Automotive Engineering

Introduction to business administration and accounting in companies, including balance sheet analysis and basics of cost accounting

Power series, Ordinary Differential Equations (classes of ODEs, analytical and numerical solution of ODEs), linear algebra (matrices, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of matrices, numerical methods in linear algebra), coupled systems of ODEs (analytical and numerical solutions), integral transforms (Laplace and Fourier transform).

Specialised vocaulary on automotive topics and systems (chassis, engine, transmission, brakes etc.); communicative grammar; culture and society; presentations.

Introduction to electric circuits. Application of circuitry laws. Switching operations of inductors and capacitors. Features of the AC signal. Measurement of electric quantities.

Overview and basics of private law, civil and commerical law, corporate law, tax law and labour law

Fundamentals of materials, such as structure, space lattice, alloys, iron-carbon diagram; current parameters for the description of material characteristics and associated test methods; overview of materials and their charactistics used in vehicles

Seminar: interdisciplinary learning, software documentation, presentaion, software development.

Employing basic theoretical knowledge in project work and bachelor's thesis

Basics of ANSI-C programming language: data types, control structures, dynamic memory allocation, working with files, data exchange with Matlab. Introduction into Matlab / Simulink: data types, use of the library and functions, graphic data output, generation and integration of C code

Introduction: strength of a material and of a component, the calculation of strength; Mechanical bahaviour of materials and constitutive laws; Uniaxial stress: normal stress and strain, Hooke’s law, thermal strain and thermal stresses, calculation of statically indeterminate systems, the principle of superposition; Shear stress and strain; Analysis of stress and strain: general (triaxial) state of stress and strain, generalized Hooke’s law, plane stress and plane strain conditions; Failure hypotheses: equivalent stress, maximum normal and maximum shear stress criteria, maximum distortion energy criterion

Overview of current types of engine construction and their control hardware. Fuction, construction and mathematical description of electromagnetic energy conversion in step, direct, BLDC, sychronus and asychronus motors and their behaviour in steady and non-steady states; design criteria; similarity characters for the appraisal of scale. Function and construction of inverter types for different engine types; attainable efficiency factors.

Practical tutorials in the following areas: calculation, measurement, operation of prototype circuits, amplifiers, inverters, electric drives.

Basics knowledge of electronic components, electronic circuits, introduction to control engineering.

Multivariate calculus (partial derivatives, double and triple integrals), vector differential calculus (curves, tangents, arc lengths, surfaces and surface integrals, integral theorems), Partial Differential Equations (classes of PDEs, analytical and numerical solution of PDEs), introduction to probability and statistics.

Kinematics (i.e. description of motion) of a particle in various coordinate systems incl. the natural coordinate system; relative and absolute motions of particles; Kinematics of rigid bodies and special cases of motion: translation, rotation about a fixed axis, parallel-plane motion, rotation about a fixed point

Written communication: compiling technical reports and/or project documentation (based on an existing project), emails; specialized vocabulary; meetings; presentations; communicative grammar.

Acquisition of knowledge relating to light metals, artificial and composite materials, semiconductors, ceramics, methods of increasing strength, surface technologies and tribology.

Torsion: torsion of bars with circular cross-sections, torsion of thin-walled tubes, torsion of bars with arbitrary cross-sections; Bending of beams: pure bending, symmetric bending, unsymmetric bending, deflection curve; application of the method of superposition on bending, shear centre; Combined loading; Buckling of columns and structural stability in general; Special topics (optional): composite beams, elastic-plastic bending, fatigue strength, fracture mechanics

Principal theories of thermodynamics, equations and changes of state, thermodynamic diagrams, gas mixtures, moist air, combustion, steam, steam powered devices and cooling devices.

Understanding of: how exhaust emissions occur, the structure and functionality of a chassis dynamometer, how evaporative emissions occur, the structure and layout of fuel systems in vehicles, structure and functionality of a SHED chamber. Objective and subjective evaluation of driving behaviour.

User interface. Overview of workbenches. Workbench sketcher. Workbench wireframe and surfaces. Workbench solids. Workbench drawing. Modelling strategies.

Differential equations for the description of system states, state space representation; Laplace transformation; transfer functions; manipulation of block diagrams; PID controllers and their representation; observation of stability of SISO systems using Bode analysis; cascade control; disturbance compensation; empirical evaluation criteria for controllers. PC tools Maxima and Matlab/Simulink with the Control System Toolbox will be used. Knowledge will be applied using a real DC servo drive.

