Automotive Electronics

Subject Code: 15ME751

Sukanya R
Department of Mechanical engineering
PESIT-BSC
 Books
1. William B. Ribbens, “Understanding
Automotive Electronics”, 6th Edition, Elsevier
Publishing.
2. Robert Bosch Gmbh (Ed.) Bosch Automotive
Electrics and Automotive Electronics Systems
and Components, Networking and Hybrid
Drive, 5th edition, John Wiley& Sons Inc.,
2007.
 Module 1

1. Automotive fundamentals overview

2. The Basics of Electronic Engine Control

 Introduction
• Electronic systems used in vehicles – Name few
• Engine management, ignition system, charging system,
entertainment system, transmission control system,
suspension, brakes, power steering
• Non-critical applications: Driver infotainment, comfort system
• Critical applications: Engine control, safety system
Introduction
Introduction
 Automotive Fundamentals
Overview
1. Evolution of automotive electronics
2. Automobile physical configuration
3. Engine
4. Engine control
5. Ignition system
6. Ignition timing
7. Diesel engine
8. Drivetrain
9. Suspension
10. Brakes
11. Steering system
12. Starter battery
Evolution of automotive electronics
• Slowly introduced – Added cost versus
benefits
• Very little use of electronics till 1970s
• Radios and turn signal models
• Relative cost/benefit of electronic subsystems
improved
Evolution of automotive electronics
1970s
 Government regulations – exhaust emissions
and fuel economy
 Low cost per function solid-state digital
electronics
Evolution of automotive electronics
Potential applications:
1. Electronic engine control for minimizing exhaust
emissions and maximizing fuel economy
2. Instrumentation for measuring vehicle performance
parameters and for diagnosis of on-board system
malfunctions
3 .Driveline control
4. Vehicle motion control
5. Safety and convenience
6. Entertainment/communication/navigation
 Automobile physical configuration
• Automotive systems consist:
1. Engine
2. Drive train (transmission, differential, axle)
3. Suspension
4. Steering
5. Brakes
6. Instrumentation
7.Electrical/electronic
8. Motion control
9. Safety
10. Comfort/convenience
11. Entertainment/communication/navigation
Automobile physical configuration
 Automobile physical configuration
• FWD
• RWD
• RWD – Advantages and disadvantages
• FWD – Advantages and disadvantages
 Engine

• Power for moving automobile

• SI engine and CI engine
 Engine
The major components of the engine:
– Engine Block
– Cylinder
– Crankshaft
– Pistons
– Connecting Rods
– Camshaft
– Cylinder Head
– Valves
– Fuel Control Systems
– Ignition System
– Exhaust System
– Cooling system
– Electrical System
 Engine
Engine Block
• Mechanical power through combustion
of gasoline in cylinders in engine block
• Cylinders cast
• Pistons, piston rings, connecting rod,
crankshaft
• The crankshaft converts the up and
down motion of the piston to the rotary
motion and the torque needed to drive
the wheels
 Engine
Cylinder Head
• Intake and Exhaust valve for each
cylinder
• Head seals top of the cylinder
• Piston rings seal bottom of the
cylinder
• Camshaft rotates at exactly half the
speed of crankshaft
• The lobe on the cam forces the
pushrod upward against one end of
the rocker arm.
• The other end of the rocker arm
moves downward and forces the
valve open
 Engine
4 stroke cycle
 Consider one cylinder
 One cycle – 2 rotations of crank shaft
 Piston reciprocates, crankshaft rotates
 4 strokes of piston
 2 valves for each cylinder (Name them)
 Engine
4 stroke cycle

 INTAKE
 COMPRESSION
 POWER
 EXHAUST
Engine
Engine
Engine
Engine
Engine
 Engine
4 STROKE CYCLE
Intake – IV open, TDC to BDC, Draws air fuel
mixture
Compression – BDC to TDC, Spark at TDC
Power – TDC to BDC, Usable power due to
burning air fuel mixture
Exhaust – EV open, BDC to TDC, Burned gases
through exhaust port
 Engine
Multiple cylinders, Continual power production
 Engine control

