The automotive electronic control unit outputs control signals using electrical signals of various input sensors installed in the vehicle to control the state of the engine, automatic transmission, and electric power steering (EPS). These units are installed inside the vehicle or engine room, and the temperature rises and falls by several tens of degrees due to the heat of the engine and the self-heating of the electronic control unit. Therefore, it was exposed to a thermal fatigue environment due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the components, which caused frequent component damage. Solder cracks due to thermal fatigue in electronic control units are a key failure mode. However, because of its great heat capacity, the electronic control unit for automobiles took a long time to attain the desired temperature of high or low, and as a result, the 1,000-cycle test for thermal fatigue life verification required 3,167 hours (or 4.4 months). Therefore, in this study, the thermal shock cycle test time for the verification of the thermal fatigue life of electronic control units for automobiles was reduced by dividing it into two types.

Commercial air-conditioning systems are widely used for buildings of various sizes. Design and installation of these systems follow a certain guideline developed by the manufacturer. The guideline also includes the adequate amount of refrigerant to be charged into the system. However, the guideline is often insufficient to reflect all the characteristics of installation, which results in too little or too much refrigerant. Inadequate amount of refrigerant usually causes more power consumption and reduced air-conditioning / heating capacity. This paper focuses on identifying the relationship between adequate refrigerant amount and various state variables such as condensation temperature of the air-conditioning system. This is based on regression analysis of data obtained through the experiments under controlled temperature and humidity.

In this study, the design optimization of the automotive side member is performed to maximize the crash energy absorption efficiency per unit weight. Design parameters which seriously influence on the frontal crash performance are selected through the sensitivity analysis using the Plackett-Burman design method. And also the design variables, which are determined from the sensitivity analysis, are optimized by two methods. One is conventional approximate optimization method which uses the statistical design of experiments (DOE) and response surface method (RSM). The other is a methodology derived from previous work by the authors, which is called sequential design of experiments (SDOE), to reduce a trial and error procedure and to find an appropriate condition for using micro-genetic algorithm. The proposed optimization technique shows that the automotive side member structure can be designed considering the frontal crash performance.

Optimal mount position of a front pillar trim considering heat resistant characteristics can be determined by two methods. One is conventional approximate optimization method which uses the statistical design of experiments (DOE) and response surface method (RSM). Generally, approximated optimum results are obtained through the iterative process by a trial and error. The quality of results depends seriously on the factors and levels assigned by a designer. The other is a methodology derived from previous work by the authors, which is called sequential design of experiments (SDOE), to reduce a trial and error procedure and to find an appropriate condition for using artificial neural network (ANN) systematically. An appropriate condition is determined from the iterative process based on the analysis of means. With this new technique and ANN, it is possible to find an optimum design accurately and efficiently.

Thermal displacement of high speed spindle is very important problem to be solved. To solve heat generation and thermal displacement problems that influence on the product accuracy, it is very important to predict thermal characteristics of the spindle and it is positively necessary to select the conditions of cooling, flow rate and preload of bearings. In this paper, 30,000rpm(1.455×10?DmN) spindle was designed and produced. The analysis of thermal deformation for heat generation of inner spindle was carried out using commercial program ANSYS^® and the result was compared with measured data using LabVIEW^® and SCXI-1600, 1125 and 1126 module. Temperature distribution and thermal displacement according to spindle speed are measured. Using this method, it is possible to predict and to improve thermal characteristic of high speed spindle by control spindle speed, bearing preload and cooling rate.

In terms of saving costs, energy and materials, the weight of cars has been gradually reduced by optimizing design of structure, which also gives us good performance. In compliance with this, it should satisfy the lifetime of cars for 25 years under the operation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the strength of fatigue using date from strain gauges attached carbody and bogie frame. This dynamic stress can be evaluated using S-N curve based on stress amplitude. Modified S-N curve by CORTON-DOLAN is used for more conservative and substantial evaluation. In addition, the loadings itself of carbody and bogie frame are considered by calculating the rate of the differences which are occurred between empty car and fully occupied car with passengers. Rainflow cycle counting method is applied to arrange the stress data for the modified S-N curve to predict lifetime of the materials. Conclusively the cumulative damages are not only calculated by Miner's Rule, but the safety factors are also determined by Goodman diagram.