has been expanded to other models sequentially to contribute weight reduction for Honda vehicles. In this report, we report the analysis and verification result

Sharma, Manu

Design of Lightweight Composites for Vehicle Front End Energy Management of Bumper Beam

2019-28-008510/11/2019

Application of advance composites in place of the various conventional materials such as steel can give significant weight and performance advantages. The application of composites is now finding it’s way in the automotive industry due to the growing requirement of the lightweight solutions and high strength to weight ratio. However, their low mechanical properties have limited their application in automotive structural components. The study presented here is focused on the explicit dynamic analysis of a bumper beam and advance composites are used for the study. Different configurations and designs of the bumper are considered to be able to make a comparative study of the stress and deformation levels. The analysis was done in coherence to the Euro NCAP tests and the offset frontal impact analysis was done. The boundary conditions were aligned with the real time impact conditions for proper prediction of the results. Based on stress, deformation, specific strength and weight, the

Kumar, Praveen, Akella, Sarma Sr, Chakraborty, Ayan, Muthiah, Balasubramanian, Ramachandran, Velmurugan, M Venugopal, Shankar

Design and Analysis of Automotive Steering Sheet Metal Yoke for High Strength and Rigidity Requirement

2019-28-012210/11/2019

The increasing demand for light weighting products due to introduction of various standards and norms for controlling CO2 emissions and to meet the customer requirement of low cost with higher strength and rigidity of product in automotive industry, sheet metal manufacturing technique is adopted for automotive steering yoke for light commercial vehicle. Currently forged yokes are used for higher strength requirement, while sheet metal yokes are being used for small tonnage vehicle. The attempt has been made to improve overall strength and rigidity of the yoke produced by sheet metal operation using SAPH 440 steel with 6.5mm thickness for light commercial vehicle segments. The major challenge identified for this development was developing such a high strength and thickness material with consistency of dimension during forming process and meeting the torsional strength requirement of 500 Nm. In this development with the help of plastic data, the forming analysis of yoke model has been

Gandhi, Chaitanya, Shinde, Pranav, Ramamoorthi, Mohanraj, Krishnadoss, Bharathkumar, Yadav, Aditya

Lightweight Exosuit Combines Robotics and Functional Apparel

TBMG-3526310/1/2019

Between walking and running, human gaits can cover a wide range of speeds; for example, at low speeds, the metabolic rate of walking is lower than that of running in a slow jog. The opposite also is true: at high speeds, the metabolic cost of running is lower than that of speed-walking.

Lightweight Sensing and Control System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Monitoring

TBMG-3527310/1/2019

A new sensing and control system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) allows for semi-autonomous flight. Pilots need not leave the ground to conduct routine monitoring and surveillance quickly and cost-effectively. Such systems are particularly useful during long flight segments or over remote locations, or for scientific applications such as atmospheric monitoring or crop monitoring, which might require long and repeated sampling in a specific pattern. The small, lightweight technology can be quickly adapted to a specific configuration.

Cutting weight seen as less vital for automated and shared vehicles

19AUTP10_1010/1/2019

After long demonstrating lightweighting with steel for contemporary passenger vehicles, the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) is slightly changing the tune for a future of Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared (ACES) vehicles. In a presentation to the International Motor Press Association, SMDI conceded that although weight on an isolated basis affects driving range and can't be ignored, the total effect on the viability of ACES designs is not necessarily the same-and other qualities may be even much more important. And the bottom line on range versus cost is likely to be a wash, said SMDI vice president Dr. Jody Hall.

Weissler, Paul

Stuck on structural adhesives

19AUTP09_029/1/2019

As the need for lighter materials and enhanced body performance intensifies, structural adhesives flourish as a materials-joining solution. A funny thing happened on the way to the total-vehicle light-weighting that's now a common engineering dictate for nearly every new vehicle: structural adhesives-which entered low-volume automotive use in the 1980s-got pulled into the mainstream. The widening reliance on high- and ultrahigh-strength steels and aluminum for body structures, particularly unitized bodies-in-white (BIW), to cut weight without sacrificing crash-mitigating strength or handling-degrading rigidity, is the prime factor driving the expanding use of structural adhesives. Particularly where dissimilar materials need to be joined, engineered adhesives are the way to go-alone or in tandem with more-conventional joining technologies such as riveting and spot-welding.

