Modern Automotive Engines Trends & Technologies 1.

.1 Introduction The advent of Automotive Electronics has brought a new dimension to the field of automotive research. The prime motive of this involves making an Automobile more fuel efficient without compromising with performance and also Eco friendly. Modern IC Engines are not an exception in this respect. Some of the trends observed in Engine designs are

Engine Design trends: The location of various parasitic loads has been changed like engines with Over Head camshaft arrangement. Some of the parasitic loads have been made independent of engine like Steering Assist Hydraulic pump. Even combining Alternator and Starter motor (ISG) is a new development. Unorthodox IC Engines like Wankel engine, Air engine and Grail engine have also paved new opportunities for research.

Material trends: Previous IC engines were manufactured by casting or forging of ferrous metals. But the need to improve power to weight ratio has made way for use of aluminium alloys for cylinder blocks, cylinder heads and intake manifolds are made of magnesium. Parts such as engine covers, intake manifolds, and oil pans are being manufactured by powder metallurgy by using plastic or composite materials which are less dense and reduce engine noise and vibration.

Ignition & Fuel Supply trends: Distributor less ignition system are replaced by coilon-plug or direct ignition system. In this ignition system ignition coil sits directly above each spark plug. Modern IC Engines have ECUs capable of monitoring exhaust gases by the help of oxygen sensors and control the air fuel mixture accordingly by electronic actuators.

1.2 Technology in Modern IC Engines The various new technologies introduced in IC Engines are explained here
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Drive by Wire Throttle System: This system eliminates the mechanical linkage between Accelerator pedal and Throttle. A accelerator pedal module based on Hall effect sensor or a rotary potentiometer detects the driver input and through ECU sends signal to electric motor (BLDC) to adjust the throttle position accordingly. TPS is also

included in the control loop for a closed loop operation. A major advantage of this system is that it can be integrated with ESP, ACC and TC since throttle position can be controlled irrespective of driver input. In case of failure of the system limp home mode will be activated setting the throttle in a fixed position to maintain uniform vehicle speed.

Variable valve timing (VVT): Traditional Valve mechanism use fixed valve timing which is a compromise between low and high Engine speed. A typical VVT engine is capable of varying Valve timing & lift of valve according to engine speed. The engine has 2 camshafts for operating intake valves and operating exhaust valves. Each camshaft has two lobes per cylinder for high and low rpm, with two intake valves and exhaust valves. Each set of two valves are controlled by one rocker arm which has a slipper follower mounted to the rocker arm with a spring .The Engine speed sensor, the ECM, oil pressure switch forms a closed loop which pushes a sliding pin under the slipper follower on each rocker arm to switch to the high lobe causing high lift and longer duration at high rpm. VVT improves Engine fuel efficiency, Torque and Engine responsiveness.

Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI): The fuel is supplied directly to a common rail from where it is injected directly onto the pistons which ensures the onset of the combustion in the whole fuel mixture at the same time. CRDI provides highly accurate and uniform distribution of air/fuel ratio at all engine operating condition and better engine response

Multi point Fuel Injection (MPFI): In this system each cylinder has number of injectors to supply fuel in the cylinders as compared to one injector located centrally to supply fuel in case of single point injection system. MPFI with direct injection provides allows higher compression ratios and more efficient fuel intake, which deliver higher performance with lower fuel consumption.

Integrated Starter/Generator (ISG): In this system the Starter motor also acts as a alternator and stores energy in the battery when the engine is running. At idling condition the ECM signals the engine to stop and start as required and the alternator drives the engine to start. Regenerative braking can also be implemented in this system for higher fuel efficiency without effecting driver comfort.

Cylinder deactivation: This system enables the ECM to cut off fuel supply to some cylinders (Normally in 6-8 cylinder engines) at low load condition to reduce the fuel consumption. This system is not suitable for 3-4 cylinder engines because it may greatly reduce the engine performance. The ECM signals the VVTi to close the intake and exhaust valve creating an air spring in the combustion chamber and hence no load is supported by the cylinder.

