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The dissolution and exfoliation of chromium plating specific to Russia was studied. Investigation and analysis of organic compounds in Russian soil revealed contents of highly concentrated fulvic acid. Additionally, it was found that fulvic acid, together with CaCl2 (a deicing agent), causes chromium plating corrosion. The fulvic acid generates a compound that prevents reformation of a passivation film and deteriorates the sacrificial corrosion effectiveness of nickel.

From the viewpoint of measures for environmental issues, the amount of solvents in paint for aluminum wheels needs to be minimized. Environmentally friendly powder coatings have been used widely for primer coating and clear coating, but there is no precedent for its use for base coating. This time, we optimized the condition of surface treatment of pigment and hardening behavior of constituent resin in the melting process and succeeded in developing a metallic powder coating for aluminum wheels that fulfills the appearance and the quality requirements of aluminum wheels.

An acoustic tube was developed and applied to measure the engine radiation noise for the prediction of the steady state exterior engine noise. Using accelerometers to measure the engine surface vibration is a difficult task, especially for the places like the exhaust manifold. The proposed method, an acoustic tube containing a microphone is set at a given distance from the engine and measurements were carried out in such a way that the whole engine surface was covered. Exterior engine noise at a certain distance from the vehicle was predicted by using the measured volume velocity values and propagation characteristics. The predicted results agreed well with previously experimented values.

The basic elements of the Toyota ESV energy management system consist of silicone rubber-type front bumper shock absorbers, an efficient energy-absorbing frame, and upper members for preventing vehicle pitch during impact. The Toyota ESV proved to have satisfactory performance in an 80 km/h frontal impact against flat and pole barriers by adequately balancing the strengths of these elements and effectively arranging the energy-absorbing members of the frame. In addition, based on experiences with the ESV tests, the relationships between crashworthiness variations and vehicle weight or size were studied in detail.