Volume 2 | Issue 3 Now, Also ... · NEWS 4 Interactions 10 News 12 Events TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT 20...

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14 IntervIew Sunil Kaul, Group President — Technology Anand Group

18 technology foresIght Tube Hydroforming Technology: Evolution and Future Potential

60 new vehIcle Audi Q 5 — Performance Enhanced

exhaust systems — shaPing future trends

These are coiled helical springs made from spring steel wire, that can resistcompressive load.1. Suspension Springs - Front Fork & Shock Absorber2. Engine Valve Springs3. Clutch Springs4. Rebound Springs

Compression SpringsStatic and Dynamic

Extension SpringsThese are normally closecoil springs of circularcross sections, with theend usually a hook orloop, used in computers,brakes, etc.

Torsion SpringsThese resist an appliedtorque when the ends are subjected to angulardisplacement, used intransmission, etc.

Wire FormsThese are made on forming machines, in different shapes, adaptable to requiredapplications.

Complete solutions in precisionmetallic coil springsComplete solutions in precisionmetallic coil springs

Seat Belt Springs

Used for operationof Seat Belts of

4-Wheelers, made outof textured rolled

hardened and tempered high carbon steel

strips in various sizes.

A to Z product range as per Customer’s designs,applications, sizesand Internationalsstandards

INS

TT

TU

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TECHNOLOGYING

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14 INTERVIEWLaurence J Fromm, VP - Business & Strategy Development, Achates Power Inc

18 INNOVATIONWhat India Can Learn From Other Asian Markets

60 NEW VEHICLE Mercedes-Benz B 180 - Redefining Compact Class

GASOLINE ENGINES —INNOVATIVE NEW PLATFORMS

Cover_ATR_Feb'13.indd U4 01-02-2013 18:53:14

Dear reader,

News about an Air Nippon-commissioned Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Japan making an

emergency landing, after warning lights indicated a battery problem, spread thick and fast.

Within no time, air regulators across the world grounded the entire fleet of what was

supposedly the most advanced airliner ever to roll out of Boeing’s hangars. In 2011, General

Motors (GM) went through rigorous scrutiny following an incident, where batteries used in

its Chevrolet Volt plug-in car caught fire during safety tests.

Both incidents involved lithium-ion batteries, often touted as the most promising available

power source for xEVs and hybrids. Several chemistries have been researched through the

years, including a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) solution. Compared to conventional Li-ion

batteries, Li-S offers higher lithium storage density, but is considered too costly, unsafe, and

unreliable for commercial use.

For a few years now, a team of researchers at IBM has been working on a Lithium-air

battery, the prototype of which is expected to be released this year. IBM set out to create a

powerful new battery for EVs that can run 800 km on a single charge! That might sound

incredible, but it seems to have found favour with Toyota Motor Corporation and BMW, who

have recently announced joint research on Li-air batteries.

Doubts over infrastructure notwithstanding, mass adoption of EVs today depend on how

they’re priced in most markets. There are predictions of Li-ion battery prices falling

dramatically by 2020, but like a McKinsey report had suggested in 2012, it is the interaction

of battery and fuel costs that will determine the size of the market for EVs.

From an Indian perspective, there isn’t much being done specifically on battery technology.

But if estimates under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 are anything to go

by, there lies a huge opportunity for Indian battery makers to leapfrog technology and be

prepared for the demands of the future.

Today, it might be desirous to think of a world with free fuel – generated from solar, wind or

air – but experiments like the one by IBM could throw open a whole new world of

opportunities for many in the automotive world.

QUEST FOR BATTERIES

DEEPANGSHU DEV SARMAH

Editor

New Delhi, March 2013

1autotechreview.com March 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 3

ED ITOR IAL

COVER STORY

EXHAUST SYSTEMS — SHAPING FUTURE TRENDS

26, 34, 40 | Exhaust systems are a hot topic of discussion and development for the automotive industry pres-

ently. With greenhouse gases undergoing a global reduction cycle, manufacturers are looking at every possi-

ble way to make exhausts smaller and cleaner. Re-using the exhaust gases is one of the key methods of

achieving higher efficiency. In this issue, Auto Tech Review takes a look at the technologies being adopted

and conceived to make the exhausts leaner and greener.

2

14 Smart Cities — India's Need of the

Hour

Tony Spizzichino, CEO,

Telit RF Technologies

GUEST COMMENTARY

INTERVIEW

16 “We’ve Built Capabilities by Investing

in People, Processes and Products”

Sunil Kaul, Group President — Technology,

Anand Group

NEWS

4 Interactions

10 News

12 Events

TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT

20 Tube Hydroforming Technology:

Evolution and Future Potential

Suresh Babu Muttana, Arghya Sardar

COVER STORY

26 Particulate Exhaust Aftertreatment of

Direct Injection Gasoline Engines

Heike Többen, Jörg J Oesterle

34 Development of An Exhaust-Gas

Turbocharger for HD Daimler CV

Engines

Elias Chebli, Markus Müller,

Johannes Leweux, Andreas Gorbach

40 Automatic Shape Optimisation of

Exhaust Systems

Christof Hinterberger, Rolf Kaiser,

Mark Olesen

TECHNOLOGY

44 Safety By Self-Localisation — Using

Sattelites, Landmarks

Roland Krzikalla, Andreas Schindler,

Matthias Wankerl, Reiner Wertheimer

50 Interfaces Using Gestures — Today’s

Technology, Tomorrow’s Innovations

Rick Kreifeldt, Hans Roth, Olaf Preissner,

Thomas Vöhringer-Kuhnt

SHOPFLOOR

56 FIEM Industries – Relying on

Technology for Future Growth

NEW VEHICLE

60 New Audi Q5 Performance Enhanced

DECODING TECHNOLOGY

64 Telematics: Simplicity To

Drive Adoption

OTHERS

01 Editorial

03 Imprint

IMPRINT

Editor: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

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Auto Tech Review (ATR) is a monthly magazine focussed on automotive technology, and appears 12 times a year. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Springer India Pvt Ltd. No part of this magazine can be reproduced in any form, including photocopies and information retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Springer India Pvt Ltd Limited reserves the right to use the information published herein in any manner whatsoever.

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COVER FIGURE © Faurecia

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3autotechreview March 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 3

CONTENTS

INTERACT ION DELPHI, ZF

4 www.autotechreview.com

DELPHI | ELECTRONICS TO DRIVE GROWTH

Delphi Product & Services Solutions (DPSS) is pres-

ently focusing on expanding its presence and tech-

nical capability in the Indian aftermarket by focus-

ing on the area of electronics. Indian consumers

have always been sensitive towards fuel efficiency

and hence the related technology and parts are

already available in the market. The increasing

content on cars, including those by Indian OEMs

presents a major opportunity for introduction of

new technologies, said Dominic Yuklam Seto,

MD, Asia Pacific, DPSS (left).

Rising awareness among consumers is

bound to sustain this demand for long. “Most of

this content that gets increased will be in the

field of electronics and that’s what we’re doing,”

said Seto, who is also the Vice President DPSS &

Vice President, Delphi China in an interaction

with Auto Tech Review at the 2013 Automechani-

ka New Delhi.

Seto said that the increasing car park in India

is a good opportunity for the company and last

year the Indian aftermarket business grew beyond

the industry average at about 14 %. However, the

company sees an additional opportunity within

the forecasted car numbers in India.

When asked of the opportunity in the two-

wheeler segment, which presents a larger after-

market base, Faisal Matin, Country Direc-

tor, India, DPSS (right) acknowledged the

scope. However, he added that despite the poten-

tial, the company presently wants to focus on the

passenger vehicle (PV) segment for now. The

reason for this is the technical strength Delphi

has in the PV segment. Sectors such as two-

wheelers and commercial vehicles are there to

explore and will be looked into at the right time,

Matin said.

Seto added that Delphi intends to focus on its

strengths, one of which is electronics. In the two-

wheeler segment, the content of electronics is

limited right now in India. As emission norms get

stringent for two-wheelers, the adoption of elec-

tronics will increase and that is where Delphi can

help its customers with the right solutions.

In order to offer the right technology for a

specific market/region, Delphi relies on leverag-

ing its global presence. The Indian technical

centre of Delphi, for example, does a lot of work

in the area of software, which is used by the

company globally. However, the company ensures

that every product/technology is calibrated to

meet local requirements. An example of this is

the JV company, Alliance Friction Technologies,

which manufactures brake pads for the Indian

as well as global markets.

NEW PRODUCTS

New electronic products to be introduced in the

Indian market will be built on three parameters –

green, safe and connected, said Seto. Any new

products will have to excel in each of these areas

in order to make for a proper solution, he added.

In India, within the green area, the company will

continue to focus on technologies such as engine

management electronics, electronic fuel pump

and fuel system, among others. Similarly, the

company will continuously look at launching new/

improved technologies in the areas of safety and

infotainment as consumer awareness grows.

Talking of the expected growth in the after-

market area over the next decade or so, Matin

expects a change across the landscape. He added

that it’s imperative for any company to be in the

right place and at the right time. DPSS through its

wide product portfolio, especially in the electron-

ics segment, is positioned well to grow with the

Indian automotive industry in the long run.

TEXT : Arpit Mahendra

autotechreview 5March 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 3

ZF SERVICES | NEW NETWORK TO DRIVE EXPANSION

ZF Services, the after sales service division of ZF,

plans to focus on expanding its passenger car

business through an entirely new network, said,

Bernd Grasser, General Manager & Head

of ZF Services India. Developing the passen-

ger vehicle business comprises the company’s

next big target in the Indian market, for which a

new distribution system will be installed.

The division is already supplying products to

companies such as BMW, Mercedes and Volkswa-

gen, which either import or assemble models in

India. In order to fuel further growth, ZF Services

intends to cater to Indian, Korean and Japanese

OEMs in the market. Grasser expects the passen-

ger car business to gain more visibility in the next

couple of years and about five years from now for

the business to become established.

The business in India is mainly dependent on

the commercial vehicles segment for now. Buses

in particular are offering a rapidly growing busi-

ness to the division and ZF Services already has

orders from some of the largest private bus fleet

operators in India. In order to develop the bus

business further, the division is talking to or plan-

ning to talk to some of the state-run-transport

corporations for their fleet maintenance and

related services.

Grasser talked about the importance of India as

a market with huge potential, but also highlighted

the unique challenges associated with the market.

Some of these are unique demands in terms of

pricing and technology. A company better known for

offering higher value, ZF needs to adjust and strike

a balance to suit Indian conditions.

A major recent step taken in order to quicken

the growth was the setting up of a new warehouse

in Pune, Maharashtra. The facility became opera-

tional just a few months back and the availability

and replenishment cycles are now getting in line

with the desired levels. The division is also looking

at developing its dealership network in order to

reach out to more customers across the country.

Localisation too will undergo an increase but will

include products, which aren’t a part of the

present portfolio and are required for India. For

the other components, the plan right now is to

continue with imports.

Quite importantly, the business is expected to

grow at a healthy pace in India as it’s well-inte-

grated with the growth of the group business in the

country. The Services division established an office

in Indian in 2010 and has witnessed a steady

growth in business since then. In the calendar

years 2011 and 2012, the division grew 38 %.

ZF Services is responsible for offering a lot

more beyond parts availability. This includes of-

fering maintenance services, which is crucial for

the growth of the group business. The strategy is

to not flush the market with products and instead

focus on high-quality products. This will allow ZF

Services to distinguish itself from the competition

and compliment the growth of its group business.

Talking of areas of improvement, he men-

tioned that Government policies in terms of infra-

structure development will also play an important

role in the sector’s growth. Brasser added that a

change in taxation between states is essential as

the present scenario has a lot of uncertainties at-

tached to it. The presently exploited grey areas

aren’t helping suppliers in any way. Despite this,

the growing population and its demand fuelled by

a growing private sector will continue to generate

growth for businesses in the long-run and contin-

ue to project India as a long-term market for com-

panies worldwide.


Source: www.asam.net

INTERACT ION FORD, DICV


FORD | FLEXIBILITY IN MATERIAL PLANNING KEY

ACMA AUTOMECHANIKA | MAKES SUCCESSFUL INDIA DEBUT

Challenges of material planning and logistics, for

a global company of the magnitude of Ford Motor

Company, is exceptionally high. While the drive is

towards ensuring efficient logistical operations,

what makes it complicated is the multitude of

platforms on offer, both from the products and

powertrain perspective. The answer lies in being

flexible, said Stephen J Harley, Executive Director,

Global Material Planning & Logistics and Parts

Supply & Logistics, Ford.

From the materials perspective, it is important

to anticipate forecast, and that’s what Harley’s

team has been working on. “Being a large global

company, it is important to get a correct forecast

of demand. We’ve invested quite a lot of time and

money in trying to manage demand. But we also

need to take into account calamities like the

tsunami in Japan, and floods in Thailand,” Harley

said during his recent trip to India.

There are constraints on certain manufac-

tured components, and Ford is trying to pull to-

gether that information and get a short-term fix.

Concurrently, it is also trying to develop meas-

ures for the future so that the company can more

appropriately provide guidance to the suppliers’

community, which also relies on multiple tiers.

“We concentrate on the first tier, but one of the

things those disasters showed us it that we got

to go deeper and have more knowledge and

access. We are using technology extensively to

understand demand signals and provide a far

more accurate forecast.”

Through the years, Ford has deliberately de-

signed factories that have a flexible production

system, manufacturing both vehicles and power-

train in diesel and petrol variants. While Tier I

suppliers may have a degree of flexibility, they

need to ensure they remain flexible further down

the sourcing chain. Moreover, for companies nur-

turing global aspirations, it’s important to be flex-

ible, even to the extent of being able to survive

natural calamities, Harley said.

The global demand for electromobility has also

brought about an interesting challenge for com-

panies that need to procure specific materials,

which often border on being hazardous. Battery

components, for instance, is one such product

that requires special conditions for shipping.

TEXT : Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

Messe Frankfurt organised the first ever ACMA

Automechanika in New Delhi - India’s first-ever

aftermarket focussed show. The exhibition was

held across a space of 9,500 sqm and hosted

258 exhibitors from 12 countries. Countries such

as China, Germany, Taiwan, Italy and the United

Kingdom had individual pavilions.

The number of visitors was good, thereby es-

tablishing a sound platform for the further edi-

tions of the show. The show was inaugurated by

Praful Patel, Minister of Heavy Industry and

Public Enterprises, Government of India.

Speaking about the state of affairs in the

Indian automotive aftermarket, Surinder Kanwar,

President, ACMA, said, “The automotive after-

market in India is currently growing at a pace of

10 to 15 %. Although the industry is growing, it

is currently going through a rough patch.”

Sharing pre-budget recommendations, Mr.

Kanwar said there is need for reversal of high

imports vis-a-vis exports. This request though

hasn’t been fulfilled as seen in the recently an-

nounced budget. He also emphasised on the im-

portance of reducing counterfeiting, which is a

major deterrent to the growth of the aftermarket.

Some of the key technology introductions at

the event included Glysantin range of automotive

radiator coolant by BASF, PCL-SUMO N2 Genera-

tor cum inflator by PCL-SUMO and brake disc

pads for L.C.V. cars and two/three wheelers by

Benara Udyog. From an overall perspective the

show turned out to be a successful venture and

set the right tone for its successive edition. A

two-day conference titled ‘Opportunities and

Challenges for the Indian Auto Component In-

dustry and Aftermarket’ was organised concur-

rently with the exhibition.


BHARATBENZ | BETTING ON LIGHT-DUTY TRUCKS

Building further on its encouraging sales of over

1,000 trucks in 2012, Daimler India Commercial

Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) recently launched the

light-duty (LDT) range of trucks under its

BharatBenz brand. The three-model range was

launched in the price range of `10.15 and

`13.58 lakh, ex-showroom, Chennai. The range

will be produced at the company’s plant in Ora-

gadam, Chennai.

The 914 and 1214 Rigid are aimed at the

haulage segment, whereas the 1217 Tipper is for

the construction segment. The trucks are

powered by a four-cylinder common rail engine

producing 140 hp for the rigid variants and 170

hp for the tipper model. At the launch, we got the

opportunity to interact with Aydogan

Cakmaz, Vice-President, Product Engi-

neering, DICV (right) and Georg

Weiberg, Vice-President, Daimler

Trucks & Head of Truck Product Engi-

neering, Daimler AG (left).

Cakmaz said the LDT range consists of

vehicle developed specifically for India and

makes use of a supplier network from the

country. The range is based on the FUSO Fighter

for the chassis & FUSO Canter for the Cab.

Talking further of the supply chain, he said that

the company has already achieved 85 % locali-

sation for the LDT range, with most suppliers

from the state of Tamil Nadu.

The 3.9 l engine is a modernised unit and

complies with BS III emission norms, but is scal-

able to meet future emission norms as well. Key

features of the engine include four-valve and

common-rail technology considering the segment

offering. Owing to the technical advancements,

the engine is claimed to offer higher fuel effi-

ciency and reliability. Power too is higher than

segment standards and is an important factor

as it allows operators to complete more trips in

lesser time. This has been one of the key reasons

for the success of the brand in India despite

commanding a price premium.

One key area of work for India was to prevent

corrosion, for which the engineers had to adopt

methods beyond simple painting of the chassis.

Powder-coating came up as a solution to counter

corrosion and is good for about five to eight

years, depending on various factors. The

company also offers two types of six-speed

transmissions to suit long-haulage or construc-

tion applications, one from FUSO and the other

from Daimler.

An important yet less looked into factor in

India is that of driver comfort in the truck

segment. BharatBenz claims its transmission

with cable-shifting technology is extremely easy

to use and takes off a significant amount of

burden from the drivers. Cabin comfort too is in

line with the characteristics of the FUSO brand

and offers the best-in-class quality.

Talking of cost-optimisation, Weiberg made it

clear that no kind of de-contenting was carried

out on the trucks. In order to lower costs, the

company looked at every possible way to make

processes efficient.

The high fuel efficiency has turned out to be

a fulfilled promise since the launch of Bharat-

Benz in India. Weiberg stated that this has been

possible due to the combination of technologies

such as efficient combustion, right gear ratios,

friction reduction, and aerodynamic efficiency.

As Cakmaz and his team continue to develop ve-

hicles tailor-made for India, it’s clear that tech-

nology will continue to spearhead the company’s

strategy in India.


INTERACT ION CONTINENTAL


Despite the fact that India has one of the lowest

penetration of vehicles among emerging markets,

the country has the dubious distinction of regis-

tering the highest number of road fatalities glob-

ally. While pedestrian safety standards continue

to be worked upon, many global suppliers of auto-

motive safety products and equipments and their

OE customers have been on the forefront of intro-

ducing measures to ensure vehicle occupants as

well as pedestrians are safe on Indian roads.

One such supplier is the German major, Conti-

nental. On a recent trip to India, Auto Tech Review

caught up with Nino Romano, Vice Presi-

dent Functions Development, Electronic

Brake Systems, Continental and Martin

Kueppers, Vice President Sales & Busi-

ness Development, Electronic Brake

Systems, Continental to understand what lies

ahead from the Continental stable that promises

to curb road accidents in India.

Two critical components in modern vehicles

that help push the safety envelope are the EBS

and ESC systems. The effort, Romano explained,

is to let the products network with different

systems in the vehicle, including cameras, infra-

red, radar systems, or the passive safety systems.

With car-to-car (C2C) and car-to-infrastructure

(C2X) communication gaining popularity, Conti-

nental has been investing a lot of effort trying to

get information not just from sensors in the

vehicle, but also from the environment, traffic

jams, and other vehicles on the road.

“The safety potential by networking the system

is not something related only to Europe or North

America, but has huge potential in India as well.

We are completely sure that our EBS systems

could help cut down road fatalities in India by at

least one-fifth,” assured Romano.

The initial challenge for Continental was to

engineer safety products suited to the Indian

market, but bringing safety awareness to the end-

consumer is also becoming a core area of its re-

sponsibility. There has never been a challenge big

enough from an engineering perspective; however,

pushing safety to a value conscious Indian con-

sumer is quite another task.

Romano said the company is trying to under-

stand how much the end-consumer is willing to

pay for safety. “Our products are modular and

scalable and that gives us the flexibility to

downsize and offer the right product to the con-

sumer, at the right price. We are aware of the

price sensitiveness of Indian consumers, but we

want to ensure that this price sensitivity would

not kill our approach to bring safety on to the

streets,” he said.

Markets like India, and other emerging

markets, have been the focus for Kueppers and

his team of late. There’s an understanding that

market penetration in India comes from the top.

High-end cars already come with all necessary

safety features, and the first signals of the middle

segment cars being introduced with safety fea-

tures is now getting visible, Kueppers said. There

is a visible pull effect in the market – if one man-

ufacturer starts offering safety features, others

will have to follow soon, he observed.

“Indians by nature are value conscious, but

we continue to see a surge in awareness for safety

in this market. Even in the two-wheeler segment,

we’ve had the introduction of the first ABS system

in India, and consumers understand the benefit of

CONTINENTAL | PERSISTENT FOCUS ON SAFETY TO DRIVE GROWTH


this product in saving lives,” Kueppers noted. TVS

Motor Company was the first Indian two-wheeler

manufacturer to offer an ABS (Anti-lock Braking

System) in the Apache RTR 180.

The ABS offered on the TVS Apache is a good

example of modularity practiced by Continental.

This unit comes with a single control on the front

wheel, but Romano said the product is capable of

being scaled up as per the requirement. “If there

is a demand for more safety features in the Indian

two-wheeler industry, we can easily put in addi-

tional safety features in the system.”

There’s absolutely no compromise on safety

and reliability, Kueppers assured, but “we do

compromise on noise behaviour. Customers in

mature markets tend to be very sensitive towards

noise. Indian consumers, being not too sensitive

about noise, give us the liberty to work and reduce

some cost from the system.”

While a lot of these aspects are regulatory

driven, Continental has assured laws of the land

would not stop them from introducing safety fea-

tures and equipments in the Indian market.

