New Lease of Life for Mazda Rotary Engine

The fame rotary engine of Mazda is now part of the electric vehicle with range extender gasoline engine. Displacing mere 330cc, the rotary engine has an advantage of super compact packaging which enable it to be installed beneath the boot floor of the compact car, the Mazda2, or Demio as it is known in Japan.

For the technology demonstrator, Mazda has equipped the car 75kW electric motor powered by lithium-ion battery pack. The electric power unit is mounted at the front of the car engine bay, while the rotary engine is installed at the rear, beneath the boot. This is primarily because the engine flat in nature and can be packaged in a horizontal layout. Other advantage of the rotary engine is its quietness, 87dBA at 3,000rpm instead of up to 96 dBA with other type of engine. Displacing 330cc, the engine is connected to 9L fuel tank and can produce up to 25kW of power.

Photo source: Carwatch

Petronas Patented Water Injection Engine?

Toyota last month openly said that it will buck the engine downsizing trend (and turbocharged) and instead will focus on developing an efficient large capacity gasoline via the optimization of Atkinson cycle, a knowledge it has honed to perfection in developing the pairing to its hybrid series. It was also mentioned in the source that Toyota will venture in the innovation of water/steam injection to enhance engine efficiency. Now this is breakthrough as engine typically breathes air and fuel, mixed for combustion.

Wow people said. It is indeed a novel concept with curiosity, as for the layman understanding, how can you ignite a fire and then spray water to it? Contradicting it may sound, but if you go to the SAE paper database, a place where all automotive engineers breath, eat and drink car, you'll found plenty of invention of water being injected into the cylinder. There's even a six-stroke concept.

What strike my eyes is the technology has also been patented by our local hero. Do you know Petronas has patented such technology years ago? Check it out here in Google Patent, Espacenet and SAE technical paper. While we don't know what Toyota technology is all about apart from injecting water/steam into combustion chamber, according to patent W02010036093 A1, Petronas novel internal combustion aim to maximise the heat generated by fuel combustion to expand water into steam which in turns utilized the heat that is otherwise wasted. The water expansion into steam exert the force in the power stroke instead of purely forced by the ignition of compressed air and fuel mixture. The low combustion efficiency currently occurring in our current engine results in un-burn hydrocarbon which goes to the exhaust line. There is an attempt to increase the combustion efficiency, but the high heat release in doing so could result in Nitrogen  Oxide (NOx) formation which started to happen at around 2000K combustion temperature.

In the normal internal combustion engine, of all the fuel combusted, two-third comes out as heat, which is then absorbed by the cooling system recirculating around the water jacket.  In a typical engine system, the jacket is located inside the cylinder block and cylinder head and it goes around collecting heat and dissipate it in the radiator system. Figure below shows the cooling jacket residing in your engine block, photos courtesy of RGBSI. In terms of energy, this is energy wasted.

In Petronas patent, water is injection post the fuel combustion and to capitalize on the heat via clever, patented system. In doing so, not only less heat is emitted as, well heat, it also will reduce the engine temperature when the excess heat is converted into energy. Energy conservation remember? So the cooling system potentially can be reduce, resulting in smaller radiator. The exhaust gas too is cooler and this in turn reduce the thermal loading applied to the exhaust manifold (also cylinder block and head) which means overall engine is subject to a reduced thermal stress. Of course there is an additional combustion load which would negate the structural savings due to thermal, but this can be optimized further, at least this my interpretation of all these things. The schematic shown on this patent of Espacenet is as below, you can go through the claim to understand the concept. It is far too long for me to read!

With the engine technology resides under Petronas umbrella has been sold to DRB HICOM, could this be one of it? Whatever it is, which ever way Toyota might be doing what it said in the news, you've got to know our locals has been there as far as innovation is concern. 

Disclaimer: All the items written are based on the information available in public domain i.e patent and open, paid automotive literature. 

SBU V3 Mobility Solution

Ever feels that transiting from the bus station to the next train station is a bit too tiring to walk? Get SBU V3 then. It is an electrically powered single wheel device, self balancing and lightweight at 12.2kg, it is compact enough to be hauled into the public transport and stored underneath your work desk.