Safety Systems 2.1 Introduction: At the time of launch of first affordable road car in the year 1909 Ford Model T [1] people were fascinated about this indigenous locomotive which can carry people from one place to another with minimum human effort. With top speed of just 40 to 45kmph [1] safety of the passengers were least of the concerns. But as the industrial age has emerged and flourished in both developed and developing countries car design and driver attitude has changed greatly. According to WHO September 2012 reports about 1.3 million people die each year on roads worldwide. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people, aged between 15 and 29 [2] which is a very disturbing fact. Over 90% of the deaths on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the worlds registered vehicles [2] which includes India. Even with these alarming figures common commuters are more aware of traffic congestion then road fatalities, so it is the duty of the car designers to prioritise safety of cars over speed, acceleration and aesthetics. Modern car safety systems are widely branched into active and passive safety system. The prime motive of these systems is to assist the driver to avoid any impending danger to passengers as well as pedestrians in driving condition or in a worst case scenario damp the effects of an accident to the passengers. Various active and passive systems installed in modern cars are explained here. Passive Safety System: In occurrence of a collision the vehicle deformation occurs within 0.1-0.2 seconds but braking maneuver will take few seconds [3]. Hence the occupants will subjected to very thrust in the direction of motion and in case of absence of any restraints the occupants will be subjected to injury due to vehicle interior trims. Primary objective of a passive safety system is to safe guard the occupant by a combination of restraint and by collision damping to the passenger cabin. Based on these two methods following safety measures are implemented in modern cars.

Vehicle Structure: This category mainly deals with the crashworthiness of the vehicle body. In case of frontal, rear or side impact the vehicle body is designed to absorb the crash energy by deforming with minimal deformation of the passenger cabin. This is realised by understanding the various crash scenarios and vehicle behaviour in these crash scenarios.

Figure 2.1 [4] From Figure 1 it can be understood that the two vehicles with different front hood length have to absorb same energy, because of this the SUV becomes much stiffer then the Sedan and hence passenger in SUV is injured more in this case. Both the front and the rear of the car act as a crumple zone and hence are made less stiff to absorb crash energy. To inhibit the effects of side impact modern cars have side doors with beam, cells, padding and other energy absorbing medium. Modern vehicles are also provided with safety cages which are built around the passenger cabin to provide protection in case of vehicle roll over.
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Restraint System: Modern automobiles are fitted with occupant restraint systems, like seat belt with pre-tensioner and airbags to reduce passenger injuries and fatalities at the occurrence of a crash. Seat belts are the primary restraint systems whereas air bag is supplementary to the seat belt. Type of seat belt also greatly affects the occupant safety because insufficient restraint might still be dangerous. The various seat belt restraints are shown in the figure 2.

Figure 2.2 Left to Right Lap Strap, 3 point, Belt in seat, Five point Harness [5] Three point Harness is best restraint for passenger cars since they support both torso and shoulder region. They are easy to detach. Seat belt pre tensioner arrests the slack of the seat belt in case of sudden deceleration which pulls the occupant firmly on the seat when crash occurs. Air bags have three basic functions which are slowing the driver deceleration by deflating at a controlled rate, preventing the driver and passenger head from colliding with the internal trims and supplementing the seat belt constrain to reduce occupant chest compression. Airbag operates by detecting crash with the help of accelerometer sensors, and calculating the severity of the crash and deploying the airbag if necessary. Active Safety System As the name suggests this safety system is a drive assistance system controlled by various electro mechanical devices to prevent accidents either by cautioning the driver or by overriding driver command. The various Active safety systems include ABS, TCS, ESP, TPMS, ACC and Parking Assist.
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Tire Pressure Management System (TPMS): Tire is the most crucial part any automobile in all the aspects imaginable. The contact patch defined by the tyre on the ground can define vehicle handling & stability, Fuel economy, Acceleration, Top Speed and many more. Many times Tire is the most neglected part by any automobile owner. Tire pressure defines the geometry of the contact patch, roll resistance and cornering stiffness. TPMS continuously monitors the pressure in individual tires and notifies the driver in case of under inflation or sudden drop in tire pressure. TPMS consists of Tire pressure sensor, Control Module, radio frequency transmitter and receiver. The pressure sensor is mounted on the tire rim hence each sensor is fitted with independent batteries having a low discharge rate. Tire pressure is detected at intervals of time and transmitted to the receiver by low frequency radio signal. The signal from receiver is