Notably, the European Union has voted in favour

of mandatory ABS for new motorcycles over 125cc

from 2016. Kueppers confirmed they are currently

in talks with other two-wheeler makers in India,

and believes it’s just a matter of time before

others opt for it.

MK 100 – INDIA BOUND?

Continental has continued to invest in improving

braking performance through several decades.

The newly introduced MK 100 brake family is

aimed at the emerging markets, and is signifi-

cantly better compared to its predecessor. The

modular product makes scalability possible, and

it makes it possible to install ABS/ESC in all

vehicle categories – right from a two-wheeler to a

large SUV.

Romano said the MK 100 is 30 % lighter com-

pared with the earlier ESC generation, but that is

not due to any change in material used. The valve

characteristics of the aluminium valve block have

been optimised, and Continental engineers have

been able to bring in the same hydraulic forces in

the system by less weight, and less steel in the

valve. “To bring in the 30 % weight reduction, we

reduced the size of the valve, which also means

we reduced the size of the valve block, reduced

the quantity of aluminium and reduced the size of

the motor,” he explained.

Interestingly, throughout the MK 100 product

family, the hydraulic and electrical interfaces are

compatible with each other. That makes the

product easily applicable for OEM platform con-

cepts wanting to benefit from a truly scalable

product range.

In the past, the company had made applica-

tions for different vehicle segments, but with

growing demands for efficiency, it worked on a

system that had the same levels of safety, func-

tionality and performance. The design concept

will produce added functional value even for

price-driven, entry-level versions, and that is

what gives Kueppers and Romano the confidence

that there will be a keen request for the MK 100

from Indian manufacturers as well, because

Continental is eyeing the entry level A- and B-

segment cars.

The new MK 100 went into series production in

European and Asian platforms in 2011, and many

more OEMs in Europe, NAFTA and Asia have con-

firmed their acceptance of the product for future

vehicle platforms.

OTHER VARIANTS

The MK 100 ABS Entry variant, which was specifi-

cally designed for the hatchback and small sedan

segments in growing markets, will be locally pro-

duced in India, along with China and Brazil. The

packaging of this variant is compact and ex-

tremely light at less than 1.2 kg, and fits in the

MK 100 ESC M box dimensions. The XT version can

be extended to cover the D-segment as well,

stated an earlier company release.

One of the exciting new steps the company is

undertaking is in the area of environment and

CO2 reduction. “Our focus through the MK 100

system is to take care of the requirements emerg-

ing out of electric and hybrid vehicles, for in-

stance. These vehicles also need a total inde-

pendent brake system,” said Romano.

That’s where the MK 100 ESC Hybrid steps in.

It is based on a standard hydraulic brake

system, but has an additional brake pedal posi-

tion sensor. “In EVs and hybrids, we have to cut

off the brakes from the driver pretty much

totally, because every manufacturer wants that

the brake energy that we’re applying on the cal-

liper, is not wasted. They want the brake energy

to be recovered,” explained Romano. The regen-

erative braking with the MK 100 makes the recu-

peration of braking energy possible. The braking

energy is converted into electric power that is

used to charge the vehicle battery.

Romano and Kueppers are convinced about

the Indian potential for safety products. With a

growing level of maturity and awareness, it’s but

a matter of time that consumers will start de-

manding products that ensure enhanced safety,

they believe.

TEXT : Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

MK100 is based on a modular product family and

can be scaled as desired

MK100 ESC Premium Hybrid is based on a stand-

ard hydraulic brake system

NEWS MISCELLANEOUS


TOYOTA | INAUGURATES GASOLINE ENGINE & TRANSMISSION PLANT

MILESTONE | TWO MILLIONTH TRUCK FROM TATA’S JAMSHEDPUR PLANT

Tata Motors’ Jamshedpur plant recently rolled out

its two-millionth truck marking a production land-

mark for the company. The truck completing the

production number was a Prima 2528.K. The occa-

sion also offered an insight into the modernisation

activity in the plant over the past decade or so.

The Jamshedpur facility manufactures the

company’s entire range of medium and heavy

commercial vehicles for both civilian and defence

applications. Products from the plant are also ex-

ported to markets such as South Africa, Russia,

Myanmar, the SAARC region and the Middle East.

The design & engineering centre at the facili-

ty is claimed to be a world-class unit and is re-

sponsible for conceptualisation and development

of the complete truck range. The centre is

capable of undertaking digital designing through

3D visualisation of truck models and the electri-

cal systems. Functions such as benchmarking,

prototype planning, vehicle assembly, chassis

fabrication and a customisation unit are carried

out in the same facility.

The testing unit encompasses engine perfor-

mance testing, indoor and outdoor vehicle

testing, NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness)

testing, durability testing and other performance

related developments. The engine shop presently

manufactures 200

units of the 697/497

engines per day.

Owing to recent

advancements in

manufacturing tech-

nology, the plant’s

main assembly line

now rolls out one truck

every five minutes.

The foundry shop is

claimed to be one of

the most automated

foundries in the world.

The advanced high

pressure moulding

line has a production

capacity of 90 moulds

per hour. Similarly, the

forging unit too is

modern and can churn

out front axle beams and crankshafts at a speed of

90 seconds and 120 seconds, respectively.

Speaking of the production milestone, Karl

Slym, Managing Director, Tata Motors,

said, We are proud that the mother plant of the

company, from where our operations started, has

today released its two millionth truck. We have

modernised the plant through the years, which

today produces our most technologically rich and

high performing civilian and defence products,

catering to customers across the world.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) inaugurated its new

gasoline engine and transmission plant in Bidadi,

Banagalore. The plant is owned by Toyota Kirlo-

skar Auto Parts Pvt Ltd (TKAP), a JV between

Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, Toyota Indus-

tries Corporation of Japan and Kirloskar Systems

Limited. The new facility is located in the campus

of the existing plant on the outskirts of Bangalore.

TKAP’s new plant is in line with Toyota’s global

strategy in which Indian plays an important part.

More specifically, the Etios lineup is an important

part of the Indian strategy for the company.

The facility will manufacture petrol engines

for the Etios line-up to start with, pushing the

localisation ratio to over 90 % for the engine

and transmission. The facility manufactures the

R-Type manual transmission for the Fortuner

made in India. These units are also exported to

Thailand and Argentina. The overall powertrain

localisation rate will significantly be increased

due to the new plant.

The TKAP plant was established with an in-

vestment of 500 crore and while the engine plant

became operational in August 2012, the trans-

mission plant became recently operational in

January 2013. Annual production capacity for the

engine plant is rated at 108,000 while for the

transmission plant it’s capped at 240,000 units.

Given the flexible manufacturing strategy of

Toyota, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this

number going up if needed. The company though

is yet to make an official statement on the pro-

duction scalability of the plant.

Speaking of the new facility, Yuji Hiraoka,

Managing Director, TKAP, said, “We are very

happy to announce the formal commencement of

our new Engine and Transmission plant. This

project has helped us generate additional em-

ployment for more than 500 members at TKAP. It

has also additionally created opportunities for

indirect employment in our supplier fraternity.

TKAP will contribute towards localisation thereby

getting an opportunity to serve our customers in

India better.”

HONDA CARS INDIA | FOURTH-GENERATION CR-V


Force Motors launched the new Gurkha off-road-

er at the International Bus and Utility Show

2013. Based on the legendary Mercedes Geland-

ewagen (G Wagon), the Gurkha is priced between

` 6.25-8.5 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.

The Gurkha is powered by a 2.6 l turbo-diesel

Mercedes OM616 engine. The BS III compliant

engine produces about 81 hp of power @ 3,200

rpm and a torque of 230 Nm between 1,800-

2,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a five speed

synchromesh transmission with high and low

options on transfer case. A unique inclusion is

differential locks on both front and rear axles,

making Gurkha a capable off-roader.

The Gurkha comes with a factory fitted AC

unit and power steering unit, sturdier instrument

cluster and dual toned interiors. The front

section has redesigned headlights and a new

grille, roof rails, alloy wheels and a stainless

steel intake snorkel.

The reinforced tubular chassis of the Gurkha

is claimed to withstand torsional stresses, which

the vehicle gets subjected to in extreme off-road

situations. The independent front suspension

with solid torsion bar has been improved to

enhance Gurkha’s ride comfort. Moreover, thanks

to a newly designed engine compartment, the

NVH levels of the vehicle are also claimed to be

significantly lower.

NEW PRODUCT | FORCE MOTORS GURKHA

KTM TO EXPAND PRODUCT PORTFOLIO IN INDIA | TWO NEW PRODUCTS IN A YEAR

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) launched the new

CR-V at a starting price of ` 19.95 lakh, nearly a

year after its global launch. The fourth genera-

tion CR-V is based on an all-new platform, but

carries similar design traits, making it easy to

associate it with the CR-V design language.

The SUV is offered in four variants with two

engine options, a 2 l and 2.4 l i-VTEC petrol. The

2 l variant will be offered with a six-speed

manual and five-speed automatic transmission,

while the larger 2.4 l variant will be offered only

with a five-speed automatic box. The former

engine develops about 155 hp, while the latter

generates about 188 hp. ARAI certified fuel-effi-

ciency is rated at 13.7 km/l for the 2 l and 12

km/l for the 2.4 l version.

Safety ranks high across the range as even

the base model of the SUV is offered with six

airbags, ABS with EBD and motion adaptive

electronic power steering. The higher models

also get hill start assist. The SUV comes with in-

tegrated audio including CD, MP3, USB, and iPod

connectivity.

Features including alloy wheels, fog lamps,

5” TFT Colour screen for multi-info display, rear

camera, dual zone A/C, steering mounted con-

trols, cruise control and leather seats also comes

as standard on all the variants. The top variant

though gets a 6.1 inch colour screen.

Local assembly of the vehicle has allowed

HCIL to cut prices by up to ` 2.7 lakh as com-

pared to the older CR-V. In the long run, the local

manufacturing could prove to be a boon as

Honda gradually starts getting its diesel engines

into India. The new CR-V is priced between `

19.95 and 23.85 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.

KTM AG, the Austrian bike manufacturer partly-

owned by Bajaj Auto, has recorded sales of 8,500

units in 2012. Since its launch in January 2012,

KTM has become the largest selling premium mo-

torcycle (priced above ` 1 lakh) brand in India.

Building further on this success, KTM has

decided to expand its product portfolio in India

and will launch two new street bikes in the next

one year. The company will first launch the 45 hp

Duke 390 in mid-2013. Expected to be priced at

about ` 2 lakh, the 390 will be a unique product

in the market at its time of launch.

In early 2014, the company will launch

another bike, which will be inspired by RC8 and

Moto 3 racing motorcycles. Although uncon-

firmed, the bike is expected to be powered by a

250 cc engine and will compete with the likes of

Kawasaki Ninja 250R, the Honda CBR250R and

the Hyosung GT250R.

More interestingly, unlike the Duke 200, which

was designed by KTM and Bajaj engineers collec-

tively for the Indian market, the RC25 is expected

to be a global product. Both the new offerings

from KTM will be manufactured in India by Bajaj

Auto at its Chakan facility. The company will also

display its 1,190 cc flagship racing bike RC8 in

Probiking showrooms from March 2013.

The KTM-Bajaj auto alliance has 70 Bajaj

Probiking dealerships in India with plans to in-

crease the number to 75 in the coming months,

making it the largest dealer network among all

premium motorcycle brands.

Commenting on KTM’s achievements on its

1st launch anniversary Amit Nandi, Vice Presi-

dent (Probiking) Bajaj Auto, and responsible for

KTM in India said, “When someone wants to buy a

thorough-bred racing machine he knows that

KTM is the only one.”

EVENTS AUTOMACH 2013, IBUV


AUTOMACH 2013 | HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED OF THE HOUR

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), suc-

cessfully conducted the first edition of Automach

2013 in association with the Society of Indian Au-

tomobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The show was

unique due to its industry-first focus on machin-

ery, robotics and automation exclusively for the

automotive industry.

The Indian automotive sector is presently

transitioning to being capable of delivering high

industrial outputs consistently with high quality.

Despite being a country with high-population, we

cannot use the people count as a primary resource

for growth. The reason is that to err is human

nature and this nature could prove detrimental to

the sector. Even countries such as China have

adopted automation at an appreciable pace, re-

flecting its importance.

Another concern for manufacturers these days

is efficient use of space as production space is

getting expensive and can no longer rise as it

used to some years back. Manufacturers across

industries are trying to find better efficiency in

each square metre of production area so that cost

can be kept in check.

Putting together thousands of parts and

making them work together requires perfection to

the levels of thousandth parts of millimeters at

times. Such requirements necessitate a wider

adoption of automation by Indian auto players.

The only way the industry can fulfill these require-

ments is through widespread adoption of machin-

ery and automation.

The show served as a good platform at bring-

ing together robotics and machinery suppliers

from the globe at one place. Various companies

showcased new and innovative solutions, which

could help manufacturers add efficiency to many

of their existing processes. A good thing about Au-

tomach 2013 was the diversity of the technology

showcased. There were solutions ranging from au-

tomated cutters to fully-automated painting

robots under one roof.

The event also played host to presentations

from experts across the industry. In one of the

presentations, it was highlighted that the Indian

manufacturing sector can attain and maintain a

higher rate of growth in the long-run if automa-

tion is increasingly adopted. The industry would

directly benefit from higher productivity and

lower costs while offering better overall quality.

Contrary to the common perception of machinery

killing jobs, it was highlighted that automation

can lead to an increase in employment in the

long-run.

Environment-friendly manufacturing tech-

niques too are gaining great importance world-

wide and India can’t shy from adopting it. This

however can only be done through using efficient

machines, which deliver more for lesser energy.

Deep Kapuria, Managing Director, Hi-tech Gears

& Chairman, Steering Committee, Automach

2013 said that the Indian manufacturing sector

can contribute substantially more to the GDP,

provided automation is adopted, R&D is

strengthened, skilled labour is developed and

quality standards are raised.

Automach 2013 managed to prove through a

course of three-days that automation is the need

of hour for the Indian automotive industry. The

industry is presently at a stage from where it

could grow into one of the leading vehicle

makers globally. The fallout of failing to do it

right now is that there are many other markets

developing at a faster pace and could leave us

behind. Automation is one of the key methods of

ensuring we emerge as a prominent member of

the changing world order.

SIAM | INTERNATIONAL BUS & UTILITY VEHICLE SHOW 2013


The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

(SIAM) held the first edition of a new show - Inter-

national Bus & Utility Vehicle Show 2013 (IBUV).

The show was held at India Expo Mart in Greater

Noida, which will also serve as the new venue for

the Auto Expo in 2014. We were at the show

through its planned four days and have formed a

brief report for our readers to understand the need

for this show.

Visitor participation at the show was appre-

ciable despite the increased distance and lack of

public transport in comparison with Pragati

Maidan. The venue in itself is modern and re-

flects global standards of infrastructure. IBUV

2013 served as a successful platform in ena-

bling bus & UV makers to showcase their prod-

ucts to the central & state transport agencies

and private fleet operators.

The show also served as a test-bed for the

Auto Show and will provide SIAM with crucial

feedback about various aspects. Given that this

was an all-new show, visitor and exhibitor par-

ticipation was appreciable. Key OEM participants

included Ashok Leyland, Force Motors, Mahindra,

Nissan, SML Isuzu and Tata Motors. On the first

day of the event, Force Motors used the platform

to launch a new off-roading vehicle Gurkha.

Other companies also showcased their key prod-

ucts in order to highlight their ability to help

make public transportation better.

Buses are an important mode of public

transport in India and cater to most of the public

transport needs in Indian cities. Being an af-

fordable and convenient means, buses are used

by all sections of the society. This presents an

excellent opportunity for bus manufacturers and

the Indian bus industry is already one of the

largest in the world. Along with a steady in-

crease in production, recent years have also seen

good advancements in areas such as safety, ef-

ficiency and technology.

The recent growth in infrastructure too has

significantly helped the sector grow in the past

few years. City modernisation schemes such as

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal

Mission (JNNURM) have played a pivotal role in

enabling the industry produce

world-class vehicles on a

mass-scale. Considering the

importance of bus and utility

vehicles in the growth of the

economy, SIAM conceived an

all-new platform.

A noticeable trend at the

show was effort from all man-

ufacturers towards efficiency,

both in terms of environment

and space. Almost every

vehicle had some or the other

technique implemented to

provide the maximum possible

volume in a given area of

surface. Another attraction at

the show was the presence of

vehicle customisation companies, which serve

both personal and commercial needs. These

products included modified Maruti Suzuki Gypsy

from Hyperformance Motorsports and mo-

torhomes from PCP. The PCP Terrahome is a mo-

torhome module mounted on the back of a Mahi-

ndra Genio.

Overall, the show was a success in its own

way and managed to offer SIAM and various other

agencies with an insight into what it might take

to organize an event of much larger size. With the

IBUV now concluded, the industry can start

looking forward to the Auto Expo with higher ex-

pectations than the previous edition suggested.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of a smart city is a relatively new one. Cities in

the developed world are formulating technology master plans

and then using these plans to develop a citywide command

and control network that monitors and optimises the delivery

of services like power, water, traffic and healthcare. The basic

premise of a smart city is making infrastructure network and

delivery of services more efficient – across telecommunica-

tion, logistics, water and gas supply.

Indian cities, in a small way, are using advanced technolo-

gy within departments to solve problems. These include traffic

control, using sensors to monitor water leaks, tracking gar-

bage trucks through global positioning systems to ensure they

dump their waste at designated landfills, energy management

in smart buildings and complexes.

Also under development are smart townships that are con-

trolled centrally, and entire cities along the Delhi-Mumbai In-

dustrial Corridor. As these projects expand and mature indi-

vidually, Indian cities will be ready for technology integration

– which is in a nascent stage right now.

CUSTOMISABLE MODEL

Seven new cities coming up along the Delhi-Mumbai Industri-

al Corridor will also use smart technologies with a total in-

vestment of $ 90 bn over a decade. The government is looking

at mass systems and digital technology that cuts across power,

water, safety and transport needs. While technology firms are

working on digital master plans, the models will be customis-

able to adapt to Indian realities.

Typically in a smart city, sensors will provide real-time in-

puts to a control centre on clean water, energy, public trans-

port, public safety, education, and healthcare. Intelligent com-

munication tools will let administrators manage and respond

SMART CITIES — INDIA’S NEED OF THE HOUR

TONY SPIZZICHINO,

Chief Executive Offi cer,

Telit RF Technologies

GUEST COMMENTARY

www.autotechreview.com14

to emergencies quickly as well as provide residents with con-

stant real-time inputs.

But what about old urban centres? Can smart technologies

help re-engineer utility systems and delivery? Water distribu-

tion systems, for example, were built 50 to 100 years ago and

badly need upgrading. Revenues of $ 14 bn are being lost ac-

cording to the World Bank, which makes a compelling eco-

nomic case for better water metering. Smart water grids that

leverage the value of smart water meters in homes and other

buildings are being deployed, albeit slowly. According to a re-

port from Pike Research, the global installed base of smart

meters with two-way communication capabilities will only

reach 29.9 mn by 2017, up from 10.3 mn in 2011.

A major city in the developed world is creating an ultra

high-speed broadband network along its waterfront area, with

speeds of 100 Mbps for residences and 10 Gbps for commer-

cial establishments. This network is supposed to help deploy a

large number of new services like telemedicine, distance edu-

cation, virtual tourism, and several business applications.

Wembley Stadium in London went through a major overhaul,

integrating all building safety systems with data, video and

voice communications, and then using an intelligent control

solution, making it the most technically advanced sports stadi-

um in the world.

THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE

Even in India, there are departments that are beginning to em-

ploy smart technologies. Bangalore’s traffic police have 180

cameras around the city managed from a control room, mak-

ing it the most advanced traffic management system in India.

In the power distribution sector, smart meters are gradual-

ly being used, which have various advantages over the exist-

ing electricity meters like real time two communication, anti-

tamper capability, remote disconnection and reconnection ca-

pability, remote load control, energy loss calculation, automat-

ic energy loss calculation, automatic energy loss alert by text

or email, pre-disconnection advice and remote configuration

of multiple tariffs. Such meters can store information up to

100 days.

In the state of Andhra Pradesh, for example, distribution

companies or discoms, as they are called, have been closely

monitoring real time energy losses, voltage levels at consumer

end, peak demand and tamper alerts with their own staff. By

installing more smart meters, power distribution companies

can monitor outage management effectively and time taken

for restoration can be reduced. The consumers can also

closely monitor their appliance-wise consumption and plan

for load management.

One of the biggest facilitators of smart technologies in ur-

ban landscapes is machine-to-machine technology. Smart me-

ters are smart because they can disseminate information about

resource use over a communication network; and machine-to-

machine technology performs that job admirably.

For example, a wireless module within a utility meter –

with huge computing power and a powerful embedded proces-

sor – allows customers’ applications to run inside it. The mod-

ule has short-wave radio links that help in monitoring ground-

water levels for cities and water boards. Field trials are going

on involving smart water meters that employ wireless mod-

ules for radio frequency communications over a metro area

network to a concentrator/gateway that aggregates the traffic

and then transmits the data over GSM.

This is a combination of local and wide-area technologies.

Smart metering is coming to electricity, gas and water meters

in that order. From a machine-to-machine perspective, there is

little difference between electricity, gas and water meters.

They measure the consumption of separate resources, but

there is no reason — no technical reason — why they should

not share the same communications network. Data from all

three sources can go over the same local area network and be

aggregated in the same concentrator and be sent over the

same cellular network.

There is a massive amount of computing power inside such

wireless modules and it can be employed to identify the rele-

vant resource and send the data packets to the relevant utility.