Visnic, Bill, Brooke, Lindsay

Lunar Surface Manipulation System

TBMG-349128/1/2019

NASA's Langley Research Center offers a novel lifting and precision positioning device with hybrid functional characteristics of both crane-type lifting devices and robotic manipulators. The design of the Lunar Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) allows for fine positioning with complete control over both translation and rotation of the payload. In addition, the design permits several other operations using a wide variety of special-purpose tools — such as a bucket, pallet forks, grappling devices, sensor, and visualization packages — and dexterous robotic arms that can be quickly added to the tip.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11: Exploring Apollo's Impact Beyond 'One Small Step'

TBMG-347637/1/2019

On July 20, 1969, humans walked on another world for the first time in history. After a landing that included dodging a lunar crater and boulder field and almost running out of fuel just before touchdown, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored the area around their lunar landing site for 21 hours and 36 minutes while Michael Collins piloted the Command Module around the Moon. They collected soil and rock samples, set up experiments, planted an American flag, and left behind medallions honoring the Apollo 1 crew and a plaque saying, “We came in peace for all mankind.”

Design of Lightweight Fibrous Vibration Damping Treatments to Achieve Optimal Performance in Realistic Applications

2019-01-15246/5/2019

In recent work, it has been shown that conventional sound absorbing materials (e.g., lightweight fibrous media) can provide structural damping when placed adjacent to vibrating structures, including infinite panels, partially-constrained panels and periodically-supported panels typical of aircraft structures. Thus, a fibrous layer may serve two functions at once: absorption of airborne sound and the reduction of structure-borne vibration. It has also been found that the damping is primarily effective below the critical frequency of the structure, and that the damping results from viscous interaction between the fibrous layer and the evanescent near-field of the panel, in the region where incompressible flow caused by the panel vibration oscillates primarily parallel with the panel surface. By using a near-field damping (NFD) model based on the Biot model for acoustical porous media, it has been shown that a properly-optimized fibrous layer can provide levels of damping comparable with

Xue, Yutong, Bolton, J Stuart, Herdtle, Thomas

Advanced Technology, Lightweight, Multifunctional Micro-avionics for Manned and Unmanned Rotorcraft Enhance Operational Capability of Future Vertical Lift Platforms

F-0075-2019-14549

5/13/2019

Emerging microelectronic technologies are expanding functionalities for future decades of vertical lift platforms, enabling both manned and unmanned rotorcraft to fully and safely participate in the NextGen National Airspace System. Specifically, for rotorcraft, benefits from expanded multi-functionality and reduced weight and space requirements, for both mandatory and desired optional avionics, are entering advanced development and flight-testing stages prior to being available to all users. One has only to think about the incredible, multifunctional capabilities of a smartphone to imagine what is possible in avionics with today's advanced technology. This presentation discusses achievements that only a few years ago were beyond imagination – miniaturized avionics that fully employ tiny but powerful digital processors and software defined multi-functional systems on a single chip are rapidly obsoleting the "black boxes" of the past. For both manned and unmanned rotorcraft systems, the

Contarino, RaNae, Healing, Richard, Contarino, V.

Evaluation of Impact Energy Attenuators and Composite Material Designs of a UAM VTOL Concept Vehicle

F-0075-2019-14554

5/13/2019

The development of Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles for the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) markets presents a need for light weight vehicle structures with effective occupant protection capabilities. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been working to fill that need, recently developing a cadre of concept vehicles to help characterize UAM design feasibility. This paper describes a study, using these concept vehicles, to evaluate the use of advanced composite structure and energy attenuating designs in the UAM vehicle design space. A finite element model (FEM) of a single passenger quadrotor concept vehicle was developed in LS- Dyna® and simulated under nominal and off-nominal vertical impact conditions. A variety of energy attenuating design mechanisms were implemented within this model to quantify their effectiveness in improving occupant safety. The use of carbon composites in both the energy attenuation mechanisms and vehicle structure was evaluated

Putnam, Jacob, Littell, Justin

Hydrodynamic Ram Compliant and Self-Sealing Fuel Cell Structures

F-0075-2019-14556

5/13/2019

In order to maximize range, a substantial portion of the interior volume of aircraft is allocated for fuel containment. To ensure the safety of aircrew and passengers, these systems must contain fuel and retain critical structural integrity in the event of a crash, self-seal and retain structural capability in the event of penetration, and suppress fire in the event of proximate ignition. Traditionally, light weight aircraft such as rotorcraft have accomplished these functions with heavy self-sealing bladder offset and isolated from primary structure. Boeing and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center's Aviation Development Directorate (ADD), together with the Joint Aircraft Survivability Program Office, have developed and demonstrated a structurally integrated fuel containment system that efficiently tolerates crash, self-seals, and suppresses fire at a lower weight and volume than traditional systems, thus maximizing space and weight capacity for