then amplified, conditioned, converted from analog to digital and rendered to the control module. The control module detects any pressure drop and notifies the drive through Warning lamp.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC): ACC is intended to reduce driver fatigue while on long drives on highways where any mishandling will lead to fatality. It allows a driver to set a desired speed similar to ordinary cruise control but if a vehicle immediately ahead of the equipped vehicle is moving at a slower speed, then throttle and braking of the host vehicle is controlled to match the speed of the slower vehicle as per the driver defined gap. The defined speed is automatically re attained when the roadway ahead is unobstructed, either due to slower vehicle ahead leaving the lane or the driver of the host vehicle changing to a clear lane. The current ACC Systems monitor the road ahead using either radar or Lidar (laser radar).The operating modes of an ACC is shown in figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3 Various modes of ACC operation [Refer 7]

Antilock Braking System (ABS): This system is primarily addressing the problem of wheel locking due to sudden application of brakes under driver panic. A wheel under locked condition may lead to under steer or over steer and finally lead to fatalities. Major components of an ABS include Brake Module, Wheel Speed Sensor and Hydraulic Modulator with solenoid valves and Brake assembly. ABS control module analyses wheel speed sensors data and detects any wheel approaching lock condition. It

signals the hydraulic modulator to release the brake pressure momentarily on the locked wheel using solenoid assembly. The control strategy for ABS is shown in figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4 ABS Control Strategy [Refer 8] 2.2 Active Safety System-Passive Safety System, A comparison Active Safety System
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Technology: The technology used in Active safety system is highly advanced compared to passive safety system. The control algorithms have to deal with a lot of variables and either affected by driver attitude, vehicle stability or the road environment. The sensors used in Active safety range from Wheel speed sensors (ABS & TCS), Yaw rate sensors (ESP), Proximity sensors (Parking Assistance) & Radar (ACC).

Application: Active safety system has a wide range of application ranging from Passenger cars, Performance cars, Trailer trucks etc. But it is noticed that certain road

legal race cars have option to turn off ABS & TCS for fast cornering and other manuevers. High speed Trucks used for goods transport have high vulnerability for roll over. ESPs with body roll mitigation is used for this purpose.
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Cost: Due to a large range of sensor and high performance control module make active safety comparatively expensive compared to its counterpart but operation of this safety system provides larger duty cycle since it avoids damage to the car and hence to system itself, but if any part requires servicing then the expense will be high.

Viability: Installation of Active safety system in Indian cars is in a very basic stage. Although ABS, TCS & Parking Assist is a usual feature in many new Indian brands the high end safety systems like ESP & ACC are yet to be launched in any affordable cars. ACC especially is not suitable in Indian Highways due to the lack of driving discipline

Passive Safety System

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Technology: The control strategies for passive safety systems like air bag, seat belt pretension, head restraint system is very straight forward. Hence variables to be considered are less. Sensors used are mainly to detect crash hence are mainly accelerometers mounted at various locations in the car. The response time of Passive safety systems has to be very high and hence actuation of these safety systems is mainly done by explosive techniques.

Application: Passive safety systems find application in almost all kind of locomotives whether road vehicle or air vehicles. Passive safety is an integral part of any automobile even with or without active safety systems. The Vehicle structure itself is a passive safety device hence all vehicles are designed to provide passive safety as a minimum safety measure.

Cost: Passive safety systems are less compared to active safety systems due to less components & simple operation. But the passive safety systems have very low duty cycle because they are designed for one operation and then have to be replaced. Since Passive safety system does not avoid accidents it is completely dependent on driver behaviour on expense of passive safety system.

Viability: Although Passive safety is a necessity in all cars it has a limitation of triggering time as for air bag and seat belt. If the vehicle speed is very high the triggering time wouldnt be sufficient to safeguard the passengers. For mid-sized family cars used in India for city commutation Airbag and seat belt pretension is a very viable choice. Since most of the cars used in India are compact in design Vehicle structure absorption of crash energy is very less hence restraint system is a very good safety measure.

