Improvements in Diesel Engine Technology - Research Proposal Example

Car Parts Contents Engine System What kind of engine do you have under the hood? Many of us don’t know—we just know to lift the hood if something goes wrong. In some cases, lifting the hood shows that there’s nothing there at all—the engine is in the back, or it’s under a soundproof plastic cover. Other than providing lots of power, why is it important to know what’s there? The type of engine you have in your car, or choose in your next car, can have an enormous influence on the performance and costs of driving. Four, six or eight cylinders? Turbocharging or not? And should you have fuel injection (note: almost any modern car will have fuel injection)? Diesel or gasoline… all are questions which deserve answers if you are looking for your best and most cost-efficient solution (Brain). The biggest questions to answer are the choice of gasoline or diesel engines. The former can be less expensive to buy, but poorer fuel economy can result in higher costs and even a lower resale value. Diesel engines once had a reputation as being smelly, noisy and having poor performance. Recent improvements in diesel engine technology, including high-pressure ‘common rail’ techniques, have improved all of these former drawbacks, and made diesels both more efficient and more powerful than similar-sized gasoline engines. The issue with diesel engines is that they can be more expensive than gasoline engines. A car buyer must therefore ask himself “am I going to drive a lot or a little with this car?” Drive a lot, and a diesel’s extra expense could be offset by lower fuel costs. Power Train What’s a power train? Isn’t that just the engine in the car? Why is a ‘power train warranty,’ such as Chrysler’s recently-announced ‘lifetime power train warranty’ important? You probably know that the power train is everything that transmits power to the driving wheels. The engine is part of the power train—that’s where the power originates. But before the power gets to the wheels, it must be geared down to apply that power: that’s where the gearbox, or transmission, come into play. The transmission takes the spinning mass powered by the engine and converts it to useful energy at a useful speed (PowerTrains). If you are stopped at an intersection, for example, the power train allows the engine to continue running despite the fact that your car is not moving. As soon as the light turns green and you step off the brake, the automatic transmission chooses first gear and allows you to move smoothly away from the intersection. As you increase your speed, the automatic transmission selects a higher gear—both to improve fuel economy and to keep the engine from over revving. When you finally reach highway speeds, the automatic transmission has you in the highest gear. With a manual, or ‘stick’ shift, you take over some of the functions of the automatic transmission. That means that you depress the clutch, put the car into first gear, then repeat the procedure through second, third, fourth and higher gears as your speed increases. The power train is therefore the engine, the gearbox (automatic or manual), the clutch or its automatic transmission equivalent, the torque convertor, and the differential, which splits the spinning power and distributes it to the driving wheels. Braking System Now that we’ve got the car underway, we can cruise along happily until—we need to stop! What does the braking system do to counteract the tremendous power of the engine and the rest of the drive train, as well as the mass and velocity that your car has stored as it accelerated? Despite their relatively small size (compared to the engine and other parts of the car), the brakes are actually a lot stronger than the engine. That’s because they have the ability to take off speed faster than the engine and drive train can put it on. The famous ‘unintended acceleration’ scare on Audis in the 1980’s was due to drivers claiming that the car accelerated despite them having their foot pressed all the way down on the brake. In fact, these drivers may have mistaken the gas pedal for the brake pedal, because it was demonstrated that you cannot move a car with the foot on the brake, even if you press the accelerator to the floorboards. How is it that the brakes work so well? They have a surface area (brake pads) up against metal disks or drums which can grab with tremendous force. Disk brakes generally have more stopping power than drum brakes. Anti-lock braking? That’s a relatively new development which helps you to maintain control under maximum braking conditions, even in the rain. This is a significant advantage if you are concerned about skidding…the electronics of the “ABS” system make strong, true stops a matter of routine (About.com) There are now new braking systems which help to apply more pressure in case of an emergency situation. Mercedes found that the driver sometimes didn’t apply enough pressure to the brake pedal to get the car to stop fast enough. By “brake assist” software installation, Mercedes was able to insure that the driver used all the capabilities of the car’s brakes and anti-lock braking system to full effect. Steering/Tires How do you steer? That seems a silly question—you turn the steering wheel, right? Well, that’s part of it, but not the whole story. When you turn the steering wheel, you are moving a bunch of mechanical parts which eventually cause the front wheels to turn. How quickly, or how well, you turn depends upon how those mechanicals work, and how well your tires are in contact with the road surface. Let’s take the extreme example: you’re driving on a highway and hit a patch of ice on a