In fact, telecommunications service providers can help

make cities smarter by supporting machine-to-machine (M2M)

and machine-to-machine-to-human (M2M2H) communica-

tions. Smart cities demand common open platforms and an

information and communication technology infrastructure

that can support high-speed Internet access across wireline

and wireless networks. This infrastructure requires two key

components:

1. An all-IP core network that can seamlessly integrate wire-

line and wireless technologies and create a converged infra-

structure for buildings and ICT systems;

2. A broadband access network that can integrate systems

through wireless, wireline, copper, fibre and other access

technologies.

Such an infrastructure will not only enable machine-to-ma-

chine technologies but also help enabling advanced services

and applications such as telecommunication coordination, ur-

ban traffic management, lighting and energy management,

and access and security networks.

There is huge pressure on the Indian government to build

new and smart cities. Every minute, 20 Indians move into cit-

ies. A recent analysis by Booz and Company says that India’s

urban population will increase by 140 mn in 10 years and 700

mn in four decades. To avoid total collapse of the urban envi-

ronment, India has to build new smart cities and re-engineer

the old ones.

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com



INTERV IEW TECHNOLOGY CUSTOMISATION

Through the last half a century and more, the Anand Group has grown to become one of India’s most di-

versified automotive suppliers. A group that manages 21 global partnerships, including 15 joint ventures

and six technical collaborations, challenges are manifold. Sunil Kaul, Group President – Technology, In-

novation & Automation, Anand Group explains how the organisation has gone about creating an environ-

ment of breakthrough innovation, even while customising technologies from its partners for the Indian

automotive industry.

“WE’VE BUILT CAPABILITIES BY INVESTING IN PEOPLE, PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS”

A veteran of 27 years with the Anand Group, Sunil Kaul wears

several hats within the organisation. As the Group President –

Technology, Innovation and Automation, Kaul is responsible to

direct and steer the technology and innovation focus of the group

as a whole. He is Managing Director, Behr India Limited and is

also a member of the Anand Policy Committee and the Anand

Management Committee.

He joined Anand in 1985 at Purolator India, and subsequently

moved to Behr India in 1996. Between 1999 and 2004, Kaul spent

five years on deputation to Behr GmbH, Germany. He rejoined

Behr India upon his return and was subsequently appointed MD

in January 2009. He is the Chairman of the Boards of Haldex

India and Victor Gaskets India and is a member on the Board of

Takata India. Kaul holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and

a Certificate in Management Education Networking from the

Stuttgart Institute of Management & Technology.


ATR_ For a group that believes in custom-

ising technologies from partners for the

Indian industry, how do you approach

innovation from a product perspective?

SUNIL KAUL _ There are two aspects to

innovation. Primarily, innovation is not

invention. Any significant improvement

that is made, we call it a breakthrough

and that could be in any field. In opera-

tions, for instance, reducing inventory by

30 % is a big breakthrough. Within the

group, any improvement beyond 30 % is

innovation.

For the last two and half years, we’ve

been working on a specific programme on

innovation for all group companies –

focussed on motivating people to take

hard challenges, and also giving them a

tool with which they can think beyond.

It’s a programme that begins with struc-

tured brainstorming, after which we move

to benchmarking. Having looked at

benchmarking, and provided you still

don’t have an answer, we look at other

industries as well – say for example the

jewellery industry.

Breakthrough innovation comes from

different fields, not from your own field –

that’s what we believe in. It’s possible to

benchmark and manage 5-10 % improve-

ment from your own field, but to get to 30

% improvement, you need to look at

other fields as well.

How did you arrive at that 30 % figure?

As a group, we are so engrossed with Kai-

zen that everyone looks at a 5-6 %

improvement every time. And with the

world moving so fast, we’d be nowhere

chasing 5-6 % improvements. That’s

where we thought of bringing in a change

of mindset. Following Kaizen is very

important for sustenance, but to lead we

need to go beyond. Hence, we put a

thumb figure of 30 % and said if we

achieve this, we’d be close to break-

through innovation.

Lot of our companies improved pro-

ductivity by 30 %. They improved the

yield of the basic material by 30 %,

hence reducing cost of raw material to

the extent of 30 %. Many within the

group improved their energy consump-

tion by 30 %. So, for the last two and

half years, we’ve been working on

changing the culture of the whole organi-

sation. To me, benefits were important,

but not crucial. It was more important to

change the mindset of my team.

I didn’t want to start with product

innovation. We are essentially manufac-

turing companies, and we do get technol-

ogies from our joint ventures. But we do

have a strong engineering focus as well.

For the last 6-8 months, we have looked

at product innovation in a structured

way. But product innovation is a lengthy

process, and might take up to five years

for real innovation to happen.

More importantly, innovation is now

part of the group culture. Every company

has an innovation head leading 7-8

teams working on innovative projects.

His job is to teach methodology, and

facilitate teams to use the tools to

achieve their targets. We aren’t worried

about results, but want to ensure we

improve our methodology. We have cre-

ated strong engineering teams in compa-

nies like Gabriel, Behr and Mahle, for

instance. For us, it’s a matter of driving

innovation now.

What’s the average spend on R&D within

the group?

In some of our companies, we spend 2.5

to 3 % of our revenues on R&D. We

have never been restrictive on funds for

R&D, at least for the last two years. I

believe budgets need to be reviewed fre-

quently, say every three months, and

see the direction that the project is tak-

ing. If required, it should be modified,

else restricted.

Talk to us about the Tata Nano experi-

ence, especially from the view of technol-

ogy customisation.

We had many products in the Nano. To

give a customer a quality product at low

cost is always a big challenge, and to

become a supplier for this project, we

had to innovate. In the automotive seg-

ment, we normally get a blueprint or a

drawing specification from OEMs. Our

contact with the end consumer is mini-

mal as against the OEM. But the knowl-

edge of my product is more with me than

the OEM. In this case, we went out of the

way to contact the end-customer, and

wherever we deemed necessary, we

tweaked specifications.

Normally specifications come in from

European and American companies, and

they don’t gel well with Indian condi-

tions. That’s where adaptation or cus-

tomisation comes in. Now, a lot of global

customers come to us asking for custom-

ised solutions.

A term that came to be accepted glob-

ally with the Nano is ‘frugal engineer-

ing’. Has that become a mantra for engi-

neering universally?

Frugality is in our genes. If you look at

the American or European way of devel-

oping a product, you can’t match the cost

challenge in any manner. Today, the

design to market time in India, at times, is

lower than what you have in Europe. And

you can only do that with frugal engineer-

For over two years, Kaul has been working at changing the mindset in the organisation


INTERV IEW TECHNOLOGY CUSTOMISATION

ing. Project managements of Indian play-

ers are weak, and that’s our biggest draw-

back. If we are able to improve on that,

we have the potential of becoming the

best in the world.

When I go to the shopfloor, my pro-

ductivity requirements are very different

from that of Europe or North America. I

don’t pay the kind of wages they pay to

shopfloor operators, but that doesn’t

affect my productivity. My equivalent

focus is on reducing capex, where my

interest rates are very high. They invest

a lot on technology, but to me technol-

ogy has to come at a low price. Else, it

won’t survive.

We have another challenge in the

organisation – we’ll double the top line

revenues in five years, but we’ll not add

people. Each of our plants is working

towards that. We have brought in more

robots, but robots are standard products.

However, application of robots is our

choice, and that’s where frugal engineer-

ing comes in. We’ve been focussing on

human efficiency as well as equipment &

machine efficiency, and automation is

being used for material movement. So,

the focus for us is not just on products,

but also on processes and methods.

With the capabilities being developed in-

house, do you think you’re ready for

reverse innovation?

It’s still a bit early for that. Most tech-

nologies still come out of the western

world. Technology gets modified or

improved because of environmental

norms today. While Europe is in Euro V,

we’ve still not got to BS IV across the

country. If you go to Euro V or Euro VI,

you have no choice but to innovate. But

by innovating within BS IV, my probabil-

ity of taking my technologies global is

minimal. The Indian auto industry is still

lagging behind many developed markets,

and that offers restriction as far as reverse

innovation is concerned. One of our com-

panies in India is a role model for low

cost countries worldwide, with companies

in Brazil, South Africa and China bench-

marking our work.

How do you face up to competition from

multinational suppliers – some of whom

are your partners – who are investing big

in India?

These players with deep pockets see India

as a future market. Developing technology

requires a minimum 5-8 years, and that is

the advantage that I have vis-à-vis global

competitors. All our companies are at

least 14-15 years old and we have

invested in engineering from the very

beginning. Our knowledge of the local

market and the technologies we have

developed for the Indian industry holds

us in good stead over competition. But it

certainly isn’t a cakewalk, and price does

play a big role. Some might use cost as

bait, but that’s a short-term game plan.

As far as technology is concerned, talk

about the areas wherein the group has

developed core competences.

We don’t have a central competence

pool, and I don’t believe that’s the right

way of looking at developing capabili-

ties. Each company in the group has its

own core competence, specific knowl-

edge to develop the right products, be it

in the areas of electronics, mechanical

or mechatronics.

Mechatronics is widely regarded as a need

for the future. Would you agree?

There is a thought towards mechatronics

as the future, and to that measure, there is

a need. We look at mechatronics in areas

where the product demands that technol-

ogy. For instance, we’re trying to bring

mechatronics into our shock absorbers. If

it helps bringing in more comfort to the

customers and make the vehicle drive bet-

ter, we’ll look at it.

There is increasing competition in the

market, and you have challenges of

technology, people and cost. What

would you need to do to stay ahead of

the curve?

In our group, we firmly believe that 90

% of the business is people. We

approach innovation to bring about a

cultural mindset change in people. And

that, we believe, is the key to success.

We’d be people-driven rather than tech-

nology-driven, because people can bring

in technology, but technology can’t

bring in people.

In addition to human efficiency, Kaul is working at bettering machine efficiency as well

INTERVIEW: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

PHOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay

SURESH BABU MUTTANA

is Scientist C at TIFAC, Department

of Science & Technology,

Government of India.

ARGHYA SARDAR

is Scientist E & Head, Transportation

Division at TIFAC, Department of

Science & Technology, Government

of India.

AUTHORS

TUBE HYDROFORMING TECHNOLOGY: EVOLUTION AND FUTURE POTENTIAL

INTRODUCTION

The demand for weight reduction in mod-

ern vehicle construction has led to an

increase in the application of hydroform-

ing processes for the manufacture of auto-

motive lightweight components. Hydro-

forming is a promising technology that

has greater potential for automotive appli-

cations. It uses fluid pressure in place of

the punch in a conventional tool set to

form the part into the desired shape of the

die. Hydroforming allows for complex

shapes to be created without welding

parts together, resulting in a unibody

component structure with a high strength-

to-weight ratio.

Some automakers rely on the more tra-

ditional stamp and weld method for fabri-

cating components, where parts and pan-

els are stamped out of sheets of steel and

welded together to make suspension

pieces, engine cradles, body frames, or

other products. In contrast, the hydro-

forming technique uses pressure to force

ductile metal into the shape of a die, and

can be more efficient in cost and produc-

tion-time in certain cases.

First used more than 30 years ago in

simple applications such as modifying

pipe geometries, tube hydroforming has

become a real challenger to the incum-

bent technology: stamping. Compared to

traditional stamping, it promises greatly

simplified modules through parts consol-

idation, weight reduction via improved

part design, and improved stiffness and

structural strength of the components.

Although performance improvements

have been widely heralded in literature,


TECHNOLOGY FORES IGHT HYDROFORMING


the question remains as to why this tech-

nology has not been widely adopted in

the automotive industry. This article

examines in detail the process technol-

ogy, present status and potential for

structural applications, especially body-

in-white for vehicles.

Hydroforming is broadly classified

into sheet and tube hydroforming as

shown in ➊. Sheet hydroforming is fur-

ther classified into sheet hydroforming

with a punch (SHF-P) and sheet hydro-

forming with a die (SHF-D) depending

on whether a male (punch) or a female

(die) tool will be used to form the part.

SHF-D is further classified into hydro-

forming of single blanks and double

blanks depending on number of blanks

being used in the forming process.

Hydroforming of sheet material is up

to now mainly used for small batch pro-

duction due to a comparatively high

cycle time. Furthermore, sheet hydro-

forming requires higher clamping forces

than tube hydroforming, causing more

cost-intensive presses. The first industrial

application of sheet hydroforming is

roofs of luxury-class cars. Other applica-

tions include hood outer, door inner,

B-pillar and side frame.

Tubular hydroforming, on the other

hand, allows production of complex

shapes with much improved dimensional

control and structural rigidity. In doing so,

this single piece tube can replace several

stamped components, normally welded or

fastened together, thereby reducing the

weight, cost and complexity of the assem-

bly. Such benefits have resulted in

increased acceptance of tubular hydro-

forming in the automotive industry for

making wide variety of components.

TUBE HYDROFORMING

In the tubular hydroforming process, the

initial work-piece is placed into a die

cavity, which corresponds to the final

shape of the component, ➋. The dies are

closed under the force, Fs, while the tube

is internally pressurised by a liquid

medium to effect the expansion of the

component (internal pressure, pi) and

axially compressed by sealing punches to

force material into the die cavity (axial

force, Fa). The component is formed

under the simultaneously controlled

action of pi and Fa.

Depending upon the part design, pre-

bending and pre-forming operations could

be essential before the start of the tubular

hydroforming process. Integration of addi-

tional manufacturing operations in the

hydroforming process itself enables to

improve productivity. Therefore, industri-

ally hydroforming tools are often

equipped with numerous piercing units to

create holes for bolts, drain holes, refer-

ence points, collar formed holes, etc.

Recent innovations are aimed to improve

competitiveness of hydroforming technol-

ogy by reducing initial investment cost,

increasing production rate and material

utilisation, consolidating more parts into

single parts, and finding ways to eliminate

drawbacks, such as excessive thinning.

Water-oil emulsions are the typically

used media to apply internal pressure,

which is usually increased to 1200-2500

bar and in certain cases up to 4000 bar.

The necessary amount is influenced

significantly by the wall thickness of the

component, the material strength and

hardening as well as by the components

shape.

Materials: Although steel is the domi-

nant material for current hydroforming

applications, aluminium has begun to

gain acceptance, especially in structural

automotive components. Common semi-

finished products used for are longitudi-

nally-welded tubes made of conventional

steel like unalloyed and stainless steel.

Hydroformed aluminium applications uti-

lise seam-welded 5xxx series alloy tubes,

and recent developments have focused on

high strength 6xxx alloys aluminium

extrusions and tubes. Today steel suppli-

ers offer new steel grades like high

strength steels, competing with alumin-

ium as new materials for lightweight con-

structions combined with hydroforming.

Austenitic stainless steel for many rea-

sons is very suitable for hydroforming.

These steels present a very high formabil-

ity, especially in stretch forming. They

also undergo during forming a very high

hardening, due to the transformation

induced plasticity (TRIP) effect, in which

austenite turns into martensite during

deformation. Hydroforming this kind of

stainless steels results therefore, in com-

plex 3D parts with very high specific

strength. ➌ shows cost comparisons of

tube hydroforming using different grades

of steels and aluminium alloys [1].

BENEFITS OF HYDROFORMED

AUTOMOBILE PARTS

Hydroforming offers a number of poten-

tial benefits for automobile manufactur-

ers. Parts produced by this process are

lightweight, single piece and they display

greater strength than that of welded joints

or components, which influences fuel

economy and performance factors. Major

benefits of tubular hydroforming include:

a) Part integration and reduced part costs,

b) Fewer manufacturing stages and

tooling,

c) Increased design flexibility and compo-

nent rigidity,

d) Improvements to dimensional stability,

e) Can shape a variety of materials – mild

steel, aluminium, high-strength steels,

copper, brass etc.,

f) Minimal spring back and distortion,

g) Form complex geometries, not easily

formable by conventional methods,

and

h) Integration of secondary manufactur-

ing operations such as piercing and/or

punching operations.

A case study presented [3] on hydroform-

ing versus conventional process for chas-

sis intermediate cross member, reports the

Sheet Hydroforming (SHF)

Sheet Hydroforming with punch (SHF-P)

Sheet Hydroforming with die (SHF-D)

SingleBlank

Double Blank

Tube Hydroforming (THF)

Hydroforming

➊➊ Classification of Hydroforming

➋➋ Process of Tube Hydroforming

top die

1

Fs

Pi

FaFa

2

3 3

tubesealingpunch

bottom die Insertion of tube and closing of tooling

hydroforming by pressurisation and axial feeding

Opening of tooking for removal of part



benefits as listed in ➍. The critical feature

of this part is that it has got continuously

changing cross section along the part

length. ④ enlists the benefits obtained by

switching over from conventional stamp-

ing to hydroforming:

The above-mentioned case is for a sin-

gle chassis intermediate cross member,

which is made of two sheets in conven-

tional process, and is replaced by a single

hydroformed tube. However, benefits of

hydroforming could be much more signifi-

cant, to the range of 30-50 % in terms of

weight saving [5], when applied to com-

plex assemblies that have larger number

of part count in conventional process.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

Hydroformed series parts are predomi-

nantly used in construction of vehicles

(especially chassis frame) and the number

of such applications is increasing continu-

ously. Typical applications are listed in ➎.

EVOLUTION OF HYDROFORMING

TECHNOLOGY

Since many years it is evident that certain

vehicle functions were best accomplished

with tube like structures. However, the

limitation was that until late 1980s, there

was no way to economically construct a

tubular part with sufficient design flexibil-

ity and dimensional stability. To compen-

sate, the industry manufactured tube like

parts from several stampings that were

welded together. Tube hydroforming, a

technique that uses a fluid either to form

or aid a part from ductile material, filled

the gap in the industry for manufacturing

automotive structures.

In 1990, TI Vari-Form began produc-

ing the first high volumes structural part

– an instrument panel beam using a low-

pressure hydroforming (LPH) process

that came to be known as pressure

sequence hydroforming. The company

patented this technique and soon began

using it to produce other parts [2]. Later,

high pressure hydroforming (HPH) came

into existence, which was originally

adapted from the tube industry. During

that time, LPH technology was adopted

in North America and HPH in Europe.

LPH was used by Vari-Form, GM, Hydro-

dynamic Technologies and HPH was pro-

moted by German press manufacturers

(Wilhelm Schäfer Maschinenbau GmbH,

Siempelkamp Pressen Systeme, Huber &

Bauer, and Hydrap).

Later, in 1994, the growth of tubular

hydroforming in chassis systems was

astounding. During the same time, Ford

Motor Company introduced the first

tubular hydroformed engine cradle.

Today, tube hydroforming technology is

well established, due to the very com-

plex shapes that can be obtained at sus-

tainable cost in comparison to alterna-

tive technologies.

The next challenge for the tube hydro-

forming technology in the automotive

industry was to deal with structural appli-

cation. Different structural components in

the chassis, like for instance suspension

frames, cross members and engine cra-

dles, were realised both in R&D projects

and series production. Nevertheless, the

most challenging applications in terms of

form complexity can be found in the

Body-in-White (BIW).

GLOBAL SCENARIO

Over the years, several initiatives have

been introduced worldwide on hydro-

forming technologies. Two of the most

prominent ones are:

:: Ultra Light Steel Auto Body (ULSAB)

is a consortium of 35 steel producers,

who are united in an effort to develop

a lightweight steel body system by

combining high-strength steels and

advanced manufacturing technologies.

Its initial design direction was a hydro-

formed intensive space frame.

:: EU Project Hydrotube: One of the first

studies started in the early 2000s,

within the EU Project Hydrotube,

focused on developing hydroformed

components for BIW applications,

which came out with the prototype of

STAMPED & WELDED HYDROFORMED SAVINGS/ BENEFITS

Raw material 5.83 kg 5.20 kg 11 %

Finished Part weight 5.30 kg 5.00 kg 5.7 %

No of Parts 2 (from sheet) 1 (from tube)

Manufacturing stages 8 Nos 4 Nos 50 %

Welding 32 spot welds None 100 %

Cycle time 5 min 2.5 min 50 %

Cos

t per

Tub

e

Cost per Case Assumption : L=1m, d=65mm, t=1.7mm, 6 bends, 200000 ppy

Mild Stee

l

Dual Phas

e 600

TRIP Steel

5754

Aluminium

5182

Aluminium

6016

Aluminium

$ 18

$ 16

$ 14

$ 12

$ 10

$ 8

$ 4

$ 2

$ 0

■ Continuous Annealing

■ Batch Annealing

■ Trim

■ Hydroform

■ Pre-Form

■ Lubricate

■ Bend

■ Roll Form

■ Decoil / Slit

■ Metal

➌➌ Economics of Tube Hydroforming

➍➍ Comparison between hydroforming and conventional process for chassis intermediate cross member


an A-pillar reinforcement realised by

bending and hydroforming a conical

tube. This demonstrative part could

replace the 10 sheet metal parts and

the bent tube used in the original prod-

uct taken as reference, maintaining the

same structural performance.

The other developmental efforts at global

OEMs include:

:: Porsche: The multi-material body of

the Porsche Panamera has a dashboard

cowl produced by tube bending and

hydroforming, which ranges between

the two A-pillars and is connected to

the tunnel.

:: Audi and Jaguar: Hydroforming has

been recently applied to bent alumin-

ium extrusion used in the roof rail of

the Audi R8 and Jaguar XJ. This

approach offers the possibility of hav-

ing a variable cross section along the

extrusions, tailoring it to the local

requirements and therefore allowing a

reduction in weight and number of

parts as well.

:: Daimler Chrysler: Vari-Form, was

awarded a contract to produce a hydro-

formed Front End Structural Module

(FESM) for the redesigned 2004 model

year DaimlerChrysler Sport Utility

Vehicle. Vari-Form was contracted to

design and produce the radiator clo-

sure assembly for the current model of

the vehicle. Produced at the company's

Strathroy, Ontario manufacturing facil-

ity, the hydroformed FESM is a major

shift from traditional vehicle front-end

structures, which are assembled from

spot-welded stampings. Compared to

conventional stamped front structures,

the hydroforming option reduces costs,

provides improved strength and dura-

bility, and dramatically reduces assem-

bly weight. A highly innovative feature

of the manufacturing process involves

the welding of tube-to-tube joints,

which reduces the number of stamped

brackets typically needed to join com-

ponents. This results in reductions in

overall cost and weight of the hydro-

formed assembly.

