VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEER
Four Days of Formula
MONASH MAKES IT 2-ALL AT 20TH FORMULA SAE-A IR4: How to teach an old robot new tricks VACC: VACC launch intiative for women in auto LEAP and ANSYS: Ground breaking tech at your fingertips Tech Talk: Motorcycle rear end collisions
December 2019 Issue 22 Representing mobility engineers since 1927 www.saea.com.au
VTE | Contents
Contents
DECEMBER 2019
VACC’s Women in Automotive
Special Features
6
14 FSAE-A – Much more than just a track competition 20 IR4 - Can you teach a old robot new tricks? 24
LEAP and ANSYS - into ground breaking technologies
VTE News 7
General News
8
Automotive News
9
Truck & Bus News
10
Aero News
11
Defence News
12
Overseas News
Supashock expands into the US
12
Four days of Formula
14
Society News 4
Notes from the Chair - Welcome from Adrian Feeney
5
SAE News
6
SAE Events
Can you teach an old robot new tricks?
20
LEAP - into ground breaking technologies
24
VTE Technical 26
Rider Stature Influence to Injury Risk in Motorcycle Rear Impact to Car
On the Cover Formula SAE-A at Winton Raceway 5-8 December. Photo by Karl Phillipson.
About the SAE-A SAE-A was founded in 1927 to address the need for further education for all facets surrounding Automotive Engineering, and now encompasses all mobility engineering industries in the Australasian region. The SAE-A is a non-profit organisation that works to serve the needs of its members and to promote the relevance of mobility related technologies to governments, industry and the community in general.
The editor, publisher, printer, the Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A) and their employees, directors, servants, agents and associated or related entities (Publishing Entities) are not responsible for the accuracy or correctness of the text, pictures or other material comprising the contributions and advertisements contained in this publication or for the consequences of any use made of the products, services and other information referred to in this publication. The Publishing Entities expressly disclaim all liability of whatsoever nature for any consequences arising from the use or reliance on material contained in this publication whether caused to a reader of this publication or otherwise. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publishing Entities. The responsibility for the accuracy or correctness of information and other material is that of the individual contributors and the Publishing Entities do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or correctness of information or other material supplied by others. To the extent permissible by law, the Publishing Entities exclude all liability pursuant to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) or other applicable laws arising from statute or common law. Readers should make their own inquiries prior to the use of, or reliance on, any information or other material contained in this publication, and where necessary seek professional advice. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without the written permission of SAE-A is strictly prohibited.
www.saea.com.au
VTE | 3
Introduction | Secretary, CEO and Chairman Society of Automotive Engineers
VTE Published By:
Adrian Feeney
ABN: 95 004 248 604
Secretary, CEO and Chairman Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia
Society of Automotive Engineers - Australasia
Address: PO Box 103, Werribee Vic 3030 Phone: 0403 267 166 Email: info@sae-a.com.au Web: www.saea.com.au
Board of Directors: Chairman CEO & Secretary Adrian Feeney Board:
Kin Cheong Greg Shoemark Kate Cousins
Michael Waghorne Peter Dale Noelle Parlier
Membership & Subscriptions Rose De Amicis Email: rose@sae-a.com.au Events Nadine Lawrence Email: events@sae-a.com.au
Magazine Production: Editor Mandy Parry-Jones Trading Terms Media Email: mandypj@optusnet.com.au Mobile: 0409 806 986
Dear member, Welcome to the final edition of our magazine, Vehicle Technology Engineer, for 2019. This is indeed a special time of the year when we can all spend quality time with family and friends and of course some quiet time to reflect. This is certainly the case for our hardworking staff and board as it has been a year of consolidation and growth. It is also a time to recharge the batteries and prepare for another big year in 2020 as it will no doubt be for all of us. Here at SAE-A national office, we too are looking forward to putting our feet up and reflecting on another amazing year. Thank you to all our loyal members, your support is very much appreciated for without that our job would not be as effective as it needs to be. As I write to you another Formula SAE event will be run and won and we certainly enjoy hosting this our flagship event. This year we had 34 registrations with internal combustion and electric powered vehicles split exactly down the middle;17 vehicles for each category. With the assistance of two Australian teams, we have been able to demonstrate current technology in autonomous vehicles, which is something all companies are starting to embrace and seeking answers.
Nadine Lawrence joined our staff in September this year as our event manager. Kate Cousins from Holden and Noelle Parlier from PACCAR have joined the board, taking our board numbers to seven. But more importantly the board, which was elected in May this year come from diverse sectors of our industry and they all bring a level of enthusiasm to drive our Society back into prominence The board is about to hold its final meeting for the year, where there will be a heavy focus on planning for 2020 and beyond. We can announce that SAE-A has engaged a research organisation, Kin8, to run a thorough and professional deep dive into member services. So, when we issue the resulting survey, please take the time to complete it so we can better understand and implement what you expect from your Society. We can also announce that SAE-A will be hosting a technical conference sometime in 2021 with the theme built around autonomous vehicles, so watch this space for more details. Again, thanks to each one of you for your support, have an amazing time over Christmas and New Year and I look forward to more engagement with you in the coming months.
FSAE-A Sponsors
Design Brigid Fraser Email: fraseram@optusnet.com.au Mobile: 0413 009 122
Event Sponsors
Advertising Jill Johnson Jill Johnson Media Email: jj@jilljohnsonmedia.com.au Mobile: 0409 217 624
VTE Industry Partner: Excellerate Australia
4 | December 2019
Event Partners
Supporters
SAE | News
SAE-A Board of Management & Staff Adrian Feeney – CEO, Secretary & Chair Michael Waghorne
Greg Shoemark
Peter Dale
Kin Cheong
Kate Cousins
Noelle Parlier
APV hosted a tour of their facilities in September in Campbellfield which was attended by 50 engineers, next on the agenda was a seminar on vehicle modifications which was held in October.
Two new members have been elected to the board of management of the SAE-A, both with vehicle engineering backgrounds but one in automotive with Holden and the other with truck manufacturer PACCAR.
Noelle Parlier Noelle Parlier is chief engineer at PACCAR Australia, the company locally designs and manufactures Kenworth and DAF trucks. Originally from the United States, Ms Parlier earned her undergraduate degree – Bachelor of Science, from Seattle University and her MBA from Eastern New Mexico University.
Noelle Parlier
APV & Vehicle Modification events
Kate Cousins
Ms Parlier is a US patent holder, a licensed professional engineer, and holds a multi-combination driver’s license.
Peter Dale
Ms Parlier has been with PACCAR for 14 years and has worked in many areas of truck design, including reliability engineering, validation, program management and as assistant chief engineer. She is very passionate about the trucking industry and its people.
Kate Cousins After completing her Bachelor of Engineering in Robotics and Mechatronics at Swinburne University, Ms Cousins joined Holden in its Engineering Graduate Program. Now, more than 13 years later she is the Active Safety and Automated Driving Lead Engineer. Ms Cousins’ role is to ensure that Holden’s ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) features are appropriate for Australian conditions as well as being involved in the development of global products. Ms Cousins has a keen interest in the future of mobility in Australia and has assisted in multiple government lead investigations into the readiness of Australia’s infrastructure for future mobility. She is also an advocate for attracting more female engineers into the automotive world and so is excited to have joined the SAE-A board and looks forward to working with the team.
STAFF & CONTRACTORS Rose De Amicis – Membership & Subscriptions Nadine Lawrence – Events Mandy Parry-Jones – Magazine & News Editor Brigid Fraser – Graphic Designer Jill Johnson – Advertising and Sponsorship
Nadine Lawrence Nadine Lawrence joined SAE Australasia to look after Rose De Amicis Nadine Lawrence events management. While Ms Lawrence’s role at the SAE-A focusses on event management, she has more than 20 years’ experience in marketing, communication and events and has worked with some of Australia’s leading organisations, designing and running employee and channel partner programs designed to drive performance improvement and increase loyalty. Her CV includes work with clients such as Optus, GlaxoSmithKline, Mazda and Dulux among others. “I’m excited to be a part of this industry during what I understand is a challenging, but also an exciting time with the development of electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, the increased focus on STEM in schools,” Ms Lawrence said. “I’m keen to learn about what this industry needs from the Society and how we can deliver value to our members. I’ll be looking to understand what topics and information is of interest to our members and then how we can go about delivering training and professional development events more widely around Australia, so that they are accessible to everyone. “I would like to hear from any members about what events or activities they would like to see included for the future.” www.saea.com.au
The SAE-A visit to APV-T was a part of a series of industry visits run by the SAE-A designed to help broaden the depth of knowledge and engagement of members in the Australasian automotive engineering sector. The SAE-A attendees were treated to a range of presentations and a tour of the APV-T Test Centre. Slow motion videos of car crashes, bus seat testing, wheelchair restraint testing and up-close encounters with a family of crash test dummies, and the associated acquisition equipment were combined with live demonstrations of airbag deployments, environmental testing and a 50km/h child seat dynamic test. The vehicle modification seminar was presented Bill Malkoutzis of Talk Torque Automotive who began his career at Ford with 13 years in vehicle engineering in Australia and the US. He then spent 13 years with PBR before establishing his current business as an engineering consultant. Topics covered at the seminar included: • Club M and SR registration requirements • Personal import vehicles changes now that the local manufacturing has ceased • Building your own trailer • Electric vehicle conversions • 4WD modifications • Individually Constructed Vehicles (ICVs) • Brakes, transmissions, engines. More information on upcoming events is at www.sae-a.com.au/events-and-training VTE | 5
SAE | News
VACC launches guide to attract, recruit and retain women in automotive The VACC’s Women in Automotive (WinA) held a launch event for its new guide on how to attract, recruit and retain women in the automotive industry. The event took place on 13 November at Melbourne’s World Trade Centre, with a number of speakers taking to the stage, including Jaala Pulford, Minister for Roads, Road Safety and TAC; Geoff Gwilym, VACC, CEO and Troy Roderick, director, strategic initiatives and insights, Male Champions of Change. Drawing on some of the themes within the guide, the speakers discussed how genderbalanced companies are more innovative, profitable and attractive places to work, understanding unconscious bias and how best to support women in the workplace. Introducing the guide, Dr Imogen Reid, manager of WinA and policy advisor at VACC, said it is time the automotive industry wakes up to the need to employ more women. “The low statistics of women working in the automotive industry have remained largely unchanged for over the last 20 years with the majority of women working in administration or sales roles,” she said. “With the changing nature of automotive and the proven benefits of more diverse work forces, the industry needs to be more inclusive in its approach towards recruitment and at the very least start to think about why this should matter to a business.” Speaking to VTE, Dr Reid said that the decision to create the guide came from industry demand. “We did a lot of work to try and understand what is holding businesses back from employing more women,” she says. “Even speaking with our own VACC members and my committee members, they say things like, ‘I’ve got one girl in sales and she’s amazing and I wish I could have more of her, but women don’t apply for the roles or they don’t stay’.