Created by Focus Designs (USA) the SBU V3, self-balancing unicycle, is genuinely a new way to travel and riding it a truly unique experience. Ride for pleasure or as great way to get from A-to-B. Precision crafted by hand with 6061 alloy, built to last and look good, the ultra-portable SBU is capable of 23 stone (148 kg) loads.

No handlebars, no steering wheel, no need for any of that! Control your SBU with natural leaning motions and experience a new way to travel. Lean forward to go, lean back to slow down/stop.

The SBU takes about 20-30 minutes to learn and once you master it riding becomes as natural as walking and talking. Using features like Turn Assist^TM , Push Back^TM and Smart Sense^TM the SBU V3 actively “learns” your motions and performs numerous safety calculations every second you ride. The sensors are the key to the SBU’s superior movement capabilities. Multiple 3-axis accelerometers and gyros provide superior inertial measurement ensuring a ride like no other.

Among the many technological achievements of the SBU is the motor control module. The Focus Designs Pure Sine Wave controller is more advanced than anything you can find on the market. With regenerative braking, unmatched efficiency, eerie silence, and torque control at a granular level, the brushless DC motor controller is the only one in its class.

Available to order now through: www.eddyline.co.uk

Vauxhall To Unleash New Turbocharged Engine

Vauxhall is set to release its new turbocharged SIDI (Spark Ignition Direct Injection) with 1.6L in capacity. The 200PS petrol direct injection unit is part of Vauxhall’s model and powertrain offensive including the BiTurbo CDTi with 195PS and whopping 400Nm. Within five years, the manufacturer will introduce 23 new models to the market and will capitalize on this new powertrain.

Compared to its predecessor, the new powertrain delivers 11% more power, and also 300Nm torque with overboost – 70Nm more than the comparable 1.6-litre turbo predecessor, an increase of 30%. At the same time, the new engine with a power output per litre of 125PS is top-in-class in its competitive segment. 

At the heart of the SIDI turbo is a new engine block that can withstand a maximum combustion pressure of up to 130 bar in the cylinder. The block is made of grey cast iron with an aluminium baseplate. In contrast to the 170PS version, a different type of piston was developed for the 200PS model and the compression ratio was reduced from 10.5 to 9.5:1. Vauxhall engineers also achieved a high power output with exceptional refinement by optimising the car’s induction and exhaust systems. As a result, drivers and passengers will appreciate quiet and smooth idling, with an appealing sound quality even at high road speeds, engine speeds and loads. 

The new turbocharged petrol engine will debut in the Vauxhall Cascada with six-speed manual transmission. This drivetrain combo gives 146mph top speed. The new 1.6 SIDI turbo with 200PS completes the Cascada engine portfolio, with three petrol powertrains. It joins the 1.4 turbo 140PS as well as the 170PS 1.6-litre petrol direct injection unit. On the diesel side, the 2.0-litre turbo diesel with 165PS and the 195PS 2.0 BiTurbo CDTI are available.

Through 2016 Vauxhall will also introduce three completely new engine families and 13 new powertrains, renewing 80 per cent of its entire powertrain portfolio. The new 1.6 SIDI turbo downsized engines are distinguished by high power density as well as superb refinement combined with low fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. At the same time, numerous ultra-modern manual and automatic transmissions are being introduced.

McLaren P1 - Designed by Air

The key to the performance for the McLaren P1™ is aerodynamics, and a new web experience, entitled ‘Designed by Air’, is the first of a two part series telling the extraordinary story behind the car’s design.

The website offers participants a detailed insight as the car is ‘born’ from raw metallic and carbon elements and is crafted by airflow. The journey evolves to unveil the McLaren P1™ within the wind tunnel highlighting the aerodynamic focus of the design.

Expanding into further sections, the story behind the design of the McLaren P1™ reveals an interactive 3D model with further information about the finely honed aerodynamic features. The immersive experience, inspired by McLaren Automotive Design Director Frank Stephenson’s biomimicry design philosophy, showcases the McLaren P1™ in simulated urban, alpine, highway and track environments, detailing how the active aerodynamic systems adjust and adapt to deliver optimum performance for differing driving conditions.

The ‘Designed by Air’ McLaren P1™ experience is socially enabled, with a final section ‘Future Chapters’ inviting users to ‘like’, share and register ahead of future updates on the car’s interior and performance features.