:: Opel AG: German firm Adam Opel AG

is planning to produce a million engine

cradles a year using ASE high-pressure

hydroforming technology developed by

Schaffer Hydroforming GmbH & Co., a

Schuler Group company, which turns

out the cradles in one piece. Previ-

ously, they were made from welded

half-shells. The company's Bochum

plant starts with 2.6 mn long tubes

that are bent and pre-formed.

:: BMW: BMW has been a strong advo-

cate of the hydroforming route. BMW

sees a wider application for hydroform-

ing within the BIW structure, where

the technology can be applied to tubu-

lar members. The identified applica-

tions include engine cradles, cross

members, side members, roof rails,

B-pillars, side members and aprons.

But the most recent application for

hydroforming with BMW is A-pillar,

which was produced by the German

automaker on a line designed and built

by Schuler Hydroforming GmbH of

Wilnsdorf, Germany.

:: General Motors: Concerning chassis

applications, General Motors exten-

sively used hydroforming in its

Kappa platform.

:: Ford: The 2013 Ford Fusion uses hyd-

roformed steel tubes for its B-pillars

and a hydroformed A-pillar roof rail.

Using hydroforming instead of hot-

stamped welded sheet to create the

car’s roof-pillar structure has reduced

mass, saved cost, reduced the bill of

material (which is the number of parts

welded together to make the B-pillar),

and helped improve the new Fusion’s

crash performance. The hydroformed

steel tubes replaced hot-stamped parts.

B-pillars are a common place to find

hot-stamped boron and the hydrofor-

med steel tubes are replacing it in the

2013 Fusion.

➏ shows different automotive hydrofor-

med components in use today.

EMERGING TRENDS IN

HYDROFORMING: BIW APPLICATIONS

Structural components perhaps are the

most touted hydroformed parts because of

the benefits derived from hydroforming

them, such as increased performance,

weight reduction, and cost reduction, all

of which are important. Presently, the

majority of mass-produced vehicles are

built with body-on-frame, unitised body

architecture and monocoque, ➐.

The body-on-frame architecture has

been in use for many decades and is still

widely applied in the light truck, sport

utility, and full-size luxury car markets. It

involves a structural ladder frame to

which the driveline, suspension, and body

sub-systems are mounted. The body is

typically floated above the platform on

rubber pads to further improve isolation

of the passenger compartment. The ladder

frame is typically constructed of stamped

welded members and is the primary load-

carrying element in the vehicle system [4].

Unitised body or unit-body vehicle

architecture integrates the body and the

frame so that only small engine cradles or

VEHICLE BODY SYSTEMS CHASSIS SYSTEMS ENGINE, DRIVETRAIN AND OTHERS

Space frame,

Side rails, roof rails

A-Pillar, B-Pillar

Wide shield headers

Seat Frames

Radiator Supports

Instrument panels

Dash board cowl

Roll over bars

Engine cradle

Front & rearsub-frame

Lower rail frames

Suspension Frames

Cross members

Long members

Bumper Beams

Exhaust manifold

Engine Bonnet

Camshafts

Rear Axle

Control arms

Steering columns

➎➎ Various applications of hydroforming

➏➏ Examples of hydroformed parts in use

Body-in-white (Audi)

Exhaust Systems (Daimler Chrysler)

B-pillar and A-pillar roof rail (Ford)

Engine Cradle (Opel)

Hydroformed side members (USLAB)

Engine Cradle (Ford and Dodge)

A pillar lower and upper with cowl (BMW)

Chassis Frame (Ford)

Dashboard cowl (Porsche)

Suspension Parts Body Panels (GM)

EU Project Hydrotube

Chassis (Opel GM)



structural cross members are required to

distribute concentrated loads into the

body system. The body itself is tuned to

the desired structural performance and

functions as the primary load-carrying

element in the vehicle system [4].

In monocoque construction, the over-

all strength and rigidity will be obtained

using outer panels necessary for creating

the vehicle shape, with minimum rein-

forcement. This ensures strength and

rigidity hence referred to as stressed-skin

construction. It has double advantage of

reducing waste and mass. Around 95 %

of current automotive production world-

wide uses the welded steel monocoque as

the conventional form of body construc-

tion. It has provided an efficient and cost-

effective means of volume production

since the last few decades.

The trend in vehicle body design is

changing from unibody to monocoque

and the recent development is on space

frame designs. Space frame technology

has been in automotive domain especially

in high end cars, like that by Audi, and in

recent years, there is considerable interest

from OEMs globally to adopt this technol-

ogy for their passenger cars.

Further, from the materials point of

view, steel is the dominant material for

vehicle body building. However, the moti-

vation towards vehicle weight reduction

within the automotive sector has created

a need for the replacement of mild steels

with thinner gauge high strength steels

and also aluminium and magnesium

alloys. Hydroforming technology can

effectively be applied for space frames

with lightweight materials.

ROLE OF HYDROFORMING IN

SPACE FRAME DESIGN

Space frame design provides maximum

rigidity and torsional stiffness due to the

fact that extruded sections have less spot

welded seams that cause losses in rigidity

and can be manufactured in any complex

dimensions needed. In this design, the

vehicle structure is composed, in effect, of

a lattice of metal rails, similar to a bridge

truss. The vehicle does not rely on body

panels for structural performance and, in

fact, can be driven without any panels

attached. The application of space frame

design in vehicles can reduce weight, fuel

consumption and improve impact durabil-

ity. Space frame designs utilises less num-

ber of parts and joints as the structural

support is by extruded parts. Joining is

done through use of cast nodes or punch

riveting, welding and adhesive bonding.

Space frame is gaining renewed atten-

tion from designers working with alter-

native materials, especially aluminium,

➑. It is easier to make complex rails out

of aluminium than steel because, unlike

steel, aluminium can be extruded –

formed into complex tubular shapes – in

a process similar to making pasta! These

extruded, hollow rails can be far stiffer

than solid bars of equivalent weight.

Extrusion is easily adapted to mass pro-

duction, and is already used on a large

scale to manufacture construction shapes

such as window frames and pipes. Sev-

eral designs for aluminium space frame

vehicles have been developed, each

using differing combinations of extru-

sions, castings, and sheet metal.

However, space frame architecture has

not been in widespread use. The primary

reason is that space frame structures have

proven difficult to cost-effectively mass-

produce. There is a difficulty in making

the transition from the craft shop to the

high volume assembly line. There come

issues such as dimensional instability,

design inflexibility and high manufactur-

ing cost. On the other hand, in extrusion

and tube rolling processes, tubular mem-

bers are produced in straight lengths. To

accommodate typical vehicle assembly

processes, the straight tubular members

often must be bent or reshaped. Common

bending and reshaping processes induce

part-to-part variation that exceeds what is

typically acceptable for an automated

assembly line.

Further, manufacturing costs will also

increase due to increased rework, and

higher scrap rates. Connecting other vehi-

cle sub-systems to the space frame can be

cumbersome. High-end vehicle producers

can save money because their substan-

tially lower investment for space frame

structures offset the higher manufacturing

cost. However, for a mass-produced vehi-

cle, higher manufacturing costs can

quickly overshadow investment savings.

Space frame structures could not have

bridged the gap between niche production

and mass production without the resolu-

tion of these issues.

Tubular hydroforming allows engi-

neers to optimise their designs through

cross sectional reshaping and perimeter

expansion. It also can produce parts with

greater dimensional stability than is

required for automated assembly. These

attributes, combined with the ability to

inexpensively perforate holes required for

vehicle subsystem interface, make hydro-

forming the enabling technology for

space frame architecture in mass pro-

duced vehicles [4].

INDIAN SCENARIO

While hydroforming is well accepted

and have been used extensively by the ➐➐ Vehicle body design strategies


major OEMs abroad, Indian OEMs have

not fully exploited hydroforming technol-

ogy for automotive applications. How-

ever, there exists, some capability in the

country in terms of machine building,

component development and design. It

was reported that one of the company

has built indigenously hydroforming

equipment and developed process for

manufacture of automotive components [3]. Components that have been devel-

oped by tube hydroforming include SUV

chassis radiator support member, chassis

front cross member, rear-axle trailing

arm (LH and RH), motorbike chassis

parts, 3-wheeler engine mounting cross

member, etc. Such efforts by component

manufacturers need to be scaled up fur-

ther for more penetration of hydroform-

ing into the automotive industry.

Collaborative Automotive Research

(CAR), under TIFAC, Department of Sci-

ence & Technology (DST) had supported a

consortium project on hydroforming

involving both academia and industry. IIT

Bombay, ARCI Hyderabad and a few com-

panies were involved in the development

effort. The project aimed at designing and

developing a chassis long member for

SUVs with a target to achieve maximum

weight reduction up to 15-20 % and meet

the performance criteria. Initially, a single

piece design was considered and simula-

tions were carried out. However, due to

manufacturing constraints in hydroform-

ing such a large component, a three-piece

approach was adopted. The project gener-

ated significant data that can further be

utilised for research investigations.

FUTURE OF HYDROFORMING

TECHNOLOGY

Tubular hydroforming is finding applica-

tion in the manufacturing of components

with complex hollow geometries. As such,

it is increasingly becoming an important

element of automotive BIW assembly and

more and more hydroformed parts are

adopted in vehicle design. Presently, hyd-

roformed parts are effectively being used

in space frame structures in high-end lux-

ury cars. However, this technology will

soon penetrate into mass produced pas-

senger cars as well.

There are two potential barriers that

may delay progress of disseminating hydr-

oforming technology:

:: Imported hydroforming machinery is

very expensive, and

:: Lack of expertise in hydroforming tech-

nology such as hydroforming mould

design, process analysis and design in

the Indian auto industry.

But considering the demand for light-

weight fuel-efficient ICE vehicles and also

future electric vehicles, hydroforming

technology plays an important role in

designing lighter, stronger high perfor-

mance vehicles. In India, there is a need

to scale up research and development

activities, in industry, research labs and

academic institutions, extensively.

REFERENCES

[1] Byron Erath, Duane Ellsworth, ‘Hydroforming’,

Brigham Young University.

[2] Gary Morphy, The Evolution of tube hydroform-

ing

[3] Ingrid Rasquinha, Hydroforming and hot form-

ing for Lightweighting, International Conference &

Exhibition on ‘Advances in Lightweighting Technol-

ogy 2012, Pune November 20-22, 2012.

[4] Richard A. Marando, Tubular Hydroforming:

The Enabling Technology, Parish Division of Dana

Corp., GA, USA.

[5] http://www.vari-form.com/vari-form-vs-

stamped-assemblies/



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➑➑ Audi Space Frame (ASF)


COV ER ST ORY EXHAUST SYSTEMS

With the introduction of the Euro 6 emissions standard, gasoline engines with direct fuel injection must also

comply with a limit value for the number of particulates. With the support of NGK Europe GmbH, Eberspächer has

investigated potential solutions for ensuring compliance with future emissions standards using a particulate filter.

PARTICULATE EXHAUST AFTERTREATMENT OF DIRECTINJECTION GASOLINE ENGINES

INTRODUCTION

In compliance with the future Euro VI

standard, gasoline powered vehicles with

direct fuel injection will also have to

observe the stipulated limit value for the

number of particulates (PN) [1]. While the

mass-related particulate limit value (4.5

mg/km) is normally attained based on

present-day technology, compliance with

the particulate number limit value inside

the engine of 6.0*1011/km (with a three-

year transition period of 6.0*1012/km

through to 2017) remains a challenge [2].

One effective measure in maintaining

limit values is the use of particulate filters,

which have in fact been fitted as standard

in diesel powered vehicles for over ten

years. However, the requests on a filter in

a gasoline vehicle are different than those

in a diesel vehicle. The back pressure of

the filter, for example, is a more important

criterion, as the maximum permitted back

pressure for a gasoline engine is lower

than that for a diesel.

Moreover, an altered pressure level in

both applications influences the character-

istics of the turbocharger. Also, there are

much more widely varying temperatures

and particulate emissions, as well as

residual oxygen levels. This has a direct

effect on loading and regeneration, and

means that a filter cannot be directly

adopted from a diesel vehicle, but has to

be adapted to the onboard conditions of

gasoline engines.

TEST VEHICLE AND

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION

Two standard vehicles with modern stoi-

chiometric operating DI gasoline engine

(conforming to Euro V) were used. For

the tests, their exhaust systems, ➊, were

fitted out with gasoline particulate filters

(GPFs), though installed in two different

locations. On vehicle 1, the GPF replaced

the front muffler, while on vehicle 2, the

GPF was installed in the position of the

centre muffler. Replacing the front muffler

by an empty pipe on vehicle 2 was

intended to prevent particulates deposited

there from corrupting the results of the

emission measurement.

The GPF was selected and dimen-

sioned in consultation with NGK. The size

of the GPF was identical in both locations

(2.0 l volume). This means the results

from the two vehicles are comparable.

The material has a porosity optimised for

uncoated application onboard a vehicle.

This porosity offers flexibility in terms of

cell structure optimisation, thanks to the

material strength [3]. Based on a 12

mil/300 cpsi cell structure, a back pres-

sure optimised 6 mil/220 cpsi structure

was developed through intermediate

stages [4, 5] and applied here. For the can-

ning, flanges were installed directly

upstream and downstream of the GPF to

provide improved handling, when con-

ducting measurements on the flow test

bench. Axial supports are additionally

mounted on the inlet and outlet sides to

hold the filter.

The exhaust system, including the

GPF, was fitted out with thermocouples

and measurement fittings for the back

pressure as well as taps for the emission

measurements. The measurement data

(temperature and back pressure) and vari-

ous engine parameters such as the vehicle

and engine speed were recorded automat-

ically by means of a data logger in the

vehicle. Throughout the test period the

vehicles were fuelled with standard com-

mercially available gasoline, and fully syn-

AUTHORS

DR HEIKE TÖBBEN

is Specialist of the Thermodynamics and

Emission Concepts Department in the

Basic Development Exhaust Technology at

the J. Eberspächer GmbH & Co. KG in

Esslingen (Germany)

DR JÖRG J OESTERLE

is Director of the Thermodynamics and

Emission Concepts Department in the

Basic Development Exhaust Technology at

the J. Eberspächer GmbH & Co. KG in

Esslingen (Germany)

❶ Exhaust system and fitting locations of GPFs

27autotechreview March 2013 Vo lume 2 | Is sue 3

thetic oil (0W40 DBV) was used.

TEST PROCEDURES

The tests included various roller

dynamometer tests and long-distance road

trials:

:: NEDC test

:: Power measurements

:: Real driving conditions

:: Urban-only driving

In the NEDC tests, the gaseous and partic-

ulate emissions were measured upstream

and downstream of the GPF in the cycle

on the exhaust roller dynamometer. The

NEDC conditioning and test execution

was in compliance with the legally bind-

ing regulation [1]. In addition, measure-

ments without GPF were performed with

both vehicles in order to determine the fil-

tration performance. The power measure-

ments were conducted by means of a

dynamic run-up on the roller dynamome-

ter. To do so, the vehicle was accelerated

at full throttle up to maximum speed. The

cycle was repeated for each set-up – that

is to say, once with the GPF and once

with the standard system. The vehicle

was incorporated into the company fleet.

This meant that the temperature and back

pressure behaviour could be tested under

real on-road conditions on employees’

everyday journeys.

A further test block was the urban-

only test, involving stop-and-go driving at

a maximum speed of 50 km/h over a total

distance of 1,000 km (conducted with

vehicle 1 only). A requirement imposed

on this test was to insert breaks between

the individual journeys in order to cool

the system. The journeys were also

required to avoid inclines, so as not to

raise temperatures excessively. This test

was conducted in winter, so as to exert an

additional negative effect on the tempera-

ture level (ambient temperatures from -5

to +10 °C).

Based on back pressure and flow dis-

tribution measurements, the loading of

the GPF through the various drive profiles

could be assessed. To implement this, the

two filters were at regular intervals

removed, weighed and analysed (cold) on

the flow test bench. This was always done

under the same temperature conditions,

so as to rule out the possibility of corrup-

tion by condensate. To obtain a better

comparison of results, the measurements

were taken at a precisely defined operat-

ing point – in this case the maximum load

point of the vehicle at an exhaust mass

flow of 600 kg/h and a exhaust tempera-

ture of 878 °C (converting the operating

conditions to the ‘cold’ state by means of

the Reynolds analogy).

The GPF was installed in vehicle 1 in

July 2011, and in vehicle 2 in March 2012.

During this time the vehicles covered

54,000 and 21,200 km respectively.

EMISSION MEASUREMENTS

Alongside the measurement of raw emis-

sions upstream and downstream of the

GPF (modal measurement) and at the tail-

pipe, additional bag measurements were

❷ Particulate emission results in the NEDC

❸ Trend in particulate numbers and mass during the NEDC



conducted. As for the filter function, the

filtration performance and thus the results

of the particulate measurements are rele-

vant, only the measured filtration rate is

dealt with in detail in the further course

of this article. The limit value for the par-

ticulate mass of the two Euro V certified

vehicles can be safely observed without

GPF. However, the PN emissions of

4.35*1012 and 3.48*1012/km respectively

without GPF are significantly above the

limit value for Euro VI, ➋.

By installing the GPF, PN emissions

can be reduced well below the stipulated

limit value of 6.0*1011/km. This means

the currently not-yet-optimised system

already offers a safety factor of > 2.5.

The good filtration efficiency is confirmed

by the modal particulate measurements,

➌. Both the numbers and mass of particu-

lates are significantly reduced and the cal-

culated filtration efficiency is, with few

exceptions, > 95 %. A few minor break-

throughs in the acceleration phases have

no negative influence on this overall

response.

The fuel consumption calculated by

way of the NEDC demonstrates the influ-

ence of the filter. A comparison of the

results shows an increase in fuel con-

sumption < 3 %. This result correlates

with other measurements indicating a

spread in fuel consumption of ± 3 %

downstream of the GPF installation [6].

Optimising the system – that is to say,

adjusting the filter size – may further

reduce the influence.

TEMPERATURE AND BACK

PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS

The two fitting locations entail differing

temperature levels in the GPF. Moving

the GPF to position 2 significantly

reduces the exhaust gas temperature

upstream of the filter, which on average

is approximately 100 K lower than on the

vehicle with the filter in position 1, ➍.

This reduction may have a disadvanta-

geous effect on the regeneration how-

ever. This must be taken into account in

GPF applications.

The back pressure is likewise a key

criterion in terms of application of a GPF

into the exhaust system. The comparison

of the back pressure trend through the

NEDC shows an increase in back pres-

sure through the GPF especially at higher

speeds and under acceleration, ➎.

POWER AND ACOUSTICS

MEASUREMENTS

For the power and acoustics measure-

ment vehicle 2 was used, fitted with an

empty pipe in place of the front muffler

and the GPF in place of the centre muf-

fler. The individual graphs, ➏, show the

results of the power and acoustics meas-

urement on the roller dynamometer. The

temperature and the exhaust gas back

pressure can be assessed in addition to

these quantities. As expected, the sound

pressure of the system with GPF (with-

out front /centre muffler) is initially

somewhat higher. Above an engine speed

of 3,200 rpm the two curves run virtually

identically. By optimising the mufflers,

the deterioration in acoustics observed

only at low engine speeds can doubtless

be positively influenced. The data dem-

onstrate, however, that the GPF offers

potential for optimising the muffler

volume.

The comparison of the power meas-

urement with GPF and the standard sys-

tem shows no influence. The two curves

are overlaid on each other. The same is

also true of the trend in exhaust gas tem-

peratures upstream of the catalytic con-

verters. The only differences are at the

measuring point upstream of the filter

and of the centre muffler on the standard

❹ Trend in exhaust gas temperatures upstream of the GPF on the two test vehicles during the NEDC

❺ Trend in back pressure without/with GPF during the NEDC


system (the two are identical in their

position in the exhaust system). These

differences arise due to the installation of

the empty pipe in the vehicle.

During the overrun phase in the

power measurement the empty pipe

cools down more sharply than the front

muffler and the exhaust gas temperature

falls more sharply. As seen in the NEDC

measurements, the GPF builds up an

additional back pressure. Consequently,

the maximum back pressure of the

standard exhaust system (at this measur-

ing point) is increased from approxi-

mately 62 mbar to approximately 200

mbar by the GPF.

CONTINUOUS RUNNING IN

COMBINED MODE

The NEDC measurements show that the

location of the GPF has a significant

influence on the exhaust gas temperature

and thus on regeneration and soot load-

ing. The vehicle speed and engine load

likewise influence those factors. In con-

tinuous running under real conditions on

the road, it is shown that on the vehicle

with the GPF at the front position even

speeds of 100 to 120 km/h (or lower

speeds but under slightly higher load)

are sufficient for a soot burn-off tempera-

ture well above around 550 °C, so ena-

bling regeneration, ➐. On the vehicle

with the GPF at the rear position, the

resultant temperature loss has a disad-

vantageous effect, as expected, and the

regeneration temperature is only attained

at substantially higher speeds of around

140 to 150 km/h or under correspond-

ingly high loads.

Continuous running of both vehicles

throughout the test period showed, how-

ever, that even on vehicle 2 with the less

favourable position the filter could be

regenerated in normal driving. Moreover,

visual inspection and gravimetric analysis

of the filters at regular intervals shows

that the soot quantity and the resultant

exothermic reaction in regeneration are so

low that the filter suffers no damage.

CONTINUOUS RUNNING

IN URBAN-ONLY MODE

In urban-only mode, the exhaust gas

temperatures are usually very low due

to the low speeds and loads, and the

GPF is gradually loaded with soot. Over

a distance of just under 1,000 km a total

of 6.1 g of soot accumulates (average

load rate 0.62 g/100 km). Evaluation of

the vehicle speeds on the individual test

drives in continuous running shows a

maximum in the frequency distribution

at 45 km/h; idling speed accounts for 17

%. In the evaluation of temperatures

along the exhaust system on vehicle 1

the exothermic reaction of the catalytic

converter is shown by the significantly

higher temperature downstream of the

catalytic converter, ➑.

