Automotive Engineering MSc

• Dr Marko Tirovic

• Provide deep understanding of vehicle concepts and designs, including major systems, assemblies and components.
• Establish approaches and procedures to analysing and predicting vehicle performance.
• Develop methodologies to predicting critical loading cases, selecting materials and manufacturing methods, dimensioning and fully specifying vehicle systems, assemblies and components.
• Critically evaluate the integration of different alternative powertrain options and be able to select appropriate solutions within the context of realistic constraints on performance, efficiency, and drivability.
• Qualify students to generate novel automotive vehicle concepts and designs that are passenger friendly, structurally sound, safe, fuel efficient, environmentally friendly, refined and comply with legislation.

Basic vehicle characteristics: Vehicle concepts, centre of gravity position, static and dynamic loads and weight distributions, front, rear and all wheel drive. Adhesion coefficient and influencing factors. Traction, braking and resistance to motion.

Vehicle performance: Maximum speed, hill start and climbing. Over and under gearing. Fixed and variable gear ratios: number and distribution of gear ratios. Methods for determining acceleration through the gears.

Fuel consumption: Engine characteristics & fuel maps. Determination of fuel consumption. Energy aspects. Legislative Drive Cycles.

Braking performance: Influence of resistances and inertia. Brake force distribution. ECE 13 legislation. Calculation of required braking characteristics. Stopping distance.

Vehicle as a complex system: Understanding conceptual and compatibility issues regarding vehicle structure, engine, transmission, suspension, packaging and influence on vehicle performance.

Ergonomics & Packaging: Seating layout, door accessibility, mechanical layout: engine/transmission positions, drivelines, influence of suspensions on space and structure, ground clearance, front and rear approach angles.

Safety: Principles of passenger restraints, elastic/plastic restraints, energy dissipation, rebound energy (whiplash). Vehicle restraint systems and safety features. Hybrid and electric vehicle safety considerations.

Legislation: Introduction to regulations, European directories, USA federal motor vehicle safety standards. Understanding the influence of relevant legislation on vehicle systems design.

Driveline components: Friction clutches, dry and wet. Final drives, spiral, bevel, hypoid and helical gears. Differentials, description of open, viscous, Torsen and other limited slip differentials. Design characteristics and principles. Velocity ratios of Hooke’s joints, design characteristics of various constant velocity joints.

Manual & automatic transmissions: Description of gearbox layout and gear change mechanisms. Gearbox loads & design principles. Synchromesh mechanisms, theory of synchronisation. Epicyclic gears, torque converter, gear combinations & configurations. Automated manual & dual clutch transmissions. Continuously variable transmissions. Actuation, system operation & performance characteristics.

Hybrid and electric vehicles: Basic definitions, HEV and EV architectures, advantages and disadvantages. Electrical and mechanical energy storage technologies including battery management considerations.

Brakes and braking systems: Disc and drum brakes, braking systems – design, dimensioning and evaluation. Materials, manufacturing methods and testing.

Vehicle refinement: Basic details of noise vibration and harshness and attributes for vehicle refinement.

• Dr Glenn Sherwood

The aim of this module is to:

• Equip students with the necessary skills to understand the mechanics of powertrain systems for automotive applications.
• Equip students with knowledge to be able to evaluate the impact of powertrain systems on global emissions.

The module includes a systems view of engine technology including:

• Performance and emissions targets
• Engine layouts and thermodynamic cycles
• Basic Powertrain architectural options for electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
• Combustion thermochemistry
• Fuel types and properties
• Combustion in petrol and diesel engines
• Ignition and ignition timing
• Engine breathing
• Fuel injection systems
• Engine cooling
• Exhaust after treatment
• Advanced and future engine technologies
• Tribology of bearing design
• Frictional losses
• Lubrication

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Identify and critically assess different engines for automotive applications.
2. Critically assess the main factors that result in global emissions from engines.
3. Evaluate and critically assess global legislation of automotive emissions.
4. Evaluate the contribution of engines as prime mover in vehicles within a Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legislative and Environmental framework.
5. Evaluate and critically assess the methods of emissions abatement for vehicles.

• Dr Daniel Auger

• To equip students with the skills needed to understand, design and assess single-variable feedback control algorithms using classical control techniques for use in automotive systems.
• To introduce students to MATLAB and Simulink, industry-standard CAD tools for control system design.

