Automotive Science and Engineering

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This article presents a phased array antenna employing MEMS phase shifter. The proposed phased array antenna consists of eight square patch antennas operating at 10.4 GHz with a bandwidth of 400 MHz. Feed line for each patch passes through a MEMS phase shifter realized by a series of bridges above the transmission line. The distance between the bridge and the transmission line underneath it is adjusted using a control signal applied to them, which in turn, introduces a loading effect on the feed signal. This changes the effective length of the feed line and provides phase shifts with 15-degree resolution. Low loss conversion units are employed in order to couple the phase shifter and microstrip lines. The integrated numerical analysis approach applied to phased array antenna employing MEMS phase shifter and the scattering parameters and radiation patterns at different steering angles demonstrate the effectiveness of employing MEMS phase shifters in designing phased array antennas. The proposed design methodology might be applied to other frequency bands, such as millimeter-wave for automotive applications. Employment of MEMS phase shifters instead of solid-state ones provides high linearity, high power handling, and wide frequency range of operation.

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This paper investigates the effect of temperature on a hybrid energy storage system with various energy management systems. The hybrid energy storage system consists of a fuel cell, ultracapacitor and battery with associated DC/DC and DC/AC converters. The energy management strategies employed are the state machine control strategy, fuzzy frequency/logic decoupling strategy, minimization strategy of equivalent consumption (ECMS) and external energy maximization strategy (EEMS). Initially, a module of 3.3v 2.3Ah LiPo4 batteries consisting of 15 cells in series and 15 rows in parallel are studied without considering the temperature effect. In the next step, the studies are repeated considering the temperature variation effects. The current and SOC associated with the battery, the hydrogen consumption, and battery life are studied for each strategy. The results suggest that the errors associated with the battery life estimation, as well as the battery current are significant with and without considering the temperature effects with the values of 30% and 20%, respectively.

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As alternatives for future refrigeration, heat pumping, air conditioning, or even power generation plants are emerging due to the regulatory changes, R744 (carbon dioxide) is considered as a serious alternative to be the successor of other Halogenated Hydrocarbons Refrigerants (HHR) for the AC-system of vehicles. This paper investigates the heat transfer performance of R744 through a subcritical vehicular condenser, designed and manufactured for the first product based on NP01 platform (Iranian vehicle), at different operating conditions in terms of refrigerant mass flow rate and wind velocity. The experiments carried out in order to investigate the effect of mass flow rate, the R744 inlet temperature was observed to have sudden fluctuations. At the condenser outlet, for the smallest mass flow rate, the least variation of temperature was observed. It was also found out that for higher air velocities through the condenser, the stabilized temperature after the condenser was lower. The results show that the performance of the designed and manufactured automotive condenser based on R744 refrigerant is acceptable which makes it a suitable candidate for automotive applications.
As alternatives for future refrigeration, heat pumping, air conditioning, or even power generation plants are emerging due to the regulatory changes, R744 (carbon dioxide) is considered as a serious alternative to be the successor of other Halogenated Hydrocarbons Refrigerants (HHR) for the AC-system of vehicles. This paper investigates the heat transfer performance of R744 through a subcritical vehicular condenser, designed and manufactured for the first product based on NP01 platform (Iranian vehicle), at different operating conditions in terms of refrigerant mass flow rate and wind velocity. The experiments carried out in order to investigate the effect of mass flow rate, the R744 inlet temperature was observed to have sudden fluctuations. At the condenser outlet, for the smallest mass flow rate, the least variation of temperature was observed. It was also found out that for higher air velocities through the condenser, the stabilized temperature after the condenser was lower. The results show that the performance of the designed and manufactured automotive condenser based on R744 refrigerant is acceptable which makes it a suitable candidate for automotive applications.