Regulate power

Accelerator pedal

Throttle plate setting

Rotary valve controls air flow

 Engine control
• Throttle plate
• Accelerator pedal
Air flow
rate
• Proportional to air flow
• Fuel injectors by ECU
Fuel flow • Carburetor (mechanical control)
rate
 Engine control
Air filter Fuel Injector
Carburetor
Intake valve
Throttle plate
Intake Manifold Distributor
Piston

Mixture of air
and fuel is compressed
before ignition
 Ignition system
• System to ignite air-fuel mixture at the right
instant
• Electric spark produced across gap between a
pair of electrodes of a spark plug
• Spark – millisecond
• Spark ignition using highly efficient pulse
transformer
 Ignition system
COMPONENTS:
1. Spark plug
2. Pulse transformers
3. Timing control circuitry
4. Distribution apparatus
 Ignition system
SPARK PLUG:
 High voltage pulse – 20kV to 40kV between
center electrode and ground electrode
 Size of gap, CR, A/F ratio
 Pair of electrodes – Center and ground electrodes
 Center electrode – Insulated
 Ground electrode – Metal shell screwed into
cylinder head
 Gap – 0.6mm, 1mm
Ignition system – SPARK PLUG
SPARK PLUG CONFIGURATION
 Ignition system
High-Voltage Circuit and Distribution:
• Ignition system : High-voltage pulse initiates the
arc
• The high-voltage pulse is generated by inductive
discharge of a special high-voltage transformer
commonly called an ignition coil
• Distribution of high voltage pulses : A rotary
switch called the distributor
• Spark plug wires connect spark plug center
terminals and the individual terminals in the
distributor cap
Ignition system circuit
Ignition system
Distributor is a device in
the ignition system of
an internal combustion
engine that routes high
voltage from the ignition
coil to the spark plugs in
the correct firing order.
 Ignition system
Spark pulse generation:
Breaker points closed - Current
flows in Primary coil

Breaker points open – Magnetic

field collapses in primary coil

High voltage pulse induction in

secondary coil

Pulse routed through distributor

to spark plug
Ignition system
Ignition system

PRIMARY CURRENT WAVEFORM

 Ignition timing
 The point at which ignition occurs, in relation
to TDC of piston’s compression stroke is
known as ignition timing.
 8-10˚ BTDC in SI engines
 Affects engine performance and emissions
Speed dependent spark advance – Centrifugal
Spark advance
Function of intake manifold pressure–
Vacuum-operated Spark advance
 Ignition timing
CENTRIFUGAL SPARK ADVANCE
Engine speed ↑
Distributor shaft rotation↑

Weights thrown outward

Distributor cam moves forward

Advances time when cam opens

breaker points
 Ignition timing
VACUUM SPARK ADVANCE
Diaphragm
One side – manifold, other side – atm pressure

Throttle nearly closed – Low manifold

pressure

Diaphragm deflects

Moves breaker point plate to advance

timing
 Ignition timing
 To be controlled precisely
 Digital electronics
 Function of engine operating conditions
 Electronic Control Unit (ECU)
 Optimized engine performance compared to
distributor
 Diesel engine
• Identical to gasoline engine physically
• Fuel injection system injects fuel directly into
cylinder or intake port during intake stroke
• Emissions influenced by fuel injection timing
• Wankel, 2 stroke engine, Electric motors,
Hybrid cars, Fuel cells
Hybrid engine
 Drivetrain
The engine drive train system of the automobile consists of
the engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential and driven
wheels.

