RAJALAKSHMI ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHENNAI

DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

AT-6511- Vehicle Design and Data Characteristics

UNIT-1 INTRODUCTION

PART-A
1. What are the design considerations of a vehicle?(Jun 2013)
a. Design parameters- maximum required acceleration, speed, economy, load to be
carried and handling characteristics.
b. Cost
c. Durability
d. Application.
2. Classify the various types of vehicles. (Jun 2013)
Small Cars
Small Medium Cars
Medium Cars
Medium Large Cars
Large cars
Luxury cars

3. Mention various design considerations of a vehicle.(Dec 2012)

Design objective
Design parameters
Durability
Cost

4. Classify the automobiles based on their gross vehicle weight. (Dec 2012)
Dry Weight
This is the weight of vehicle without oil, grease and Fuel.
Kerb Weight
The weight of vehicle sum of kerb and dry weight.
Normal laden weight
Sum of Kerb weight and pay load

5. List out the parameters required for comparing any two passenger cars.(Jun 2012)
Weight of the vehicle
Engine displacement capacity
Engine horse power
Safety and comfort
6. Write the advantages of two strokes over four stroke engines. (Dec 2008)
Two-stroke engines do not have valves, which simplifies their construction and
lowers their weight.
Two-stroke engines fire once every revolution, while four-stroke engines fire once
every other revolution. This gives two-stroke engines a significant power boost.
Two-stroke engines can work in any orientation, which can be important in
something like a chainsaw.
A standard four-stroke engine may have problems with oil flow unless it is
upright, and solving this problem can add complexity to the engine.

7. What is the basic requirement for smooth engine operation? (Dec 2008)
Moderate Rate of pressure rise
Reducing the possibility of Knocking

8. Draw a Performance curve of resistances Vs Vehicle speeds for a typical car .(Jun 2007)

Where,
Ra = Air Resistance
Rr = Rolling Resistance
RT=Total Resistance

9. What are the various resistances that a vehicle has to encounter? (Apr/May 2011)
Rolling Resistance
Air Resistance
Gradient Resistance

10. Give an expression having frontal area.

Area= ( H-C)*L
H-height of the vehicle , C-ground clearance and L-length of vehicle
PART-B
1. Discuss about the design variables which are affecting performance of a
vehicle. (Jun 2013)

2. A four cylinder petrol engine has an output of 51.5 kW BP at 2000 rpm. A Morse test was
conducted and the brake torque readings were 176.3, 169.5, 166.8 and 173.6 N-m
respectively. For normal running at this speed, specific fuel consumption is 0.37 kg/bpW h.
The LHV of the fuel is 43900 kJ/kg. Calculate the (i) Indicated power (ii) Frictional power
(iii) Mechanical efficiency and (iv) The brake thermal efficiency of the engine.
(Dec 2012)
3. A four cylinder automobile engine develops 73.6 kW at 2000rpm. Determine the F.P,I.P and
mechanical efficiency by the method of making the cylinders inactive. Successively on at a
time. The following values of B.P were obtained by the above process: 50.4, 50.8, 52.3 and
52.6. (April/May 2011)
4. An eight cylinder automobile engine of 85.7 mm bore and 82.3 mm stroke with compression
ratio of 7 is tested at 4000 rpm on a dynamometer which has a 0.5335 m arm, During a 10
minute test at a dynamometer scale beam reading of 400 N, 4.55 kg of gasoline for which the
heating value is 46,000 kJ/kg are burnt, and air is supplied to the carburetor at rate of 5.44
kg/mm. Find (i) the B.P delivered, (ii) the BMEP (iii) BSFC, (iv) the specific air
consumption, and (v) the brake thermal efficiency.

5. A four-cylinder petrol engine has an output of 51.5kW at 2000rpm. A Morse test was carried
out and the brake torque readings were 176.3, 169.5, 166.8 and 173.6 N-m respectively. For
normal running at this speed, specific fuel consumption is 0.37 kglb kWh. The L.H.V of the
fuel is 43900kJlkg. Calculate the mechanical efficiency and brake thermal efficiency of the
engine.