Upstream of the filter and inside it,

the maximum of the frequency distribu-

tion is around 390 °C – well below

regeneration temperature. In addition, a

more dynamic temperature distribution

– marked widening of signal – is detect-

❻ Trend in sound pressure level, power, the various exhaust gas temperatures and exhaust gas back pressure during the power measurement



able upstream of the substrates (owing

to the heat retention properties, sub-

strates serve as buffers, and significantly

dampen the fluctuations in

temperature).

On completion of the continuous

urban cycle, the GPF in the vehicle was

exposed to regeneration conditions –

that is to say, the vehicle speed was >

100 to 120 km/h (adequate for the GPF

at position 1). The maximum speed was

limited to 130 km/h. The speed was

additionally varied in order to simulate

deceleration and overrun phases. This

increases the oxygen content while at

the same time reducing the exhaust gas

mass flow. These two quantities have a

direct effect on regeneration (low mass

flow at high oxygen content results in a

strong exothermic reaction and thus

increased thermal loading of the

component).

➒ shows the exothermic reaction

resulting from soot combustion during

regeneration over time. This is maximal

70 K, with the value being dependent

on the external marginal conditions and

the soot load. The first event occurs

after approximately 950 s, the second

after approximately 1,100 s. In both

cases the vehicle is driven in overrun

mode prior to the event – that is to say,

the filter receives exhaust gas with an

oxygen surplus which promotes and

enables regeneration. After the regener-

ation drive the filter was weighed again

and a virtually complete regeneration

was found (0.1 g of residual load).

LOADING BEHAVIOUR

Deposits of ash resulting from the

engine’s combustion of the lubricating oil,

but especially the soot load, leads to a rise

in back pressure. Due to the centred pipe

guidance of the cone, the higher flow rate

initially results in a preferential deposition

of the components primarily in the centre

area of the filter cross-section. As the load

increases, deposits ultimately also occur

in the marginal areas. However, through-

out the test period the flow distribution

described was only influenced slightly by

the increasing ash deposits.

The back pressure measurements show

the typical response of a particulate filter

to increasing loading. The back pressure

first rises sharply, as the soot is deposited

in the pores of the channel wall, ❿. Only

when a certain loading is exceeded does

the rate of rise decline. This is the transi-

tion where the pores are filled and the

additional soot is deposited as a layer on

the existing soot. For vehicle 1 the regular

removal of the GPF shows loads between

0.5 to 1.0 g, with an outlier of 3.5 g. The

values for vehicle 2 are significantly

higher, with loads of 4 to 5 g. This reflects

the differing temperature levels due to the

different fit locations.

The residual ash rate resulting from

the uncombusted engine oil residues on

vehicle 1 is initially 0.21 g/1,000 km, ris-

ing then to approximately 0.66 g/1,000

km. On vehicle 2 the calculated ash rate is

relatively stable across the entire driving

❼ Trend in exhaust gas temperature upstream of GPF dependent on fit position (left: GPF in position 1; right: GPF in position 2)

❽ Frequency distribution of temperatures along the exhaust system for continuous urban driving with vehicle 1


distance, with values between 0.27 and

0.32 g/1,000 km.

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

The application of a GPF in vehicles with

direct injection gasoline engines necessi-

tates an adaptation of the layout and of

the integration in the exhaust system,

owing to the differing marginal conditions

(raw emissions, exhaust gas temperatures,

back pressure level) compared to diesel

engines. It was shown on the basis of two

examples that the GPF is very effective as

a particulate-reducing measure, and by

integrating it into the exhaust system a

high safety factor relative to Euro VI PN

limit values can be attained.

The limits are complied with even

when the GPF is subject to only very low

soot loading. This demonstrates that the

selected filter material is very well suited

to applications in direct injection gasoline

engines. The long-distance road test –

covering 21,200 km and 54,000 km

respectively – has been conducted with-

out problem by both vehicles. The prevail-

ing exhaust gas temperatures can assure

passive regeneration even in vehicle 2

with the less favourable GPF position.

Even if the GPF led to a marked

increase in back pressure, this did not

exhibit any influence on the performance

of the vehicle. By system optimisation

(changing cross-section/volume) the addi-

tional back pressure through the compo-

nent can be reduced further. The acous-

tics measurement demonstrated the

potential of the GPF for optimising the

muffler volume. Further potential is

offered by cooperation with an OEM and

integration of engine development to

adapt the ECU to the conditions with GPF.

The layout measures should additionally

take account of the necessary ash storage

rate. To assure passive regeneration even

at low speeds and under low loads, an

optimum fitting location for the GPF

within the exhaust system should be

investigated. Potential for a compact

close-to-the-engine application with the

known advantages may also be offered by

a coated GPF [7, 8].

REFERENCES

[1] EU Commission Regulation (EU) 459/2012. In:

Official Journal of the European Union, May 2012

[2] ADAC EcoTest: Audi A3 1,8 l TFSI auch ohne

Filter sauber. Press release ADAC Technik &

Umwelt, September 2012

[3] Heuß, W. et al.: The Potential of a Particulate

Filter to reduce Particle Emissions of Gasoline

Engines. 6th Conference Emission Control, Dresden,

2012

[4] Saito, C. et al.: New Particulate Filter Concept

to Reduce Particle Number Emissions. SAE Confer-

ence, Detroit 2011

[5] Shimoda, T. et al.: Potential of a Low Pressure

Drop Filter Concept for Direct Injection Gasoline

Engines to Reduce Particulate Number Emissions.

SAE Conference, Detroit, 2012

[6] Mamakos, A. et al.: Feasibility of Introducing

Particulate Filters on Gasoline Direct Injection Vehi-

cles. In: JRC Scientific and Policy Report, EU Com-

mission, 2011

[7, 8] Kern, B. et al.: Comprehensive Exhaust Emis-

sion Control for the next Generation of Gasoline DI

Engines. IQPC Conference, Stuttgart, 2012 Morgan,

C. et al.: Three Way Filters (TWFTM) for Particulate

Number Control. IQPC Conference, Stuttgart, 2012

❿ Trend in back pressure (calculated for the full throttle point) with increasing soot load



❾ Partial view of exhaust gas temperature and speed curves on the regeneration drive



DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXHAUST-GAS TURBOCHARGER FOR HD DAIMLER CV ENGINES

The matching of a turbocharging system to the specific requirements of an entire engine with regard to fuel

consumption, emissions and service life is a key element of engine development. This is the reason for taking the

decision to initiate in-house turbocharger component development as the New Engine Generation (NEG) engine

series of Daimler AG was being developed. The aim of this in-house turbocharger development is to produce the

best possible turbocharging system for the entire engine with regard to fuel consumption, emissions and economy.



INTRODUCTION

In large-scale commercial vehicle produc-

tion, the pre-compression of combustion

air via exhaust-gas turbocharging in diesel

engines has been with us since the 1960s.

At the end of the 1970s, turbocharging

technology also conquered the passenger

car (PC) diesel engine sector. This trend

can also be seen in gasoline engines in

the past five years. This progression

towards an almost complete market pene-

tration clearly shows that the exhaust-gas

turbocharger is the most efficient unit for

combustion engine turbocharging.

In the heavy-duty (HD) commercial

vehicle (CV) engines of Daimler AG, the

exhaust-gas turbocharger is also – via the

use of an asymmetric twin-scroll turbine –

used as an extremely efficient exhaust gas

recirculation system (EGR). It is possible,

thanks to the asymmetric turbine, to dis-

pense with the alternative variable turbine

geometry, which is also less advantageous

with regard to fuel consumption, quality

and economy. The advantages resulting

from asymmetric turbocharging are used

in the modern NEG commercial vehicle

engines of Daimler AG in order to already

be the benchmark with regard to fuel con-

sumption and service life for future emis-

sions legislation.

For achieving this target, it is essential

to integrate the exhaust-gas turbocharger

development into the entire engine devel-

opment. A deep understanding of the

interaction between the reciprocating pis-

ton engine and turbo-machine is required

in order to obtain the best performance

from the combination of both units.

The major difficulty related to the cus-

tom matching of the exhaust-gas turbo-

charger to the engine is due to the fact

that the turbocharger modular systems

available on the market do not necessarily

represent an optimum for the turbocharg-

ing system of the overall concept. This

problem occurs, in particular, in the com-

mercial vehicle sector. The low unit fig-

ures in comparison to the PC sector also

mean that only a few turbocharger suppli-

ers have included the CV sector in their

product range.

The economic and technical evaluation

of this situation led Daimler AG to the

decision to develop its own exhaust-gas

turbocharger for the HD CV engine series,

which has started in 2006. Beginning in

AUTHORS

DR.-ING. ELIAS CHEBLI

is responsible for the Aerodynamics &

Aeroacoustics in the Division Devel-

opment Turbocharger Captive at the

Daimler AG in Stuttgart (Germany).

DR.-ING. MARKUS MÜLLER

iis Manager Development Turbo-

charger Captive at the Daimler AG in

Stuttgart (Germany).

DIPL.-ING. JOHANNES LEWEUX

is Senior Manager Development

OM457/BR500/Turbocharger Com-

mercial Vehicles at the Daimler AG in

Stuttgart (Germany).

DR.-ING. ANDREAS GORBACH

is Director R&D Heavy Duty Engines

at the Daimler AG in Stuttgart

(Germany).


2013, this exhaust-gas turbocharger, pro-

duced in the Mannheim plant, will be

offered for the first time in the NEG

engine internally called OM472 for the

Freightliner Cascadia Evolution; the turbo-

compound supercharging system will still

also be offered [1]. The model change

towards asymmetric turbocharger with

the subsequent specific matching of the

engine requirements has resulted in a 4 %

fuel consumption advantage, alone due to

the engine. Additional applications with

an in-house developed exhaust-gas turbo-

charger will follow in the coming years

based on the evolutions in the current

engine series.

In the following sections, the necessary

steps for the development of an exhaust-

gas turbocharger are described. The basic

turbocharging concept will be presented,

the turbocharger design shown and the

mechanical validation up to production

standard described.

THE ASYMMETRIC TURBINE

For the six-cylinder in-line engines with

between 10 and 15 l of displacement,

Daimler is banking on the patented turbo-

charging concept with an asymmetric

twin-scroll turbine due to the need to

achieve exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR)

rates of up to 35 % in full load, achieve

high turbocharging efficiency (particularly

in the main operating range) as well as

ensure an exhaust-gas turbocharger oper-

ating service life of over 1 mn km, while

at the same time producing an extremely

economic engine concept. The exhaust

gas recirculation rate is mainly deter-

mined by the asymmetrical twin-scroll

turbine size acting together with the

engine. Here, one of the two turbine

scrolls is sized such that an increased

exhaust-gas flow backpressure effect is

created. The exhaust gas can thus also be

used for air supply purposes due to the

cylinder group partitioning, ➊.

When the EGR valve is open, engine

cylinders 1 to 3, ①, work as an EGR

pump, which pumps part of the stream of

exhaust gas to the engine intake through

the recirculation channel prior to the tur-

bine inlet through the EGR cooler on the

air side using the generated pressure dif-

ference (p31-p20). The remaining exhaust

gas of this cylinder group flows through

the EGR scroll of the split twin-scroll tur-

bine. Cylinder group 4 to 6 is gas-tight in

the turbine inlet and separated from the

first cylinder group; all its exhaust gas

passes through the larger scroll (p32) at a

generally lower pressure ratio p32/p4. The

concept of the twin-scroll fixed geometry

turbine thus allows you to master a high-

pressure EGR transport with positive

charging cycle (p20-p3M > 0;p3M=average

energetic turbine inlet pressure of both

cylinder groups), whereby an engine fuel

consumption reduction can be derived in

comparison to other EGR turbocharging

AF: Air filterAT: Asymetric turbineATS: Aftertreatment systemC: Compressorp: Pressures in in- and outlet

AF

C

EGR valve

Charge air cooler

EGRcooler 1 2 3 4 5 6

AT

ATSρa ρ1 ρ4

ρ31 ρ32

ρ3

ρ20

ρa

ρ2

❶ Circuitry concept for EGR supply with an asymmetric turbine for a six-cylinder Daimler CV engine

1.4

1.0

0.6

0.3

0.0

Relative Mach number [-]

1.05

1.00

0.95

0.90

0.85

0.80

0.751.00 1.05 1.10

Norm

alise

d s

pecifi

cto

tal enth

alp

y [-

]

1.15

Volute and nozzleTurbine impellerDiffuser

Absolute Mach number [-]Impeller (MAr-relative system)

Volute and nozzle Impeller Diffuser

1.20 1.25 1.30 1.35

Normalised specific entropy [-]

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.00.0 0.2 0.4

Mach n

um

ber

dis

trib

uti

on [

-]

0.6 0.8 1.0

Normalised section number [-]

❷ h/s diagram and Mach number stage characteris-

tic from the detailed analysis of the 3D numeric flow

simulation



systems that do not offer any cylinder

group partitioning. This concept was first

introduced with the US EPA 2004 legisla-

tion in the OM460 CV engine. The out-

standing field experience with this engine

confirmed the robustness of turbocharg-

ing with asymmetric turbines.

DESIGN

Both numeric and experimental proce-

dures were used for designing the

exhaust-gas turbocharger. While a large

part of the aerodynamic and thermo-

mechanical turbine design can nowadays

be achieved in virtual prototypes based

on existing simulation methods, a higher

empirical effort is required when it

comes to specifying the compressor and

bearing geometries.

THERMODYNAMICS OF

RADIAL TURBINES

During the design of the asymmetric tur-

bine, the individual scroll size must be

closely defined with the engine thermody-

namics. Numerically simulated h/s and

Mach number diagrams show the turbine

areas with the highest losses and are

used, ➋, for optimising turbine efficiency.

The radial turbine impeller is

designed with the largest possible exit

angle β from a casting perspective. This

amounts to -57° and allows for high tur-

bine efficiency, particularly in the part

load operating range of the engine. For a

further efficiency increase at part load,

the target degree of reaction at full load

is selected so that the maximum effi-

ciency is moved in the direction of the

partial load. This optimisation signifi-

cantly depends on the engine application

profile of the vehicle and thus represents

a compromise between high subcompo-

nent efficiencies and low fuel consump-

tion. The consistent use of the complex

numerical simulation processes was

essential to design an asymmetric tur-

bine having a peak mechanical efficiency

ɳT,mech of almost 71 %.

THERMODYNAMICS OF

CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSORS

A compression ratio of 4.2 is striven for

the design of the single stage centrifugal

compressor. A peak efficiency of ɳC,is =

80 % is reached as a compromise

between map width and optimum effi-

ciency. This is enabled by numerically

optimised back sweep blades with the

accordingly required compressor blade

wrap angle. In a second step the diffuser

and the ported shroud casing treatment

are optimised. The individual design

parameters of the stage are set via exper-

imental studies, and supported by means

of numerical simulations, ➌.

A so-called noise reflector is imple-

mented in order to decrease the compres-

sor noise level as well as increase the

comfort level in the cabin and fulfil future,

more stringent noise emission legislation.

For the noise reflector design, particular

care is taken to ensure that the compres-

sor efficiency and surge characteristics are

not negatively affected. For this purpose,

numerical methods have been developed

that allow the localisation of the noise

source. This noise reflector reduces the

overall noise level by around 2 dB.

MECHANICAL STRENGTH

The blade thickness distribution of the

turbine impeller is designed such that the

resulting blade’s natural frequency (eigen-

frequency) is above the fifth order of the

rotor speed. In this way vibration frac-

tures due to excitations from asymmetric

turbine scroll could be prevented. The

same value is also used as design criteria

for the compressor blades. To ensure the

required impeller service lives, their

fatigue limit is determined from the aggre-

gate speed values of the customer-rele-

vant test cycle, ➍. The development of

this method includes the impeller stress

calculation, the derivation of a damage

matrix based on the material-specific

❸ 3D simulation for the noise level prediction (comparison of three different design variants)


Wöhler-curves and the statistical transfer-

ability of the test sample results and load

profiles. The analytical optimisation of the

impeller-back geometry and the use of

strain hardening via ultrasonic shot peen-

ing are key factors for increasing the ser-

vice life of the aluminium centrifugal

compressor and the inconel turbine

impeller. The balancing marks are posi-

tioned on the back of the impeller near

the tip so that mechanical stress peaks are

outside the balancing mark area.

To ensure the in-house safety require-

ments, the compressor and turbine

housing must be able to withstand the

bursting of the respective impeller. For

this purpose, containment simulations

are carried out to detect housing weak

spots and eliminate these by improving

design. The turbocharger is then

released after an experimental confirma-

tion of the simulation results.

BEARINGS

The classic dual float bush radial bearings

as well as a wedge-shaped axial bearing

are used between the impellers. This com-

bination is an extremely well-suited con-

cept with regard to the friction loss,

robustness vis-à-vis oil grade, imbalance

and mechanical efficiency. The main

dimensions are determined by means of a

linearised vibrational mode analysis of the

rotor assembly. The detailed geometry is

then specified via non-linear ramp-up

simulations of the overall system. The

numerical simulation of the plain bearing

system is continuously supported and val-

idated in the development process via the

measurement of the friction loss, struc-

ture-borne sound and shaft orbit offset in

modularised prototype assembly systems.

The rotor shaft orbits measured during

a ramp-up are analysed using a Fast Fou-

rier Transformation (FFT) and evaluated

with regard to sub-synchronous oscilla-

tion rates as well as instability characteris-

tics, ➎. The bearing damping is increased

via suitable design measures until the

bearing runs in a stable manner at maxi-

mum speed, at a reduced oil pressure of

1.5 bar and an oil supply temperature of

120 °C, taking into account all production

and imbalance tolerances.

FUNCTIONAL VALIDATION

The aim of the functional validation is to

verify the required turbocharging system

performance and reliability via suitable

endurance test programmes on the com-

ponent, engine test stands and in the

vehicle. For this purpose, the exhaust-gas

turbocharger characteristic maps are

inspected continuously on the gas test

stand during the entire development

phase, ➏. The characteristics must remain

constant between the individual sample

statuses and after the endurance testing.

To ensure the long-term quality of the

rotor assembly, a centre section imbal-

ance is striven, which does not change

during hot operation. This is monitored in

a large number of turbochargers, either

via back measurements on balancing

machines or via the imbalance measure-

ment method during operation. It is thus

ensured that the turbocharger operates at

the oil supply limit of the engine properly.

This is additionally validated by a 1,000 h

low oil pressure endurance test.

The required impeller lifetime is

checked by specific accelerated tests on

❹ Impeller service life simulation and containment simulations

❺ Shaft orbit measure-

ment including bearing

bush speeds of the

bearing system (red:

speed turbine bushing;

blue: speed charger

bushing; black: speed

charger)



cold spin test stands as well as hot turbo-

charger and engine test benches. Com-

pressor and turbine impellers are operated

with the largest possible amplitude from

minimum to maximum circumferential

speed so that alternating stress is gener-

ated in the impellers due to the centrifu-

gal force. The achieved number of cycles

up to fatigue fracture reflects the service

life and at the same time provides valua-

ble data for comparing and calibrating the

numeric structural simulation models.

The impellers are optimised so that they

achieve over 200,000 cycles at a given

accelerated test on the hot turbocharger

rig. Based on the numerical structural

simulation, the number of cycles is con-

verted into kilometres by adopting a cus-

tomer-relevant cycle.

Hot/cold accelerated tests are carried

out on the component test stand, followed

by 2,000 h endurance tests on the multi-

cylinder engine to check the thermo-

mechanical strength, especially that of the

turbocharger particularly hot parts.

Special solutions are developed that

ensure the oil leak-tightness of the tur-

bocharger, due to the typical long

engine idling phases currently available

in the American market. For this pur-

pose, special accelerated tests, in which

the pressure ratio is varied between the

bearing housing and compressor back-

side, are carried out on the gas test

stand. The resulting geometry optimisa-

tion is subsequently confirmed by eval-

uation runs on the multi-cylinder

engine. The active boost pressure con-

trol of the engine requires a very high

number of wastegate valve movements.

The actuator of the boost pressure regu-

lating valve is developed so that at least

4 mn cycles can be carried out without

failure. Furthermore, the wear in the

moving components is minimised by

suitable material combinations.

Vehicle tests under extreme weather

conditions such as coldness and hotness

are essential for the final turbocharger

validation. These include, for example,

test drives in the Spanish Sierra Nevada at

2,500 m above sea level at an ambient

temperature of over 30 °C and test drives

in the USA up to 4,000 m altitude. Under

these conditions, the compressor margin

against surge and the maximum load tem-

perature of the individual components are

checked. In addition to Europe, further

tests take place in Asia, America and

Africa. In sum, over 9 mn km as well as

150,000 h engine operating and at least

70,000 h gas test stand time were driven

in order to release the turbocharger. This

operating time was required in order to

satisfy the high performance, safety and

quality requirements of Daimler.

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

Future optimisations in the diesel engine

are mainly possible if subcomponents

such as the turbocharging system are

specially adapted to the specific require-

ments of the engine via integrated turbo-

charger development. The in-house tur-

bocharger development at Daimler,

which started with the development of

the NEG engine OM472, has produced

the optimal turbocharging system for the

use of that engine with regard to fuel

consumption, service life and economic

efficiency. This convincing end product

will result in further applications in the

future with an in-house developed

exhaust-gas turbocharger adapted to the

specific engine requirements.