Frank Stephenson, Design Director at McLaren Automotive explains: “Our main objective with the McLaren P1™ was to design the best driver’s car in the world, on road and track. Managing air flow in and around the car’s bodywork and optimising aerodynamics was key in achieving this goal. This design philosophy crafted the highly unique and emotive shape of the car.

“The online ‘Designed by Air’ experience developed for the McLaren P1™ captures the essence and detail of the car’s aerodynamic design in an immersive and engaging way.”

The McLaren P1^TM experience can be found at designedbyair.com.

Driving Aid - Is It Really Needed?

Research by Bosch, one of the world’s leading automotive technology suppliers, has shown that while motorists are aware of the benefits of driver assistance systems, many of them are not fitted on most cars, but they would be of interest – providing they were fitted as standard. Current fitment rates for many driver assistance systems are not especially high, only in the tune of 10%.

Almost half of the drivers surveyed said that driver assistance systems made driving more comfortable and more relaxing. While more than 60 percent of motorists surveyed enjoyed driving, many said that they found certain situations behind the wheel stressful, including 22 percent who felt stressed by slow-moving traffic and 30 percent who said that parking in a tight space got them agitated. Drivers had experienced many stressful situations in their cars in the last 12 months, with 54 percent having been forced to carry out an emergency stop, 39 percent having failed to spot a car in their blind spot and 28 percent having been in a critical situation and not known how to act.

For 2014, only cars equipped with Emergency Braking Assist will be eligible for a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. Clearly not all vehicles have such technology as an option, but Bosch believes that drivers would benefit from specifying driver assistance systems where available and that more of them should be fitted as standard.

As the number of people using cars around the world is increasing, so is the total amount of time being spent behind the wheel. It is estimated that 90 percent of all road accidents are caused by human error, with risks not being detected or the situation not judged correctly. Bosch provides vehicle manufacturers with a wide range of driver assistance systems such as Emergency Brake Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Detection and Lane Departure Warning, which help to reduce these risks.

It is clear that motorists want these safety technologies, but feel they should be fitted as standard. Nearly 80 percent of drivers in the survey were interested in Blind Spot Detection and Emergency Braking Assist systems, but only eight percent would pay for the former and nine percent for the latter.

Life-size F1 Simulator - For Hardcore F1 Gamerz

Are you a circa 30 years old who has given up the Playstation since you graduated? Are you a young successful professional who used to have a history of visiting the game centre in your early-20s? And now in your professional years, you gaming time is limited to just playing Beach Buggy Blitz on your Android?

You could be rejuvenated again, thanks to Costco, you can have your gaming days back again. This is the real size F1 game, mounted on a carbon-fibre bodied stands on the real racing tyres. Out goes the V8 engine, and in comes the i7 processor, Intel SSD hardisk, 3 units of 23" TFT for all-around view and digital speaker system.

Yours for cool GBP89,999.89. Playing an F1 game has never been more professional than this.

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Development of Children-Friendly Vehicle

How many of us get pissed off when our kids stained the interior of our "reasonably-priced" car, thanks to the beige interior for some pseudo-luxury ambiance? Or you can see the vomit just disappear into the seat fabric? Or the toy's sharp edge tear out the stitching and scratch the plastic trim part?

Luckily car maker nowadays are a bit clever. The seat fabric are now water repellent, and it is rare to find to an RM50k (read family-bound car) to be trimmed in light hue. The plastic trim too can be made sturdier, more resistant to scratch by cleverer texturing.

Ford too is up for the game. After being an innovative player by totally eliminating the B-pillar for an ease of entry (read HERE), it is apparent the Ford B-MAX has been designed with kids in mind too. Ford has now tried to make that job easier for mums and dads by “child-proofing” the new B-MAX.

Engineers subjected the new B-MAX to laboratory tests that simulate the toughest treatment that children and pets can dish out, including soaking materials in milk and fizzy drinks; testing fabrics with a “mace”; and pounding plastics with a heavy rubber ball.

Samples of all leathers and fabrics used in the Ford B-MAX’s interior were tested for stain resistance and ease of cleaning after being soaked for 24 hours in the liquids and being smeared with soil and grease.

Engineers also tested resistance to damage that can be caused by abrasive zips and fasteners found on children’s clothing and bags. The “mace test” used a metal ball with needle-sharp spikes to brush fabrics 600 times and replicate the effect of snagging zips and studs. Engineers also carried out a special test to repeatedly rub the seat material with Velcro.

