Search Results

An important challenge facing automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEMs) is to bring a product to the consumer that meets the Voice Of the Customer (VOC) with high reliability. Although not an explicitly stated requirement, the desire for highly reliable products is an implicit want of most, if not all customers. The specific challenge to an OEM is to develop products with high reliability under shortened design cycles, cost reduction initiatives, and pressures to produce products with focus market appeal. This paper evaluates the current situation, use, and overall effectiveness of Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA) and its role in improving the reliability of automotive products. The need for a semi-formal or formal methodology for identifying product failure modes is developed.

Fuzzy control is based on either expert knowledge or experimental data and, therefore, it possesses intrinsic qualities like robustness and ease of implementation. The mathematical modeling for fuzzy control systems has been attempted, but until now many models that have been developed do not extend beyond the application for which they were developed. A general class of fuzzy linguistic control algorithms that can be formulated analytically and can capture the nonlinear aspect of a given fuzzy control scheme has been formulated using interpolating functions. The interpolating functions map the process error and its rate or it's a cumulative sum into control action. The systematic approach makes it more desirable to be used in the control of nonlinear dynamics systems. The analytical method developed in previous wok conducted by Langari (1992) and modified by the authors is employed in this practical example to design a controller for an idle speed control system.