The module will provide knowledge in advanced control design tools and techniques and advance analytical methods in designing multivariable controllers with applications in the automotive engineering area. The theory of the multivariable controls will be introduced and then their use will be illustrated and developed by example applications. The theory and applications will be interleaved with selected associated topics (listed below) as appropriate through the module.

The material will be addressed theoretically and practically: all lecture-based teaching will be supported by practical exercises using MATLAB and Simulink.
• Revision of key concepts (covered only in outline)
o Representing mechanical and electrical systems using differential equations
o Use of Laplace methods
o Transfer functions, poles and transmission zeros, and frequency responses
o Convolution and time-domain responses

• Creating computer models in MATLAB and Simulink
o Introduction to MATLAB programming
o Introduction to modelling and simulation in Simulink
o Linear system analysis in MATLAB
o Finding operating points and linear models using MATLAB and Simulink

• Classical control concepts
o Key feedback concepts: stability, tracking performance, noise/disturbance rejection
o Relationships between closed-loop functions S(s), T(s) and loop-gain L(s)
o Nyquist stability criterion for stable systems, gain/phase margin and Bode diagram

• Classical control design
o Frequency-domain loop-shaping
o PID design and its relationship to frequency-domain loop-shaping
o Introduction to prefilter design and ‘feed-forward’
o Actuator saturation, noise and integrator wind-up

• Estimator (state observer) design
o Introduction to linear state-space representations
o Estimator design using pole-placement methods

• On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
  1. Evaluate an automotive system (in terms of its performance, robustness, and sensitivity to noise and disturbances) using classical control concepts and methods.
  2. Design feedback control algorithms to meet specified performance requirements using frequency-domain ‘loop-shaping’ methods and PID techniques, and to understand trade-offs and limitations on what can be achieved.
  3. Create Simulink simulations of multi-domain automotive systems suitable for performance analysis and control system design, and assess control systems with these models.
  4. Evaluate operating points and construct linearized state-space and transfer function modules using MATLAB and Simulink.
  5. Construct a linear observer (state estimator) using pole-placement methods, and inspect its behaviour using MATLAB and Simulink.
  
  

The module aims to provide an introduction to the selection, processing, design, and analysis of vehicles. Emphasis will be given to understanding and practical experience of the use of composite materials in car structures including materials selection, component design, manufacturing technology processing and performance.

The module offers combination of fundamental concepts lectures, engineering theories, lab exercises, finite element modelling and simulations, tutorial and peer review exercises.

• The physical properties and models of high strength steels, stainless steels, metal matrix composites of aluminium and titanium alloys, rubbers, elastomers, plastics, honeycomb and polymer composites.
• Structural response and stiffness analyses for the above mentioned materials.
• Manufacturing technology and joining techniques.
• Design of safety and crash structures.
• An introduction into finite element modelling and simulations.
• An introduction into shape optimisation.
• Identification of failure modes and non-destructive test methods

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Apply the principles of metallic and non-metallic (including polymer composites) material selection and performance in the design and manufacturing of automotive structures
2. Design metallic and non-metallic products including composites (e.g. vehicle chassis, wheels, suspension, etc.). Judge the techniques used for the design, processing, assembly and testing of composite components.
3. Evaluate upcoming materials/structural technologies and their possible applications
4. Develop and validate finite element models (with respect to shape, mesh, contacts, materials law, etc) using modelling and simulation tools. Appraise finite element modelling and experimental results.
5. Optimise the designed product (with respect to lightweight, cost, performance, and safety margins properties) using modelling and simulation tools.
6. Propose crashworthiness concepts and estimate their influence on the vehicle structure.

• Dr Efstathios Velenis

• To provide a fundamental understanding of vehicle dynamics as applied to wheeled vehicles.
• To introduce students to the ride and handling, from requirements (subjective and objective) to analytical modelling and practical viewpoints.
• To provide students with skills and knowledge to tackle dynamic aspects of vehicle design, development and testing including the impact of active chassis and driveline systems.

The module will provide knowledge in vehicle dynamics ride and handling from subjective and objective requirements to analytical methods in developing passive ride and handling models.

Core Vehicle Dynamics Topics:

1. Vehicle Ride
a. Objective and subjective assessment
a. Ride modelling
b. Terrain modelling

2. Vehicle Handling
a. Objective and subjective assessment
b. Handling Modelling both steady-state and transient handling

3. Tyre
a. General tyre models
b. Combined ride and handling
c. Model with non-linear tyres

4. Overview to active systems, including, but not restricted to; ABS, TCS and stability control

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Evaluate the objective and subjective requirements for the vehicle dynamics ride and handling analysis and design.
2. Construct vehicle models using Matlab/Simulink and interpret the simulation results accordingly.
3. Demonstrate through the use of simplified vehicle dynamics models, an understanding of the fundamentals of vehicle ride and handling.
4. Critically evaluate different vehicle designs and modelling techniques in relation to vehicle ride and handling.