Impact tests – conducted at temperatures as low as -30 degrees Centigrade when plastic is more brittle – used a rubber ball 10 times heavier than a regulation football to ensure that plastic parts could withstand bumps and knocks. Fabrics were also rubbed 60,000 times in a 17-hour non-stop wear test; metal spikes were scraped across plastic parts to test scratch resistance; and carpets were checked for durability on a special test rig fitted with rough abrasion wheels.

Is the car in our market up to this standard yet? Let's make something simpler first, like ensuring there is sufficient cupholder for the rear passenger, not by hiding them inside the rear armrest which eliminate the cupholder itself when there is a third occupant in the rear seat.

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Proton Past Patents - MSX, Sepang & NEF

It's Sunday night, and instead of chilling to perfection, yours truly was surfing the patent website in pursuit of several patent for work purposes. Lifeless isn't it? Anyway, in the middle of boredom I remembered of several Proton patent that rocked the internet back in 2004-2005. There are many more, including the main and component of Proton Satria Neo (SRM back then), Savvy (TRM during its inception), as well Exora. Some are patented in Korean patent website too. Anyway, instead of looking at what you can find on the road, lets look at something you either can't see, or worst still, seen as something else.

First up is the NEF engine, a V6 engine family that is listed USD597104, showcasing the aesthetic of the engine. Paultan did some coverage on this engine HERE, the range comprises of a modular 2.2L and 3.0L Supercharged V6 mill kicking some 300bhp@6,250rpm and 360Nm@4,500rpm for the latter. It was tested in Waja prototype sometimes back. It was fitted to the Proton MSX concept (world knew it as Lotus APX). Do you that Proton MSX, thanks to its all aluminium construction (VVA platform, an advanced hybrid of cast, extrusion and stamped aluminium hold together with a combination of rivet and adhesive) weights mere 1.5 tonne and projected to reach 270 km/h top speed? Porsche Cayenne surely can't run too far from this car if it is ever made.

RFOB View of Proton's V6 engine

This patent covers only the outlook. The technical innovations were not included. We can see from here the engine RFOB with its transmission fixing, FFOB with all the front end auxillary and side view exposing the placement of cylinder block, front cover, bedplate and oil sump, including the accessories too such as the oil cooler and things.

Side view, you can see the arrangement from oil sump upwards

Next up is the car that was fitted with the NEF engine. It is none other than Proton MSX, published in USD566619. To prove that this car is meant to be Proton instead of Lotus APX (oh well, as if the Waja side-mirror was not obvious of a clue), the aesthetic patented here bears the Proton logo elongated outline instead of Lotus circular item. After these years, it still look stunning. There was MMN old article about Proton MSX HERE, but as I worked a bit on this car so I don't dare to say much. More after the jump.

Mazda i-ELOOP : innovative energy storage solution

The new Mazda6 is coming to our shore early next year, contrary to the optimistic news that we got last year when it was rumoured that the car could be previewed here as early as November 2011. The new Mazda6 is, like the CX-5, is the full-blown product of the Mazda Skyactiv technology, which encompasses the optimized body structure design to weight optimization, redesigned powertrain unit for class-leading power output and emission level as well as the engine start/stop system termed i-Stop. Mazda is bringing the next level of fuel optimization technology to the new 6, called i-ELOOP.

i-ELOOP is Mazda’s innovation on the brake energy regeneration: capturing kinetic energy (the energy generated by a vehicle when it moves) that would otherwise be lost when slowing down. This energy is used to recharge batteries in electric and hybrid cars, for example, or to power the on-board electrical network and save engine power and therefore save fuel. The innovation lies in the energy storing device, a capacitor instead of battery.

A typical vehicle deceleration phase lasts only about 10 seconds.  Realising that the effectiveness of regenerative braking systems to date has been limited by the charging and storage drawbacks of conventional lead-acid starter batteries, Mazda engineers adopted an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC), which recharges fully in only a few seconds.  An efficient 12V-25V variable voltage alternator generates the electricity and charges the EDLC; a DC/DC converter then steps down the voltage to power electrical components such as the climate control air-conditioning and audio systems, with any surplus going to the starter battery.