“So we responded to that by putting together this document that is very easy to follow, it explains why you should worry about it, but then it steps you through very comprehensively and very simply, how you can put this into action.” The 44-page guide is divided into nine chapters and each chapter steps businesses through a different part of the process - from why businesses should care about raising female participation rates and what the gender imbalance means for the bottom line. It also takes a look at unconscious bias and its limiting effect on business and ways to minimise it as well as how to get more women to apply for advertised positions. One particular tip for removing conscious bias that Dr Reid says is already having a positive effect is to strip out distinguishing features on a resume such as name, sex, ethnicity and age. “Instead, we encourage businesses to use
competency based questions and those that shoot through to the end are the ones that are best for the job, whether they are male or female,” she says. “What we are seeing is that the numbers are totally changing from the case studies that we have looked at just through that process”. Ultimately, Dr Reid says she hopes the guide will “change hearts and minds” in an industry that is steeped in tradition.. “We need to acknowledge that there are entrenched ways of doing things and it’s going to take time, but we are just chipping away at trying to inform decision makers broadly about why they should start to worry about this because if you don’t, you are going to get left behind,” she says. “Other industries are making incredible strides in this, particularly in the United States and Europe, and Australia is 20 years behind. It’s one of those examples that we just need to get on and do it”.
David Adams wins Motorsport Service Award Each year, Motorsport Australia (nee CAMS) awards people in motorsport to recognise those going above and beyond and highlighting the outstanding achievements across all disciplines and levels both as competitors and those who work tirelessly behind the scenes. One of our SAE-A members, David Adams, will be presented with the Motorsport Australia Service Award for 2019. The Service Award is awarded for diligent service to motor sport. 6 | December 2019
A nominee for the Service Award must be a member who has demonstrated diligent service to the sport by being involved in motor sport activities on a continual basis and by the display of a high level of dedication to the
sport over a long period of time. The 2019 Motorsport Australia Awards will be presented by Burson Auto Parts on Saturday 29 February, 2020 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.
General | News
Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials launched The Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials (SEAM) has been launched at Swinburne. It is the largest manufacturing research and development centre of its kind in Australia.
NSW prepares for a 2 trillion economy with tech NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet released the NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint, which forecasts how the State’s economy will be worth as much as two trillion dollars by around 2040. Prepared by NSW Chief Economist Stephen Walters, the Blueprint has a focus on innovation and growth, and proximity to the booming Asian middle class. New South Wales would become Australia’s first two trillion-dollar state and while traditional industries such as mining would remain important, the government wants to promote high-growth areas such as advanced manufacturing and tech-innovation.
The Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials at Swinburne was launched by Australian Research Council CEO Professor Sue Thomas (centre).
Swinburne received $4.9 million from the federal government to lead the centre, with the University of South Australia, RMIT University and 29 industry partners. The ARC SEAM Centre will work with industry to solve surface engineering problems and develop new products to improve the service life or function of a component’s exterior by adding functionalities such as corrosion resistance,
antibacterial properties or wear protection. SEAM aims to solve crucial surface engineering problems to enable theAustralian manufacturing industry to be more efficient and profitable in the global marketplace.
New technology and infrastructure would allow regional New South Wales to have greater opportunities for skilled jobs and workers in industries more often confined to traditional city hubs. The intent is to have dedicated precincts of expertise across NSW which support emerging and growth industries and encourage innovation and investment.
The SEAM team of more than 77 researchers and industry leaders will investigate the gaps in surface engineering across 13 projects over the next five years.
Report on outcomes of retrenched auto workers The Transition of the Australian Car Manufacturing Sector: Outcomes & Best Practice Summary Report, has found that more than four out of five retrenched workers are now back in employment. Under the advanced manufacturing banner, the blueprint points to additive and precision manufacturing, advanced materials, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, advanced sensors and quantum technologies.
Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said the report details outcomes for workers following one of the most significant industry adjustments seen in Australia’s manufacturing sector – the closure of the Ford, Holden and Toyota car manufacturing plants in 2016 and 2017. “The report found … 82 percent of workers in the jobs market were working again, with 4 percent of these starting their own business,” Minister Cash said. www.saea.com.au
To see the report and find more information about assistance available to job seekers and employers visit: https://whatsnext. employment.gov.au/helpemployers
These technologies are being deployed in NSW in sectors including aerospace, defence, automotive, medical technology, digital technology, clothing, and food. The focus is not on production, but on design, sales and services. VTE | 7
News | Auto
CSIRO solar to power EVs in Australia New technology from CSIRO will link rooftop solar and batteries to support electric vehicle (EV) charging. With more EVs on Australian roads, demand for infrastructure is growing and placing stress on grid-powered charging stations. New solar-powered EV charging stations will maximise use of renewable energy, with the potential to alleviate stress on the grid during peak periods. The charging stations were developed with the Australian household in mind, overcoming challenges associated with EV charging, including managing temperatures on even the hottest days.
Swinburne Engineer at Toyota Racing Development As a young boy growing up in Horsham in regional Victoria, Scott Mitchell wasn’t exactly sure what an engineer did, but he knew he loved pulling things apart and seeing how things worked. “I didn’t complete Year 12. I actually went to a TAFE in Ballarat and then, shortly after, moved down to finish my Certificate of Technology in Melbourne,” Mr Mitchell said.
Mitchell decided it was finally time to race after his motorsports dream.
He then started working for Telecom Australia (now Telstra) in 1985 but had ambitions to take his career further.
Mr Mitchell now has been with Toyota Racing Development for more than 17 years working in the electronic design department as an Electronic Systems Engineer.
“I realised that having an engineering qualification had the potential to open doors to a broader range of career options for me,” he said, and so in 1988 he commenced his degree at Swinburne as a mature-age student. After graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering in 1994, followed by a Graduate Diploma of Management at Swinburne, Mr
Briefs The Tokyo Motor Show best and worst
The technology also supports charging of multiple vehicles in areas with limited access to grid power such as home garages and public carparks, where the charge rate would otherwise be limited. The technology was funded by the Victorian Government and Nissan Australia. Lead researcher from CSIRO’s Centre for Hybrid Energy Systems Dr Christopher Munnings said up to 90 percent of EV charging was likely to take place in the home. “In a multi-EV home, this system will automatically monitor each car, spreading the load between the battery, solar PV and the rest of the home,” he said. “This means the cars charge as quickly as possible, using as much sun as possible, without the need to upgrade grid connection. This technology could accelerate the widespread rollout of EVs across the country.” Three solar charging modules have been installed at Nissan in Dandenong, each capable of charging four vehicles. They will be tested and evaluated over 200 days, including the peak summer period. Following the test period, project partners will evaluate data with the intention of confirming associated environmental and cost benefits. 8 | December 2019
After scanning the not so numerous reports from the Tokyo Motor Show, which was held recently two cars stand out: the Mazda MX-30 and the Toyota Mirai but for very different reasons. Many motoring journalists criticized the Mazda and labelled it a big miss. This was Mazda’s first EV and as one journalist said “it’s wearing the wrong frock to the party.” The main issue was that given the clean slate design available to an EV the car looked very much like many of Mazda’s current SUVs. Meanwhile it appears that Toyota has turned its unattractive current Mirai into a very attractive car but it is only a concept but it was described as edgy and sexy.
Los Angeles Auto Show’s top start-up Organizers of the LA Auto Show’s AutoMobility LATM announced the winner of its signature Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition. Humanising Autonomy was awarded $15,000 and given global recognition. This is a London startup with big ambitions, and a mission to build the global standard of how autonomous systems interact with people. Founded on the premise of enabling a safer, more human-centered implementation of autonomous technology, the company
Heading first to Japan, then the United Kingdom, finally a door opened for Scott in the USA.
Mr Mitchell lives in California, drives a hydrogen fuel cell car and has front row tickets to the biggest NASCAR race meetings in the world, but he is adamant that without dedicating himself to his studies and gaining hands on experience, he would not be in the position that he is today. has developed camera agnostic prediction software that is able to predict pedestrian, cyclist and other vulnerable road users’ behavior and intent in real-time to improve global mobility systems. As a crucial perception technology, the visionbased software integrates with all levels of autonomy (including autonomous and humandriven vehicles) to improve safety, efficiency and pedestrian interactions. To get the rundown of the show visit www.laautoshow.com
Nissan new tech for new gen EVs
Nissan revealed a twin-motor all-wheel-control test car equipped with new technologies developed for the company’s next generation of EVs. The vehicle, based on the 100 percent electric Nissan LEAF e+, features an enhanced all-wheel drive system powered by front and rear motors integrated with Nissan-developed chassis control technology. The result is an electric-drive all-wheel-control system. The new electric-drive four-wheel-control technology being developed integrates Nissan’s electric propulsion and 4WD control technologies with chassis control technology to achieve a huge leap in acceleration, cornering and braking performance, on par with the latest sports cars.