The aim of this module is to empower the students with the capability to analysis, synthesis, and evaluate various technologies and integration challenges associated with the electric and hybrid vehicles. The module is structured to provide an in-depth knowledge and expertise for design and development of the main systems, components, architectures of the Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. The module includes case-studies of commercially available Hybrid and Electric vehicles and current research projects.

Course content includes:
• Introduction to Hybrid and Electric Vehicles systems and powertrain architectures.
• Introduction to Electric Motors, Power Electronics and Electric Drives, and Motor Control.
• High voltage electrical architectures and the integration of power electronics systems
• Automotive energy storage systems:
  o Batteries, ultracapacitors, flywheels and hydraulic accumulators
  o System design, integration and energy management
• The integration of electrical machines and their electric drive systems
  o Technology options
  o System design and sizing
• The mechanical integration of the hybrid propulsion system including the use of split-path transmissions
• Energy Management and supervisory control for CO2 reduction, fuel saving, vehicle performance and driveability
• The role of energy recovery systems including regenerative brake strategies and vehicle integration challenges
• Modelling, simulation and analysis of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles and its sub-systems, using model based approach, including Mil, SiL, and HiL
• Recent Electric and Hybrid vehicle technologies case studies

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Evaluate the different Hybrid & Electric powertrain architecture options and be able to propose appropriate solutions within realistic performance, fuel economy, emission and commercial constraints.
2. Evaluate energy storage and energy management technology options for a hybrid or electric vehicle and be able to judge between different technologies relative to a given vehicle application and overall system design.
3. Demonstrate an ability to design and/or size different Hybrid and Electric Vehicle sub-systems, within the context of vehicle usage, weight, packaging, and range constraints.

• To equip students with the necessary skills to evaluate the physical processes during the mixing of fuel and air and its subsequent combustion.
• To provide students with sound knowledge of parameters leading to heat release and performance.
• For students to understand the role of engine simulation and its impact on engine development.
• To equip students with the ability to chose the correct engine for vehicle target market.

Within the context of engine simulation and performance, the course content includes:

• Port and valve flow
• Flow and wave dynamics in the intake and exhaust systems
• Supercharging and turbo-charging
• The roles of engine simulation and engine testing in the development process
• Engine simulation with Ricardo WAVE
  
  

In completing this course and receiving the associated award, a student should be able to:

1. Identify and critically assess different engine technologies and their impact on performance
2. Critically assess the main factors that lead to the formation of emissions during fuel combustion
3. Evaluate and critically assess the role of air management in engines and its importance in engine technologies leading to reduction of CO2.
   
   

• Dr Efstathios Velenis

• To develop understanding of vehicle suspension and steering systems.
• To provide a detailed, in particular ride and handling, from analytical, modelling and practical viewpoints.
• To link understanding of vehicle dynamics, ride and handling to the practical implications for suspension and steering systems design.
• To provide students with skills and knowledge to tackle dynamic aspects of vehicle design, development and testing.

• Suspension system:
o Types, typical designs and practical implications.
o Kinematics, wheel motion control.
o Forces transmitted; Analysing and dimensioning.
o Materials and manufacturing methods.
o Choice of spring rates.
o Dampers.
o Anti-roll bars.
o Instantaneous centres of rotation, roll centres and roll axis.
o Anti-dive and anti-squat.
o Active systems.


• Steering system:
o Differential (Ackermann) effect; Steering kinematics.
o Forces transmitted; Analysing and dimensioning.
o Materials and manufacturing methods.
o Bump and roll steer.
o Compliance, interaction between bump, compliance and steer.
o Power steering.
o Steering/suspension systems interactions.
o Active systems.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

1. Analyse suspension and steering systems; their static, kinematic, dynamic, stress and deflection characteristics.
2. Generate and evaluate new designs at component, assembly and system level. Specify materials and manufacturing models.
3. Critically evaluate suspension and steering designs, using simplified models and state-of-the-art techniques.
4. Competently analyse and discuss with engineering practitioners the fundamentals of vehicle suspension and steering systems, their influence on ride and handling and demonstrate an understanding of the practical issues involved.