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Photo by Choonhun Lim-University of Michigan, ARC |
This summer, the Automotive Research Center (ARC) received an anniversary present: a $40 million, five-year Army research contract. It is the largest single research contract in the history of the College of Engineering and one of the largest in the history of the University. The funding speaks to the ARC's high level of innovation and collaboration.
When the ARC was established in 1994 at the University of Michigan, it became a linchpin in the research partnership between the National Automotive Center (NAC), the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, and the University of Michigan and its Mechanical Engineering Department. The initial goal of the Center was to advance state-of-the-art modeling and simulation of military and civilian vehicles, while providing both educational opportunities and improved interactions among the military, academia and the automotive industry.
For the NAC and TACOM, the Center of Excellence was an opportunity to pursue groundbreaking research leading to new technologies in military vehicles. For ME, it was an opportunity to strengthen and solidify its leadership position in the automotive area. All of the partners shared the vision of ultimately applying the new knowledge and technologies to the automotive industry.
Over the past ten years, ARC's scope widened considerably as modular templates were developed in five primary research areas: dynamics and control of vehicles and mobile robots; human centered modeling and simulation; high performance structures and materials; advanced and hybrid powertrains; and integrated system design and simulation.
"This anniversary is especially significant," said ARC Director Prof. Dennis Assanis. "The 10th anniversary coincides with the beginning of the third five-year phase of the Automotive Research Center. The continuing success and growth of the Center validates the concept of establishing a collaborative environment to address multi-disciplinary research issues in the automotive area."
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From left to right, Donald C. Graham Professor of Engineering Panos Papalambros, former ARC Director (1994-2000); Dr. Walt Bryzik, Chief Scientist, U.S. Army TARDEC; David Gorsich, Chief Scientist U. S. Army NAC; ME Department Chair Professor Dennis Assanis, ARC Director
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Assanis cited several critical advances made during the past decade, including the development of significant new modeling capabilities in key research areas, together with methodologies for integrating and optimizing large-scale systems to effectively model a vehicle as a system. To address the complex research problems in the automotive area, the ARC created a virtual environment for simulating and evaluating all aspects of vehicle design.
Assanis also noted that ARC researchers are always improving their approaches and methodology. "As with many engineering disciplines, the research needs are evolving as new technologies like autonomous vehicles and fuel cells are being proposed," Assanis said. Over the course of the next five years, part of the new funding will support additional alternative energy/power research activity.
One of the ARC's highlights is its annual conference. This year's two-day meeting, held in May, attracted over 350 participants from government, academia, and industry. Industry participants included representatives from the Big Three, suppliers, and software vendors.
Highlights included videotaped comments from Michigan Senator Carl Levin, focusing on the strategic importance of the work the ARC is doing towards improving fuel economy of dual-use vehicles. Other notables addressing the conference included General Paul J. Kern, Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command, who presented insights into the evolution of fuel logistics for the military. Gerhard Schmidt, Vice President Research & Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company, and Larry Burns, Vice President, Research & Development and Planning, General Motors, also provided a detailed overview of the vision of future powertrains for both commercial and consumer vehicles. "These were all real eye-openers for everyone," said Associate Research Scientist and ARC Assistant Director Zoran Filipi.
Several case studies were presented, including a consideration of the improvement in mobility and fuel economy of a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (or Humvee, as it's more popularly known) with an advanced dual-stage turbocharged diesel engine. Other case studies focused on prediction of vehicle noise, acoustic detection and reliability, and design of alternative technologies under uncertainty. The wide range of research performed by the ARC partners was also highlighted.
The new $40 million contract and next phase of the ARC will ensure continued support for ME, the University of Michigan and its partners in this pioneering research work.