The Evolution of Automotive Technology

"Preface to the Second Edition xv Preface xvii Chapter 1 The Evolution of Automotive Technology 1 1.1. Introduction: Why This Book, and How? 1 1.2. Structure and System 2 Structure 2 System 3 1.3. A Quasi-Evolutionary Approach 4 Incremental and Radical Change 5 Normal Change 6 1.4. The Dual Nature of Technology 8 Substitution and Coexistence 8 Taxonomies and Types 10 Affordance 11 1.5. One and a Quarter Century of Cars 12 1.6. Conclusions 14 References 14 Part I : Structure Chapter 2 The Engine: Mixture Formation 19 2.1. Introduction: Finding the Car's Basic Layout 19 Panhard System and Front Wheel Drive 20 2.2. Constructing a Taxonomy of Engines 21 American versus European Car Culture: Elasticity and Torque Rise 23 Torque and Power Curve 23 Pluto Effect and Sailing Ship Effect 25 Fuel Consumption Graph 26 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 viii Contents 2.3. Making the Engine Work 27 2.4. Carburation: Constructing the Mixture 32 Carburation: Evaporation versus Atomization 33 A Typical Early Automotive Engineer: Arthur Krebs 34 Complexifying the Carburetor 37 Constant Venturi versus Constant Vacuum Carburetors 38 Carburetors versus Injection Systems 40 2.5. Conclusions 40 References 41 Chapter 3 The Engine: Ignition 45 3.1. Introduction: Regulating the Engine from Its Industrial Application 45 Flame versus Incandescent Ignition 45 3.2. Robert Bosch and the Magneto Ignition 47 A Second Typical Car Engineer: Robert Bosch 50 Ignition Timing 52 3.3. Charles Kettering and the Systemic Approach of Technical Problems 53 A Typical American Car Engineer 54 Kettering's Starter-Generator as System 55 3.4. Struggle of the Systems: Constructing Both a Winner and His Story 57 Spark Plugs 58 Magneto versus Battery Ignition 59 Germany versus USA and the First World War 60 Technical Competition and the Pluto Effect 62 Constructing the Ignition ""Story"" 63 3.5. Conclusions 64 References 64 Chapter 4 The Drivetrain: How to Get the Energy from the Engine to the Wheels 67 4.1. Introduction: Shaping the Drivetrain Configuration 67 Pre-automotive Developments 68 Translation and Transformation of Functions 69 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 ixContents 4.2. From Belts and Chains to Prop Shafts (and Belts and Chains) 69 Belts 70 Chains versus Prop Shafts 71 Torque Tube versus Hotchkiss Drive 71 4.3. The Clutch: Substitution and Coexistence 72 Emergence of the Dry Single-Disc Clutch 75 A Trend of Automation 76 4.4. The Final Drive: A Feast of Gearwheel Designs 78 Emergence of the Hypoid Pinion Drive 79 4.5. Universal Joints, Front-Wheel Drive, and the Reconfiguration of the Drivetrain 81 Jean Albert Grégoire 81 Bendix-Weiss, Rzeppa, and Delta Joints 83 4.6. Conclusions 84 References 85 Chapter 5 The Drivetrain: Multiplying Energy, De-Multiplying Speed 89 5.1. Introduction: Costs and Cheapness 89 5.2. The Transmission: How to Circumvent Gear Shifting 90 The Problem of Noise Production 91 Early CVTs 94 5.3. The Automatic Transmission: Diverging Car Cultures 97 The ""Transmissionless"" Ideal 99 5.4. Transmission Manufacturers and Automotive Production 100 Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen and Borg-Warner 101 European Refusal to Automate 101 Manual versus Automatic 103 5.5. Conclusions: Expectations and the Distant User 104 References 105 Chapter 6 The Chassis: Getting Around the Corner 109 6.1. Introduction: Pre-Car Developments 109 Wheels and Brakes 110 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 x Contents Suspension 111 Steering 112 6.2. Constructing the Automotive Chassis 113 Two Schools of Early Car Design 113 6.3. Steering: Keep It Simple, Be Precise 115 Rack-and-Pinion Steering 118 6.4. Steering the Car, Theorizing Dynamic Behavior 119 Oversteer and Understeer 120 Scientification: Steering Error 120 6.5. Conclusions 122 References 123 Chapter 7 Wheel Suspension: Who Will Absorb the Shocks? 125 7.1. Introduction: The Suspension as System 125 Co-development 128 7.2. How to Guide the Wheels? Big Problems, Many Solutions 128 Independent Wheel Suspension 130 Springs and Dampers 132 7.3. Who Should Absorb the Shocks? Defining the Role of Tires 135 Elastic Wheels and Balloon Tires 136 Tread Profiles and Materials 138 The Radial Revolution 140 7.4. Conclusions 143 References 144 Chapter 8 Stopping the Car: How to Generate and Distribute Braking Energy 147 8.1. Introduction: Braking Levels Within the Car Structure 147 8.2. The Braking System: How to Distribute Braking Energy over the Wheels 149 Mechanical Brake Actuation 150 Mechanical versus Hydraulic Brake Actuation 152 8.3. Drums and Discs: Substitution and Coexistence 153 Power Braking 154 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 xiContents The Disc Brake Revolution, Interrupted 155 Mechanical ABS 157 8.4. Conclusions 158 References 160 Part II: System Chapter 9 Automation: Driver Deskilling and the ""Electronic Revolution"" 163 9.1. Introduction: Trends in Automotive Technology 163 Automation and Electronization 165 Driving Skills 166 9.2. Postwar Automation, an Electronic Revolution? 