2.3 Electronic Stability Program (ESP):

ESP is an active safety system which detects any changes of the vehicle behaviour from the driver input and controls the braking system on individual tires to improve vehicle stability and handling to avoid accidents. ESP acts as a controlling member which picks data from various sensors and guides the ABS to avoid accidents.

Under steer and Over Steer: This phenomenon occurs due to the stable yaw moment of the vehicle when cornering due to a combination of panic driving and wheel locking. Both the phenomenons are observed in the figure 2.5.

Figure 2.5 [Refer 9] Under steer occurs when Front wheel of the vehicle locks up and the driver steering is not transferred to the vehicle and hence the vehicle continues to propagate in the

direction before the wheel locked up and finally comes to halt. Oversteer occurs when Rear wheel locks up and the vehicle stability completely depends on the mercy of driver input. Any average driver under these conditions panics and erratically steers the vehicle and lead to fatalities. An ESP collects data from Wheel speed sensor and yaw rate sensor to detect whether the vehicle is in the verge of understeer or oversteer and directs the ABS release the break pressure on particular tire of maintain pure rolling moment between road and wheel.

Configuration of an ESP: The basic control algorithm of an ESP is shown in figure 2.6.

Figure 2.6 [Refer 6] According to the algorithm the basic components required for this control system are
1. Steering Angular speed Sensor

2. Wheel Speed Sensor 3. Yaw rate Sensor (Accelerometer) 4. ABS

5. EBCM

Process: The ESP control module continuously monitors the data from all the sensors and matches it with reference models hard coded in its memory. Data

regarding Vehicle Speed, Steering Angle Input and Vehicle Yaw is enough to determine the Vehicle stability. The decision is made in the control module whether to override driver input and with the aid of ABS selective braking is applied. Some EPS with Active steering can control even the steering system to avoid understeer or oversteer. Figure 2.7 shows the layout of a complete ESP with all its subsystem installation location.

Figure 2.8 Layout of ESP in Mercedes Benz E class [Refer 6]

o Steering Angular Speed/Angle Sensor: These sensors are mounted on the steering

column below the Air bag Module and can detect both steering angle and angular velocity. Most steering angle sensors have multi turn capability and hence steering angle can be used to predict the car wheel angle by including wheel slip, steering linkage friction and backlash compensation in the control algorithm. Most popular Steering Angle sensors are of optical type or Hall Effect sensors.

Figure 2.7 [Refer 10] Figure 2.7 shows a Steering Angle Sensor by Methode Electronics, which uses optical technology and has multi-turn capability with a resolution of 0.10o and accuracy of 1.5o. Its single output can be CAN, LIN or PWM [10].
o Yaw rate Sensor (Accelerometer): A yaw rate sensor measure the lateral acceleration

of the vehicle (Yaw moment). They are basically gyroscopic devices based on MEMS technology and are installed in the passenger cabin. Figure 2.8 shows a yaw rate sensor based on MEMS technology with CAN interface. It has a minimum resolution of 0.2o/s and sensitivity of 18mV/o/s.

Figure2.8 [Refer 11]

o Wheel Speed Sensors: The speed sensor shown in Figure 2.8 is a Variable reluctance

sensor consisting of a toothed wheel and a inductive sensor. The output signal of this sensor is analog in nature but because of its simple construction and since direction of rotation is not necessary to determine this type of sensor is most popular for detecting Wheel speed.

Figure 2.8 A disc brake unit with wheel speed sensor [Refer 11]

o Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS): As explained before ABS controls the wheel

locking by intermittent application of break pressure at high vehicle deceleration. The complete layout of ABS in a car is shown in figure 2.9. The hydraulic brake pressure modulator consists of hydraulic pump, isolation valves, dump valves

Figure 2.9, Representation of typical ABS system in a car [Refer 13]

o Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM): The EBCM controls the solenoid valves

in the hydraulic modulator and pressure regulator valves to distribute pressure among the brake callipers. It has a diagnostic tool interface to detect failure. The EBCM contains two parts

1. System Relay: The system relay is energized only when car ignition is on. It supplies battery voltage to the solenoid valves and pump motor 2. Solenoids: The solenoids are commanded by the EBCM to operate valves in the hydraulic modulator.