Piston engine (engine components, crank dynamics, engine concepts, charge cycle, charging, carburation, combustion, exhaust emissions and exhaust emission treatment, cooling and lubricating, electronics….)

Axiomatic foundation of Newtonian Mechanics: Newton's laws; Kinetics of particles: equation of motion in inertial and non-inertial systems of reference, the principles of linear and angular impulse and momentum, work and energy, and the conservation of energy; Kinetics of a system of particles: generalisation of the principles of the kinetics of particles (with applications to the impact of two bodies, a steady stream of particles and a system gaining or losing mass); Kinetics of rigid bodies: Newton-Euler’s equations of motion, the application of the principles of mechanics to rigid bodies (with particular attention to special cases of motion)

Introduction to design elements such as bolted fasteners, elastic springs, shafts and hubs as well as elements to connect them, ball bearings sliding bearings as well as transmission components and their design in terms of mechanics, materials science and strength of materials.

Basic terminology in relation to control systems and how they are represented in mechatronic systems. Model-based development of mechatronic systems with Matlab/Simulink; representaion of functional flows, system states and parameters in embedded systems, basic terminology in relation to fixed-point arithmetics. Measurement and analysis of states with CANape and oscilloscope; experimental setting of controllers according to the Ziegler-Nichols method. Structure and initial operation of electronic systems and error detection.

Planning and designing production processes; materials flow planning, layout planning, micro-process planning including workplace design, workplace safety, ergonomics, calculation of production times and production documentation. Internal and external transportation and their influence on product design. Production-development interface; simultaneous engineering; continuous improvement, lean management, CIM and teamwork.

Introduction to quality management in automotive development (ISO 9001, Total Quality Management, Automotive SPICE...) and production (Six Sigma, ....)

Team building/team work; intercultural competences; communicative grammar; presentations

Thermodynamics of compressors, turbines and engine processes; heat conduction, radiation

Measuring electrical and non-electrical signals in the vehicle; methods of digital signal processing using Matlab/Simulink

Understanding of: how exhaust emissions occur, how exhaust emission control systems in- and outside the engine work, the structure and functionality of a chassis dynamometer Procedure for mounting a combustion engine on a test bench. Engineering methods for drivetrain test beds/ Transmission and Clutch Test Bed

In-depth investigation of workbenches sketcher, wireframe and surfaces, solids and assembly as well as drawing. Modelling strategies and procedures when designing compley parts, especially in conjunction with other designers. Workbench structural analysis.

Different body types. Materials used in carbodies. Surface protection. Assembly processes. Vehicle interiors. Vehicle safety: static and dynamic requirements carbodies have to meet. Passenger safety. Methods for checking safety equipment.

The components governing driving behaviour: fundamental knowledge of chassis engineering, from basic chassis types through how they work (including their advantages and disadvantages) to practical examples.

Mathematical description of driving behaviour: basics of modelling of multi-track vehicles and their components; tyre behaviour, longitudinal, transverse and vertical dynamics; driving comfort; description of uneveness of road surfaces; simulation of vehicle dynamics, vehicle dynamics control systems (ABS, ESP, ...); introduction to experimental vehicle dynamics: test manoeuvers, measuring technology, evaluation of results; CAE tools: Matlab/Simulink, Vedyna

Mathematics, kinematics, Navier-Stokes equations, basic equations in different coordinate systems, macroscopic moment balance, Bernoulli equations, stationary gas dynamics, numerical fluid dynamics.

Transmissions and powertrains (stick shift, automatic, transfer case, planetary gear transmission, axle-mounted transmission, clutch...)

Based on the knowledge of ICE1a focus on e.g. combustion details is set (new solutions and trends, main focal points of current vehicle development)

Job applications (CV, letters of application, follow-up and cold calling); basic negotiations; writing technical/scientific texts; presentations.

Overview of the vehicle industry, vehicle production, markets, transport, environmental influences and recycling, economic considerations, societal developments, cultural influences. An excursion is planned as part of the lecture. On the basis of this excursion, students should gain an insight into the daily workings of the vehicle industry and thus get an impression of what awaits them in their internship.

Practical application of skills attained in semesters 1-5

Researching and compiling a bachelor's thesis on a technical topic.

How to research and compile a thesis at bachelor's level