Truck & Bus | News
5000 Volgren buses on the road
Electric bus gets on the road
Volgren has produced its 5000th bus at its HQ in Dandenong, Victoria. It was an Optimus low-floor route bus which was made for Ventura Bus Lines. Chief Executive Thiago Deiro said this was a great achievement for the company and that seeing the two buses together demonstrated just what an emphasis the company has placed on quality over four decades.
innovation and long-term value for our partners. It was the first aluminium bus ever built in Australia.”
“This is a proud moment in our company’s long history. You don’t produce this many vehicles over this many years without dedicating yourself to manufacturing excellence and to providing operators with buses they can trust,” he said.
Volgren’s relationship with Ventura spans 40 years, although the body builder has only been supplying buses since 2011. In that time, they have built more than 250 vehicles for Ventura and in 2018 announced a four-year contract extension with the Victorian operator.
“This first Volgren bus – with more than 850,000 kilometres on the odometer and still going strong – is symbolic of what we have built our reputation on: reliability, quality,
Accepting the bus from Volgren, Andrew Cornwall Ventura’s Managing Director said the company was delighted to be a part of such a momentous moment.
Volgren, has launched its first pure electric bus, the 12.2-metre vehicle is built on a BYD K9 chassis and features 324-kilowatt hours of battery capacity. It’s capable of travelling up to 300 kilometres on a single charge and will carry a total of 61 passengers. “All tests conducted on the vehicle were extremely successful. [It] has been extremely popular with all who have driven it,” Michael Kearney, Volgren’s Product Engineering Manager said. “The instantaneous provision of torque ensures outstanding performance, while the absence of a transmission ensures a smooth, continuous ride through all speeds.”
Precision Buses training academy Precision Buses in South Australia will create an apprenticeship academy and around 40 new jobs as a result of the recently awarded bus supply contract. The SA Government awarded Scania Australia the contract to supply approximately 340 buses for a potential 10-year term for the Metropolitan Adelaide Bus Network. Precision buses will now have a 95-person strong workforce dedicated to bus
manufacturing in South Australia. Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said the apprenticeship academy would help skill a new workforce of automotive manufacturing workers.
Hino FlatFormer and Profia Hybrid Hino Motors exhibited its Profia Hybrid at the 46th Tokyo Motor Show and its FlatFormer concept.
The new bus will provide an enjoyable experience for passengers, as well as drivers. And even those who aren’t using the bus will benefit from one thing in particular, its comparatively silent running.
According to Hino the FlatFormer will change the concept of mobility forever as it will bring greater efficiency to the mobility of people and goods. The FlatFormer is a modular electric vehicle platform that measures 4.7 metres (15.4 feet) long, 1.7 metres (5.6 feet) wide, and has a platform height of only 335 millimetres (13.2 inches), with an electric motor output of 170 kilowatts (228 horsepower) delivered through its six wheel end motors, which are fed energy from the 50-kWh lithium-ion batteries. It looks remarkably like an Australian electric vehicle design from Applied Electric Vehicles which was detailed in the September edition of VTE. Not too much information was available from Hino on this vehicle. www.saea.com.au
The Hino Profia Hybrid is a heavy-duty truck launched in Japan in August and features artificial intelligence that can adjust the driveline to take into account the route, truck load, availability of hybrid energy and other factors.. It is powered by an 8.9-litre A09C diesel engine coupled to an electric motor and a 12-speed automated manual transmission. The vehicle is being considered for Australia.
“The extremely quiet interior is also obviously evident. Interior and exterior noise testing demonstrated the vehicle to be substantially advantaged when compared with a diesel bus.” Now the first electric bus will run on the 246 route in Melbourne, between Elsternwick and Clifton Hill, via St Kilda and it will operate from Transdev’s North Fitzroy depot, where charging facilities are available. The trial will run until January 2021. VTE | 9
News | Aero
Briefs Marand top Victorian exporter Marand Precision Engineering has been named a top Victorian exporter at the Governor of Victoria Export Awards. Marand won the award for Manufacturing and Advanced Materials, in part for its contribution to global defence projects such as Lockheed Martin’s F-35.
Boeing opens Queensland assembly and test facility In a strong sign of the continued growth in Australia’s defence industry, a major defence manufacturing and testing facility was opened in Brisbane.
The Governor of Victoria Export Awards (GOVEA) is the most prestigious export award in Victoria, and it is split across 13 categories. “We are so proud of everyone who has put in the work over such a long period of time,” said Marand CEO Rohan Stocker, who collected the award at the National Gallery of Victoria.
NASA signs agreement with ANFF The Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) has signed an agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create new electronic technologies and applications for advanced materials. The ANFF manages 500 micro/nanofabrication facilities in 21 locations in Australia, with facilities provided for researchers and industry. The ANFF was established in 2007 under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
Southern Launch will launch South Korean rockets Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp has welcomed the signing of a Launch Facilities Agreement with South Korean rocket company Perigee Aerospace. The agreement was signed in Adelaide. In signing, Mr Shin expressed Perigee Aerospace’s intention to utilise Southern Launch’s rocket launch facility, to be developed on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. Perigee Aerospace is a leading orbital launch vehicle manufacturer in South Korea, currently developing the small launch vehicle Blue Whale, designed to lift small satellites into low altitude, high inclination orbits. The first test launch of a Perigee Aerospace rocket from Southern Launch’s facility is planned for 2020.
Nupress and Norseld win contracts for F-35 Australia’s Nupress Tools has won a contract to provide engine component manufacturing the the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Announced by the Minister for Defence Industry, Melissa Price, the $250,000 contract involves the purchase of a machining centre, staff training and systems development to support the manufacture of the complex components. Other businesses that won funding include Norseld, which received $1 million to design and develop a large coating chamber at their Adelaide facility. According to Ms Price, more than 50 Australian companies have received $1.69 billion in F-35 production contracts. 10 | December 2019
Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP, opened Boeing Defence Australia’s $7.5 million world-class Assembly and Test Facility at Wacol – a major investment in Queensland’s burgeoning defence industry. The facility is for the assembly and testing of the new Integrated Battlefield Telecommunications Network that Boeing is designing and producing in Australia. Boeing is carrying out the work under its $700 million contract with Defence for LAND 2072 Phase 2B – Project CURRAWONG. “This facility is a further demonstration that major companies are seeing the
opportunities and making significant investments in Australia’s defence industry,” Minister Price said. “It’s also further proof the Morrison Government’s record $200 billion investment in defence capability is creating the right conditions for job creation in this important sector. “I congratulate Defence and Boeing for delivering world leading technology that is agile in meeting war fighting requirements, ahead of schedule. “I’m encouraged to see Boeing employ 210 people here in Brisbane and work with more than 200 small businesses in the production and supply of components.”
Levett Engineering sold to ASDAM
Levett Engineering Pty Ltd (Levett), announced that it had reached an agreement to sell the business to ASDAM, an Australian sovereign defence and advanced manufacturing company owned by funds managed by CPE Capital (formerly CHAMP Private Equity). Levett is a South Australian supplier of precision components and assemblies for the defence and commercial aerospace industries, Levett provides machining, assembly and inspection of a range of complex components for clients in the aerospace and defence industry. It has built long term relationships with a number of defence prime contractors, including Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, Pratt & Whitney, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Boeing. Levett will join Marand Precision Engineering, a supplier of precision
engineered solutions to the defence, aerospace, rail and mining sectors, which was acquired by CPE Capital in June 2019, in the ASDAM group. CPE Capital is building an integrated precision engineered products, solutions and sustainment company to support the Australian defence and aerospace industry and to better service its global defence and aerospace customers. Levett will continue to operate in Adelaide, South Australia, but will be able to utilise the combined capabilities of Marand in the ASDAM group to provide a wide range of solutions for defence customers.
Defence | News
Land capability project moves forward The multi-billion dollar investment to replace Army’s current fleet of mobility and reconnaissance vehicles has taken another step forward with Hanwha Defense Australia and Rheinmetall Defence Australia invited to participate in the next stage of evaluation. The LAND 400 Phase 3 Program will replace the M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers providing the Army with an advanced, world class Infantry Fighting Vehicle capability. “This project will deliver Australia a brandnew, cutting edge capability. But we will also ensure we are well placed to work together with industry, to grow and develop the capability over the course of its life,” Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said. Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon
Melissa Price MP said the LAND 400 Phase 3 program provides an exciting opportunity for Australian industry to contribute to building and maintaining these new Infantry Fighting Vehicles. “Just as with the Phase 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles, Australian industry involvement and Australian workers are vital to this project,” Minister Price said. “Phase 3 is another important opportunity for Australian industry to deliver leading edge technology for our Australian Defence Force.
Briefs Shipbuilding workforce plan The Naval Shipbuilding College, Naval Group Australia, BAE Systems Australia, ASC, Luerssen Australia, SAAB Australia and Lockheed Martin Australia have come together to develop their Industry Strategic Workforce Plan. “The Morrison Government is creating 15,000 jobs through our $90 billion Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise and need industry to work together to meet projected naval shipbuilding workforce demands,” Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP said. “This is the first time all the major shipbuilding companies have come together like this and will ensure Australia’s naval shipbuilding and sustainment capability is not only worldleading but is viable for decades to come.”
Thomas Global secures contract with Rheinmetall Australian company Thomas Global has secured a $15 million contract with Rheinmetall as part of a major deal to deliver a new generation of combat vehicles for Australia. The Coalition Government selected Rheinmetall for LAND 400 Phase 2 in March 2018 to deliver 211 Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles. The project is worth $5.2 billion and will create up to 1450 jobs. Thomas Global was selected by Rheinmetall to deliver the CRV Immersive Tactical Trainer (ITT) system, a critical element of the overall Land 400 Phase 2 Mission System. Under the $15 million contract, Thomas Global will design and manufacture 13 containerised ITT sets and 6 classroom ITT sets. The ITT will assist operators in learning the operation of the Boxer CRV and its role in the Land Combat Vehicle System fleet. www.saea.com.au
Six year agreement for defence with Raytheon Raytheon will provide combat system engineering support services to the Royal Australian Navy for up to six years following a new agreement with Defence. Raytheon Australia will support Defence’s upgrades to surface ship combat systems by providing engineering and logistics services. This will capitalise on existing knowledge, skills, systems and processes developed by Raytheon Australia through the Hobart class Destroyer acquisition program, while continuing to support the Navy with the world’s best combat systems technology.