A full capacitor charge is enough to run the vehicle’s electrical systems including air-conditioning for a minute or so.  This makes i-ELOOP the perfect companion for i-stop – the latter launched as standard on the Mazda CX-5 and the all-new Mazda6 – as there is no need to revert to battery power even when Mazda’s idle-stop system has shut the car off.  During stop-and-go city driving, charging often resumes before the capacitor is fully discharged.  i-ELOOP can therefore produce most if not all of a vehicle’s electricity needs, whereas normally some of the engine’s output is required just to drive the alternator.  By freeing up this engine capacity, i-ELOOP increases fuel economy under everyday driving conditions.

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Another Patented Ford Innovation - Unobstructed Door

Ford innovators at the company’s UK research and development centre originated the new Ford B-MAX’s ingenious door system. In studying ways to ease access in and out of a future small car, team members working on the Ford B-MAX project wanted completely unobstructed entry and exit.  The Dunton Innovation Group came up with the idea of hinged front doors, sliding rear doors and integrating the central body pillars to create a 1.5-metre-wide opening.

Customer research had established that loading and unloading cars, especially from the side, needed to be as simple and easy as possible.  This was not only said by parents and others ferrying children in their cars, but also by adults transporting older parents.

Prototype demonstrators pioneering the Easy Access Door System, which now features on the production Ford B-MAX, went to customer clinics in the UK and on the continent.  Public reaction confirmed Ford’s plans to progress the innovation:  “Wow, it’s like opening a flat or an apartment,” said one customer.

The Ford B-MAX programme transferred from embryonic development at Dunton to engineers at the company’s sister technical centre in Cologne for full engineering and testing.

“We delivered B-MAX with an innovative door system while retaining the stylish sweeping roofline which is contributing to its appeal today – so job done by the Dunton Innovation Group,” said Richard Brown.

Other innovations hatched by the Dunton team include the Ford Focus’ award-winning Door Edge Protector covered HERE . A mere £50 option, the protectors wrap round the side of the doors when open and fold away discreetly as they are shut.

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New wireless charging concept by British Columbia University

The researcher at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Physics department has come up with the novel wireless electric vehicle charging concept. Inspired by the method for magnetically driven charger for medical application such as the pacemaker, the concept has been extended to the electric vehicle charging, albeit still in the proof of concept stage.

The current state of the art wireless charger plays around with electromagnetic induction principle whereby the varying electric current in the transmitter resonates with the similarly varying current in the receiver creating the current flow recharging the battery. The drawback of such system is that is could radiate heat to the nearby metal or emit radio waves, both could raise the safety concern for the public, definitely won't be a help in mitigating the sceptism  about electric vehicle.

The UBC concept is wholy different in a sense that it utilizes a remote magnetic gears which relies on the magnet dynamic coupling whereby, even with the lack of contact, the two magnetic gears are rotated harmoniously simply by the interaction of the magnetic field between the two. Where the magnetic gear on the transmitter side is motorized, the rotated gear on the receiver side will drive the generator that produce the electricity to recharge the battery.

To demonstrate the concept, UBC researchers has build a trolley demonstrator which house the magnetic drive. As can be seen on the right the bottom bar on the your left is the transmitter which housed the rotating magnetic gear. When the magnetic gear rotate, due to magnetic interaction, the magnetic gear on the receiver side will turn too, generating electricity to power up the bulb at the back of this trolley.

For the field demonstrator, UBC has fitted such system to their service vehicles. Four wireless charger station has been build and the charging to their EV achieved 90% more efficient than the cable counterpart. They also found that the perfect alignment between the transmitter and receiver is not needed to achieve the desired virtual mechanical coupling.

While the system is still in its infancy, due to the immaturity of this technology, the potential can still be considered as high. Admittedly, to produce the system for mass application there is still a lot of refinement needed. First is the packaging. At the moment the magnetic gears are separated from the driven motor and the generator driven by mechanical gears, whereas for production these could be designed to be integrated. The material for the magnetic gears also is still lab-staged and a cheaper, easier to manufacture replacement need to be found.

The video demonstrating UBC wireless charger can be found after the jump.

What does automotive engineer do?