REFERENCE

[1] Heil, B.; Schmid, W.; Teigeler, M.; Sladek, W.;

Öing, H.; Arndt, S.; Melcher, S.: The New Daimler

Heavy Commercial Vehicle Engine Series. In: MTZ

(70) 2009, No. 1

❻ Compressor and turbine characteristic maps




AUTOMATIC SHAPE OPTIMISATION OF EXHAUST SYSTEMS

Maximising the uniformity of the catalyst flow and simultaneously minimising the backpressure is an essential

goal of exhaust system development, which is often complicated by restrictive underhood packaging spaces. A

new optimisation tool has thus been developed at Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies (FECT) that can au-

tomatically determine a flow-optimised draft design for a particular packaging space.


COVER STORY EXHAUST SYSTEMS

DR.-ING. CHRISTOF HINTERBERGER

is Expert for Thermofluid Analysis at

Faurecia Emissions Control Technol-

ogies in Augsburg (Germany).

DR.-ING. ROLF KAISER

is Manager for Durability and Ther-

mofluid dynamics in the Center of

Competence at Faurecia Emissions

Control Technologies in Augsburg

(Germany).

DR. MARK OLESEN

is Expert for Thermofluid Analysis at

Faurecia Emissions Control Technol-

ogies in Augsburg (Germany).

AUTHORS


INITIAL SITUATION

Optimising the flow uniformity of the

catalyst flow and the backpressure of

exhaust systems normally requires

numerous design loops – with iterations

between CAD and CFD departments that

can be very time consuming. This is par-

ticularly the case when optimising a

manifold and close-coupled-catalyst com-

bination. During exhaust blowdown, the

gas exiting the engine cylinder can

momentarily approach sonic flow, which

presents particular difficulties to manage

and to avoid undesirable flow separation.

A further challenge in the optimisation of

exhaust systems is posed by the

extremely restrictive packaging spaces,

coupled with durability, manufacturabil-

ity and cost considerations.

As an example of conventional opti-

misation, a close-coupled-catalyst and

three-in-one manifold from a 12-cylinder

engine is shown in ➊. The catalyst posi-

tion is fixed (based on the packaging

space) as is the manifold geometry

(based on an existing part). Thus, the

only permitted changes were to the inlet

pipe/cone region itself. Starting from

the original design, ① (a) – which

exhibited highly non-uniform flow in

the catalyst cross-section – several suc-

cessive design changes were taken to

determine an optimised solution, ① (b).

The final design achieved a nearly uni-

form catalyst flow, which is required for

an efficient conversion rate. This exam-

ple illustrates how relatively minor geo-

metrical changes can result in signifi-

cant functional improvements.

The continually reduced development

times have further increased the demand

for an automatic optimisation programme

that is based on the fluid dynamics simu-

lation. Starting from the available packag-

ing space, an optimal solution should be

found in a reasonable period of time.

Using shape-based optimising is impracti-

cal for several reasons. An obvious disad-

vantage is the parameterisation itself,

which may be possible for simple geome-

tries (e.g., pipes) but which is generally

non-trivial for the complex free-form

geometries used for catalyst inlet cones.

Since the flow fields are determined

before the shape parameters are adjusted,

the optimisation is inherently sequen-

tially, which leads to unacceptably long

computational times. In contrast, the

adjoint method tool presented here has

extremely modest calculation times and

has the notable advantage that both a

painstaking geometry parameterisation

and a stepwise adjustment of the meshed

volume become superfluous. Instead,

only the packaging space needs to be sup-

plied as a meshed volume, ➋.

MODELLING

The optimisation programme Cago (Con-

tinuous Adjoint Geometry Optimisation)

developed at Faurecia is based on the

continuous adjoint CFD method from

Othmer et al. [1] implemented in Open-

foam [2]. The calculation method used in

Cago is only briefly described here, with

details to be found in [3], while the theo-

retical basis of the adjoint process is

described by Othmer in [4].

For the purposes of the automatic

geometry optimisation, the turbulent flow

in the exhaust system is treated as being

incompressible and a standard high-Re k-ɛ turbulence model [5] is used. The geome-

try itself is described using an immersed

boundary method. As shown schemati-

cally in ② (b), the meshed region is char-

acterised by flow (fluid) and non-flow

(solid) sub-regions. Since the volume

mesh itself only provides a stepwise rep-

resentation, the geometry is based inter-

nally on a level-set-approximation, which

yields an exacter and smoother geometry

description. Using this approach greatly

improves the overall computational effi-

ciency since it precludes any need for

mesh movement or re-meshing.

COST FUNCTIONS

The optimisation of the inlet cone geome-

❶ Closed coupled catalyst and a three-in-one manifold of a twelve-cylinder engine

❷ Sketch of package space (a) and of CFD model (b)


COVER STORY EXHAUST SYSTEMS

try is expressed in terms of cost functions

to be minimised. The primary goal is a

high flow uniformity combined with a

low backpressure. Correspondingly, the

cost function includes the deviation of the

current velocity profile from the target

velocity profile as well as the energy loss

between cone inlet and outlet. Adding

extra weighting to the velocity deviation

in the outer circumference of the catalyst

allows the centricity of the catalyst flow to

be included into the cost function.

ADJOINT CFD METHOD

The optimisation method is based on idea

that the sensitivity (i.e., gradient of the

cost function) with respect to the geome-

try change can be calculated for every

point on the surface geometry. It also

accounts for the influence of the geometry

changes on the flow field. Viewed mathe-

matically, the fluid dynamics equations

are treated as a constraint (via a Lagrange

function) for the optimisation problem.

For this optimisation method, the

Lagrange multiplier is the so-called

adjoint flow field. This adjoint flow field

has no physical meaning, but is a mathe-

matical construct that allows the sensitiv-

ity of the cost function with respect to

local changes in the geometry to be calcu-

lated. The decisive advantage of this

method is that no additional and costly

flow solutions are required since the sen-

sitivities can be calculated directly as a

scalar product of the primary and adjoint

flows. The simultaneous calculation of

primary and adjoint flow fields, as well as

the corresponding geometry adjustments,

is associated with simulation times for the

entire optimisation process that is on the

same order of magnitude as a single (nor-

mal) flow calculation.

APPLICATION

As an example of the optimisation pro-

cess, a simple packaging space with a

transverse inflow, given schematically in

② (b), is taken. The development of an

optimised geometry and the sensitivities

calculated by the adjoint method are

shown in ➌, with sensitivities for back-

pressure shown in ③ (a and c) and sen-

sitivities for the flow uniformity shown

in ③ (b and d). The red regions are neg-

ative sensitivities, which degrade the

respective target function. It is thus pos-

sible to identify a recirculation zone

after 24 iterations, ③ (a), that will cause

backpressure and can therefore be suc-

cessively blocked. The geometry after

460 iterations is shown in ③ (b) along

with the instantaneous velocity profile

at the front of the catalyst. The exces-

sive velocities on the right side of the

catalyst are reflected in the sensitivities

for the uniformity. The negative sensi-

tivities (red regions) define regions in

which the introduction of additional

obstructions would improve the catalyst

flow uniformity. This leads to an inden-

tation in the geometry (immediately

after the inlet) that improves the uni-

formity. After further iterations, the

geometry reaches a final form as shown

in ③ (c and d). A comparison of the

uniformity and backpressure sensitivi-

ties reveals the conflicting goals: a fur-

ther indentation of the geometry would

improve the uniformity but at the cost

of higher backpressure.

The geometry optimisation for a

more complex packaging space is shown

in ➍. The packaging space was meshed

with 300,000 polyhedral cells. The opti-

misation was complete after ten hours

on a standard workstation (3.0 GHz

Intel Core Duo CPU). With a slightly

higher administrative effort, the optimi-

sation can also be run in parallel on a

cluster, which reduces the calculation

time to approximately one hour.

The optimisation with Cago of a cata-

lyst inlet cone for a naturally aspirated

engine is illustrated in ➎. The inlet cone

is the central geometric element for

redistributing the flow from each of the

cylinders. Since it is important that the

flow from each cylinder satisfies the

uniformity target, each cylinder is calcu-

❸ Sensitivities for backpressure in inlet cone (a, c) and for flow uniformity across the catalyst (b, d) after 24 iter-

ations (a), after 460 iterations (b) and after 2500 iterations (c, d); final cone geometry after 2500 iterations (c, d)


lated individually as steady-state within

Cago. For the automatic geometry opti-

misation, the geometric sensitivities for

backpressure and uniformity for all cyl-

inders are combined, with the sensitivi-

ties for the cylinder with the poorest

uniformity being weighted most heavily.

This optimises the uniformity for indi-

vidual cylinders as well as for the aver-

age flow.

WORKFLOW

The workflow for the development of a

pipe /cone inlet geometry is shown sche-

matically in ➏. The available packaging

space is initially defined, meshed and an

optimal draft design is calculated via

Cago. The draft geometry is exported in

IGES format, which can be read in a CAD

system and serves as a guide during the

design process, which also includes man-

ufacturability and other design aspects.

The final CAD model is subsequently veri-

fied with conventional (non-optimising)

CFD, whereby the adjoint flow equations

for backpressure and uniformity are also

calculated. The resulting surface sensitivi-

ties, ⑥ (b), highlight the geometry regions

in which the cost function is particularly

influenced. This information flows into

the final design and is also used for the

optimisation of geometry details.

CLOSURE

An automatic geometry optimisation

method based on adjoint methods has

been presented. The practical feasibility

has been demonstrated for complex pack-

aging spaces. Although the current treat-

ment addressed catalyst systems exclu-

sively, the optimisation method can be

used for a variety of applications. The cal-

culated sensitivities of the cost function

steer the automatic adjustment of the sur-

face geometry and also provide a guide-

line for the CAD designer during the

design process. The process is extremely

efficient, thus the time for the entire opti-

misation process remains on the same

order of magnitude as a conventional CFD

calculation. This allows the automatic

geometry optimisation to be an integral

part of the product development process.

REFERENCES

[1] Othmer, C.; de Villiers, E.; Weller, H. G.: Im-

plementation of a continuous adjoint for topology

optimization of ducted flows. AIAA-2007-3947

[2] Weller, H. G.; Tabor, G.; Jasak, H.; Fureby, C.:

A Tensorial Approach to Computational Continuum

Mechanics using Object Orientated Techniques.

Computers in Physics 12 (6), pp. 620 – 631, 1998

[3] Hinterberger, C.; Olesen, M.: Automatic geom-

etry optimization of exhaust systems based on

sensitivities computed by a continuous adjoint

CFD method in Openfoam. SAE 2010-01-1278

[4] Othmer, C.: A continuous adjoint formulation

for the computation of topological and surface

sensitivities of ducted flows. Int. J. Num. Meth.

Fluids 58, pp. 862 – 877, 2008

[5] Jones, W. P.; Launder, B. E.: The prediction of

laminarization with a two-equation model of

turbulence. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 15, pp.

301 – 314, 1972

❹ Automatically generated inlet cone for the provided packaging space

❻ a) Workflow for catalyst cone development, b) surface sensitivities for subsequent geometry optimisation

❺ Catalyst inlet cone for four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine



SAFETY BY SELF-LOCALISATIONUSING SATELLITES, LANDMARKS

© [M] Aerial image of Bayerische Vermessungsverwaltung, September 2012

Due to modern driver assistance systems like ACC, ESC and electronic brake assist, the frequency of accidents occurring in comparative-

ly simple traffic scenarios is continuously decreasing. The research project Ko-PER (Cooperative Perception) was

initiated to reduce the number of accidents occurring also in more complex situations, for example at intersec-

tions, in case of occlusions or non-visibility. In this project, KIT, Sick AG and the University of Passau, in collabora-

tion with other research partners, investigate approaches to preventive safety, based on superior analysis and inter-

connection of in-vehicle perception systems, satellite navigation, on-board maps and landmark recognition.


T ECHNOL O GY SAFETY

INCREASING RATIO OF

COMPLEX ACCIDENTS

The progressive market penetration of

active and preventive safety systems like

for instance ESP (ESC or DSC), ACC and

EBA has resulted in a considerable reduc-

tion in the number of single-vehicle acci-

dents and rear-end collisions. Typically,

these types of accidents occur in scenar-

ios of comparatively low complexity.

Consequently, the relative number of

accidents in more complex traffic situa-

tions is increasing continuously. This is

particularly so for scenarios in which

occlusions, impaired visibility and the

unexpected behaviour of other traffic

participants play a crucial role, in

through traffic and at intersections as

well. In Germany, the share of serious

accidents at intersections already exceeds

35 % – and the tendency is rising.

Hence, one of the goals of the funded

project Ko-PER is to investigate whether

the hazard potential of complex scenarios

can be reduced by taking advantage of co-

operative perception; that is, by combin-

ing the perception results of a multitude

of neighbouring vehicles and – in the

vicinity of intersections – also by integrat-

ing the results of infrastructure-based sen-

sor networks. To that end, the local per-

ception output is wirelessly communi-

cated; the individual recipient vehicles

merge this information with their own

findings to obtain a virtually complete

real-time representation of the traffic situ-

ation, which will be concurrently ana-

lysed. ➊ shows the building blocks

required for this approach. Here, the base

of the pyramid corresponds to the sensor

front-end and the top of the pyramid to

the sensor back-end layers of the informa-

tion-processing chain.

A fundamental precondition for the

fusion of the perception results of individ-

ual observers is their ability to identify

their own position reliably (self-localisa-

tion in terms of position, orientation, and

time). The representation of local percep-

tion results merely in terms of relative

coordinates is not sufficient: A statement

such as “At a distance of 42 m, 31° to the

left, there is …” is obviously useless

unless it is accompanied by information

as to at what time and from where the

corresponding observation was made.

A sufficiently accurate vehicle self-

AUTHORS

DR.-ING. DIPL.-ING.

ROLAND KRZIKALLA

is Coordinator of Research Projects

Dealing with Infrastructure Sensorics

and Environmental Perception in

Vehicles Utilising Laser Scanners at

Sick AG in Hamburg (Germany).

Within the Research Project Ko-PER,

he is the Head of the Working Group

Vehicle Self-Localisation.

DIPL.-INF. ANDREAS SCHINDLER

is Scientific Assistant for the Areas

Environment Perception and Land-

mark-based Vehicle Self-localisation

at the Forwiss Institute of the Univer-

sity of Passau (Germany).

DIPL.-ING. MATTHIAS WANKERL

is Scientific Assistant for the Area

GNSS/INS Data Fusion Concepts for

Vehicle Self-localisation at the Insti-

tute of Systems Optimisation (ITE) of

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

(KIT) in Karlsruhe (Germany).

DR. RER. NAT. DIPL.-PHYS.

REINER WERTHEIMER

was Consultant for Machine-based

Perception, Driver Assistance and

Preventive Safety at BMW Group

Research and Technology in Munich

(Germany). He is Head of the

Research Project Ko-PER even since

his retirement in 2011.


localisation in real time (orientation better

than a few degrees, position better than a

lane width), essential for cooperative

safety, constitutes a considerable chal-

lenge. For that reason Ko-PER investigates

the potential of a number of quite differ-

ent approaches, some of which will be

briefly introduced in this article.

TIGHTLY-COUPLED GNSS/INS

The quality and availability of position

and velocity measurements provided by

a Global Navigation Satellite System

(GNSS), like GPS, Galileo, Glonass or a

combination of them, are influenced by

local environmental conditions. The sat-

ellite signal quality can be seriously

impaired due to multipath errors caused

by signal reflections. In addition, shad-

owing effects (trees or buildings) may

reduce the number of visible and hence

available satellites significantly. If fewer

than four satellites are visible, a stand-

alone GNSS receiver will not be able to

determine a position.

In contrast to the GNSS, an Inertial

Navigation System (INS) determines its

position and orientation with short-term

accuracy by measuring and integrating

accelerations and rotation rates; an INS is

thus independent of external information.

Due to the integration of differential sig-

nals, the resulting positions and orienta-

tions are, however, subject to drifting, the

extent of which strongly depends on the

quality of the INS. By means of sensor

data fusion of the inertial measurements

and the satellite signals, it is feasible to

estimate and offset the INS errors (for

example scale factor, bias) by using a Kal-

man filter. If no satellites are available at

all (GNSS outage), the merged system, by

virtue of the inertial sensors, is even able

to sustain localisation results over a

period of some seconds.

With the so-called Loosely Coupled

GNSS/INS approach (LCS), the indepen-

dently calculated position data of the

GNSS receiver is used as input for the

data fusion. If fewer than four satellites

are available, the GNSS receiver is not

capable of providing any information to

support the INS position.

In contrast, the Tightly Coupled Sys-

tem (TCS) implemented in the Ko-PER

project incorporates the individual raw

data of all the visible satellites in the data

fusion process. This not only allows for

an optimal weighting of the various GNSS

signals, but even ensures an aided naviga-

tion solution if fewer than four satellites

are visible.

Evaluation of the developed system

yields horizontal position accuracy of the

order of magnitude of meters, ➋ and ➌.

This does not entirely satisfy the road

track accuracy claimed at the beginning.

It is, however, expected that the fusion

with vehicle measurement data (odome-

ter, vehicle dynamics model) will further

improve localisation results in the future.

The navigation result (3D position,

velocity and orientation) concurrently

provided by the TCS is used in two ways:

as an autonomous, geo-referenced locali-

sation solution, and also for a more pre-

cise and robust initialisation of highly

accurate relative localisation approaches

(for example by means of map-match-

ing). These are described in the follow-

ing paragraphs.

COOPERATIVE GNSS

For many preventive safety functions in

vehicles, the determination of the relative

positions of vehicles is sufficient, as long

as the association of the vehicles has been

correctly determined. Since the run-time

of the GNSS signals (the so-called pseudo

range) is subject to systematic errors (for

example due to a varying charge distribu-

tion in the ionosphere), which have com-

parable effects on the input data of adja-

cent GNSS receivers, it should be possible

to eliminate these systematic deviations

when determining the relative position.

By means of an exchange of GNSS raw

data, the conditions are investigated

under which an improvement of the rela-

tive localisation results is feasible. Experi-

mental results for this ongoing develop-

ment are not yet available.

KO-TAG TRANSPONDERS

AT INTERSECTIONS

A description of the vehicle self-localisa-

tion approach using infrastructure-based

Ko-TAG transponders has already been

given in [1]. One main objective of this

research project consists of the vehicle-

based detection and recognition of pedes-

trians (including their relative position),

taking advantage of RFID transponders

carried along in mobile phones or satch-

els, for instance. Stationary transponders

at intersections can be used equally well

for absolute vehicle self-localisation, pro-

vided that the transmission signal con-

tains the absolute position of the station-

ary transponder.

MMIdriver intention

Risk analysisscene interpretation

Inter-vehicle (cooperative)perception

Wireless communication

Carfunctions

Intersection-based perceptionIntra-vehicle perception &

Self-localisation

❶ The Ko-PER processing chain depicted as a pyramid



0 20 40 60 80 100 1200

20

40

60

Hori

zonta

l posi

tion

err

or

[m]

TCSLCS

0 20 40 60 80 100 1200

2

4

6

8

Num

ber

of

visi

ble

sate

llit

es

Time [s]

Number satellitesBound 4 satellites

HIGH-PRECISION DIGITAL MAPS

A number of applications, such as land-

mark-based self-localisation and the

mutual association of vehicles and lanes,

situation analysis and intersection assis-

tance, require digital maps of high preci-

sion. The digital map developed in Ko

PER thus contains detailed information on

individual lanes, road markings and so-

called point landmarks such as reflector

posts, traffic signs and trees. This map is

characterised by the following features:

:: Innovative curve modelling: Lanes and

road markings are represented by

smooth arc splines (SAS), which are

curves that are composed of line seg-

ments and circular arcs. This model-

ling, in comparison with that of a

polygonal curve, significantly reduces

memory requirements. The addition of

a corresponding SAS elevation profile

completes the 3D representation.

:: Highly efficient calculation of distances:

The fast computation of distances to

lanes and road markings is essential

for a variety of tasks (lane association,

intersection assistance, vehicle self-

localisation). Using arc splines, the

required distance computations can be

carried out directly and efficiently.

:: Minimality: The method for generating

the arc splines ensures the minimal

possible number of segments for any

chosen accuracy. Hence, the resulting

representation yields minimal memory

storage requirement, while guarantee-

ing the desired precision.

:: Open map format: In order to ensure a

high level of exchangeability and

extensibility, the map data is stored in

the so-called OpenStreetMap format [2].

:: High precision: The precision of the

map has been evaluated using highly

accurate reference measurements.

Thereby a global accuracy of approxi-

mately 10 cm has been adduced for the

road markings.

LASER SCANNER AND

ROAD-COLLATERAL LANDMARKS

In industrial environments, landmark-

based localisation methods usually

require special objects that differ signifi-

cantly from their surroundings, for exam-

ple special checkerboard or stroke pat-

terns when using cameras, or retro-reflec-

tive objects when using laser scanners.

These so-called landmarks are to be

installed at places, where the localisation

has to be carried out. On road sites it is

not viable to install such objects. Vehicle

localisation thus has to use existing

objects as landmarks – for example, road

signs, reflector posts or lamp posts.

Special laser scanners developed for

vehicle applications are capable of detect-

ing these kinds of landmarks, which are

schematically shown in ➍. With a digital

map that includes the global coordinates

of the landmarks, it is feasible to associate

the landmarks locally detected by the

laser scanner with the landmarks in the

digital map; by means of suitable object

data association, the global position of the

vehicle can thus be computed.

This computation is based on a so-

called Extended Kalman Filter (EKF).

The EKF is initialised with an existing

GNSS position (required accuracy 5-15

m). The input data of the EKF includes

the distance and the angle of the meas-

ured landmarks relative to the associated

landmarks from the digital map. The pre-

diction step of the EKF utilises the veloc-

−1300 −1200 −1100 −1000 −900 −800 −700 −600 −500 −4001150

1200

1250

1300

1350

1400

1450

East, relative [m]

Nort

h, re

lati

ve [

m]

Reference

TCS

LCS

❷ Excerpt data from a

test drive: comparison of

TCS position and LCS

geo-referenced position

(map source by courte-

sy of Stadt Karlsruhe,

Liegenschaftsamt)

❸ Position error and number of visible satellites – also see ②


ity and the yaw rate of the vehicle. The

state of the Kalman filter includes the

current position as well as the orienta-

tion of the vehicle.