$3.8m contract with DMTC for R&D The Defence Innovation Hub has signed a $3.8 million contract with DMTC Limited for collaborative R&D and innovation services. The new contract includes delivery of four projects to support industrial capability underpinned by technology developments aimed at enhancing land vehicle design and build; additive manufacturing of aerospace and space components; and the development and sustainment of emerging materials. DMTC CEO Dr Mark Hodge said this would leverage contributions from leading industrial partners and from Australian universities. “DMTC will build on its existing work in relation to technologies such as precision manufacturing, welding highstrength steel and adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies,” Mr Hodge said. “We will continue to broaden and improve the capacity and capabilities of Australian small and medium sized enterprises, many of which are critical to the supply chains of the major defence contractors.”
During the testing-phase Defence will work with the shortlisted tenderers to ensure small and medium enterprises across Australia have the opportunity to showcase their capabilities. “However, if at any stage of this process there is a need, Defence can invite other tenderers to participate in the shortlist - to make sure we deliver the capability we need to the Army and the best value for the Australian taxpayer,” Minister Price said.
Four Australian universities to work with US universities autonomously Four Australian universities will receive $3 million from the federal government The University of Melbourne, Macquarie University, the University of New South Wales and Queensland University of Technology, will join forces with Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They will explore whether the way in which living creatures receive, process and react to environmental and contextual information can be applied to robots to improve their perception, navigation and spatial awareness. The project is aimed at developing a truly autonomous vehicle capable of learning, adapting to unexpected situations and pursuing complex goals in dynamic and challenging environments. It presents an opportunity for Australian scientists to collaborate with their counterparts in the US on research that is vital for the future defence and security. The funding was awarded under the AUSMURI program that supports Australian universities, which are part of successful bids in the US MURI process. Designed to encourage collaboration between Australian universities and their US counterparts, AUSMURI provides funding of up to $1 million per year for three years, supporting research in high priority areas for Defence. VTE | 11
News | Overseas
Supashock expands into the US A significant expansion has come about for Supashock on the global stage and in its own home state of South Australia. Led by founder and managing director Oscar Fiorinotto, a Supashock delegation attended the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference in Washington DC between October 13 -16. South Australian company Supashock will open an American office in California and the expansion of the company’s footprint into one of the world’s largest defence and automotive sectors. “The evolution of our suspension and motion technology from high end motorsport and supplier to automotive OEMs has enabled Supashock to move confidently into areas
Global economy on a slowdown with weak manufacturing The global economy is in a synchronized slowdown according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which is downgrading growth for 2019 to 3 percent, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis. Growth continues to be weakened by rising trade barriers and increasing geopolitical tensions. IMF estimates that the US-China trade tensions will cumulatively reduce the level of global GDP by 0.8 percent by 2020. Growth is also weighed down by countryspecific factors in emerging market economies, and by structural forces, such as low productivity growth and aging demographics in advanced economies. The weakness in growth is driven by a sharp deterioration in manufacturing activity and global trade, with higher tariffs and prolonged trade policy uncertainty damaging investment and demand for capital goods. Additionally, the automobile industry is contracting due to a variety of factors, such as disruptions from new emission standards. In contrast to weak manufacturing, the services sector continues to hold up almost across the globe. 12 | December 2019
such as the defence and autonomous vehicles sectors,” Mr Fiorinotto said.
the suspension with the OEM and its technology will revolutionise the way we travel.”
“Our fully active system is being used by an autonomous vehicle OEM that will move into production in 2020. Supashock is developing
SupaShock won the Export Finance Australia Manufacturing and Advanced Materials award in South Australia.
New head of engineering for Bombardier Bombardier Transportation announced that John Saabas has been appointed its new Head of Engineering and Technology. Mr Saabas will report directly to Bombardier Transportation President, Danny Di Perna and will lead the company’s global technology and product development activities. He will also work closely with Bombardier Transportation’s senior leadership team to improve productivity, project execution and customer satisfaction. Mr Saabas has more than 30 years of engineering and manufacturing experience and joined Bombardier from Pratt & Whitney Canada, a world leader in the design,
manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units, where he was president since 2009. During his 35-year career with Pratt & Whitney, Mr Saabas held numerous leadership positions in engineering, manufacturing, operations and procurement. He also earned a PhD in Aerodynamics from McGill University and holds both a Masters’ and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
Green plates for EVs in the UK Recent news is that the UK Government is considering green registration plates for electric vehicles (EVs) to increase EV take-up. “The UK Government’s suggestion of providing green plates for EVs is to be welcomed,” David Leggett, Automotive Editor at GlobalData said. “Enhancing visibility and awareness of zeroemission vehicles should encourage local authorities to consider additional measures, such as lower parking tariffs and bus lane use. “However, the government needs to go much further if the aim is to make substantial progress towards net zero emissions by 2050. “In Norway, for example, over half of the car market is now accounted for by electric vehicles because the country’s government
decided that it would support a range of policies designed to make EVs more attractive to purchasers.” The Norwegians have big tax breaks on purchases, EV drivers can use bus lanes, and there are parking fee exemptions, as well as savings for EV drivers on road and ferry tolls. The Norwegian Government also helped to build an extensive battery fast-charging network.
Feature | FSAE-A
Four days of Formula
Four days is for many young engineering students the highlight of their year showcasing their knowledge and spirit. You have to feel for the young engineers who choose to work towards a place at the FSAE-A event – many have only just completed their exams for the year and then have to put all their energies towards getting to Winton Raceway, in regional Victoria, with a finished car and complete documentation. For some this is easier than others since some teams are relatively local but others are from interstate and some from overseas as far away as India, Japan and Pakistan. However, these are the engineers that you want in your business because they put in well above the average student. They don’t see these things as difficulties but opportunities to excel. From the time they arrive at the racetrack, where many will live in tents for the next four days, they are at work. For some the weekend will bring disappointment, for some elation and for most a mix of both. Unfortunately, for some the disappointments came too early with the Kurukshetra University of India (IC), NED University of Engineering & Technology (IC), The University of Melbourne (IC), Pozan University of Technology Poland (IC) and NED University of Engineering & Technology (EV) all forced out before the event started, most were due to technical issues with their vehicles, which meant they could not run. So from the entry list of 34, 29 teams competed. On the Thursday the teams started their warm-up with team registrations and then it was straight into technical inspections that continued on throughout the day. This means all 29 teams faced the volunteer 14 | December 2019
group of experienced engineers that complete technical inspections of the internal combustion (IC) engine vehicles of which there were 13, and EVs of which there were 16. The number of EVs has been growing steadily and it shows the impact that EVs are now making in the realm of motor vehicle engineering.
Photos courtesy of Karl Phillipson, www.optikal.com.au or email karl@optikal.com.au
The University of Queensland, Monash University and RMIT University teams fielded both an EV and an IC vehicle, which despite the fact that there are separate teams for each vehicle is quite an achievement and shows a committed dedication by those universities to FSAE-A. FSAE-A has been on the agenda for universities since its inception in 2000 and so it was the 20th anniversary of the event, which until recently was held at Calder Raceway but moved to Winton Raceway in 2018.
VIPs at Winton Just before lunch on Friday 6 December, a VIP tour was steered by Adrian Feeney – CEO and chair of the SAE-A. Among the 30 plus guests were representatives from the VACC, Holden Special Vehicles, PACCAR, Ford Motor Company, ABB Australia, Dolphin Products, APV, RACV, Siemens and notably Tesla.
Just a small number of the huge offi
Alongside these companies were representatives from local and state politics including those from the Department of Economic Development, and the mayors of both Wangaratta and Benalla. Mr Feeney spent around an hour walking and talking the guests around the various track facilities, showcasing the areas set-up to assist the students such as the GOTAFE welding facility and the EV clean room, and
Team New Zealand; the two teams who crossed the ‘ditch’ to compete in
FSAE-A | Feature
RESULTS – First three only For full results visit www.saea.com.au/2019_Results
icials group that makes Formula SAE-A such a great success.
FSAE-A 2019, The University of Auckland and The University of Canterbury. Both placed very well. www.saea.com.au
OVERALL WINNERS - EV 1 E65 Monash University 2 E42 University of Queensland 3 E13 University of Canterbury
OVERALL WINNERS - IC 1 66 Monash University 2 41 University of Queensland 3 111 Griffith University
Acceleration EV 1 E88 RMIT University 2 E13 The University of Canterbury 3 E42 University of Queensland
time 3.804 3.854 3.867
score 100.00 96.28 95.33
Acceleration IC 1 12 RMIT University 2 7 Edith Cowan University 3 66 Monash University 10 36 Honda Technical College Kansai
3.758 3.822 3.864 4.50
100.00 95.18 92.13
Autocross EV 1 E65 Monash University 2 E13 The University of Canterbury 3 E88 RMIT University
78.81 80.50 82.71
125.00 116.98 106.98
Autocross IC 1 66 Monash University 2 14 Curtin University 3 7 Edith Cowan University
79.073 85.179 85.349
125.00 97.63 96.92
Skidpan EV 1 E65 Monash University 2 E47 The University of Auckland 3 E301 The University of Melbourne
4.925 5.109 5.112
75.00 60.99 60.74
Skidpan IC 1 66 Monash University 2 14 Curtin University 3 12 RMIT University
5.060 5.236 5.336
75.00 61.93 55.03
Efficiency EV 1. E42 University of Queensland 2. E65 Monash University 3. E8 University of Adelaide
Efficiency IC 1. 41 University of Queensland 2. 14 Curtin University 3. 66 Monash University
Endurance EV 1. E65 Monash University 2 E13 University of Canterbury 3 E42 University of Queensland
Endurance IC 1. 66 Monash University 2. 12 RMIT University 3. 41 University of Queensland
Cost EV – first three only 1 E42 University of Queensland 2 E8 Adelaide University 3 E59 University of Technology, Sydney
64.10 64.06 61.33
Cost IC 1 41 University of Queensland 2 21 Tokyo Denki University 3 36 Honda Technical College Kansai
86.13 80.25 78.03
Engineering Design EV 1 E65 Monash University 2 E47 The University of Auckland 3 E13 The University of Canterbury
150.00 136.60 123.60
Engineering Design IC 1 66 Monash University 2 7 Edith Cowan University 3 111 Griffith University
150.00 138.90 132.80
Business Presentation EV 1 E47 The University of Auckland 2 E46 Queensland University of Technology =3 E42 University of Queensland =3 E65 Monash University
75.00 69.29 65.22 65.22
Business Presentation IC 1 7 Edith Cowan University 2 66 Monash University 3 111 Griffith University
75.00 74.40 70.82 VTE | 15
Feature | FSAE-A
The all-conquering teams from Monash University who took out a first in both the EV and IC classes. In the centre is the new Monash autonomous vehicle that will compete overseas.