Ever wondered how any car comes about? Yes, it is right that no car falls off the sky, or grown from back yard, or printed from internet comments. They are designed and manufactured. These are the job of automotive engineer as well as manufacturing worker. Just to give the complete ecosystem of the grand scheme of thing, of course they are supported by the non-core generic group such as the procurement, HR, finance and well...managers. In this articles, we are going into what's been going on in, amongst others, the engineering design department to understand how's a daily life of automotive design engineer. Its about their daily grind, routine and what they are expected to deliver.

Firstly, for those who aspire to become one, how to get there? Well, any engineering degree will do. Car is an amalgamation of many things, covering electronics, mechanical, material engineering etc. I myself is an aeronautical engineering graduates, and I wasn't alienated by the items involved in engineering a car. Thus, get yourself a degree as an entry pass.

Vehicle Conception

Contrary to designation, or any imagination about the job, the design engineer job is quite a lot. The engineers involved in the design of the new car model, maintaining the current production car and continuously improving the running car. The first job is self explanatory. It is from the conception of car all the way down to the production, we'll elaborate later. The second scope is what is called maintaining the Bill Of Material (BOM) whenever there is new variant, or reacting to warranty issues, so there's a lot database updating, countermeasure trials and updating the design. The third one is the continuous stream of improvement, to make installation easier to reduce tact time, to cut further cost by optimizing materials and to improve customer satisfaction via achieving better operability. It's a lot job to do in 8 hours stint. Doing all these will involve a lot of meetings, vendor visit and stationing at the manufacturing plant. Many engineers only have quality time to do the design job after 5pm, i.e when most meeting has called it a day.

Now that you know roughly the overall scope, we'll dig deeper into the first scope from now onwards. The development starts when the new model has been conceived. Engineer's roles at this stage is in the vehicle packaging where each design engineer will conceive their parts like which component to use, how big is it etc....The preliminary design must comform to the target weight and cost, among others. At the end of this gateway, the styling must be freezed too.

Instance of packaging drawing

Side panel drawing

When the constraints are already fixed, it is time to jump into the detail design activity. Each engineer will start designing the parts within their areas of custodian. It means thousands of parts. This is where the components are assessed against their functionality, interference with surroundings, performance and manufacturability. For example, the side outer panel of the car will look like the drawing below. In addition to the child part drawing, there is also an assembly drawing, depicted by the tailgate assembly below.

Sample of tail gate assembly drawing

There are many factors considered in the design of any car component. Apart from fulfilling the function, the component also has to meet certain regulation too. For example, exterior parts has a minimum radius criteria, metal outer panel has minimum dent-resistance to prevent tone-chipping damage, the door handle has minimum operating cycle before breaking point and many more. There is also crash worthiness to think about, so that the passenger is safely cocooned in the body structure cell and the pedestrian is not injured by the over-stiff hood and front bumper. 

Nowadays, the design optimization is computer aided and thus, thousands of design permutation can be tried out rapidly. The modal and structural of stamped metal for example can be modelled with Altair OptiStruct to optimize design topology. The overall crash performance can be evaluated by LS-Dyna which can modelled the crash situation and the effect of welding and adhesive fixing structure can be seen too. For other components, Nastran is widely used too, and Abaqus will extensively used in the modeling of the component that involved bearing, contact surface and non-linearity effect. So the days to multiple prototyping is so yesteryear! More interesting facts about automotive design engineer after the jump.

MotorFan Magazine - where the new car laid bare

I first came across the Motorfan magazine from my old office, where many personnel brought back this magazine after finishing their stint of work with the Japanese engine design company. This magazine usually will accompany the launch of the new car only slightly later than the car itself, and not limited to Japanese brand maker only. Some that I came across includes the new BMW F30 3 Series, Toyota Aqua (Prius C), Subaru BRZ, Toyota Caldina, Honda Integra Type R and many more. So naturally my trip to Japan won't be complete without them.

The magazine usually outlines the detail from the styling conception prior final selection, tickle down to the snapshot of body structure, suspension and drivetrain drawing. Some are even captured from Catia software, shared freely but surely controllably by these car maker. The magazine also covers the mundane stuff like the trim level, various accessories and also comparison with relevant rivals. They share their first-level technical details. And these are the global company that we are talking about, the one that has the latest of everything at their disposal.