The estimated overall accuracy of this

localisation approach lies – under quite

favourable conditions (sufficient number

of properly associated landmarks) –

within the range of the measurement

accuracy of the used map or the laser

scanner, respectively that is >10 cm.

According accuracy limits can be expected

at intersections as well as in rural areas at

given conditions. If the estimated accu-

racy of the algorithm is getting worse than

the available GNSS position, the estimated

error is restricted to the GNSS accuracy.

LANDMARKS AND ROAD MARKINGS –

LASER SCANNER AND CAMERA

Using the high-precision digital map, an

advanced landmark-based localisation

approach was developed as a next step. In

addition to the detection of elevated

objects like traffic signs or tree trunks, a

video camera enables the extraction of

plane objects like road markings. All of

these objects are associated with elements

of the digital map, ➎, in order to deduce

the position of the vehicle from the

correspondences.

The association of the video-gener-

ated road markings with information of

the digital map gives an excellent estima-

tion of the lateral position and orienta-

tion of the vehicle on the road. Using the

landmarks extracted by the laser scanner,

the longitudinal position of the vehicle

can be further improved. Here, a particle

filter establishes the probabilistic

approach for fusing the input data. First

experimental investigations show that

this approach enables global positioning

to an accuracy of within 0.5 m laterally

and under 1 m longitudinally. The orien-

tation error is under 1°.

In order to combine all the particular

advantages of the individual self-localisa-

tion approaches, the corresponding results

are subjected to a suitable data fusion

procedure. This ensures elimination of

most dropouts and outliers of the individ-

ual localisation methods. More detailed

information and additional references

regarding Ko-PER and its self-localisation

approaches can be found in [3].

REFERENCES

[1] Schwarz, D.: Erweiterung der Fahrzeug-zu-

Fahrzeug-Kommunikation mit Funkortungstechni-

ken.

In: ATZelektronik 7 (2012), No. 5, pp. 323 – 329

[2] http://www.openstreetmap.org/

[3] http://ko-fas.de/english/ko-per-cooperative-per-

ception.html

❺ Association of landmarks via digital map; shown are: computed lane centre lines (orange), road markings

(white) with correspondences from lane recognition (red pyramids), detected point landmarks like tree trunks

and guide posts (yellow) including correspondences found in the map (distance differences: magenta), top

right: camera image of the driving scene (Figure © BMW Group Research and Technology)



❹ Road collateral landmarks detected by laser scanners (red) (left); using associated landmarks (green), the vehicle position can be calculated with a precision that

allows correct track association (middle); digital map with landmarks (blue) (right)




TECHNOLOGY HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE

Gesture recognition will not be the only solution for less driver distraction, companies will rely on in the future –

instead, it will be one of a range of interactive technologies. Of these, gesture-based interaction is considered to

be the most technologically advanced. Harman explains the different development steps.

INTERFACES USING GESTURES — TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY, TOMORROW’S INNOVATIONS

Figure © Elektrobit


GUIDELINES FOR DISTRACTION-

FREE INTERACTION

Carmakers have several goals in mind –

they want to offer customers an attrac-

tive infotainment package, but they also

need to adhere to safety regulations,

which are traditionally quite strict for

the important US market and the similar

EU guidelines.

The USA’s National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), the fed-

eral regulator for road and car safety,

takes a particularly strict line regarding

excessive distraction and its causes. Just

recently, the NHTSA’s safety experts

released a catalogue of guidelines dealing

with in-car safety after data analyses sug-

gested that using smartphones and satel-

lite navigation has increased the number

of road accidents. The NHTSA wants to

see a ban on using devices when in traf-

fic – the organisation stated that the

problem was not that drivers have to

take a hand off the wheel to use devices,

but that they paid less attention to traffic

conditions around them. As a result, the

NHTSA has called on the car industry to

reduce the potential for distraction that

arises from having a large number of

infotainment features in cars. It wants to

ensure that certain functions can be

deactivated once the car is in motion.

Europe also has guidelines in place

called European Statements of Princi-

ples (ESOPs), and they have more or

less the same purpose. The Society of

Automobile Engineers (SAE), an inter-

national federation, wants drivers to be

able to perform tasks on gesture-recog-

nition systems in no more than 15 s. For

its part, the car industry points out that

drivers can be distracted by other things

as well – a deep conversation with a

passenger, noise, eating while driving or

rummaging in the glove compartment.

MULTIMODALITY

Gesture recognition will not be the only

solution companies will rely on in the

future – instead, it will be one of a range

of interactive technologies. Manufacturers

associated with the automotive industry

are, therefore, already working on multi-

mode HMI solutions and will continue

refining this technology over the coming

years. These systems’ hallmark is their

impressive combination of input methods

using spoken commands, buttons and

gestures, and their “output” in the form of

visual, audio and touch-based informa-

tion. Of these, gesture-based interaction is

considered to be the most technologically

advanced. Examples for different gestures

are to be seen in ➊.

HOW DOES GESTURE RECOGNITION

WORK?

When developing gesture-recognition

tools, the first thing to do is to classify

the different types of gestures. It is

important to select gestures that people

not only intuitively use for specific func-

tions, but which sensors can easily rec-

ognise and differentiate. Hand gestures

are not the only option – facial expres-

sions can also be used, as browser

developer Opera showed with its 2009

interface solution.

In the automotive industry, facial

gestures would be a great advantage

because they would eliminate the need

for drivers to take one hand off the

wheel, but they have one particular

drawback – social acceptability is

unlikely to be forthcoming. There is

greater tolerance for hand gestures, and

they are much more useful than tradi-

tional interface systems because drivers

only have to make a simple gesture to

work a function instead of stretching

out an arm, while taking their eyes off

traffic to look at a control panel. Manu-

facturers have to study which gestures

are suitable for in-car use and create a

RICK KREIFELDT

is Vice President, Research and

Development at the Corporate

Technology Group Harman

International in Karlsbad (Germany).

HANS ROTH

is Director Business Development at

Harman Infotainment Division in

Karlsbad (Germany) .

OLAF PREISSNER

is Manager Design/Human Factors

at Harman Infotainment Division in

Karlsbad (Germany) .

DR THOMAS VÖHRINGER-KUHNT

is Senior Engineer Human Factors at

Harman Infotainment Division in

Karlsbad (Germany).

AUTHORS

➊ Examples of gestures



catalogue of options.

Examples of commonly used gestures

are the OK sign, a clenched fist with the

thumb pointing up, while others include

the combination of thumb and index fin-

ger, pointing to the side or straight

ahead, grasping, the “telephone” gesture

composed of outstretched thumb and

pinky held up to the ear, and the com-

mon gesture of dismissal, when people

want to reject or brush things aside.

These kinds of gestures can be

assigned to different functions which

users access via the infotainment system,

and manufacturers should match the

functions with the gestures that rate

highest for intuitiveness – the simplest

and clearest gestures can be used for

actions (e.g. select, open/close), select-

ing devices (e.g. radio, satnav, climate

control, etc.) and instrument control (e.g.

yes/no, loud/quiet, higher/lower, etc.).

TECHNICAL RECOGNITION

OF GESTURES

Once the catalogue of gestures is ready,

the next step is to ensure that appliances

can recognise these standardised hand

movements: this can involve physical

contact on a touchpad or touch screen,

or it can be contactless using an infrared

sensor, camera or some other method.

Contact-free gesture recognition is the

more innovative option, but it is also

technically more complicated.

Several different kinds of technology

are used for recognising gestures –

Microsoft’s Xbox features a camera-based

system, but infrared sensors have proven

to be more efficient for the car industry.

Contact-free infrared technology can be

used to monitor positions or phases, but

combining these two methods promises

the best results. In position-based gesture

recognition, the sensor uses the position

it calculates for an object, while the

phase-based system uses the changing

positions of a moving signal to identify

the direction an object is moving in.

Combining both methods increases accu-

rate recognition rates so the system

attains the reliability necessary for its

inclusion in a standard production sys-

tem. This technology relies on complex

recognition algorithms to understand and

interpret different gestures.

EXAMPLES IN DEVELOPMENT

One example of innovative use of con-

tactless input using infrared technology

is Halios by Mechaless Systems GmbH,

an Elmos Semicondutcor AG company.

With Halios sensors, it is possible to

identify movements of objects (e.g. parts

of a body) in close and far distances to

the sensor. The sensor is able to distin-

guish different kind of movements, e.g.

in direction or speed. The sensor can

therefore recognise standard movements

like tapping, turning, pushing, pulling,

and wiping, ➋. The Halios principle

eliminates any changes in the sensitivity

of the photodiode caused by ambient

light or temperature changes. Therefore,

optoelectronic sensors based on the Hal-

ios principle are particularly resistant to

any influences of ambient light condi-

tions (sunlight, flashlights, neon lamps),

eliminating the need of using optical fil-

ters or any other kind of adjustment.

The low power consumption is a

result of the robust measurement princi-

ple. Short measurement times (long

integration or filtering of the values is

not necessary) together with the inte-

grated 16 bit micro-controller allows

optimisation of the sample frequency

and the power consumption reduces to

an application specific minimum. The

system is neither influenced by extreme

illumination nor changing environmen-

tal lights. The temperature stabilisation

prevents failures in measurement typi-

cally introduced by the temperature

depending drifts of the intensity of

infrared-LEDs. The reaction time of the

system can easily be adapted by soft-

ware. The measurement is done by cur-

rent bursts, which last only 250 μsecs.

The receiving signal is then processed in

the 16 bit microcontroller by the cus-

tomer specific application, ➌.

At the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, one

of the infotainment specialist Harman

and Swiss company Rinspeed presented

their joint creation, the Dock+Go con-

cept car. Taking the Smart as its tem-

plate and adding a docking trailer, this

study car’s special feature is how it con-

nects the driver, car and the world of

digital information. Its infotainment sys-

tem combines integrative smart phone

technology and the cloud-based Aha

platform with a flexible human-machine

interface (HMI), ➍.

The concept’s objective is to enable

drivers to access digital contents intui-

tively, easily and with maximum safety

while driving. Even though the car fea-

tures a wide range of HMI technologies,

gesture recognition and voice-activated

systems for different functions, distrac-

tions can still be reduced to an absolute

minimum. Users need one hand to take

E909.06

HaliosSignal

Driver 1

Driver 2

Amp.PD

LED 2

Distance DObject

Surface ofoptical sensor

LED 1

Oscillator

HaliosControl logic

➋ Typical Halios circuit


care of basic tasks and do not even have

to make physical contact with buttons

or screens, while the voice-controlled

systems enable the driver to access

additional services or command Aha’s

automated vocaliser to read their

e-mails or Facebook, Twitter feeds. The

integrated office solution means the car

can be transformed into a mobile office:

drivers can have Aha read out e-mails,

or they take a look at their business cal-

endars or transfer stored addresses to

the navigation system.

FROM THE LAB TO

THE PRODUCTION LINE

Leading carmakers and infotainment

producers such as Harman are currently

focusing a lot of attention on gesture

recognition applications that use prox-

imity sensors. Their innovations are at

every stage of the development process

– on the drawing board, in testing and

in actual use in cars. Concept cars and

demo technology provide an insight into

how these systems might look in a few

years’ time. You do not have to go to

major auto shows like Detroit, Frank-

furt, Geneva and Beijing to see them –

they are also on display at consumer

goods fairs like the CES in Las Vegas, a

clear sign that integration and synergy

effects between consumer and automo-

tive electronics are becoming increas-

ingly more important.

One innovation is the multi-touch

steering wheel developed by researchers

at Duisburg-Essen University’s Pervasive

Computing and User Interface Engineer-

ing department. Their work has produced

a steering wheel prototype whose entire

surface area functions as a display and

which responds to the touch: it is cur-

rently capable of recognising 20 gestures,

including the pinch-to-zoom gesture

familiar from the iPhone. Tests conducted

on this prototype have proven that using

gestures reduces drivers’ visual “work-

load”. The test persons were able to work

certain controls without having to take

their eyes off the road for as long as is the

case with conventional interface panels.

ON THE WAY TO

SERIES PRODUCTION

It is clear there is no lack of innovative

concepts, but how do infotainment sys-

tems currently make use of gesture rec-

ognition? Does the industry have any

prototypes that will be ready to go into

production in the near future? Among

carmakers and parts suppliers, several

premium brands have already under-

taken their first projects with gesture

recognition systems and are now more

or less ready to start series production.

Sensor technology for the contactless

recognition of simple gestures is already

in use – multitouch screens’ interface

systems are one example. Infrared prox-

imity sensors were even a feature in the

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti’s infotainment sys-

tem. Alongside gesture recognition, car-

makers also use forced feedback as

another tool, for example in the CUE

(Cadillac User Experience) system from

General Motors. Audi has produced a

touchpad with letter recognition as a

next step in the development of touch-

AVDD

KA

AMP_KA

AMP_AN

AN

LED1

LED2

LED3

LED4

LEDC

VDDC NRST TMODE

TM0

RAM

MultiplyHalioscontrol

Digital/analogue

Guard

IRQcontrol

Timer

CPU core16 bit

ClockReset Test

JTAG Flash

SPIinterface

TM1VPP

GPIO

VDDIO

SDASDA

TX

RXLIN SCI

GPIOinterface

I2Cinterface

CS

SCK

MOSI

MISO

SCLSCL

E909.06

8

+

-

-

+

➌ Block diagram of the Halios sensor E909.06 (source: Elmos Semiconductor AG)



based information input: the system is

used for important orders or entering

destinations on satnavs.

ROLE MODEL: CONSUMER MARKET

Companies like Microsoft drive innova-

tions from the perspective to the con-

sumer market into automotive. Microsoft

has been a pioneer in gesture control with

their Kinect motion sensing device but a

new venture from a Microsoft Research

project team aims to essentially do the

same thing without the cameras. Sound-

Wave allows the user to control their com-

puter with hand gestures that are recog-

nised via sound waves. More specifically,

SoundWave is a real time sensing tech-

nique that works in conjunction with a

microphone and a speaker. The technol-

ogy emits an inaudible tone, which then

uses the Doppler Effect to detect a fre-

quency shift to recognise the hand gesture

in action.

The user does not have to wear any

special sensors on their body for the

detection algorithm to work and music

can even be played simultaneously

through the speakers without any adverse

effects. The research team demonstrates

several different applications, where

SoundWave could be useful, including

scrolling through a document or webpage,

using the technology to lock a user’s com-

puter screen, when they walk away and

even play a game of Tetris.

The technology is very cool but as

CNET points out, there are likely some

restrictions on use. Microsoft tells that

they don’t know how close the user must

be to the microphone and speaker for the

device to track gestures correctly. All of

the tests in the sample video show a user

relatively close to the computer. Addition-

ally, the company doesn’t know if there

are any restrictions on where the micro-

phone and speaker(s) must be placed for

optimal results.

CHALLENGES THAT CAN LEAD

TO SUCCESS

The concepts and prototypes developed

by researchers and companies in the

industry would seem to have a lot going

for them, but they still have a long way

to go before they have the potential to

take the world by storm. Technological

systems, which work reliably in every-

day conditions, require a lot of time and

money, and the cost factors alone can

prevent them from quickly becoming a

staple feature in most makes of car. As

with scores of other innovations in auto-

motive technology, gesture recognition

systems will make their debut in top-of-

the-range models and then gradually be

fitted in other makes as they get pro-

gress from premium carmakers to econ-

omy class cars.

Developers and manufacturers still

have several challenges ahead of them

before they can start mass-producing

gesture recognition systems. One particu-

larly difficult hurdle will be getting sen-

sors to recognise freehand gestures and

cope with the latency period between

recognition and interaction. Technologi-

cal aspects are not the only consideration

– user acceptance is another issue. How-

ever, researchers and companies are con-

fident that people will warm to gesture

recognition, and they point to the suc-

cess of the intuitive interface systems

that smartphones use – after all, it was

not so long ago that these innovations

also represented a new and unfamiliar

form of technology.

Gesture recognition’s success will

depend on several factors. If manufactur-

ers want high acceptance levels during

and immediately after the launch phase, it

makes sense to use gestures common in

the consumer electronics sector as a

touchstone. Companies should also

restrict themselves to simple gestures so

users are not put off by a completely new

and excessively complicated repertoire of

gestures. Interaction should also be as

self-explanatory as possible – here, the

magic word is, inevitably, intuitiveness.

If a system combines different input

methods, i.e. gestures, voice commands

and actions, it should still follow a coher-

ent overall blueprint, one which is also

evident to users. Manufacturers could also

take time to consider if deploying com-

mon gestures, instead of producer-specific

ones, encourage quick, widespread

acceptance, though this concession to

customers is of course something that dif-

ferent companies will have to weigh up

for themselves. After all, different info-

tainment systems need to stand out from

their peers, both now and in the future,

and they operate along different lines as a

result. Against this backdrop, it could be

the buyers who end up deciding – intui-

tively – which system ultimately wins out

in the end.

➍ Concept car Dock+Go from Rinspeed




SHOPFLOOR FIEM INDUSTRIES

56

Starting out as a manufacturer of automotive lights and rear view mirrors, FIEM Industries Pvt Ltd has continued

to add to its repertoire and portfolio over the years, transforming into an advanced technological player. The

company today manufactures some of the most advanced lighting systems, and have diversified into areas such

as lightweight frames, plastic body panels and LED-based solutions for industrial and infrastructure application.

We visited the company’s plant in Sonepat, Haryana to witness the transformation the company has made.

FIEM INDUSTRIES – RELYING ON TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE GROWTH


INTRODUCTION

Walking into the FIEM facility in Sonepat,

Haryana, one could sense that the com-

pany is standing on the cusp of a major

expansion. The company has experienced

significant growth over the past few years,

and the future holds good promise. Over

the next three years, FIEM expects to

grow at a CAGR of about 40 %, and by

more than 100 % in the two years thereaf-

ter. Investments in new technologies and

business areas are translating into good

results for the company, and clearly, offi-

cials are confident of continuous growth.

S Narayanan, Head, Commercial &

International Operations, FIEM, told us

that the company expects to close the

FY13 with total revenues coming in just

short of ` 600 crore. The target is to

reach ` 1,000 crore in the next three

years, and breach the ` 2,000 crore level

in the next five years or so.

NEW PRODUCTS – PARTS TO

MODULE

FIEM is presently one of the largest sup-

pliers of lighting solutions in the country

within the two-wheeler segment. Its forte

lies in the scooter segment, where it com-

mands almost 85 % of the Indian market-

share. In addition, the company is looking

at expanding its exports and is already

supplying lamps to Honda for some of

their international motorcycles, including

a 670 cc product. Some of the major

export markets for the company presently

are the UK, Italy, Germany, Indonesia,

Japan and Austria.

In India, FIEM is presently the exclu-

sive supplier of all lamps and plastic body

panels to the Honda scooters produced at

HMSI’s Tapukara plant, Rajasthan. The

quick expansion in the company’s prod-

uct portfolio has been possible largely

because of a focussed approach for tech-

nology development. Even though the

company took help of some foreign part-

ners initially, it is presently handling its

product development independently.

FIEM established an R&D centre in Rai,

Haryana, about two years back, which

has helped the company develop a range

of new products and technology.

What is encouraging to note is the

company’s success in transforming from

a sheet metal supplier to a complete

module provider. This has begun with

the development of the sheet metal

frame for Mahindra Reva’s upcoming

electric car, e2o, earlier known as NXR.

The move is anything but ordinary since

the frame is a critical part for any car

and in the case of an electric car the

technical requirements become more

stringent. Developing the frame involved

a lot of learning and experimenting with

material technology. In the end, FIEM

was able to develop a production-worthy

system on its own, owing to the invest-

ment made in new product development.

In addition, the company also has an

order to supply headlamps and tail

lamps for the e2o.

The biggest positive for the company,

beyond financial gains, was the estab-

lishment of an advanced platform. With

many OEMs looking at ultra-light com-

pact vehicles in and outside India, FIEM

seems to have invested in a promising

future. The success with e2o will act as a

statement of its newly developed, yet

capable technical expertise, thereby pav-

ing the way for many such orders both

in and outside India.

In the area of lighting too, the com-

pany has achieved some segment firsts,

including a LED two-wheeler headlamp,

claimed to be the first of its kind in Asia.

With an established foothold in the two-

wheeler segment, FIEM is now looking at

strengthening its position in the four-

wheeler lighting sector. Towards this, the

company has already developed a LED-

based searchlight and fog lamp for mass-

production in four-wheelers. While these

products are already in supply, the com-

pany expects an increase in sales, pri-

marily due to the fact that these products

are flexible in nature. This means that

the company can supply the same tech-

nology in different sizes and specifica-

tions for multiple applications, thereby

widening its potential customer base.

FIEM has also ventured into non-auto-

motive business recently, and has estab-

lished a new division to manufacture

solar-based and conventional LED lamps

for domestic and commercial purposes.

For the same, FIEM has inked a technical

agreement with Singapore-based Bright-

Lite Systems. The company expects this

division to play an important role

in the targeted growth of the

company, mainly due to the

want of adequate electricity

in our country. LEDs reduce

power consumption signifi-

cantly and their wide adoption

in areas such as street lamps

and industries will considerably

lower the power requirement.

All of the above mentioned develop-

ments clearly indicate the level of effort

that FIEM has put into development of

FIEM's product range has undergone a significant expansion in the past few years owing to investment in R&D

Vibration tester for lamps


SHOPFLOOR FIEM INDUSTRIES

technology. The company established an

independent R&D lab just about two

years back and most of the discussed

new products have been developed there.

The company has also applied for pat-

ents on some products, but officials

refused to divulge any details on them.

FIEM also has a technical agreement

with Ichikoh of Japan, but their involve-

ment was mainly limited to setting up

the plant in accordance with Japanese

quality guidelines. The product develop-

ment has been FIEM’s responsibility and

the results seem to be turning out well.