bridge. Your steering behavior can be just fine—you start to skid, and you turn in the opposite direction to get the car back in line. But because you’re on ice, the car is unable to respond to your steering commands. Once the car skids off the ice, the tires can ‘bite,’ and with proper steering you’re back on track (Dixon). Tire contact patch—the contact with the road surface—is all-important to assure that you can steer the car where you would like to go. In general, the larger the contact patch, the more likely that your car will steer in the right direction. There are a couple of exceptions to this, though. A larger contact patch may not be a good thing in mud or snow, where smaller tires actually work better (DJ Poque) The type of road surface makes a huge difference to steering and handling. If you’re on snow, mud or water, a tire’s ability to shed water and find traction in low-temperature environments can make a big difference (van der Meer)That’s why snow tires always perform better than summer tires in winter conditions (howstuffworks). Suspension What is a suspension, anyway? Don’t all cars have them, and aren’t they all the same/ The answers are yes, and no. Car makers such as BMW and Lexus differentiate their cars on their suspensions—BMW with superior handling, and Lexus (or Cadillac) with superior ride. You the car buyer need to decide what is most important to you, because one cannot have all good characteristics in one suspension. In general, the harder the suspension, the better the handling. That is because the suspension keeps the tires ‘glued’ to the road, and stops any unnecessary motion of the car which can make it understeer (plow forward rather than turning) or oversteer (the back end comes out to the left or the right). Both of these reactions not only scare the driver and the passengers, they make a car more difficult to handle in an accident situation. A ‘hard’ suspension therefore controls car movements better, and therefore allows better handling in curves or an emergency braking or turning situation. The tradeoff is that the driver and passengers are jostled more—a major consideration if you’re drinking a fruit smoothie and you go over a set of railroad tracks! Electrical System Electrical systems used to be very simple. They supplied the lights, the horn, and the spark for the engine. When radios and dome lights came to the market, electrical wires extended to those ‘options’ as well. Today’s electrical systems are a lot more complex because we ask them to do so much more. Think about it. Your modern car has every kind of imaginable electrical system, from DVD players in the back seat for the kids to navigation systems up front for the driver and navigator. Car designers are going overboard with rear cameras, parking sensors and even Bluetooth telephones in the cars. The electrical system, once a simple “plug and forget,” have now given way to sophisticated MMC’s, or “Multi-Media Complexes” (as they are called at German car maker Audi), and are intended to power everything from multiple computer screens to 16-speaker stereo systems, including subwoofers! Electrical systems are now more than a set of wires—they are connected to semiconductors which monitor the engine’s function, trigger the airbag and even call the ambulance in case of an emergency (with the OnStar and similar systems). If the electrical system stops working in a car today, the car cannot move—electrical systems take up more of the cost of a car’s manufacture than the powertrain, including the engine! Exhaust System What happens to all the fuel and air ingested at the front end of the car? After a small portion of it is exploded and converted to energy, the rest needs to escape out the back. In the past, this was a relatively simple operation: the exhaust manifold on the engine collected the engine’s CO2 and unburned fuel, and conducted it via the exhaust pipe to the muffler at the back (to quiet the sound), then out the back. Today’s exhaust systems are a good deal more complex. The environment has become a major concern over the past few decades. Although automakers tried to clean up the engines directly, they found their best bet was to clean up the exhaust before it left the back of the car. They developed a ‘catalytic converter,’ which used platinum-coated beads to act as catalysts to help the unburned fuel and other products of combustion to burn up more completely, and convert into less-harmful substances, such as CO2 (from carbon monoxide) and NO2 (from nitrous oxide) (Works). The other major change has been to muffler technology. New anti-noise laws in Europe have now come to the US and Japan, and require that an automobile have a lower noise level outside and inside the car than was used a few years ago. Although the total noise level is controlled by law, individual auto manufacturers nevertheless seek to ‘tune’ the mufflers in order to provide a pleasant, but powerful sound to the inhabitants of the car. Each major auto maker spends countless hours inside their anechoic chambers establishing just the ‘right sound’ for their cars. BMW’s have a growl under acceleration, while Lexuses (Lexi?) purr, and Ferrari offers a howl under full acceleration. Each of these carmakers’ mufflers contribute to an overall image of the car which reinforces the mechanical bits. Car Interiors How have car interiors changed in the past few years? They’re much quieter, more luxurious, and definitely filled with more high-tech goodies than ever before. If you look at even an entry-level car’s interior today and compare it to a mid- or high-level car from twenty years ago, you would be amazed at how many features have grown to be ‘standard’ rather than ‘optional’ to today’s car buyer. It used to be that you could order a car interior with a few basic options…radio and CD, air conditioning (what car sells today without air conditioning?) and leather seats. These days, all of these items are standard in nearly all cars. Auto makers therefore try to differentiate their offerings with significant upgrades, even for smaller, less expensive cars. Thus one can add thousands of dollars in options for interior options that couldn’t even be imagined a few years ago. Got a few unruly kids in the back for the summer family vacation? Give them DVD players. Does little Jimmy want to watch a different program than little Jessica? Give them individually-programmable DVD players and, while you’re at it, give them headphones so that they don’t have to listen to one another’s entertainment. Oh, and while you’re at it, make sure that they can swivel their seats and give them enough drink holders to water a herd of elephants. Got a crick in your neck? Don’t forget to check off the “massage” option, which can give you a rolling or—wait for it—shiatsu massage through the back and sides of your seat. Is your fanny a bit chilled? Don’t forget to order the seat heater or, for the warmer climes, the seat cooler. Car Design Why does a Jaguar look like a cat outside, and an English library inside? Why does a Subaru look like an SUV on the outside, and like a station wagon on the inside? And what’s with the Chrysler PT Cruiser and its strange 1930’s Chicago mob look on the outside, but its soft and luxurious interior? Psychologists figured out a long time ago that the way a car looks and feels plays a big role in our decision about what car to buy. Cars don’t simply serve a function—to get us and our families and friends from one place to another—but also a role-fulfilling psychological boost. The Jaguar driver announces “I’ve made it, and I don’t mind showing it to the world.” The Mercedes driver says “Not only have I made it, but I have a good analytical capability and can protect myself and my family.” Car design can also dress down a message about the owner. The Toyota Prius, a best-selling economical car with a dual “hybrid” electric-gas drive train, announces through its special design that the owner is ‘green,’ conscious of his/her effect on the environment, and eschews outward symbols of overconsumption (CDN) Car design now extends much further than the exterior look of the car. It can also include the interior, and even accessories, such as clothes and umbrellas. Designers are more than just dictators to the engineers, their images can create a ‘brand image’ which carries over to all aspects of car ownership (Jindo) Design that meant one thing in an earlier era can mean another today. If someone drives a 1952 Chevrolet pick-up truck today, they are announcing that they are hip, hot-rodder or oldster. At the time that the pick-up was sold as a new vehicle, the farmer buying it probably thought that it was just a good work-horse of a truck. Car Safety Systems In the 1950’s, Ford Motor Company famously offered seat belts as a low-cost option to its customers. These primitive “lap belts” were a sales dud, and Ford took them off the options list shortly after. Since those fated early days, legislation in Europe and the US and changes in consumer perception of auto safety have led to a revolution in active and passive auto safety measures, reaching across all price categories today. The average car of today is chock-full of safety innovations. The most obvious to the consumer is the airbag, which is festooned with “SRS,” or “Supplemental Restraint System” all over the car. The role of the airbag is to take some of the impact of a collision from the passenger’s body to the airbag, therefore reducing the g-forces to one’s body. The first airbags, which came on Mercedes in the early 1980’s, were simply in the steering wheel, and protected the driver’s thorax, or chest area, from hitting the steering wheel. Subsequent air bag placement has protected the passengers (front and back) at several areas—in the doors to prevent side impact, over the windows for head impact, and even at the knees for those who aren’t wearing seatbelts. Just as important to “passive,” airbag safety has been the improvement in automobile design to the point where the auto takes a good deal of the impact before passing it on to a fairly rigid passenger cabin. The car’s ‘crush zones,’ generally the front and the back, are designed to fold in specific ways which can cause the metal to reduce g-forces to the rest of the car. The well-known IIS (Insurance Institute for Safety) crash tests in the US indicate how safe a driver and passengers are in a collision; their ratings have steadily improved as car design safety has increased. Bibliography About.com. "How Antilock Brake Systems Work." 2008. About.com. 7 February 2008 . Brain, M. "How Car Engines Work." 2008. HowStuffWorks. 7 February 2008 . CDN. "Car Design News Chicago Auto Show." 2008. Car Design News. 7 February 2008 . Dixon, JC. Tires, Suspension and Handling. London: Arnold, 1996. DJ Poque, JJ Baumhofer, M Jansen, H Stump. Tread Configuration. US: Patent 5964267. 12 October 1999. howstuffworks. "How Car Steering Works." 2008. How Stuff Works. 7 February 2008 . Jindo, T and Hirasago, K. "Application studies to car interior and Kansei engineering." International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics (1997): 105-114. PowerTrains. "PowerTrains." 2008. TPub. 7 February 2008 . van der Meer, A. Winter automobile or light truck tire. US: Patent 5647926. 12 December 1995. Works, HowStuff. "How Mufflers Work." 2008. HowStuffWorks. 7 February 2008 . Read More