McCarthy, Dennis, Robeson, Mark, Chiu, Lisa, Gatley, Christopher, Andrews, Clark, Childress, Jamie

Development of the Mars Helicopter Rotor System

F-0075-2019-14540

5/13/2019

The Mars Helicopter is a 1.8 kg coaxial rotorcraft designed to demonstrate aerial mobility at the surface of Mars after deployment from the Mars 2020 rover. In this paper, the authors present the development of the Mars Helicopter rotor system from preliminary design through fabrication and testing of the flight hardware. The vehicle has a 1.21 m counter-rotating coaxial rotor system which is driven by electric motors and which features collective and cyclic controls on both the upper and lower rotor sets. The rotor blade design is characterized by the low Reynolds number (∼104), high Mach number (∼0.7), high stiffness (first flap frequency ∼1.9/rev), and minimum mass. Airfoil design focused on minimizing drag at the low operating Reynolds number while maintaining sufficient spar depth for structural requirements, and the blade planform was based on a minimum induced loss profile with modifications to reduce mass of the outboard blade sections for increased flap frequency. The

Pipenberg, Benjamin, Keennon, Matthew, Langberg, Sara, Tyler, Jeremy

Gearbox Planetary Bearing Cage Failure Analysis

F-0075-2019-14679

5/13/2019

There is a constant push within the rotorcraft community to increase performance while simultaneously reducing weight in all systems. For rolling element bearings, this translates to a demand for alternative materials with lower density and improved mechanical properties. This combination of new materials and increasingly demanding application conditions goes beyond historical experiences and defined design and analysis standards. A consequence of this is that tests of these new technologies occasionally result in failure. This was the case during a recent series of gearbox tests during which two different bearing designs failed due to cage issues. The two bearing designs included cages manufactured out of different materials, and the cages failed due to two distinct failure modes (wear and structural fatigue). These test results were used to validate computational results from SKF's proprietary multibody dynamics software, BEAST (BEAring Simulation Tool). A combination of elemental

Fitzgerald, Joshua, Allison, Bryan, Lunz, Tom, Misiaszek, Matthew

Design Optimization of a Hybrid Spur Gear

F-0075-2019-14674

5/13/2019

This study develops an optimization technique for a sinusoidal interlock design of a hybrid spur gear consisting of a metallic outer ring to support high contact stress bonded to a composite inner web for weight reduction. Two objectives (mass and shear traction on the metal-composite interface under static loading conditions) were minimized for four design variables subject to two constraints. Borg MOEA, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm developed at The Pennsylvania State University, and an in-house finite element solver were used to generate Pareto-optimal solutions to this design problem. Two of the designs were then analyzed in greater detail to determine stress distributions throughout the gear. In the future, this technique will be refined and applied to optimization of more representative rotorcraft gears, with the aim of reducing drive train weight and meeting performance requirements.

Gauntt, Sean, Campbell, Robert, McIntyre, Sean

Molecular Device Uses Novel OPT Arrays

TBMG-344445/1/2019

Converting light into electrical signals is essential for a number of future applications including imaging, optical communication, and biomedical sensing. Researchers have developed a new molecular device that can detect light and translate it with high efficiency to detectable electronical current.

AV ‘Goiters’ Be Gone!

19AVEP05_125/1/2019

Magneti Marelli's ‘Smart Corner’ technology aims to reduce cost, complexity and mass by integrating key vehicle sensors seamlessly into a vehicle's lighting modules. Warts. Bumps. Blisters. Protuberances. These and other less-flattering terms are used by vehicle designers and engineers to describe the bulging, non-integrated sensor placement that has become the unfortunate visual signature for automated vehicles (AVs). “We actually call them ‘goiters,’” said Bill Grabowski, head of innovation and technology for Automotive Lighting division at Magneti Marelli. “While they're [sensors] primarily for function, the OEM and the end customer don't want to see these protrusions littering the vehicle exterior in production. Packaging up to 25 sensors that handle all levels of ADAS and autonomous driving has become a major problem for the automakers.”

Brooke, Lindsay

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