2019 Registered Teams Electric vehicles are denoted by an E in front of the number in the first column. Vehicle Number
University
Team Name
Country
E8 33 14 7 111 36 37 (withdrawn) E65 66 57 E39 (withdrawn) 112 (withdrawn) E46 12 E88 E17 E47 E13 E301 101 (withdrawn) E16 E20 21 E03 41 E42 22 E44 E59 E85 15 63 E19 77
Adelaide University Flinders University Curtin University Edith Cowan University Griffith University Honda Technical College Kansai (Japan) Kurukshetra University (India) Monash University Monash University NED University of Engineering & Technology (Pakistan) NED University of Engineering & Technology (Pakistan) Poznan University of Technology (Poland) Queensland University of Technology RMIT University RMIT University Swinburne University of Technology The University of Auckland (NZ) The University of Canterbury (NZ) The University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne The University of South Australia The University of Western Australia Tokyo Denki University (Japan) University of Newcastle University of Queensland University of Queensland University of Sydney University of Tasmania University of Technology, Sydney University of Wollongong UNSW Canberra at ADFA UNSW Sydney UNSW Sydney VIT Chennai (India)
Adelaide University Motorsport Team Flinders Motorsport Curtin Motorsport Team Edith Cowan University Racing Griffith Racing Team HTECW-12 KU Motorsport Team Monash Motorsport Monash Motorsport NED Formula Racing
Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia Japan India Australia Australia Pakistan
Electric Endeavour NED
Pakistan
PUT Motorsport QUT Motorsport RMIT Racing RMIT Electric Racing Team Swinburne The University of Auckland Formula SAE Team University of Canterbury Motorsport Melbourne University Racing - Electric Melbourne University Racing - Combustion UniSA UWA Motorsport TDU Racing NU Racing UQ Racing UQ Racing Electric Sydney Motorsport UTAS Motorsport UTS Motorsports Electric UOW Motorsport Academy Racing Team Redback Racing Redback Racing Zuura Formula Racing
Australia Australia Australia Australia New Zealand New Zealand Australia Australia Australia Australia Japan Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia Australia India
explaining the various events that students would need to complete to gain a good score in the competition. The guests were also treated to a ‘pit walk’ to meet and talk with members of the teams and discuss their cars. One of the VIPs on the weekend, and one who is a frequent overseas visitor to FSAE-A in Australia is professor and the former head of aerodynamics at Benetton, Ferrari and now with Sauber F1 – Melbournian export Willem Toet. “I’ve been here a number of years, I love this competition, Formula SAE is the best engineers’ training and breeding ground that exists,” he said. “The students have to decide on a project, they have to decide who is going to be on the team, it’s like setting up a company.” In the past Mr Toet has been a design judge, but this year he spent his time travelling from pit to pit talking with the students. “It’s not only a competition on the race track it’s also a design competition, a cost competition, and presentation competition,” he said. Mr Toet said that one of the reasons that F1 loves students from this competition is that they already come with some experience. “They are so much more ready to start work,” he said. “A lot of Aussies come from Formula SAE and get jobs in Formula One.”
Team VIT Chennai from India, still smiling after the presentations – despite a difficult event and a long way to come they did go home with the SAE-A Encouragement Award.
16 | December 2019
FSAE-A | Feature
Presentation, Design and Cost events Friday the gates at Winton opened at 7am and in trouped more than 700 students to get prepared for an 8am start with three events they probably don’t look forward to as much as the track events: the business presentation, design and cost events. However, these three events all combine to add value to the track scores and so can’t be discounted. Each of these is scored by a panel of volunteers who are experts in their fields; marketing, finance and engineering. Many of the judges are former competitors who now work in industry and provide solid feedback to the teams throughout the event. Late on Saturday afternoon, while you can see the drivers completing their mandatory course walk on the track in preparation for Sunday’s on-track driving, inside the corporate facility the judges for each section provide a summary detailing the good and also the bad. Cost event – captain Mario Capolla: Mr Cawpolla said that each year the cost report submissions have improved and this year was no exception, even though this was the first year of totally electronic submissions. It was highlighted in the cost area, but also in other areas, that these three events are the backbone of engineering; that designing or inventing a product is only as good as the need for that product and its pricing. One of the standouts this year was the technical understanding displayed by students in the costs task event. Design event – captain Mitch Bessell: The design team pointed out that the design reports and video submissions appeared to be hurriedly put together possibly due to a tight timeline and it may be possible in the future to extend the time limit for these. The video is a five minute round-up of the reasons for the design of the vehicle – the vehicle concept. One of the standouts in the design event this year was the aerodynamics package presented by Griffith University, in general the design event was of a high standard. Presentation event – captain Rhiannon Veness
A sense of humour is a must as so many variables can take away the lustre of competing in motorsport.
The grand finale Sunday is the day that teams look forward to the most, the excitement of seeing their cars on-track competing is unmistakeable – the pit wall is crowded and fist pumps are frequent, but every so often a combined murmur of disappointment can be heard. It can’t be easy when trouble strikes but it is as they say, a part of life – the odd flat tyre, the misfire, the missed opportunity to go faster. Some of those murmurs must have come from the teams who did not complete all the tests and so missed out on many valuable points. In the EV class it was: The University of South Australia, UNSW Sydney, Swinburne University of Technology and The University of Western Australia. In the IC class it was Flinders University, Honda Technical college Kansai and Tokyo Denki University. It is doubly disappointing to come from overseas like the Japanese teams and struggle to compete, while facing other hurdles such as language and local resources. It was therefore encouraging to find that Tokyo Denki finished second in the cost event just ahead of Honda Technical College and that Honda also won the CAMS Inspiring Motorsport Award. The acceleration test was held on Saturday, as was the skidpan event, the autocross and
Special Awards CAMS Inspiring Motorsport Award To the team that shows the best spirit Honda - Honda Technical College Kansai LEAP Award for the best use of simulation Edith Cowan University SAE-A Encouragement Award To the team that makes a distinct contribution VIT Chennai Harry Watson Award For innovation - University of South Australia
endurance events were on Sunday. So at the end of a very tiring and very hot Sunday the awards ceremony was held in the air conditioned comfort of the corporate centre in front of the very large crowd of excited students and volunteers. Throughout the event, Brett Ramsey from In Pit Lane was onsite leading his team of video guys working to produce a live broadcast of the event that aired on C31 Melbourne. He has been doing this since 2000 and deserves a plug as it is a big task which does so much to promote the event for the SAE-A. Thank you to event partners: Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Company, PACCAR Australia, LEAP, RACV, Motorsport Australia (nee CAMS), In Pit Lane, GOTAFE, Defence Force Recruiting, Altair and ANSYS.
Unfortunately, this area of events was largely underwhelming for the judges, there were a small number of outstanding presentations, and those captured the attention of the panels and were scored highly. It is difficult to impress upon young engineers that they will need to make these types of presentations throughout their careers, whether it is a ‘shark tank’ event or simply presenting within a company or to other engineers. Business cases are necessary if you want to promote your designs and products.
www.saea.com.au
The entire student cohort who attended FSAE-A 2019, with the growing contingent of female engineering students at the front showing the diversity of students now training to meet the engineering needs of the future. VTE | 17
Feature | FSAE-A
Career Showcase FSAE-A’s career expo is an opportunity for both students and companies to shine. Around 300 young, hopeful engineering students flooded the career and networking expo, which was held at the FSAE-A event after the day’s competition events on Saturday 7 December, to talk with companies they hoped in the future may employ them. Among those companies, and one which attracted attention all weekend was Tesla who had sent its senior engineering recruiter from the US, Courtney Chin, as a scout. Immediately a line appeared at the Tesla table, which continued well after the event formally closed. Unfortunately, Tesla is very guarded and we were not able to gain an interview or further information. We do know that Monash University trained Tesla Powertrain Integration Engineer, Tim Murphy, was also at the event with Ms Chin. One of the most committed supporters of the careers expo is Defence Force Recruiting who had come with both an engineer and a tradesperson. They kicked off the expo with a video of Daniel Ricciardo in his ex-Red Bull F1 car drag racing a fighter jet and reminded the young engineers watching that defence offers a very wide selection of engineering positions from aerospace to ground vehicles, and sea going vessels. Not only that, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is unquestionably at the leading edge of the technology curve in every area of engineering, which is perhaps not always appreciated as it is not one to blow its own trumpet for obvious reasons. Almost opposite ADF was applidyne, an Adelaide based design engineering company that consults on varying projects from automotive to mining and medical projects. David Patrech, himself a mechanical engineer, was there to talk to students. He emphasised that not only was his company looking for bright young talent but it was important that they had developed some practical skills and had some previous work history. The FSAE-A event gives them that edge and he was keen to explore who may be his next work colleagues. There are both graduate opportunities and internship opportunities with applidyne. Ford Motor Company was well represented at the FSAE-A event not
18 | December 2019
Photos courtesy of Rhys Clarke of Highly Contagious email: highlycontagious@gmail.com only at the expo but current and retired Ford staff were common in official roles. In Australia, the company has retained more than 2000 engineering staff and is looking for more as it plans to introduce electrified vehicles to its fleet during 2020. Australia is a key product development hub for Ford, with the company having invested more than $500 million in 2019. Ford has a 2021 graduate program and has found recruiting from the FSAE-A event has worked for them as they get to meet many more young engineers from interstate. In fact during one of the presentations, Ford engineer Simon Palmer, who was judging, leapt to his feet after the presentation to follow up a student from Edith Cowan University whose talents impressed him. ANSYS and LEAP employed a team approach to recruiting. ANSYS is a leader in engineering simulation, assisting companies and researchers to solve their most complex design challenges and to engineer products. LEAP Australia is ANSYS’ local representative and has been for more than 20 years in Australia and New Zealand, with a strong focus on helping university students with capstone projects and team competitions. FSAE-A is a mainstay of the company’s operations where it not only looks for the most inspiring engineers for their company but also where it takes the opportunity to discuss the company’s products with engineers of tomorrow.