Air bag System 3.1 Airbag as a safety system: Accidents while driving a vehicle is inevitable whether its the drivers mistake or impended by the environment. It is very difficult to tackle all the scenarios of a n accident with control system, the only thing possible is provide safety to the passenger even if the car meets an accident. Role of an airbag system is to make this possible. In any accident scenario two types of collision occurs 1. Primary collision: Collision between the vehicle exterior and the obstacle. 2. Secondary collision: Collision between the passenger and vehicle interior. Airbag deals with the secondary collision. According to law of conservation of energy Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be transferred from one form to another. Hence when a collision occurs kinetic energy of the vehicle is transformed into heat energy and vehicle deformation. And this transformation results within milliseconds and hence the passenger in the vehicle is capable of shielding this kind of rapid retardation. Airbag acts as an air pillow, protecting the fragile human body from colliding the hard trim surfaces. From the figure 3.1 it can be understood that the absence of the airbag would have led the drivers head to collide the steering wheel and cause injury. So the airbag is installed for two purposes 1. Slow the retardation of the human body as a supplement to the seat belt system. 2. Protecting the human body from colliding the vehicle trims.

Figure 3.1 Deployment of a driver airbag [Refer 14] 3.2Requirements of an Airbag System An air bag system is only effective when deployment is timed correctly, and this is possible only when all the components are functioning properly. The various components of an airbag system are shown in the figure 3.2.The sensors detect the crash and send the report to the ECU. The ECU does the decision making whether to deploy the airbag or not depending on the severity of the crash. The inflator deploys the nylon bag by a chemical reaction. The bag is fully inflated before the occupant makes contact with the bag without inflicting unnecessary forces on the occupant. This principle is applicable for both frontal and side impact. The critical requirements of an air bag system is explained here.

Figure 3.2 Components of an airbag system [Refer 3]

1. Sensor Location: The location of the crash sensors is very important in registering the

crash whether its frontal or side impact. The frontal crash sensors are mounted beneath the front bumpers and side and curtain airbags are mounted in the door panels as shown in the figure 3.3 & 3.4.

Figure 3.3 Front Sensor Location [Refer 15]

Figure 3.4 Side Impact Sensor Location [Refer 15]

2. Time: Time for airbag deployment is the most crucial requirement of any air bag

system. The deployment time for a frontal crash is 50 milliseconds and for side impact is 15 milliseconds [14]. Deploying earlier to this stipulated time will not cushion the driver properly since the air bag is made of nylon material which deflates rapidly. Deploying after the stipulated time will be of no use.
3. Crash Sensors: The present day sensors are electro-mechanical units, capable of

measuring crash-induced motion (such as accelerations, velocities or displacements) of the points on the vehicle structure to which they are attached.

Front: Usually front crash sensors are accelerometers based on MEMS technology. They are located either behind front bumpers or below passenger seats. Some crash sensors are located both below the passenger seat and in the front hood to detect even small area crashes. In some vehicle the sensing and control unit both the sensors and control unit are integrated into a single enclosure called sensing and diagnostic unit.

Side: Sensors for side airbags generally are accelerometers that measure the lateral acceleration of the attached structure. These sensors may be integrated with the front sensors as part of sensing and diagnostic unit or located in the side pillar or in its vicinity.

Rollover: The roll over sensor is a Yaw rate sensor based on MEMS technology. This sensor detects any unusual swaying of the vehicle and helps the ECU in deciding whether to deploy curtain airbags in case of imminent rollover possibility. These sensors are normally very small in size and can be included as part of sensing and diagnostic unit.

Occupant Classification Sensor: These sensors are basically pressure sensors mounted on the brackets connecting the seat rail and seat frame. These sensors in conjunction with the occupant classification system detect whether the occupant is adult, infant or absent. The figure 3.5 shows the location of occupant classification sensor and its load v/s voltage curve.

Figure 3.5 [Refer 15]

4. Control Unit: When a crash occurs, data from sensors are sent to the control unit

where they are compared against the stored algorithms. If the control unit determines that a deployment condition has been met, a signal is sent to the igniter module and combustion of the propellants is initiated. Figure 3.6 shows the control system for front collision airbag system. Here the ECM and the sensor can be a single unit called sensing and diagnostic unit.