RESEARCH & PRODUCTION

In terms of investment in R&D we were

told that funds were accounted sepa-

rately for the unit only when it was

established as an individual entity about

two years back. The company started

off by investing 1 % of its total revenue

on R&D, and plans to steadily increase

that share going forward.

Owing to the technical support agree-

ment with Ichikoh, FIEM has access to

some of the most advanced manufactur-

ing machines at its facilities. Under the

arrangement, FIEM supplies mirror

plates to the Japanese company, which

uses them in turn for use in finished

products for its customers. At the Sone-

pat plant too, manufacturing quality

and processes are in line with Japanese

standards. We were told that this

arrangement ensures error-free produc-

tion on the assembly lines.

The Sonepat plant is one of the most

advanced among the eight plants it oper-

ates across the country. The facility

houses almost all of the required major

testing equipment. This allows for a

quick and cost-effective product develop-

ment cycle, a reason for the success

achieved by the in-house R&D centre in a

short span of time. The R&D centre

employs about 35 engineers exclusively

for new product development. Apart

from them there are other engineers

working indirectly with or for them.

The R&D lab at the facility is abuzz

with action and it isn’t hard to figure out

that this is a hotspot for new ideas. In the

short-term the lab will roll out multiple

new products aimed at creating the com-

pany’s presence in new segments. The

R&D capabilities are now flexible enough

to undertake product development, based

primarily on customer-input and through

working with their engineers.

The idea of working closely with cus-

tomers has made the company realise the

importance of moving to fully LED-based

lighting solutions. Even though the cost of

LED lights is presently higher than con-

ventional lamps, FIEM like most compa-

nies is confident of the technology becom-

ing inexpensive with mass-adoption and

expects most of its production to convert

to LED in the next five-odd years.

ON THE PRODUCTION FLOOR

The facility employs some smart and cost-

effective production methods, one of

which is related to supply of material

within the plant. Paint, primer and related

materials are carried through pipes run-

ning across the plant. The material is fed

into designated inlet areas, which have a

Usage of equipment such as Goniometer enables precise adjustment of light beams Circuit boards are manufactured in a highly-automated and controlled environment

Fitment duties on the assmebly line are largely manual in nature, yet well-organised


piped outlet at specific points. This pro-

cess, although simple and inexpensive to

build and maintain, significantly quickens

the material transfer and seeing it work

was quite an experience.

The photometric test laboratory and

the vibration tester at the facility deserve

a special mention as very few companies

in the country have an equally advanced

set-up. The goniometer testing module is

an important part of the testing and devel-

opment process. Using this equipment,

engineers can precisely calibrate the dis-

tance and angle for the high and low-

beams of a lamp. The overall facility infra-

structure looks modern and efficient and

confirms with all necessary standards.

The facility presently manufactures about

80,000 lamps on a daily basis and has

room for further expansion if required.

An incredible aspect of the FIEM shop-

floor is that all assembly-line workers at

the plant are women. These women are

natives from nearby areas and are

selected through a preliminary screening

based on certain parameters such as edu-

cation. Once selected, they are trained by

the company for the production work.

OUTLOOK

The projected growth over the next five

years seemed like an uphill task to us ini-

tially. However, that perception changed

quickly when we went through the com-

pany’s production and research areas and

met the people in charge. The product

diversification one would see FIEM under-

going in the next few years is impressive.

Even though the automotive industry will

continue to be the major business contrib-

utor, the new domestic and industrial LED

lighting business will form a significant

part of total revenues soon.

Within the automotive domain the

company plans to increase its competi-

tiveness by focussing on supply of com-

plete vehicle sets rather than individual

parts. This would mean supply of all

lamps, mirrors and panels for a certain

vehicle. This would benefit the company

in terms of higher production as well as

better technical development. Another

key factor here is that being a lamp sup-

plier, FIEM starts working with a cus-

tomer right from the design conceptuali-

sation stage. This not only allows FIEM to

gain better understanding about the cus-

tomer requirements but also gives it a

potentially longer development window.

The strong drive to increase exports is

another step that should help the com-

pany continue climbing up the learning

curve and maintain/improve its margins.

The company already has orders from

brands such as Harley-Davidson and Tri-

umph, which speak well about FIEM’s

quality. Orders such as these could help

the company win some major orders out-

side India. The physical presence of the

company in states such as Tamil Nadu,

Haryana, Rajasthan and Karnataka is

another factor, which will contribute to a

sustainable profitability.

Provided the focus on innovation stays

as sharp it is presently, FIEM Industries

seems to be in a good position to write a

story of success. Making it even better

would be the fact that it is driven by

indigenous technology development.

While such a business model wouldn’t

work well for every company, it does

show that innovation too is a business

model that companies can look at for a

profitable future.


PHOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay

Modern amenities and infrastructure allow the facility to satisfy global quality expectations

FIEM supplies 100 % lamps to Honda scooters The material transfer system is smart and economical

More on this article


The facility manufactures 80,000 lamps per day


NEW VEH ICLE AUDI Q5

The earlier Audi Q5 wasn’t outdated by any means and was selling well by segment standards. The second most

successful premium brand in the country today, however, wanted to strengthen its foothold in the segment by

bringing in an improved variant of the mid-size SUV. The new Q5 is what most of us look for – greener, leaner,

quicker and overall much better. Our detailed review lends an insight into the technologies that went through an

improvisation cycle.

NEW AUDI Q5 — PERFORMANCE ENHANCED


INTRODUCTION

Audi’s ‘Q’ series of SUVs has been a suc-

cess in India since its launch, owing to

the striking and voluminous looks, gen-

erous equipment levels and appreciable

performance and comfort. Through its

mid-life cycle, the Q5 was due for an

update in order to keep it competitive as

ever. The highlight about the facelift is

its 360° approach, which translates into

an improvement for all kinds of con-

sumer expectations. Although not many

major systems have been replaced,

almost everything has become more effi-

cient than in the older Q5. The major

change though comes in the form of

reworked engines, which offer more

power yet higher efficiency.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION – SUBTLE

& PLEASING

The new Q5’s design change is an evolu-

tion of the older one and hence it could

be hard to differentiate between the two

versions from a distance. Getting closer

to the vehicle though reveals some differ-

ences to the keen eye. The most obvious

one is the new headlamps and the LED

pattern. The grille, bumper and air dam

design too has been revised and helps

the new Q5 come across as a slightly

sharper vehicle.

The flatter roofline lends the Q5 with

a dynamic and more road-hugging look.

All changes maintain the dimensions of

the older Q5, while providing a better

and wider look from the front yet a

sharper view from the side. The frontal

area of 2.65 sq m results in a low drag

coefficient of 0.32. The result of this was

evident during our test and even at

speeds exceeding 150 km/h, wind whis-

tle was almost inaudible, translating into

a quiet cabin.

With the designers completing their

job, it was time for the material engineers

to pitch in and their contribution has

lightened the Q5 considerably. The hood

and tailgate are now made from alumin-

ium and the tailgate alone is lighter by 8.1

kg than a similar steel part. The engineers

used a variety of steel options in various

areas to lower weight while achieving

higher tensile strength. The body-in-white

consists of 9.1 % form-hardened steel, 3.3

% ultra-high-strength steel, 12.3 %

advanced high-strength grades, 44.5 %

high-strength steel and 30.8 % deep

drawn steel. The result of all this is an

appreciably low kerb weight of 1,680 kg

for the Q5 2.0 TDI.

POWERTRAIN – EVOLVING

EFFICIENCY

The engines options for India include two

diesels and one petrol option – a 2 l and 3

l TDI and the 2 l TFSI engine. Our test car

was equipped with the 2 l TDI unit, the

one that has continued to sell the most.

The unit develops 177 hp and a peak

torque of 380 Nm between 1,750 and

2,500 rpm. Audi claims a 15 % increase

in fuel-efficiency along with a considera-

ble increase in power. The engine now

features one of the best specific outputs in

its class at 88.5 hp/l.

As is the case with the TDI line-up, the

2 l engine features direct injection and

turbocharging. This configuration

increases overall efficiency and reduces

the size and weight of the engine. Varia-

ble turbochargers ensure the throttle

response is smooth and almost instanta-

neous throughout the rev band. The

engine does a good job of moving the

almost two-tonne SUV at a brisk pace.

During our test the 0-100 km/h accelera-

tion run was recorded in 9.4 s using a

handheld GPS device.

Power and efficiency is further helped

by the common rail system, which can

create a maximum pressure of 29,000 psi

or 2,000 bar. This high pressure leads to

better combustion of fuel, resulting in

higher power and lower emission. Com-

bined with multi-hole nozzles and piezo

injectors the 2 l TDI is one of the most

power-dense yet efficient engines in its

class. Our test included an equal split

between highway and city run during

which the Q5 delivered an indicated fuel-

efficiency of 11.8 km/l, while ARAI certi-

fied fuel-efficiency is 14.6 km/l. Given the

Panoramic roof lends a spacious feel to the cabin New LED design does away with the diagonal pattern

Combination of various grades of steel along with aluminium adds torsional rigidity while reducing weight


NEW VEH ICLE AUDI Q5

weight, segment and performance of the

vehicle, this is an appreciable number.

The vehicle also boasts of low carbon

emissions at 159 g/km in a combined

cycle. This has partly been made possible

due to the use of exhaust-gas recirculation

(EGR) and its implementation. In TDI

engines, the EGR redirects a significant

amount of exhaust gas to the cylinder,

leading to a lower concentration of oxy-

gen in the air-fuel mixture. These exhaust

gases then prevent chemical reactions

from taking place in the cylinders. The

result of both these changes is a reduction

in combustion temperature, which in turn

lowers the formation of nitrogen oxides

and overall emissions.

The engine is mated to Audi’s well-

known seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch

unit. The transmission responds well and

up-shifts are realised pretty quickly.

Downshifts are a tad slow in standard

mode but identifiable only when pushing

hard. One good thing is the ability to con-

figure various systems to suit the driver’s

requirement. One can programme the

engine and suspension to be in comfort

mode, yet have better performance from

the gearbox by putting it in dynamic

mode. A unique thing about the transmis-

sion is its integration into the engine’s

thermal management system. This signifi-

cantly shortens the warm-up phase and

saves energy.

NVH levels are appreciably low and

the cabin is pretty silent even at speeds of

150 km/h. The overall performance of the

reworked engine is significantly better. A

centrifugal pendulum in the dual-mass

flywheel significantly contributes to the

low-sound from the engine. Although the

changes in the reworked engine are not

massive, their effects are easy to notice.

People who’ve driven the Q5 earlier will

immediately notice these changes and

appreciate them. The Q5’s powertrain

emerged as a well-sorted all-rounder for

us, owing to the flexibility of TDI engines

to be reworked from mild to extensive lev-

els for various applications.

DYNAMICS

Audi’s ‘Q’ range of vehicles is well-known

for the ability to handle more like a car in

most cases. The Q5 continues on the

same line and reflects good dynamic

properties. Needless to say, the famed

Quattro works brilliantly in the Q5 as it

does on all other Audi vehicles. Body roll

is minimal and the plush ride quality

makes for comfortable seating even at

high speeds.

The differential’s location in front of

the clutch and torque converter also helps

overall stability. This placement allows for

the front axle to be pushed to a more for-

ward position, leading to a longer wheel-

base and better distribution of axle loads.

The addition of torque-vectoring in the

new Q5 adds considerably to the handling

of the vehicle and high-speed manoeuvres

are now easier to pull-off. In a nutshell,

the software monitors and determines

which wheel is about to lose grip. A frac-

tion of time before the slip occurs, the sys-

tem gently brakes the wheel in order to

maintain traction.

The retuned spring, damper and stabi-

lisers add further to the dynamic package

of the Q5. Even off-road, the Q5 handles

well and is able to tackle bad terrains

with ease. The off-roading capability is

testified by a ground clearance of 200 mm

and approach & departure angles of 25° .

A major and welcome improvement

comes in the form of a new electrome-

chanical power steering system, claimed

to lower fuel consumption by 0.3 l per 100

km. The steering is significantly better

than the older unit and now offers better

feedback at high speeds. With a gear ratio

of 15.9:1, the unit is pretty direct in

nature and offers good confidence when

driving fast.

The Q5 was already a dynamically

sound vehicle and with the updates it has

A diagramatic explanation of the S tronic's working in the 1st and 2nd gear

The rear three quarter view resembles other models from the 'Q' family


now got even better. It delivers the com-

fort and supple ride quality of a car cou-

pled with the off-roading benefits and

space advantage of an SUV.

INTERIORS & SAFETY

The interiors of the Q5 feature subtle

touches aimed at enhancing the opulence

of the cabin. The new interior colour

schemes help add a fresh feel to the cabin

in this mid-cycle update. The centre con-

sole is slightly angled towards the driver,

translating into a wraparound effect and

better ergonomics. The instrument nee-

dles and steering column stalks have been

redesigned and add in a small way to the

high-quality effect.

Front seats are well-cushioned and

offer good support all round and are per-

fectly suitable for long drives. Legroom at

the rear is good but the thigh support is

less than adequate and could be an issue

for tall people during long journeys. A

compensating factor here is the rear seat

rest angle, which can be set between 24°

and 30°. The flexible seating is something

owners will greatly appreciate as one can

use various seat settings to accommodate

things ranging from mountain bikes to

large cases.

The MMI Navigation plus unit is the

top-of-the-line infotainment system for the

Q5 and features a DVD drive and 60 GB of

hard drive in addition to the usual con-

nectivity features. Display is taken care by

a seven-inch screen with a resolution of

800 x 480 pixels. One also has the option

to play music from the phone via a Blue-

tooth connection, saving time and mem-

ory space.

SAFETY

Like any other premium carmaker, Audi

has ensured safety levels at par with

global competition and technology availa-

bility. The Q5 comes loaded with a wide

array of safety technologies including air-

bags all round, ABS with EBD, ASR and

ESC. A notable technology here is the

Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), which

adds proper off-roading credentials to the

Q5’s resume. The system can operate on

various surfaces and can automatically

brake the wheel on slippery surfaces. The

system can operate up to a maximum

speed of 100 km/h, thereby making the

Q5 capable of handling almost any ter-

rain. Another new inclusion is the assis-

tance system, which can detect a lapse in

the concentration of the driver and sug-

gest a break.

OUTLOOK

The Q5 is a well-sorted vehicle with sig-

nificant multi-tasking abilities. The mid-

cycle update has now added a fair bit of

zing to the new Q5 as well, and it’s a bet-

ter performer in almost all areas. At this

time one needs to consider Audi’s scala-

ble and flexible platforms, which are

exactly in line with its parent Volkswa-

gen’s global strategy. A fair bit of Audi’s

products are in mid-cycle stages and this

is where Audi’s flexible platforms are con-

tributing significantly. The electromechan-

ical steering seen in the Q5 for example,

was launched earlier in the refreshed A4.

Similarly, Audi has a bouquet of scalable

technologies, which it can easily modify

for a specific application and lend a func-

tionally useful update to the consumer

rather than a visual one.

The pricing is competitive and given

the vast number of technologies one gets

access to, the Q5 returns good value for

its sticker price, starting at ` 43.16 lakh,

ex-showroom, New Delhi.


PHOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay / Audi

Changes in the cabin are subtle and not won't make their presence felt in the first go

MMI Navigation Plus comes with a 60 GB hard drive

All controls in the cabin are ergonomically designed




DECOD ING TECHNOLOGY

Our mobilised generation is presently

undergoing a shift in lifestyle, partly due

to the effects of technology. Vehicles of

all forms have become an integral part of

our lives globally and this trend is only

expected to grow in the coming years.

The most crucial effect of this on our

lifestyle is the increasing time we spend

in our vehicles. The need of the hour is

to find a way to effectively utilise this

time as businesses, personal and social

aspects become increasingly virtual.

A solution to these requirements

came in the form of ‘Telematics’, which

in simple words is a combination of tel-

ecommunication and wireless informa-

tion technologies such as GPS. The con-

nection is established via a device

paired with the on-board diagnostics of

a vehicle, which collects and transmits

information to and from various infor-

mation sources. Telematics can be used

for multiple purposes including vehicle

tracking, connectivity and safety among

many others.

Globally, many companies have done

extensive work on the technology and

have helped it grow quickly in a short

span of time. Indian companies too

have joined the bandwagon as smart

phone sales and traffic continues to

grow at a spiraling rate. Mahindra Tele-

matics and Mahindra Engineering have

jointly developed a telematics service.

This service can offer navigation, info-

tainment, remote diagnostics and fleet

management. The XUV 500 is a good

platform to see some of these technolo-

gies working well.

Hyundai’s Blue Link Telematics Plat-

form is another such service, which has

found good traction among consumers.

The platform offers voice recognition

system for performing POI search in

addition to all the above mentioned ser-

vices. The service also offers safety fea-

tures such as carsh notification and

assistance and roadside assistance. Barry

Ratzlaff, Director, Customer Satisfaction

& Service Business Development, Hyun-

dai Motor America said the offering com-

bines safety, service and infotainment

into a complete

package that works

to both help simplify

Hyundai owners’

lives and reduce dis-

tracted driving.

“We’ve carefully

studied how drivers

rely on smart phones

and navigation sys-

tems as an innova-

tive link to the out-

side world. Blue Link

brings that seamless

connectivity directly

into the car with

technology like voice

text messaging, POI

web search down-

load, and monthly

vehicle reporting.”

A new product in

the MirrorLink driv-

ing project by the Car Connectivity Con-

sortium is the Drive Link smart phone

application by Samsung. The application

has been approved by the Japanese

Automotive Manufacturers Association.

The app allows the user to access impor-

tant phone features through voice com-

mands, while driving. The app can even

read out messages, emails and social

media updates aloud, if specified. Mir-

rorLink connectivity enables the phone

to feed the information to a compatible

in-car screen or speakers. One can also

control the phone using the controls on

the steering wheel through this app.

While the technology seems a perfect

fit for fulfilling future connectivity

requirements, there is another school of

a slightly different thought. A panel at

the JD Power International Automotive

Roundtable in Orlando, Florida stated

that telematics are at a risk of becoming

too complicated and distracting for driv-

ers. A key problem in this scenario is the

difference in development cycle of smart

phones and cars, which is poles apart at

the least. Smart phones are usually

developed in less than a year in present

circumstances as consumers tend to

change them every year. Cars on the

other hand are retained from anywhere

between five years to more than a dec-

ade. A negative effect of this varied

development cycle is that telematics plat-

forms become outdated way before that

of a vehicle.

The panel acknowledged the opportu-

nity available in the form of the time

people spend in the car. However, they

made it clear that people still don’t have

clear expectations from their vehicle tele-

matics. It’s up to the OEMs to draw a

line else the systems might become so

complex that people at some time might

stop using it altogether.

The future of telematics offers great

opportunity but demands even greater

introspection into the development path.

The technology definitely requires car-

makers to work in close coordination

with smart phone developers. More

importantly, it requires for development

of systems and interfaces that are an

extension of smartphone features along

with other safety and convenience fea-

tures. This will have to be the case since

parallel development cycles will only be

a detriment rather than a solution for

either of the industries.

TELEMATICS: SIMPLICITY TO DRIVE ADOPTION

These are coiled helical springs made from spring steel wire, that can resistcompressive load.1. Suspension Springs - Front Fork & Shock Absorber2. Engine Valve Springs3. Clutch Springs4. Rebound Springs

Compression SpringsStatic and Dynamic

Extension SpringsThese are normally closecoil springs of circularcross sections, with theend usually a hook orloop, used in computers,brakes, etc.

Torsion SpringsThese resist an appliedtorque when the ends are subjected to angulardisplacement, used intransmission, etc.

Wire FormsThese are made on forming machines, in different shapes, adaptable to requiredapplications.

Complete solutions in precisionmetallic coil springsComplete solutions in precisionmetallic coil springs

Seat Belt Springs

Used for operationof Seat Belts of

4-Wheelers, made outof textured rolled

hardened and tempered high carbon steel

strips in various sizes.

A to Z product range as per Customer’s designs,applications, sizesand Internationalsstandards

INS

TT

TU

E

TECHNOLOGYING

of SPR

E-56, Industrial Area, Haridwar-249 401Uttarakhand, IndiaTel.: +91-1334-221301 Fax: +91-1334-220128E-mail : [email protected] [email protected] E-mail:

Manufacturing Unit-IIRegd. Office & WorksPlot No. 192 A, Sector-4,IMT Manesar-122050 Gurgaon, Haryana, IndiaTel.: +91-124-4763200 Fax: +91-124-4365189

ISO 9001

AUTO TECH REVIEW | SPRINGER INDIA PVT. LTD., 7th Floor, Vijaya Building, 17 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi – 110001. Ph: +91 11 45755888 | Fax: +91 11 45755889 Advertising: [email protected] | Editorial: [email protected] | Subscriptions: [email protected] us at: www.autotechreview.com

EACH

It’s on



POWERED BY




GASOLINE ENGINES —INNOVATIVE NEW PLATFORMS


It’s on



POWERED BY




FEB

RU

AR

Y 20

13

WW

W.AUTOTECHREVIEW

.COMVOLUM

E 2 | ISSUE 2

GASOLINE ENGINES —INNOVATIVE NEW SOLUTIONS

SPEAK, READ, WRITE

TECHNOLOGY

AUTO TECH REVIEW | SPRINGER INDIA PVT. LTD., 7th Floor, Vijaya Building, 17 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi – 110001. Ph: +91 11 45755888 | Fax: +91 11 45755889Advertising: [email protected] | Editorial: [email protected] | Subscriptions: [email protected] us at: www.autotechreview.com

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

EXPERTS OPINION

NEW TECHNOLOGY REVIEW IN-DEPTH RESEARCH

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

EXPERTS OPINION

NEW TECHNOLOGY REVIEW IN-DEPTH RESEARCH

RNI NO.: APPLIED FORISSN 2250-3390


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