6. Explain the step by step procedure involved in vehicle design. (April/May 2011)

UNIT-2 RESISTANCE TO VEHICLE MOTION

PART-A
1. Define rolling resistances. (Jun 2013)
The resistance offered by the road against vehicle motion is known as rolling/road resistance.
Rr =KrW or
Where,
Rr=Rolling Resistance
Kr-road resistance coefficient
W-Gross vehicle weight (N)

2. In what way does the vehicle frontal projected area and vehicle speed influence the
motion of the moving vehicle? (Jun 2013)
 When a vehicles frontal area is increased the drag is increased and it also increases with
increase in speed and the drag reduces when the frontal area is decreased.

3. Define the term rolling resistance with the factors affecting the same. (Dec 2012)
The resistance offered by the road against vehicle motion is known as rolling/road resistance.

Factors affecting road resistance are:

Depends on diameter of wheel
Depends on type of road
Depends on applied torque
Depends on curvature of roadway
Air drag

4. Differentiate traction and tractive effort. (Dec 2012)

Tractive effort Traction

Tractive effort is the force available Traction is the ability of the rear wheels to
between road wheels and road surface transmit tractive effort without slipping.

5. If the acceleration is 0.9 m/s to 1.05 m/s and maximum velocity is 120 kmph, find the
velocity for maximum acceleration. (Jun 2012)

When velocity=0, acceleration is maximum.

6. Define Mechanical Efficiency

The ratio of power delivered by the engine (BP) to the total power developed within the
engine (IP) is known as mechanical efficiency
mech = BP/IP 100 = BP/ (BP+IP) = BMEP/IMEP
7. What are the differences between Rolling resistance and Air resistance?
Rolling resistance Air resistance
The resistance offered by the road against The resistance offered by air against
vehicle motion is known as rolling/road vehicle motion is known as air resistance.
resistance.
Rr =KrW Ra=Ka*A*V2
Kr-road resistance coefficient Ka-air resistance coefficient
W-Gross vehicle weight (N) A-frontal area(m2)
V-vehicle speed(km/hr)

8. Derive a relation between engine speed and vehicle speed.

N/V=2.65*(G/R)

N-engine speed (rpm)

V-vehicle speed (km/hr)
 G-overall gear ratio (G=gear ratio*axle ratio)
r=effective wheel radius (m)

9. Define indicated mean effective pressure. (Dec 2008)

10. How do you calculate indicated mean effective pressure?

IMEP =
7.

PART-B
1. Assuming suitable vehicle data plot, explain the following for various gear ratios.
(i) Road speed Vs power available at road wheels
(ii) Road speed Vs tractive effort
2. A truck weighing 59 kN has a frontal area of 5.6 m2.The overall top gear ratio and the
second gear ratio are 6.2:1 and 15:1 respectively. The transmission efficiency at top gear is
90 % and that in second gear is 80 %. The rolling resistance is 17.7 N per 1000 N of truck
weight and the wind resistance coefficient is 0.027. If the truck is running on a level road at a
maximum speed of 88 km/h, find the following:
i. The engine BP required at the maximum truck speed
ii. The engine rpm at the maximum truck speed if the driving wheels have an
effective diameter of 0.81m.
iii. The maximum grade the truck can negotiate at the above engine speed in
the second gear and
iv. The maximum draw bar pull available on level at the above engine speed
in the second gear.
3. An engine is required to power a truck having a cross vehicle weight of 40 kN. The
maximum grade which the truck will have to negotiate at 32 km/h in a second gear is
expected to be 15%. The total resistance R = Kf W + Ka A V2, N, where A frontal area = 5.2
m2 and V the speed in km/h, Kf the coefficient of rolling resistance = 0.017and Ka the
coefficient of air resistance is 0.0324. The transmission efficiency in second gear is estimated
to be 80%. Calculate
(i) The minimum power which should be available in the engine in the second gear.
(ii) Second gear ratio
(iii) Minimum speed of the vehicle in top gear on level road at the same engine speed
where the transmission efficiency is 90%
 (iv) Top gear ratio. Take the final gear ratio is 3.92
4. The car of GVW 14 kN is fitted with an engine developing 31 kW at 2000 rpm. The top
gear ratio is 4.5:1 with an effective wheel diameter of 0.66 m and transmission efficiency of 88%
at the same speed. The rolling resistance is 14 N per 1000 N of weight and the air resistance is
equivalent to 0.0775 V2, N where V is the forward speed in km/h. The total inertia of the car
including that of engine, transmission and road wheels may be assumed to be equivalent to that
of a weight 17 kN, Calculate
(i) The forward speed at 2000 rpm
(ii) The power available for hill climbing at this speed.
(iii) The maximum acceleration possible at this speed.
5. With the specification of a model car, calculate the rolling resistance, air resistance, total
resistance and tractive force. Also calculate the maximum gradient that the vehicle can climb
at any velocity.

