Since the fuel consumption of automobiles increases in proportion to the weight of automobiles, and the emission of exhaust increases in proportion to the amount of fuel consumed, to improve fuel efficiency and reduce exhaust emissions, it is necessary either to develop a highly efficient engine or reduce the weight of the vehicle. In this study, we studied weight reduction using lightweight materials such as aluminum alloys to increase fuel economy. For this purpose, we propose a lightweight design process of the shock tower mounting bracket, which is the largest loaded part among the vehicle parts. The change in strength and dynamic strength was investigated by replacing the existing cast iron material with 320 MPa of aluminum A356 casting material. For strength and dynamic stiffness analysis of the shock tower mounting bracket, the load on the peripheral members was calculated. As a result of the dynamic stiffness analysis, we identified the weak part and calculated that the lifetime of the shock tower mounting bracket is safe for the calculated load conditions. Through this study, we provide a guide for lightweight design and suggest optimal design conditions for development of a vehicle shock tower mounting bracket.

Failure of conventional snowplows is usually caused by the strain put it its rotational parts. In the case of the vertical rotation, when the snowplow is rising or falling, the sensor automatically stops the rotation and the wire could be break due to the impact from an endless drive in the reverse direction or conversely from the winding of the wire. While in motion, snowplows are frequently over turned due to their heavy weight. Snowplows are manufactured with conventional steel plates and have heavy hydraulic cylinders which makes them heavy. This can result in the damaging of the vehicle due to the mounted snowplow and its malfunctions. In this study, a composite resin blade with a high-strength and is lightweight was developed for a snowplow. In order to ensure durability of the snowplows, a new bobbin was designed to mimic the clutch of a vehicle. This study was developed to eliminate the tension and fatigue of the wire by winding the chain instead of the wire in the newly designed bobbin.

An advantage of electric vehicles is that they are environmentally sustainable because they do not emit exhaust gases, such as CO2 or Nox. A disadvantage is the low power performance of the motor and battery source, necessitating a reduction in the weight of the vehicle to increase efficiency. Another disadvantage is that the rechargeable battery enables an electric vehicle to only run for a limited number of miles before requiring electric charging. To solve these problems, the hybrid vehicle has been developed by combining environmental sustainability with the high performance of a conventional internal combustion engine. In this study, an electric UTV (Utility Terrain Vehicle) was transformed into a hybrid vehicle system by outfitting the vehicle with a drive auxiliary power system including a 125 cc internal combustion engine. This modification enabled us to extend the range of the hybrid UTV from 50km to 100km per one electric charging.

To fabricate the aluminum alloys with good drawability, the textures evolution of the AA5182 sheets due to the change of l/d parameter after rolling and subsequent annealing was studied. The measurement of the deformation textures was carried out for the sheets with high reduction ratio and the change of the recrystallization texture was investigated after heat-treatments of the rolled sheets in various l/d parameters. Rolling without lubrication and subsequent annealing led to the formation of favorable rot-CND {001}〈110〉 and γ-fiber ND//〈111〉 textures in AA5182 sheets. From the results, the γ-fiber ND//〈111〉 component well evolved during rolling at high l/d parameter of 6.77. The initial shear deformation texture, especially, γ-fiber ND//〈111〉 was not rotated during heat treatment in holding time of 180~7,200 seconds on AA5182 with l/d parameter of 6.77. Therefore, the AA5182 sheets were fabricated by controlling l/d parameter having well evolved γ-fiber ND//〈111〉 which was advantageous in good drawability of the sheets.