MMN tried to get the same information from Proton in April for Preve. Although the questionaire has been filled by many of their lead engineer, it never found its way back to MMN inbox. Perhaps Proton Preve is a seriously global car, constructed from unobtainium, suspended by anti-gravity and crash-tested in moon's zero gravity such that all information are so closely guarded so that BMW, Toyota, Honda and Bentley won't steal them! Oh well....

NASA-inspired seat for 2013 Nissan Altima

Nissan has developed a "zero-gravity" seats for the application of the 2013 Nissan Altima. Aimed to reduce the fatigue associated with long driving, the new seat design was conceptualized around the idea of supporting the occupants in weightless environment.

Nissan has been looking at the idea for quite some times, and for those auto-engineering savvy, you can check out the SAE papers about this, Development of New Driving Posture Focused on Biomechanical Loads and Evaluations of Physical Fatigue during Long-term Driving with new New Driving Posture. 

To reduce the tiredness on the occupants muscle, the muscle need to be relaxed in somewhat relaxed body posture in weightless environment. To achieve this, a patented varying support level in lumbar, midback and shoulder to position the occupant's spine in its natural position. The seat reacts to the occupant's load by holding the occupants in the natural spine position. The so-called natural position was determined based on 14 points along the seatback from the pelvis to the upperback. By doing do, the target loading value to a set of occupant's shape, the seat structure including the foam stiffness and bolster location were designed. 

The 2013 model year Altima is seat to be the first Nissan's production model to receive the technology. It will be eventually rolled out to all Nissan model. It seems that Nissan is one of the manufacturer that is very particular about the interior innovation. Sometimes in mid 90's Nissan introduced some kind of anti-bacterial technology for its Nissan March/Micra.

Bosch announced Driver Drowsiness Detection

Fatigue and microsleep at the wheel are often the cause of serious accidents. However, the initial signs of fatigue can be detected before a critical situation arises. Bosch Driver Drowsiness Detection can do this by monitoring steering movements and advising drivers to take a break in time. The required information is provided either by the car’s electric power steering system, or by the steering angle sensor, which is part of the car's ESP® anti-skid system. The feature can therefore be installed cost-effectively and helps further increase road safety. Bosch Driver Drowsiness Detection can be used in passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and can also be integrated into various control units in vehicles. It was first introduced as a standard feature in 2010, in the new Volkswagen Passat. The latest model with the function is the new Passat Alltrack.

The influence of fatigue on accidents has been demonstrated in a number of studies. In 2010, the American Automobile Association (AAA) published an analysis based on the accident data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States. The assess­ment showed that overtired drivers were at the wheel in 17 percent of all fatal accidents in the US. Read more after the jump.

Proton CFE Engine - The Engineering Details

Note: Read first till the end before accusing a copy&paste from Lotus Mag.

Proton CFE engine has been introduced to the market at the very end of last year, under the hood of the facelifted Proton Exora MPV. The engine has been long rumoured, and has been long spied tested with the bigger-mouthed Exora for quite some times. Some called it Campro Turbo, while some referred it as Project Pheonix. Thanks to the publicity generated by the buzzy spyshots sites in Malaysia, the arrival of the CFE engine is very much eagerly awaited. 

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The Brief.

CFE. It means Charged Fuel Efficiency. The engine was born out of the necessity rather than the desire to soup up the Campro engine to rival the Lamborghini. It was back in 2009, when the Exora MPV was at its final validation stage. It became clear that the Achilles heel of the much lauded Proton's first MPV would be its powertrain, where even the CPS mechanism won't be enough to mask the lack of torque, long plagued the Campro family, and the unsuitability of small capacity NA gasoline to power such as weighty people carrier.

After a series of feasible study, Proton has concluded that it would develop a turbocharged variant of the Campro engine instead of buying-in a 2.0L NA gasoline engine. In terms of the combustion concept, it was decided pretty much from the beginning to stay away from the Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) - although that such a trend at that time and a commoner today - to accommodate the low octane rating and fuel quality of Proton's export market and its home market itself. This is essential as it could raise some durability concerns should some problem occurs later.

The baseline target was to achieve horsepower output and fuel efficiency of the modern 2.0L at that time. However, with the heavy weight application in mind, the torque delivery must be substantial even at low engine rev, something only a turbocharged engine can deliver.  

The Design.