6. A motor car weighs 11212.8 N and the engine develops 41 b.kW at 4500 r.p.m. The
combined air and rolling resistance is given by the formula R = 408.2 + 0.0515 V2, where R
is in N and V in km/hr. The performance characteristics are such that it will reach 120.5 km
per hour at 4500 r.p.m. and full throttle when engine is running in still air and at the same
speed in second gear it will just climb a gradient of 1 in 10. The top and the second gear
ratios are 5:1 and 8:1 respectively.
(i) Calculate the efficiency of transmission on top and second gear.
(ii) Calculate the engine power required for second gear with same efficiency of
transmission as in the earlier case when climbing up the gradient of 1 in 20 at 48
km/hr speed

UNIT III PERFORMANCE CURVES I

PART-A
1. List the factors which contribute the losses in the mechanical efficiency. (Dec 2012)
Friction
Power absorption
Load
Fuel consumption
2. How does the change in cylinder bore influence power output? (Jun 2013)

If the bore diameter is changed i.e. if it is increased the piston must be changed so the
quantity of air/fuel mixture entering the combustion chamber increases which in turn increases
the power output and vice versa if decreased.

vol =Va/Vs
IP = I.M.E.P L A n K/ 60000
A= /4 D2 L
3. Distinguish between ideal and actual pressure and volume diagram for petrol engine.
(Jun 2013)

S.NO IDEAL PV DIAGRAM ACTUAL PV DIAGRAM

1. In air standard cycle air is
Considered to be the working fluid, with
assumption of ideal gas.
2. In air standard cycle the processes are
distinctly identifiable with no overlap
3. In air standard cycle it is assumed that In internal combustion engine the working
airs specific heat remain constant.
4. It gives maximum Efficiency.
5. No friction loss
In internal combustion engine air-fuel
mixture acts as the working fluid.
In internal combustion engine the individual
processes can t be distinctly identifiable,
they always overlap.
fluids specific heat changes with pressure
and temperature.
Less compared to Ideal cycle.
Friction loss considered.

4. What are the factors that affect the performance of an engine? (Dec 2008)
o Heat Transfer & Engine speed
o Ignition timing in SI & fuel injection in CI
o Residual gas & Valve timing
o Combustion time & Incomplete combustion
o Atmospheric conditions

5. Define volumetric efficiency.

Volumetric Efficiency is the ratio of actual volume to the swept volume.
=Va/Vs

6. State the importance of P-V diagram in vehicle design.

Used to identify the process of engines
We can calculate imep and power
We can calculate the peak pressure of the engine
Intermediate pressure can be calculated

7. Define mechanical efficiency of an engine.

It is the ratio of brake power to indicated power.

mech =(Brake power/Indicated power)*100

8. Define bmep and factors affecting the same.

The mean effective pressure is a quantity relating to the operation of a reciprocating
engine and is a valuable measure of an engine's capacity to do work that is independent
of engine displacement.
 BMEP- mean effective pressure calculated from brake power

Factors affecting bmep

Brake power
Area of bore
Speed
Number of cylinders

9. How do you calculate indicated mean effective pressure from PV diagram of otto cycle?

Imep= ( Area of PV diagram X Scale factor in y axis X Diagram factor) / (Length of PV

diagram )
The value of Diagram factor=0.9

10. Write the different combinations of the firing order for a 6 cylinder inline engine and
state the reason for staggering the firing of various cylinders in certain order.

135642, 153624,146253,135246,

minimizing vibration,
improve engine balance
achieving smooth running,
for long engine fatigue life
and user comfort,
and heavily influences crankshaft design.

