Proposal for an Inundation Hazard Index of Road Links for Safer Routing Services in Car Navigation Systems

Inundation of roads by heavy rainfall has attracted more attention than traffic accidents, traffic congestion, and construction because it simultaneously causes travel delays and threatens driver safety. For these reasons, in this paper, we propose an inundation hazard index (IHI) of road links, which shows the possibility of inundation of road links caused by rainfall. To generate the index, we have used two key data sources, namely the digital elevation model (DEM) and past rainfall records of when inundation has occurred. IHI is derived by statistically analyzing the relationships between the normalized relative height of the road links calculated from DEM within the watershed and past rainfall records. After analyzing the practical applicability of the proposed index with a commercial car navigation system through a set of tests, we confirmed that the proposed IHI could be implemented to choose safer routes, with reduced chances of encountering roads having inundation risks.s     

电梯安装与检验中的几个认识误区

对电梯检验案例中存在的底坑下方空间处理、轿厢自重改变、额定速度与连通性电阻的测量、紧急解困装置的设置等几种误区进行了分析,并提出了正确的解决方法。     

Car side window kinematics

It is a demanding and time-consuming task to construct the side window mechanism of a car such that the deflections along the seals are minimized. The reason for this is that the window surface S delivered by the stylist, will in general not be movable in a proper way: It is required that the surface tightly moves along the seals. Deflections will necessarily occur no matter how much effort the engineer invests. This article describes how to find a spatial motion that minimizes seal deflection for some given automobile side window surface. Necessary but acceptable modification of the stylist’s surface S is also addressed, as well as the lifting mechanism design. It is argued that our systematic approach offers considerable savings compared to the prevailing trial-and-error approach.     

Virtual Testing Stand for evaluation of car cabin indoor environment

In the paper the authors refer to a new computational tool for the transient prediction of the car cabin environment and heat load during real operating conditions. The aim of the Virtual Testing Stand software is to support an early stage of the HVAC design process to predict demands for the heating and cooling for various operational conditions and types of car. This software was developed in Matlab as a standalone executable application including a parametric generator of car cabin geometry, a heat transfer model and a graphical user interface. The mathematical model is formed by the set of heat balance equations, which takes into account the heat accumulation, and the heat exchange between the car cabin, the outside environment, the HVAC system and the passengers. In this paper the main features of Matlab application are presented together with a selected sensitivity study of two significant parameters in a winter test case.     

A study on driver’s workload of telematics using a driving simulator: A comparison among information modalities

Recently, diffusion of telematics services and an explosive increase of in-vehicle display devices, such as Car Navigation Systems (CNSs), are becoming the new causes of traffic accidents. This is due to ‘inattention’ caused by an increase in the driver’s mental workload while he/she is driving. This situation has lead many countries to consider controlling the use of in-vehicle devices while driving through legislation. This research studies the effect of voice or display information systems on drivers through the Driver Eye Movement Analysis and the measurement of response ability. The experiment is carried out in a driving simulator and the results are presented through the comparative analysis of the driver’s visual field via the gaze tracking device and the average of correct answer rates for arithmetic problems.     

Recovery by hydrometallurgical extraction of the platinum-group metals from car catalytic converters

The car industry is one of the technological applications which more platinum-group metals (PGM) employs. Therefore, the recovery of the PGMs from the car catalytic converters could be an important source to obtain these precious metals, with economic and environmental consequences.In this work, the car catalytic converters were characterized through different techniques as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma.In order to suggest an environmentally friendly method for the recovery of PGMs, some conditions such as the reagents concentration and composition, energy optimization, pre-treatment in hydrogen atmosphere and a thermal pre-treatment were studied.In addition, a new alternative to recover at least the 95% of the PGMs present in the car catalytic converters by the application of lees aggressive, corrosive or expensive reagents and conditions is proposed.     

The marriage of car sharing and hydrogen economy: A possible solution to the main problems of urban living

The hydrogen economy is seeking its killer application, which can break down the ‘chicken and egg problem’, i.e., no hydrogen powered car can be sold if it cannot be refueled, and nobody will invest to a hydrogen refueling station if no one has a hydrogen powered vehicle. The applications like material handling, backup-power, and small stationary combined heat and power (CHP) engines are the most promising candidates, which may show financial return in 3–5 years. The replacement of fossil fuel with hydrogen in the automotive industry offers a substantial reduction of the harmful environmental effects, however, it is still the most challenging because of the absence of the hydrogen infrastructure, the price and the lifetime of the fuel cell (FC) engine and the unsuitable regulations, as well. In this work a new possible market was identified and analyzed in different points of view. This market segment is a car-sharing system operating with small urban vehicles, which not only can solve some environmental problems (e.g., air pollution and CO₂ emission), but also helps to reduce congestion, secure energy supply and ease its distribution. First, a sensitivity analysis was done and the key performance indicators of the system were determined. The financial return of a hydrogen-based car-sharing system was examined carefully as a function of the rated power of the fuel cell power train, the way of hydrogen supply, the cost of the hydrogen and the size of the car fleet. Finally, a possible hydrogen-based car-sharing service was designed and optimized to the downtown of Budapest, Hungary. A sustainable system was proposed, which can satisfy the needs of the business (i.e., profitability) and the environment.     

安森美半导体专为车载网络优化的解决方案

本文介绍了安森美半导体用于车载网络的创新解决方案,包括CAN收发器NCV7341,LIN收发器NCV7321,以及系统级芯片NCV7420/25 LIN-SBC等。     

影响汽车内饰用ATY质量因素的探讨

根据多年的科研和生产实践,详细讨论了影响汽车内饰用ATY质量的主要因素,并提出相应的改进技术和管理措施。     

汽车后桥壳工艺分析及解决方案

通过对汽车后桥壳的工艺分析,介绍了汽车焊接式后桥在组合机床上的常规工艺流程,并针对用户的一些特殊要求,提出了解决方案,总结出一条规范可靠的加工工艺方案。