Figure 3.6 System diagram for airbag frontal collision system [Refer 15]

The control unit has to consider following variables before signalling the inflator to deploy the air bag 1. Checking the severity of the crash, whether deployment of air bag necessary or restraint system is enough for the task. 2. Check Occupant availability from the occupant classification system, and also check whether the occupant is adult or infant. 3. Check for the seat belt switch for diver , driver has locked the seat belt or not 4. Decide which of the Airbags to deploy, whether its a front impact, side impact or roll over. 5. Decide the deployment time depending on the retardation and also type of impact since deployment time for side impact is less compared to frontal or roll over impact.
5. Airbag: Airbags depending the position and purpose are classified into following types

1. Driver Airbag 2. Passenger Airbag 3. Knee Air bag 4. Side Air bag 5. Curtain Airbag Airbag is usually made of neoprene coated nylon material because of its softness, high thermal resistance and flexibility. Folding of this is very crucial for on time deployment of the air bag. L type folding is the most used folding type, because in this the air pressure builds up in the top layer of air bag first and then spreads over the air bag , which is very helpful in providing cushioning effect. The figure 3.7 shows the various components in a air bag module. The figure 3.8 shows the different air bags and their position in a car.

Figuren3.8, Various air bags in a car [Refer 15]

Airbags are provided with internal tethers (spring like elements) so that they follow the profile of the passenger face, head or knee structure so that the occupant does not feel any rebound effect from the air bag.
6. Inflator Module: The inflator module has three components, a detonator, Sodium

Azide (NAN3) capsules and enclosure. Figure 3.9 shows a inflator module.

Figure 3.9, [Refer 16]

Detonator is a heat sensitive filament that is supplied with electric current. It energises the filament and heats it so that the sodium azide capsubles get ignited causing a detonation effect. Sodium azide is a solid propellant with a very high gas generation ratio. Since it is a solid propellant managing the propellant is easy. After combustion the major by-products include Nitrogen gas & sodium hydroxide. This is commonly known as Lye, which is a caustic compound. The quantities produced are very small and present a very small risk of burns. The white powder residue seen after inflation is common corn starch, used as a lubricant for expansion of the airbag.

7. Diagnostic Unit: A diagnostic unit in the Airbag control is very necessary since airbag

deployment is a very critical operation and any failed components will make the air bag deployment fail. The diagnostic unit enables the inflator unit and sensors when vehicle is turned on, performs a self-check.It constantly monitors airbag readiness and indicates malfunctioning through an indicator on dashboard. It also usually acts as autonomous battery storing electricity to activate airbag in the event that a crash damages the battery link or the battery itself.

Reference 3. Ching-Yao Chan, "Automotive restraint systems", in Access Science @ McGraw-Hill, http://www.accessscience.com, DOI 10.1036/1097-8542.YB061730 4. Jim Hopton, Manager Safety & Simulation MIRA Ltd Future of Automotive Safety Integrating Safety in Design 5. Types of Seat belts, www.sjtsa.org/TYPES%20OF%20SEAT%20BELTS.pdf 6. Electronic Stability Program & Trailer Stability Program www.jacet.org/jacet50books/04.pdf 7. Intelligent Vehicle Technology and Trends, Richard Bishop. 8. 9. http://topalwaysdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/understeer.jpg 10. Multi-turn Steering Angle Sensor, http://www.methode.com/Documents/TechnicalLibrary/Multiturn_Steering_Angle_Sen sor_for_Automotive_Applications_Data_Sheet.pdf 11. Automotive Technology, A systems approach, 5th Edition, By JAck Erjavec. 12. apps.bosch.com.au/motorsport/downloads/sensors_yawrate.pdf 13. http://www.sundevilauto.com/auto-diagrams/abs-brakes

14. http://www.autoliv.com 15. http://www.brockandbecca.com/files/fj/technical%20service %20bulletins/srs_airbags.pdf 16. http://www.lemurzone.com/airbag/inflate.htm