PART-B
1. Draw a PV diagram of a 4-stroke petrol engine with a compression ratio 9:1. Assume the
suction pressure as 0.97 kg/cm. Assume all other data.
2. Gas constant of air = 287.14 kJ/kg K Petrol vapour has twice the density of air and the
mixture at the end of the suction stroke is at a pressure of 82.4 kN/ m and a temperature of
333 K. The engine develops its rated power of 66 kW at a speed of 4200 rpm. Assume the
stroke is 25 % greater than the diameter. (Jun 2013)

3. The indicated horsepower of an eight cylinder engine of capacity 4736 CC is 159 kw at 4400
rpm and indicated mean effective pressure is 8.6 bars. Brake power can be assumed as 154
kW after deduction of friction power. Calculate the torque produced by the engine for brake
power of 154 kW at 4400 rpm. (Jun 2012)

4. Draw the performance curves for the following characteristics of an automotive diesel
engine. Variations of BP, FP, IP, torque, BMEP, mechanical efficiency and fuel
consumption against speed in rpm. Calculate the cylinder dimensions of a Six cylinder
engine for the conditions given below:
Thermal efficiency = 22%
Volumetric efficiency= 80%
 Mechanical efficiency= 82%
Heating value of petrol= 46400 kJ/kg
Theoretical air required per kg petrol 14.5
Excess of air = 25 %
5. Assuming suitable data, plot the variation of Torque and Mechanical efficiency with respect
to different vehicle speeds.
6. A four stoke, four cylinder engine uses 1.72 kg/min of fuel of heating value 46400 kJ/kg.
The brake thermal efficiency is 85% if the mean effective pressure is 551.3 kPa and the
stroke to bore ratio is 1.2:1. Take gas constant for air as 287.14 J/kg K. Find the cylindrical
dimension of the engine, taking the maximum engine speed as 3000 rpm.

UNIT IV PERFORMANCE CURVES II

PART-A

1. What do mean by inertia force?

Due to the action of the reciprocating parts a force is exerted on the piston known as
inertia force (Fi).
2. Give an expression for side thrust.

Ps=P tan
= sin-1(sin /n)

3. Explain the significance of side thrust acting on the piston.

Its ultimate effect is to wear the piston and cylinder out of round.

4. What do you mean by gas force?

Due to the presence of gas inside the cylinder during combustion a certain force is
exerted on the piston. This force due to gas pressure acting on the piston is known as Gas force.

5. Differentiate between piston velocity and acceleration.

Piston velocity Piston Acceleration

Vp=*r [ sin 2/2n + sin ] ap=2*r [ cos 2/n + cos ]

6. What is the significance of combined turning moment produced inside the engine?

The combined turning moment calculated for multi-cylinder engine. It is the sum of turning
moment produced in multi-cylinder engine.
7. What is meant by mean piston speed?

The mean piston speed is the average speed of the piston in a reciprocating engine
which is related to the stroke (L) & crankshaft angular displacement for one stroke at a given
angular velocity ().

8. Write the equation required for calculation of reciprocating mass of an engine.

Reciprocating mass= Area of bore * mass of inertia parts

9. What are the design features of a connecting rod?

Dimensions of cross-section of connecting rod

Dimensions of crank pin at the big end and piston pin at small end
Size of bolts for securing the big end cap
Thickness of big end cap

10. Define turning moment on crank shaft due to gas force.

It is defined as the product of the crank effort & crank radius. It is caused by the force
transmitted to the crankshaft through connecting rod.

T.M= Pc*r
PART-B
1. Derive the equations for calculating the displacement, velocity and acceleration of piston and
connecting rod of an IC engine. (Jun 2013)
2. A petrol engine is of 100 mm diameter and 125 mm stroke has a connecting rod 250 mm
long. The piston has a mass of 1.15 kg. The engine speed is 2000 rpm. On explosion stroke
with the crank 20 from The TDC the gas pressure is 0.7 MPa. Determine
(i) Net force on piston
(ii)The resultant load on gudgeon pin
(iii) The thrust on the cylinder walls
(iv) The speed above which the gudgeon pin load would be reversed in
direction, the other things remaining the same. (Jun 2013)

3. The following details are given for the piston, during expansion stroke
4.
Crank angle (deg) 0 15 30 45 60 75 90 lO5 120 135 150 165 180.
Gas pressure (kg 50.5 52.5 32.5 24.9 14.5 11.2 9.4 7.5 5.8 4.5 4.0 3.5 2.5
/cm)

Find the gas force, inertia force and resultant force. Assume Bore area as 49cm. (Jun 2012)

4. Write the procedure to find the Gas force, Inertia force and Resultant force of a piston for all
the crank angles. (JUNE 2007)
5. The ratio of connecting rod length to crank length of a vertical gasoline engine is 4 with a
crank length of 50.mm, The engine bore and stroke are 80 mm and 100 mm respectively. The
mass of reciprocating parts is 1 kg. The gas pressure on the piston is 6 x 105 Pa, when it has
moved 40 from the inner dead center on its power stroke. Determine:
(i) Net load on piston
(ii) Net load on gudgeon pin and the crank pin
(iii) Thrust on cylinder walls
6. Draw velocity and acceleration diagram for a piston from 0 degree to 360 degree crank angle.
Assume the stroke length as 76mm, connecting rod length= 152mm and the engine speed as
4000 rpm.