FSAE-A | Feature
Kristine Tuazon from Good People HR, a company attending its first FSAE-A expo, took a novel but well thought out approach to enticing the young engineers to her stand by laying out a vast array of sweets and snacks. After a hard day at the track it worked and she started to make inroads. Good People HR is a specialist recruiter for the manufacturing industry and this was an ideal event to talent scout for both her Australian and overseas clients. “I thought it was an excellent event, the students were very engaged, very bright and open minded,” Ms Tauzon said. “There was one that I found who I thought would be suited to work with one of my clients. But they were all really passionate and had realistic expectations, which was refreshing.” Ms Tuazon said that in 2020 she was looking to actively promote females in engineering and would be holding events particularly for young women in the field. “I have already told the SAE that I would be returning to the careers expo event again next year,” she said. MoTeC has been at the forefront of engine management and data acquisition systems for many years and Chris Groves, MoTeC applications engineer, was representing the company and said that as the company continues to grow it is always on the lookout for new engineers. He said one of the great things about being at the
FSAE-A expo was that most of the teams already had experience with the product and knew what it was about, leaving him to discuss the potential opportunities available with MoTeC. The company is heavily involved with all levels of motorsport but is also now developing specific systems for EVs. A local and therefore regional company joined the expo, Quantech Design, which is based in Wangaratta. Eli Prior, a mechanical engineer was on hand to discuss what is probably not a widely known company and introduce it as a potential employer. The company provides contract mechanical engineering design, modelling and drafting to a variety of industries in Australia and overseas. The company works in the areas of transport, heavy equipment haulage, truck bodies and trailers, camper trailers, tankers and aircraft service vehicles. Mr Prior said his main reason for attending was to meet with good, young mechanical engineers and introduce his company to the universities in Australia. Siemens, like Ford and Tesla, was a company that needed no introduction but it recognises the importance of meeting up with today’s new groups of engineers who will be soon in the workforce. Richard Berman, Strategic Universities Program Manager for Siemens and himself a software engineer, said his company was always on the lookout for all types of engineers. As it is one of the largest companies in the world employing around 400,000 people it offers young engineers the chance to move around and experience a wide range of work types. According to Siemens, with so many different functions, products, businesses, countries and cultures, you can spend a professional lifetime leveraging your skills. Siemens has a range of programs that young engineers can tap into. Supashock is one of South Australia’s up and coming companies and expanding quickly having just opened an office in the US. It is in the process of evolving and strengthening its areas of expertise, which are suspension systems for automotive, motorsport, defence, commercial and autonomous vehicles. The company designs, tests and manufactures its own systems and therefore is after exceptional young talent and offers an undergraduate engineering program open to any engineering disciplines. Looking to hire a bright young engineer? Register your interest for the 2020 career expo at events@sae-a.com.au
www.saea.com.au
VTE | 19
Feature | IR4
Can you teach an old robot new tricks? Thinking outside the square is a prerequisite not just for technology companies but it should be a prerequisite for everyone in this day and age. One Australian company has developed a world first technology for teaching old robots new tricks. IR4 develops artificially ordered automation technology that leverages flexible programming, in other words new tricks for old robots.
to manufacture those components. It doesn’t have to have ever seen those parts before.”
In automotive terms the industry is used to what is referred to as Teach style programming for robots, it is repetitive programming with little variation. There may be a small number of variants that go down a line but fundamentally the robot always moves back to the same spot and repeats the process.
Once the 3D model is imported the system define what tasks need to be processed and in what order taking account of the hardware constraints as well as product and environmental variables and then it executes those tasks. When it sees a product for the first time, say a plate that needs to be welded on a beam, the first time it sees that plate it might go through 200 different ways it can complete that task.
“Our system is completely different, we use what we call Task Based Automation. It’s sort of like CAD/CAM for a complete production environment,” Chris Brugeaud, CEO of IR4 explained. “What we do is we import a full 3D structure and we import that into our software and that software interrogates the drawing and associates assemblies, parts and defines how it needs to process those parts
20 | December 2019
The second time it sees a plate it looks at the first one that it did and says can I use that same plan to produce that second plate, if it can’t then it will go through the calculations again. “The system builds up and starts to learn how it can execute on completing tasks, and it just gets faster and faster,” Mr Brugeaud said.
IR4 | Feature
compare the model with the real world environment and product and then the system makes the adjustments to place the boss to meet the tolerance requirements. It knows if a boss has to be moved to make correct contact with the hull and then it adjusts the weld positions accordingly. The system automatically defines and executes the tasks.” No one programs the robots, no one teaches the robots how to do it, they look at the drawing and figure out how to do it themselves. There are about 250 bosses per hull, currently these are manually welded and it doesn’t matter where these are made globally – they don’t do it any differently in Europe. This is the first time it has been shown that it can be automated for their constraints. “For Rheinmetall we’re looking to provide the turnkey solution,” Mr Brugeaud said. “The robotic system itself and all the scanning solution – it also automates the product metrology, the measuring processes and generates all the reports to satisfy the quality control systems.” This is not dissimilar to supplying a whole section of a production line. It doesn’t stop there, only your imagination or foresight will limit what this technology can do. Currently IR4 is working with a number of organisations seeking to streamline their production work such as Westrac with hub bearing rebuilds and engine blocks.They have also developed an automated pad welding solution . “What we have is a database of successful plans and so as it learns it becomes almost as fast as if it was a dedicated automation cell.” To explain it in terms more familiar to the vehicle industry we can use the example of work done by IR4 for Rheinmetall. “We were approached by Rheinmetall who secured the combat reconnaissance vehicle Land 400 Phase 2 because the way they attached the bosses is they do it at the point of the process where there’s a lot of deviation in the hull,” Mr Brugeaud said. “They’ve never been able to solve the automation of that fabrication process because of the level of variation, because typically a robot will go back to the same spot and repeat the process exactly. “Because of our technology we could import the 3D model, we can
www.saea.com.au
At the moment pad welding is done manually, for example if you have an excavator track pad, the weld repair is difficult because what you have to do is to figure out the rebuild process then program the robot to do that. It’s even difficult for human welders as each weld is different there is often the need for extensive finishing work to make sure the repair is equal to the original. “Because most robotics use Teach technology they can’t automate a project where there are continuously variable dimensions,” Mr Brugeaud said. “In the case of this system it generates all the weld path plans to rebuild it to what it was regardless of the amount of wear and tear and very little finishing is needed. “While the worn part is always different it can rebuild to the original part shape and size.”
VTE | 21
PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST FOR TRANSPORT WINS The ITS World Congress is the biggest global get together of people working within the transport and mobility technology space. It’s a great place to get a sense of where things are going in the industry and how our activities in Australia stack up. We saw an increasingly strong focus on a ‘person-centred’ approach at this year’s event; what are travellers’ needs, and how do providers deliver a journey that will best meet them, regardless of mode? This involves understanding preferences and choices, and how to make all the different transport systems work well together to meet demand, with safety being an ongoing consideration. In the passenger domain, iMOVE’s approach has always been to create better experiences for people, and we are seeing some exciting things happening in our partner network. Here’s a couple of snapshots of activities
happening in Australia that mirror similar trends around the world.
Movement and Place The Movement & Place Framework shows that the human experience of streets is often greatly diminished by the need for streets to act as efficient motor vehicle thoroughfares. To support the development of successful places, the Movement & Place Framework promotes the urban design principles that allow local communities to come together
in places with vehicle movement, in a way that supports social and economic growth.
We are seeing a significant ramp-up in activity in this area globally and locally. A trial through iMOVE with partners IAG and University of Sydney’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies is now well underway.
Transport for New South Wales’ Movement and Place project through iMOVE, with research partner Swinburne University of Technology, uses this framework and the Safe System approach to develop a series of evidencebased design principles and guidelines. Using virtual reality (VR) and pedestrian tracking technology, the project will create a better understanding of what is happening on our streets, and see how we can balance vehicle movement and place-making to create safe and successful places.
This project is particularly noteworthy for a couple of reasons. It involves a ‘genuine’ MaaS solution with integrated transport and payment options (many other trials are very limited in their integration), and, as a realworld trial, it takes MaaS understanding to a deeper level than previous investigations that have used surveys and focus groups to understand preferences.
Outcomes from this research will facilitate the implementation and evaluation of successful places in collaboration with local councils to determine the real-life impact of different place-making and safety variables.
Mobility as Service (MaaS) MaaS is a fully integrated, multi-modal, transport and payment system that allows a person to easily plan and pay for their travel from A to B through an app: a truly person-centred approach to the journey.
