Ant colony algorithm for automotive safety integrity level allocation

ISO 26262, the new automotive functional safety standard, aims to foster the design and development of safe products by ensuring that the risks posed by hazardous components are reduced to a residual level. Therefore, the standard defines and uses the concept of Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs) that classify the strictness of safety requirements to be assigned to the failure modes of the system based on the hazard they may cause. ASIL allocation can be described as a hard optimization problem focused on finding the optimal ASIL allocation that maximizes the safety requirements and minimizes cost. However, finding this optimal allocation among a set of possible allocations can represent a difficult task in large systems that contain a large number of components, which subsequently increases the search space. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach that uses the nature-inspired meta-heuristic Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm to solve the ASIL allocation problem and makes use of strategies that reduce the solution space. The problem was formulated as a construction graph, which the ants use to construct possible ASIL allocations. The search space reduction is accelerated considerably by both the effective performance of the ACO and the convergence of the algorithm on the optimal solution. This approach has been evaluated by applying it to a hybrid braking system and a steer-by-wire system. The results show a significant improvement over genetic-based, penguins search-based and tabu search-based approaches.     

Influence of balancing of internal combustion engines on the operating conditions of hydrodynamic bearings

We studied the influence of balancing internal combustion engines on the performance of hydrodynamic plain bearings. A non-linear approach makes it possible to calculate the forces of pressure generated by the lubricant film. This approach is coupled with a dynamic calculation, which determines the inertia forces of the rod. The counterweight to balance the engine is applied to the heads of rods and not to the crankshaft. We chose three models of connecting rod (rod of an engine in series, rod with partial and rod with complete counterweight). To determine the lubricant pressure field in the bearing, the modified Reynolds equation was solved using the finite difference method, taking into account the boundary conditions of Reynolds. Since the bearing is subjected to a variable load, the mobility method was used to facilitate the resolution of the Reynolds equation. The proposed numerical simulation allowed us to analyze the influence of counterweight applied to the connecting rod head on the variation of the lubricant pressure field, the minimum film thickness, the axial flow and the friction torque in the big end bearing during the operating cycle.     

An Overview of the Approaches for Automotive Safety Integrity Levels Allocation

Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention - ISO 26262, titled Road Vehicles–Functional Safety, is the new automotive functional safety standard for passenger vehicle industry. In order to...     

Transport Properties in Gases at High Temperature and Low Pressure: Comparison of Kinetic Theory with Direct Simulation Monte Carlo

Expressions for the transport coefficients obtained from the Gross-Jackson and the Chapman–Enskog methods are used to derive explicit relations incorporating the internal energy of the molecules for pure polyatomic gases and for binary mixtures of gases. Various coefficients such as the binary diffusion, thermal conductivity, and the viscosity coefficients and the thermal diffusion factor are calculated and a comparison with the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is carried out. The results show that the contribution of the internal energy is important and cannot be neglected.     

Beta zeolite supported sol-gel TiO2 materials for gas phase photocatalytic applications

Beta zeolite supported sol-gel TiO(2) photocatalytic materials were prepared according to a sol-gel route in which high specific surface area Beta zeolite powder was incorporated into the titanium isopropoxide sol during the course of the sol-gel process. This led to an intimate contact between the zeolite surface and the TiO(2) precursors, and resulted in the anchorage of large amounts of dispersed TiO(2) nanoparticles and in the stabilization of TiO(2) in its anatase form, even for high TiO(2) wt. contents and high calcination temperatures. Taking the UV-A photocatalytic oxidation of methanol as gas phase target reaction, high methanol conversions were obtained on the Beta zeolite supported TiO(2) photocatalysts when compared to bulk sol-gel TiO(2), despite lower amounts of TiO(2) within the photoactive materials. The methanol conversion was optimum for about 40 wt.% TiO(2) loading and calcination temperatures of 500-600°C.     

Thermomechanical Behavior of Brake Drums Under Extreme Braking Conditions

Braking efficiency is characterized by reduced braking time and distance, and therefore passenger safety depends on the design of the braking system. During the braking of a vehicle, the braking system must dissipate the kinetic energy by transforming it into heat energy. A too high temperature can lead to an almost total loss of braking efficiency. An excessive rise in brake temperature can also cause surface cracks extending to the outside edge of the drum friction surface. Heat transfer and temperature gradient, not to forget the vehicle's travel environment (high speed, heavy load, and steeply sloping road conditions), must thus be the essential criteria for any brake system design. The aim of the present investigation is to analyze the thermal behavior of different brake drum designs during the single emergency braking of a heavy-duty vehicle on a steeply sloping road. The calculation of the temperature field is performed in transient mode using a three-dimensional finite element model assuming a constant coefficient of friction. In this study, the influence of geometrical brake drum configurations on the thermal behavior of brake drums with two different materials in grey cast iron FG200 and aluminum alloy 356.0 reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) particles is analyzed under extreme vehicle braking conditions. The numerical simulation results obtained using FE software ANSYS are qualitatively compared with the results already published in the literature.     

Influence of chemical binding on the neutron width Γn

In the studies of the broadening of neutron resonance reactions, it has always been assumed that one can neglect the dependence of the neutron width Γ_n on the initial and intermediate state of the lattice when the capturing atom is bound in a crystal. In this paper, we calculate the mean value of the resolvent of the Schrodinger equation to derive a formal expression of Γ_n that shows that the neutron width depends on the initial and intermediate state of the lattice after formation of the compound nucleus. An application is made to harmonic oscillators targets.     

Effect of insulator shape on surface discharges and flashover under polluted conditions

Despite the extensive investigations carried out on the pollution performance of outdoor insulators, the flashover characteristic and its interaction with insulator shape is still not very well understood. In this paper, we present findings of experiments which allow quantifying the effects of insulator geometry on the flashover voltage. Two main parameters were considered: the flashover current (maximum magnitude of leakage current just before flashover) and the flashover voltage. Known difficulties related to accurate measurement of these parameters which are due to parallel partial arcs on some insulators, have been quantified using control insulators and simple modelling approaches. Furthermore, the effect of insulator shape on arc length has been quantified using nonuniform pollution techniques.     

Influence of Thermal Fatigue on the Wear Behavior of Brake Discs Sliding against Organic and Semimetallic Friction Materials

ABSTRACT

In this article, brake discs are exposed to high thermal stress, causing thermal fatigue damage. The aim of this work is to study the evolution of the wear behavior of brake disc materials, such as cast iron, chromium steel, and metal matrix composites, under the influence of thermal fatigue. The brake disc specimens are heated and then cooled rapidly. Then, wear tests are carried out using a pin-on-disc-type tribometer. Organic and semimetallic friction materials are used for all wear tests. The results show that thermal fatigue affects the structure of the contact surfaces of all of the disc specimens by increasing their roughness. Furthermore, the wear rate of the friction materials increased, except a reduction of the wear rate is noted for the semimetallic friction material rubbing against cast iron. Moreover, thermal fatigue has no significant influence on the coefficient of friction. The worn surface of the metal matrix composite sliding against semimetallic friction material is characterized by abrasive and adhesive wear mechanisms.