As the CFE is Campro based, there was a necessity to carry over the cylinder block, or else, Proton might as well make an all-new engine if the cylinder block needs to be totally redesigned. Hence an intensive round of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were performed to assess the limit of the Campro's block without compromising its stress-endurance and jeopardizing its coolant effectiveness. 

The results of the FEA and CFD indicated that the cylinder block could be retained with the improvement to the water jacket to sustain the higher heat duty of the forced-fed engine. Another changes required was the modification to the oil gallery to include the piston cooling jet. The stroke of the crank also has been shortened to 86mm , a 2mm reduction. This is because the height of Campro's block did not provide sufficient space to increase the piston crown strength with the size limitation to withstand the compression ratio which it self is boosted by charged air from the turbo. More and more juicy details after the jump.

Ultra lightweight conrod concept from MAHLE

MAHLE has concluded the study of ultra light weight connecting rod (ULWC) sometimes in 3rd quarter last year. The aim of the research was to demonstrate the advantage of minimization of the cranktrain mass in optimizing the engine efficiency.  With ever tightening and stringent regulation in fuel economy and CO2 emission reduction, it is a paramount important for each of the vehicle subsystems to find their own means to contribute towards the new target. For powertrain engineer, the aim is to increase the engine efficiency through the reduction of friction and mass by capitalizing on new advanced materials as well as more superior predictive design tool.

One of the main contributor to the engine friction is the cranktrain mass. The cranktrain system consists of connecting rod (conrod), conrod bearings, piston (including pin and ring) and the crankshaft itself. The reduction of conrod mass is important, as it drives further mass reduction for the rest of the cranktrain system.

The figure above shows the evolution of the conrod design as Mahle iterated the design towards the most optimum mass vs strength criteria. The base design parameters were derived from Chrysler 3.6L Pentastar engine that produced 292bhp@6200rpm and 353Nm@4000rpm. The original conrod in this case is Mahle 36MnVS4 forged steel. This conrod is already among the class leader in terms of weight, 548g and has a minimum fatigue safety factor of 1.6 (!) in the shank. The main design consideration of ULWC is to optimize the big end integrity, small end hydrodynamics and shank robustness against buckling and fatigue.


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Four iterations of  Finite Element Analysis (FEA) were performed and Mahle achieved a staggering 27% weight reduction! The base material used was 46MnVS6 which is the strongest volume production material suited for fracture split construction, which met the criteria for exceptional properties and good machinability without secondary operation such as heat treatment. It has  a mean fatigue strength of 496MPa which is 20% higher than  the premium 3% Cu powder forged alloys. As for the new design, it adopted a bushless stepped small end and the pin bore itself featured forged-in oil pocket which was hydrodynamically optimized. As for the shank, the I-beam with optimized cross-section with 4:1 ratio between oscillating and cantilever moduli of inertia was developed. This way, the buckling stress of each plane during engine operation is made equivalent to reduce the risk of buckling. The analysis optimization results in 2.3mm of web thickness for the shank beam and the edge radii was used 1.5mm. The blend of the shank to the big end is with the closed bolt holes to improve structural integrity by eliminating the notch factor of a through hole. More details after the jump.

Honda is the most pothole-proof - WhatCar UK

According to Whatcar UK, Honda is the most pothole-proof car in the UK market. The study was done by Warranty Direct based on the claims done by car owner which were caused by the damaged due to pothole. According to Warranty Direct, only 1.2% of Honda owners submitted such claim. The next best groups are the economy brand such as Toyota et all. The worst performing are Americans as well as the luxury brand. 

In average, there's 6% chance for any car to suffer damage from pothole. However, there are some brands which are very resilient to such road imperfection, while others are vulnerable to more damage. Check out after the jump for full results.

Most resilient brands
1. Honda 
2. Toyota 
3. Hyundai 
4. Nissan 
5. Kia 
6. Mitsubishi 
7. Mini 
8. Suzuki 
9. Ford 
10. Mazda 

Least resilient brands
1. Chrysler 
2. Smart 
3. Mercedes-Benz 
4. Land Rover 
5. Jaguar 
6. Saab 
7. Fiat 
8. BMW 
9. Seat 
10. Vauxhall 

How does your Malaysian Honda City fare? Email me your verdict at malaysiamotoringnews@gmail.com

Source: Whatcar