The trial runs for six months and we are looking forward to hearing about its progress from trial leader Professor David Hensher at the upcoming Transport of Tomorrow event in March. To keep up to date with iMOVE news and projects, follow us on LInkedin, or subscribe to our newsletter. Finally, from all of us here at iMOVE wish you a Merry Christmas, and a fun, relaxing, safe holiday break. And here’s to the new decade and all the exciting opportunities and advances in transport! We hope to see you next year at Transport of Tomorrow in Sydney.
Keep an eye on the event website www.transportoftomorrow.com for early tickets.
Advertorial | LEAP and ANSYS
Student teams provide perfect breeding ground for next-gen simulation engineers There is a surge of innovation occurring within the automotive industry as vehicle makers increasingly offer the innovative, ground breaking technologies that are demanded by modern consumers, including electrification, advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous features. Simultaneously, vehicle makers must also address growing fuel costs and environmental concerns by re-engineering all aspects of their vehicles from the aerodynamics, engine and transmission through to vehicle body, passenger comfort and modern electronic systems. This trend has in turn grown demand for graduate engineers who are skilled in applying engineering simulation tools to help these companies design and integrate these new products/features, as well as optimise the overall performance and reliability of their vehicles. Greg Horner, managing director of LEAP Australia, says that LEAP’s engineering team is at the coalface of how these trends are impacting on the use of simulation within industry. “There is growing demand within companies, both big and small, local and global, for engineering graduates with real world experience in applying simulation tools such as ANSYS,” he said. “This now expands across all physics domains, including the simulation of structures, impacts/explicit dynamics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics both high and low frequency, plus new autonomous systems requiring certification of safety-critical embedded systems and validation of functional safety.” Notably, Mr Horner sees this demand spreading across a diverse range of industries from industries that have typically been more established in using advanced simulation tools such as aerospace, automotive and defence, through to industries that are increasingly embracing simulation tools such as energy, mining and healthcare. “Over a decade ago, LEAP recognised this trend and committed additional resources to foster a greater knowledge and understanding of simulation in academia, by firstly partnering with all the leading universities in our region to help make ANSYS software more accessible to students, and also by providing sponsorship and mentoring to major student team competitions such as Formula SAE, Solar Car Challenge, Unmanned Air Vehicle Challenge, Human Powered Vehicle and Rocketry competitions,” Mr Horner said. “For our customers in industry who design and manufacture these increasingly complex products and systems, LEAP offers extensive local mentoring and support, but we also need our local universities to continue producing job-ready graduates with up-to-date skills and experience in using modern product development tools and technologies. “This growing capability will in turn help to raise the competitiveness of local industry and I expect will help sustainably grow our intellectual economy across Australia and New Zealand.”
Students at Monash University learning ANSYS during a LEAP Australia workshop.
24 | December 2019
Donovan Lin from Monash Motorsport presenting MMS CFD simulation results at CONVERGE 2019 .
Dr Srini Bandla, technical director at LEAP Australia, said LEAP’s engagement with local university students has extended from initially offering guest lectures in the best-practice use of simulation, to developing specific teaching and learning materials targeted towards using simulation in these student team competitions, and launching more detailed training sessions at universities across the region. More recently, a series of hackathons has also helped show to local industry what can be achieved with the right tools in a short timeframe. At the Formula SAE competition, LEAP and ANSYS now jointly sponsor an award to support the expanding use of simulations within the many Australasian teams. Both companies are excited by the vision of SAEAustralasia and are seeing the benefits of more job-ready engineering graduates becoming available to ANSYS customers in industry. Assistance by LEAP engineers to Formula-SAE students has recently grown to include help with applications such as: - Fluid dynamics and thermal simulations - aerodynamics, radiator flow, battery cooling - Structural mechanics and dynamics simulation – suspension, chassis, composites, additive manufacturing of complex parts - Electromagnetics – motors, inverters, EMI/EMC testing, battery systems - Autonomous vehicles – sensors & vision systems, antennae & electronics, safety-critical software certification - Digital Twins – leveraging simulation-based ROMs in fast and accurate system simulations. Many students are still unaware of the free ANSYS software and learning resources available to them, such as the ANSYS Student software that can be downloaded for self-paced learning. LEAP Australia has developed an online academic portal to help students apply ANSYS to the complex applications relevant to student team competitions. Likewise, the ANSYS Student Community forum at https://studentcommunity.ansys.com/ includes online forums specifically geared towards: • How to install & use the free ANSYS Student, with Tutorials for specific applications • Open Discussion of using ANSYS for student team competitions. While the vast majority of student teams already have access to ANSYS through their central university licences, LEAP and ANSYS are able to provide additional licences specifically for the use of student teams, along with tailored mentoring and support. Student teams can expand their partnership with LEAP and ANSYS by enquiring at https:// www.leapaust.com.au/student-teams/ LEAP also helps companies across ANZ to embrace emerging Industry 4.0 technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Augmented Reality (AR) platforms (Thingworx and Vuforia, developed by PTC). These emerging technologies are helping to bring together the physical and digital worlds and changing the way that engineers will create, operate, and service new products.
Feature | Technical
Wenle Lv Tianjin University of Science and Technology & Ludek Hyncik and Tomasz Bonkowski University of West Bohemia
Rider Stature Influence to Injury Risk in Motorcycle Rear Impact to Car Introduction Approximately 1.25 million people die each year as a result of a road traffic crash and between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability [1]. Nearly half of those dying on the roads are so-called vulnerable road users, namely pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders including motorcyclists [1]. Further WHO [2] reported that nearly a quarter of all road traffic deaths are within the group of motorcyclists, where the road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged between 15 and 29 years. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the safety protection and injury mitigation of motorcycle riders in road traffic accidents. Numerical models are used to assess the injury risk and the level of safety protection of the motorcyclists by reconstructing real accidents. Mukherjee et al. [3] developed four configurations of the motorcycle to car side impact simulations to analyze the kinematics by comparing simulations and experiments. Barbani et al. [4] developed finite element (FE) simulations of the motorcycle to car crash test scenarios to evaluate the head and neck injuries, but the total element number of models (nearly 1,920,000) was a hindrance for the calculation process. Praveen et al. [21] developed FE simulations of a motorcycle to bus rear impact (with and without helmet) to evaluate the head injuries by the Head Injury Criterion (HIC). A virtual simulation was also used to reconstruct the real accident for assessing the injury risk of motorcycle rider [5]. Virtual biomechanical human body models (HBM) play an important role to assess the injury risk for the particular subject taking into account the wide spectra of the whole population. The coverage of the population must be based on the anthropometric database which should be used by the scaling algorithm [17]. The presented paper assesses the injury risk of the motorcycle rider’s head and neck during the rear motorcycle accident to the car using the virtual approach by the numerical simulation taking into account the variability of the human body. The injury risk assessment is done by evaluation of the prescribed injury criteria.
Methods The virtual approach coupling a simplified vehicle model to the scalable virtual human body model as well as the previously adopted approach to assess the stature influence on 26 | December 2019
FIGURE 1: Standing and sitting postures of the 18 years old male model
ABSTRACT Road traffic accidents cause one of the highest numbers of severe injuries. Approximately 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes and between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability. Nearly half of those dying on the roads are so-called vulnerable road users, namely pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders including motorcyclists. Those vulnerable road users usually undergo complex kinematics and complex loading caused by the other vehicle impact.
the injury risk during the sled test are used [6]. The existing validated scalable human body model Virthuman [17] is used to develop a series of anthropometry variable virtual human body models to be coupled to the helmet finite element model [12]. Each scaled model is sit on the motorcycle model and the rear impact simulation based on a real accident data is run [5]. The accident scenario simulated by Hynčík et al. (2018) [5] is also a reference case to validate the model in such scenario. The series of virtual human body models used as motorcycle riders are generated automatically by the scaling algorithm [18]. The scaling method is based on the previously developed scaling algorithm [18], which takes the gender, the geometry, the mass distribution and the body stiffness into account. Due to a large number of components and elements of numerical models, the models of the car, motorcycle and helmet are simplified in order to have a consistent time step with the human body model.
Motorcycle Rider Model The Virthuman model, a scalable hybrid human model [17], is adopted as the motorcycle rider model in this study. Firstly, in order to assess the rider stature influence on the injury risk, the authors select the group of subjects of different anthropometry of six age ranges (16, 17, 18, 22, 26 and 34) for both genders, obtained by analyzing the data from the MAIDS database by Bońkowski et al. (2015) [10]. The choice is based on an in-depth analysis of the MAIDS accident database covering the
Virtual human body biomechanical models play an important role to assess the injuries during the impact loading especially for scenarios, where complex dynamical loading is taken into account. An additional benefit of some virtual human models is their scalability, so that they can assess the injury risk for the particular subject taking into account a wide spectrum of the whole population. The presented work shows the motorcycle rider injury risk analysis during the rear motorcycle accident to the car using the virtual approach by the numerical simulation taking into account the variability of the human body. The main aim of the work is to show the injury risk for a varying anthropometry of the motorcycle rider, when a rear impact occurs. Several virtual human body models based on the population variability are concerned. Each virtual human body model is scaled automatically by the previously developed scaling algorithm, coupled to personal protective equipment and sit on the motorcycle. The rear impact to a car is assessed by the numerical simulation. The sensitivity study is processed by evaluating the anthropometry dependent injury risk assessment for the rear impact scenario. The paper contributes to the field of vehicle safety technology by the virtual approach for the assessing the anthropometry dependent injury risk using scalable virtual biomechanical human body models. The personal protective equipment optimization and the injury risk mitigation is consequent result considering the motorcycle impact to the rear end of the car.
Technical | Feature
representative groups of subjects involved in motorcycle accidents. Then, those 12 scaled standing postures are developed on the basis of the reference Virthuman model (male, the 50th percentile, 1.77 m and 72 kg) and adjusted to obtain the sitting postures according to the motorcycle model, as shown in Figure 1. The previously developed scaling method accommodates the anthropometrical data of more than 15.000 subjects considering age, gender, particular segments dimension, mass and stiffness [18]. The sitting process is done via the FIGURE 2: Frontal and lateral views of the simplified motorcycle helmet FE particular joints rotations, which is simplified thanks to the multi-body model. approach toward the modelling of the full human body, where the major body parts are considered as rigid bodies. Detailed data of the mass and height of six age ranges of the motorcycle riders are shown in Table 1. Besides of the mass and the height, the particular segment dimensions varies. One of the differences between male and female models is joint stiffness [18].