Transmission
• The transmission provides a match between engine speed
and vehicle speed.
• The transmission is a gear system that adjusts the ratio of
engine speed to wheel speed with a manual transmission,
the driver selects the correct gear ratio from a set of possible
gear ratios
• An automatic transmission selects this gear ratio by means
of an automatic control system
 Drivetrain
Transmission
• Automatic transmission consists of a fluid coupling
mechanism( torque converter), system of planetary gear
sets.
• The torque converter is formed from a pair of structures of
a semitoroidal shape
 One toroid (PUMP) - engine by the input shaft.
 Other (TURBINE) - close proximity, to planetary gear
system
• Both the pump and the turbine have vanes that are
essentially in axial planes
• In addition, a series of vanes are fixed to the frame and are
called the reactor.
Drivetrain
 Drivetrain
Transmission
Set of three types of gears
• SUN GEAR – Inner gear
• PLANETARY GEARS - Gears meshed with the
sun gear at equal angles
• These gears are tied together with a cage
• RING GEAR - Section of a cylinder with the
gear teeth on the inside.
• The ring gear meshes with the planetary gears
Drivetrain
 Drivetrain
DRIVE SHAFT
 Front engine, RWD
 Transmission output shaft to differential input
shaft
 Universal joints – Rear axle
housing/transmission (RWD)
 CV joints – Drive shafts/transmission, Drive
shafts/drive wheels (FWD)
 Drivetrain
DIFFERENTIAL
 Right angle transfer of rotary motion of drive
shaft to wheels
 Allow each driven wheel to rotate at different
speeds
 Torque increase by the gear ratio
 Transaxle assembly – Transmission,
differential and drive shafts (FWD)
Drivetrain
 Suspension
 Mechanical assembly that connects wheel to
car body
 Isolate car body from the vertical motion of
wheels
 Weight of car supported by springs
 Shock absorbers – Viscous damping device
 Sprung mass, Unsprung mass
 Higher spring rate – Front or rear?
Suspension
 Suspension
SHOCK ABSORBERS
 Cylinder, piston, oil
 Cylinder filled with oil
 Wheel up or down, similar movement of piston
 Damping force proportional to piston velocity
 Valves in piston
 Magnitude of damping force inverse to aperture
of oil passages
Suspension
 Brakes
• Responsible for slowing and stopping vehicle
• Drum and disc brakes
DISC BRAKES
 Flat disk attached to wheel
 Caliper connected to axle assembly
 Pistons mounted on caliper assembly
 Brake pedal → Hydraulic pressure forces brake
pads against disc
 Braking force – Friction between disk and pads
 Electronic control - ABS
Brakes
Brakes
 Steering system
• Rotating plane of front wheels in the desired
direction of turn
• Steering angle – Angle b/w front wheel plane
and longitudinal axis of car, proportional to the
rotation angle of the steering wheel
• Restoring torque – Returns wheels parallel to
vehicle longitudinal axis, proportional to
vehicle weight for any given steering angle
Steering system
Steering system
Steering system
 Steering system

Power steering
• Engine driven hydraulic pump, hydraulic actuator
and control valve
• High Pr fluid pushes piston → steering linkage
• Hydraulic force – STEERING BOOST
Steering system
Benz Patent Motorwagen 1885
 Starter battery
• The starter battery is an electrochemical
storage facility for the excess electrical
energy that is generated by the alternator
while the engine is running.
• Stored energy needed when required energy
during vehicle operation > energy generated by
alternator.
• Battery energy – electrical consumers when
engine is stopped, STARTING engine
 Starter battery
Power requirement of electrical system:
• Engine, alternator stationary : 10-50 mA
• Idle speed/ slow drive : 20-70A
• Engine starting : 300A for 0.3-3 s

Lead acid storage battery:

• Passenger cars – 12 V
• Commercial vehicles – 24V
 Starter battery
OPERATING PRINCIPLE:
• Electrochemical process in lead cell
• Metal electrode, electrolyte
• Metal ions released into electrolyte
• Electrons left in electrode has electrical potential
• Equilibrium between release and deposit of ions
• Different electrodes, different potential
• Cell voltage: Difference between potential
 Starter battery
Charged lead cell
• +ve electrode – Lead oxide
• -ve electrode – Pure lead
• Electrolyte – High density sulphuric acid
• Lead sulphate to lead dioxide @ +ve electrode
• Lead sulphate to lead @ -ve electrode
• Electrolyte density remains constant (1.28
kg/l)
 Starter battery
Discharged lead cell
• +ve electrode – Lead sulphate
• -ve electrode – Lead sulphate
• Electrolyte – Low density sulphuric acid
• Lead dioxide to lead sulphate @ +ve electrode
• Lead to lead sulphate @ -ve electrode
• Electrolyte density remains constant (1.12
kg/l)
 Starter battery
Gassing:
If charging continues after the battery has been
fully charged, only electrolytic water
decomposition takes place.
 O2 @ +ve plate and H2 @ -ve plate
Impact of engine speed:
 Short distance driving: -ve effect on charge
balance
 Longer distance driving: Battery current high