168 Three Generations of Electronization 168 The Failure of the Electronic Carburetor 170 Siemens Automotive as Newcomer 172 A Crisis of Electronization 172 9.3. The Lay Motorist and the Navigation Revolution 175 The Fourth Generation of Electronization 176 Three Generations of Navigation Systems 177 9.4. Conclusions 178 References 178 Chapter 1 0 Safety: From Shell to Capsule to Cocoon, from Danger to Risk 181 10.1. Introduction: Closing the Automotive Body 181 From Open to Closed Bodies 182 10.2. ""Control the Lunatic!"" The Hunt for the ""Accident-Prone"" Motorist 183 The Choice in Favor of ""Order"" 185 Road Accident Statistics 186 Inventing the ""Death Rate"" 187 10.3. Protecting the Motorists: Active and Passive Safety 189 Safety Research 190 Safety Legislation and Regulation 192 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 xii Contents 10.4. Antilock Braking ABS 194 10.5. Conclusions 197 References 198 Chapter 1 1 Environment: Discovering the Other 203 11.1. Introduction: Inventing the Environment 203 Health Aspects of Early Automobilism 204 11.2. Engineering Car Noise While Closing the Body: Liberating Vision from Sensual Interference 205 Sound and Comfort Engineering 205 Eliminate Sound to Enhance Vision 207 11.3. The Diesel Car as Remedy: Car Cultures and the Perception of Technology 209 A Crisis in Car Engineering 209 Emission Regulation 210 The Diesel Engine as Alternative 212 The Social Construction of Car Technology 214 11.4. Lean-Burn versus Catalyst: The Struggle for a Clean Car 215 Lean Burn 216 Technology Forcing and the Victory of the Catalyst 217 The Catalyst as Part of a Standardized World System 218 A European Turn-around, and an American 220 11.5. Conclusions 222 References 222 Chapter 1 2 Scientification: The Co-evolution of Engineering Knowledge 227 12.1. Introduction: How Do Engineers Know? 227 12.2. Rudolf Diesel: Failure or Success? 229 Mimicking Carnot 229 Trying to Develop an Automotive Diesel Engine 231 12.3. Team Work in Laboratories: Scientification of Car Dynamics 232 Wunibald Kamm and Car Dynamics 234 Translating Aeronautics to Automotive Technology 236 Charles Kettering and General Motors Research 236 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 xiiiContents Engine Knock 237 The Marketing of TEL 239 Kettering and Science 242 Research on Comfort 242 12.4. Constructing the State of the Art: Conferences, Education, and Books 244 The Importance of Expectations 244 Handbooks 246 Deep Trends 246 FISITA 247 12.5. Conclusions 248 References 249 Chapter 1 3 Decarbonization: Searching for Radical Alternatives 255 13.1. Introduction: The Importance of Expectations 255 13.2. The End of Oil! In the Early 1920s! 256 Alcohol as Alternative Fuel 256 Developing Countries 258 13.3. The Promise of the Electric Vehicle: A Perpetual Car of Tomorrow? 258 The Failure of the First Generation 259 The Successful Second Generation 261 The Third Generation 263 A Fourth Generation? 263 The Hunt for the ""Miracle Battery"" 265 The Hybrid as Transition Vehicle 266 13.4. Conclusion 267 References 268 Chapter 1 4 Innovation: Production, Diffusion, Use 273 14.1. Introduction: How to Construct Trends? 273 14.2. Diffusion 274 The Logistic Curve 276 Spatial Diffusion 280 Downloaded from SAE International by SAE International [Sales Team], Monday, June 05, 2023 xiv Contents 14.3. Production 281 Fordism and Taylorism versus Sloanism 282 Toyotism 284 14.4. Use 286 14.5. Conclusions 288 References 289 Chapter 1 5 World Mobility: Shifting the Focus 293 15.1. Introduction: The West and the Rest 293 15.2. Road versus Rail: Clashing Mobility Cultures 294 ""Serious"" versus Pleasurable Mobility 296 A City Crisis 296 15.3. Global Urban Mobility: The Case of the Rickshaw 297 Mobility and Poverty 299 15.4. Conclusion: The Rest and the West 302 The Car as an Urban Problem 303 Western versus Eastern Modal Splits 304 References 306 Chapter 1 6 Conclusions 309 Persuasive Technologies 310 Understanding the Evolution of the Car 311 Interdisciplinarity 313 The Super-Archetype of the Car 313 The Pluto Effect, One Last Time 316 References 317 Bibliography 319 Index 335 About the Author 339"