Helmet Finite Element Model The helmet is the most adopted protective equipment for motorcycle rider around the world, which is useful for reducing or avoiding head injuries, when an accident occurs. Therefore, the author coupled the motorcycle riders to the helmet models. In order to reduce the calculation time, a simplified helmet was developed on the basis of the AGV-T2 helmet model provided by the past project MYMOSA [11]. The validation of the helmet model is verified by reconstructing the shock absorption test by Hyncik et al. (2018) [12]. A series of the helmet FE models to fit to particular human body models FIGURE 3: Simplified motorcycle multi-/body model. are developed by scaling the base helmet model according to the head circumference parameters of the 12 motorcycle riders, which fulfills the size standard of helmets currently sold in markets. The simplified helmet model is composed of an outer layer of the shell and inner protective padding modelled with hexahedron solid elements [12], as shown in Figure 2. The corresponding helmet sizes of six age ranges of the riders are shown in Table 1.
Motorcycle Multi-Body Model The Suzuki motorcycle model [19] is developed from the scratch based on the multi-body approach with an elastic joint placed on the front fork [20]. The mode is built from 8 rigid bodies and 7 joints. Besides the fork elastic joint, all the joint are assumed to be ideal. The model is shown in Figure 3. Due to the major deformation by the impact, the fork elastic joint is validated to have the correct loading response [9]. To follow the real case [21], this specific motorcycle model is selected.
Vehicle Finite Element Model A simplified version of vehicle FE model (Figure 4), used as a base model in this study, is obtained by reconstructing the existing model of Chrysler Neon from the NCAC database [8]. Due to a large number of elements and components in the vehicle base model, a simplified vehicle model is developed by simplifying the base model with the same mass and inertia. The intact trunk, the major structure of energy absorption in the impact simulation, is retained during the process of simplification. The simplified vehicle model included the wheels, frame, roof, rear windscreen and trunk and the connection between the wheels and frame is modelled with a rigid body. The correct response of the simplified vehicle finite element model is proved by the rear impact of a barrier vehicle in comparison to the full Chrysler Neon FE model. This particular
FIGURE 4: Simplified vehicle finite element model.
TABLE 1: Mass, height and corresponding helmet sizes of six age ranges of motorcycle riders.
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VTE | 27
Feature | Technical
FIGURE 5: Top view and lateral view of simulation impact setup.
FIGURE 6: Kinematic response in the simulation with the 16 years old female motorcycle rider.
numerical model of the vehicle shows one of the best correlation with the real crash test [8]. FIGURE 7: Linear regressions of HIC as a function of male/female mass.
Impact Simulation Setup Each motorcycle rider model is coupled to the simplified helmet model and positioned to the motorcycle, ensuring a suitable gap between the hip and motorcycle seat. The symmetrical contact between the rider and the motorcycle is defined and the boundary conditions between the hands and handlebars are modelled with springs of the stiffness equal to 9.36 kN/m [13] and the limiting force equal to 350 N [14] for each hand. The impact simulation is based on a real rear impact accident. The analyzed motorcycle accident took place at the intersection, where the vehicle stopped on the red traffic light and the motorcycle impacted to the rear end of the car [21], see Figure 5. The angle between the longitudinal symmetry plane of the vehicle and the velocity direction of the motorcycle was analyzed as 5 degrees by the accident reconstruction [21]. The initial velocity of the motorcycle is defined as 55 km/h according to the impact speed 55Âą5 km/h from the accident report [21], while the velocity of the vehicle is set to zero. The 12 simulations taking the variable anthropometry of the rider into account are conducted in the Virtual Performance Solutions 13.0 [7].
Results and Discussion
FIGURE 8: Linear regression of C0-C1 peak moment as a function of male/female mass.
The kinematic response of the simulation with the 16 years old female motorcycle rider, as an example, is observed in Figure 6. The total process of impact simulation consists of three phases. In the first phase of the linear movement of the rider and the motorcycle, the rider body starts to slide out from the motorcycle seat because of the effect of rider’s inertia and the decrease of the motorcycle speed, while the front fork of the motorcycle is compressed. In the second phase of the rotation of the rider and the motorcycle, the rider body rotates counterclockwise around the impact point between the knee and the motorcycle and the motorcycle rotates counterclockwise around the contact point between the front wheel and the car rear bumper. During this phase, the movement state of the neck is a combination of extension/flexion, which may cause risk of neck injury. In the last phase, the head coupled to the helmet moves along the rear windscreen, while the rider body rotates around the contact point between the helmet and the rear windscreen. Because the height difference in the group of the six age ranges for both genders is not obvious, only the relationships between the particular injury criteria to mass are analyzed in this paper. Figure 7 shows the HIC with the time interval of 36 ms for all 12 motorcycle riders of the six age ranges. As it can be seen from this figure, the regression variable mass shows a little better correlation with the male HIC than the female HIC.
28 | December 2019
Technical | Feature
FIGURE 9: Linear regression of C0-C1peak shear force as a function of male/ female mass.
The male HIC is proportional to mass, while the female HIC is inversely proportional to mass. It can be also seen from Figure 7 that the influence of the mass on the female HIC is greater than that on the male HIC. The HICs in all 12 cases are lower than the ECE R22.05 certification threshold set to FIGURE 10: Linear regression of C0-C1 axial force as a function of male 2,400 [15]. female mass. The peak moments are measured in the joint between the C0 and the C1 vertebrae in all cases shown in Figure 8, and both positive and negative C0-C1 moments representing flexion and extension bending moments respectively. It can be seen from the figure that the regression variable mass shows much better correlation with the bending moments of the male riders than the bending moments of the female riders. The flexion bending moments of both genders and the extension bending moment of the male are proportional to the mass, while the extension bending moment of the female is inversely proportional to mass. By comparing the absolute values of the regression lines of the slopes of the regression lines in Figure 8, the absolute values of the regression lines of the flexion bending moments are greater than that of the extension bending moments, which demonstrates that the influence of the mass on the flexion bending moments is greater than that on the extension bending moments. The influence of the mass on the extension bending moment of the female is negligible.
The peak shear force (Force-R) and the axial force (Force-T) are measured in the C0-C1 joint in cases shown in Figures 9 and 10, where positive and negative axial forces represent tension and compression forces. From FIGURE 11: Nij criterion of the 16 years old male and female riders.
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FIGURE 12: Nij criterion of the 17 years old male and female riders.
VTE | 29
Feature | Technical
FIGURE 13: Nij criterion of the 18 years old male and female riders.
FIGURE 14: Nij criterion of the 22 years old male and female riders.
Figure 9, the regression variable mass shows much better correlation with the male negative Force-R than the female Force-R and the male positive Force-R. The influences of the mass on the positive Force-R of both genders are negligible. The Force-R of the female is proportional to the mass, while the negative Force-R of both genders and the male positive Force-R are inversely proportional to mass. It can be also seen from Figure 9 that the influences of the mass on the negative peak shear forces are greater than that on the positive peak shear forces.
those for the female riders. It can be also seen from the figures that the difference of Nij criterions between the male and female riders is obvious, which demonstrated that the influence of the rider stature on the Nij criterion at age of 16, 17 and 22 is significant. The male neck for 22 years of the old driver experience much higher shear force then female neck (Figure 16), these phenomena could be explained by the stiffer joints located in the male neck. The increase in age, which also causes the neck stiffness increase, obliterates this difference.
From Figure 10, the regression variable mass shows much better correlation with the female peak tension force and the male peak compression force than the male peak tension force and the female peak compression force. The female peak tension/compression forces are proportional to the mass, while the male peak tension/compression forces are inversely proportional to the mass. And the influence of mass on male peak tension force is negligible. It can be also seen from Figure 10 that the influence of the mass on the male peak tension force is smaller than that on other peak axial forces.
Summary/Conclusions
The Nij criterions for ages 16, 17, 18, 22, 26 and 34 for both male and female riders are shown in Figures 11 - 16. The Nij criterions are compared to the 50th percentile male corridor [16] to assess the neck injury risk. From Figures 11 - 16, the Nij criterions of ages 17 and 22, the female riders are in good agreement to the corridor, whilst the other Nij criterions exceed the corridor, which occurred due to the peak area of the C0-C1 compression force during the time periods of 164 - 173 ms (male) and 158 - 166 ms (female). This indicates that the neck injury for the female riders might appear earlier than that for the male riders during impact simulations. The distribution and variation tendency for the male riders at ages of 18, 26 and 34 are similar to FIGURE 15: Nij criterion of the 26 years old male and female riders.
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The paper demonstrates that the male HIC and C0-C1 flexion bending moments of both genders, the male C0-C1 extension bending moment, the female peak C0-C1 shear force and the female peak C0-C1 axial forces are proportional to mass, while the female HIC, the female C0-C1 extension bending moment, the male peak C0-C1 shear force, the female negative peak C0-C1 shear force and the male peak C0-C1 axial force are inversely proportional to mass. The influences of mass on the HIC, the C0-C1 flexion bending moments of both genders, the male peak C0-C1 shear force, the female peak C0-C1 axial force and the male peak C0-C1 compression force are greater than other corresponding data mentioned in the study. The trends are expected to occur in the motorcycle-to-car frontal and rear impacts with different impact angles. The influences of the rider stature on the HIC (for ages 16, 22 and 34) and on the Nij criterion (for ages 16, 17 and 22) is significant. The paper shows the advantaged of the virtual approach in the field of vehicle safety technology in order to use for accident reconstruction, personal protective equipment optimization and the injury risk mitigation. FIGURE 16: Nij criterion of the 34 years old male and female riders.