UNIT V GEAR RATIOS

PART-A
1. How are intermediate gears decided for a gear system?

In a sequence of gears chained together, the ratio depends only on the number of teeth on the
first and last gear. The intermediate gears, regardless of their size, do not alter the overall gear
ratio of the chain. However, the addition of each intermediate gear reverses the direction of
rotation of the final gear.

2. How is maximum possible vehicle speed set?

The Vehicle Speed Limiter (VSL) feature limits the maximum speed that the vehicle Can
travel on a level road. This feature could be set to a blend of fuel economy or Performance. This
feature limits the maximum vehicle speed controlled by the accelerator pedal. If your engine
reaches a certain speed and feels like it should have more power to travel faster, you are
probably traveling at the governed maximum speed limit.

3. Define the term gradiability.

The resistance offered by the gradient against the vehicle motion when vehicle is moving on
a gradient road is known as gradiability.

4. Write the formula for gradiability?

Rg = W/x or W sin
5. State the maximum gradiability while climb the hill?

The maimum grade is 30 to 40 %

Rg = W sin

6. Write the fomula for the Driving Force?

D.F = (Te G ra t )/ RW
Where,
 Te = Engine Torque
G = Gear ratio
Ra = Axle ratio
t = Transmission Efficiency

7. Define Acceleration

8. Draw the Graph between Acceleration and gradiability

9. Define total Resistance at climbing hill.

The sum of air resistance, rolling resistance and gradient resistance
RT = Ra+Rr+Rg
10. List the parameters for comparing any two passenger cars.

a. Weight of vehicle
b. Engine displacement capacity
c. Engine horsepower
PART B

1. A four speed gear box is to be constructed for providing the ratios of 1.0, 1.46, 2.28 and
 3.93 to 1 as nearly as possible. The diametrical pitch of each gear is 3.25 mm and the
smallest pinion is to have at least 15 teeth. Determine the suitable number of teeth of the
different gears and the distance between the main and lay shaft. Also sketch the layout of
a typical constant mesh gear box for these conditions. (Jun 2013)

2. A motor vehicle of total weight 15 kN has a road wheels of 600 mm diameter. The
effective moment of inertia of the four road wheels and of the rear axle together is 8 kg
m while that of the engine and flywheel is 1 kg m -. The transmission resistance at a
speed of 24 km/h is 300 N. The total available engine torque is 200 N-m.
Determine
(i) Gear ratio, engine to back axle ratio, to provide maximum acceleration on an
upgrade whose sine is 0.25, when travelling at 24 km/h.
(ii) The value of the maximum acceleration
(iii) The speed of the engine and the power under these conditions. (Jun 2013)

3. An automotive gear box gives three forward speeds and one reverse with a top gear of
unity and bottom and reverse gear ratio of approximately 3.3 : 1. The centre distance
between the shafts is to be 110 mm approximately. Gear teeth of module 3.25 mm are to
be employed. Sketch the layout of a typical constant mesh gear box for these conditions
giving the number of teeth for the various gear wheels and showing closely how the
different ratios are obtained. (Dec 2012)

4. 4. How is the vehicle speed related to engine rotation? For typical motor car, the road
resistance is given by 23 N per 1000 N, the air resistance by the expression 0.0827 V,
transmission efficiency 88 % in top speed; car weight 20 kN when fully loaded.
Calculate
(i) The brake power required for a top speed of 144 km/h
(ii) The acceleration in m/s at 48 km/h, assuming. the torque at 48 km/h, in the top
gear 25% more than at 144 km/h
(iii) The brake power required to drive the car up a gradient of 1 in 5 at 48 km/h,
transmission efficiency 80% in bottom gear. The resistance being in N and V the speed in km/h
and g = acceleration due to gravity =9.81 m/s2
5. Explain the procedure to find the gear ratios and acceleration of the vehicle by assuming
the gradability(Jun 2007)
6. Explain the need for a gear box in the automobile. Briefly explain the procedure of
calculation of gear ratios for a small car. (Jun 2012)