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The depletion of the world oil reserves is a major problem facing the world community today. The number of years that oil resources can support our energy needs depends on its proven reserves, new discovery and cumulative consumption. As more countries evolve from developing nations into industrialized societies, the number of vehicles on the road skyrockets. This drastically increasing number of cars on the road is one of the main causes of the rapid depletion of the world oil resources. It also impacts the environment in the form of acid rain, global warming and increased concentrations of ozone near the surface of the earth. This basically leaves two alternatives, stipend the growth of industry or reduce the fuel usage of our vehicles. Recession is not very enjoyable, therefore great efforts are being made to improve the fuel efficiency of modern vehicles, but due to the physical characteristics of internal combustion engines, there is an efficiency limit.

This paper presents a hydraulic pump fault diagnosis method based on a discharge pressure pulsation model. This diagnosis method was based on the pressure signals measured at the discharge port of the pump. The obtained signals were transformed into frequency domain for performing wavelet analysis to separate the fault signals from the pressure signal at the time a fault occurs. This method was first evaluated via simulation analysis, and then validated against test data. Results showed that this wavelet based fault diagnosis method was capable of detecting pump failure using the outlet pressure pulsating signal.

The paper summarises work which has been carried out to establish the sensitivity of the Alcan AVT weld-bonding system to manufacturing process variability. The robustness of the joint-line to factors such as panel fit-up, bondline thickness, adhesive fillet size and missing adhesive is discussed and their effects demonstrated. Manufacturing factors, such as pretreatment damage during part forming and the cure-cycle window for the adhesive, are considered and their effects on performance are indicated. Finally the effect of a series of manufacturing shortfalls and environmental factors have been put together in one experiment and the resulting strength and fatigue performance of bonded joints has been established.

The paper presents the work on the development of a joint design approach for adhesively bonded and spot-welded aluminium automotive structures. The approach includes an allowance for joint geometric variables, manufacturing variability and complex joint loading. An important aspect in the development of the approach has been to minimise the detail required to model the joints in a full vehicle model. The paper describes the development of the joint design approach and identifies many of the joint variables which may influence joint performance. The accuracy of the approach is demonstrated on a simple structure subjected to complex loading, and the use of the approach is illustrated on a full vehicle structure.