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Ricardo fights NVH

UK automotive engineering consultancy Ricardo has opened a new NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) test analysis and development center at its Shoreham facility in the south of England. The Refinement Center, as it is called, employs over 50 specialist engineers, a figure likely to grow to about 70.

According to Ricardo Chief Executive, Rodney Westhead, vehicle refinement has become an increasingly important differentiator for manufacturers and their products. The new center includes a multi-media room for subjective assessment of improvements in vehicle noise characteristics and a data processing area that includes engineering workstations running both Ricardo and proprietary software for noise and vibration data analysis and simulation. Ricardo also has a vehicle acoustic facility at Shoreham.

Stuart Birch

Clutch-pedalless transmission for Toyota's MR-2 Spyder

When Toyota's long-awaited resurrection of the original MR-2 mid-engine, lightweight sports car, the MR-S concept, appeared in the auto show circuit a couple of years ago, it featured an interesting clutch-pedalless mechanical transmission that was shifted sequentially by rowing the lever fore and aft. The production MR-2 Spyder did not have this feature when it hit the showroom floor. It was trapped in the Toyota-city engineering sanctum, still undergoing rigorous endurance testing procedures.

Toyota offers an electronically controlled, hydraulically actuated, sequentially shifting
mechanical transmission in the MR-S sports car.

Now, the sequential manual transmission is available, initially reserved for the Japanese market MR-S (a.k.a. MR-2 Spyder). The transmission is based on the C56 five-speed unit and is given the suffix M to differentiate it from the manually clutched and shifted unit. The transmission is controlled by a computer that works with the engine-management unit to gather signals from various sensors and switches. It hydraulically operates the clutch and selects shifts gears. The short shift lever that moves in the fore/minus-and-aft/plus gate is actually an electric switching device, sending signals to the transmission's computer. The selected gear is displayed in a small LCD window in the tachometer.

The hydraulic actuator unit and
reservoir are mounted atop the
transmission.

Another Toyota car that offers a manually shifted, clutch-pedalless transmission is the Yaris mini for Europe (the U.S. Echo is a four-door sedan version on the same platform). In this application, the mechanically linked shift lever operates in the familiar H-and-a-leg pattern. Fuel efficient and unobtrusive as it may be, the Japanese would not want it in anything but sports or sporty cars. Transmissions of this type will likely remain the property of the MR-2 Spyder and a few Alfa-Romeos.

Jack Yamaguchi

PSA and Renault's fuel-cell answer

French automakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault announced that they have teamed to encourage mobility by developing "clean" vehicles. The projects "Hydro-gen" for PSA and "Fever" for Renault have enabled both companies to acquire valuable experience on fuel cells and the storage of hydrogen on board vehicles.

The zero-emissions long-range experimental demonstrator based on a Renault Laguna Nevada was a result of Renault's Fever program.

Research into the development of a fuel-cell-powered vehicle in France was spawned and approved by the Fuel-Cell Technology Network, set up in June 1999 by the French Ministry of Education, Research, and Technology, to speed up research on the commercially viable fuel cells. In a continuation of the Hydro-gen and Fever programs, PSA and Renault, respectively, are collaborating on a four-year research program to determine the conditions for feasibility and competitiveness for mass production of a fuel-cell powered vehicle by 2010.

To achieve the above objectives, the two companies have linked up with CEA and its academic partners, Air Liquide and De Nora, for development of the fuel-cell system. Air Liquide, Elf, and Total will be responsible for the fuel supply and the reforming process, while Air Liquide and Valeo will handle the energy transfer and fluid systems.

This program includes three successive phases, subject to reaching various milestones. The first stage will consist of an economic, environmental, and technological viability study lasting one year that will evaluate possible approaches for the various parts of the car, including fuel cell, reformer, and type of fuel. A second two-year stage will then study the processes and validate the technologies used. Finally, a third stage will consist of small-scale production of prototypes. The budget for the viability study has been valued at over $5 million, of which 30% will be financed by the Ministry of Education, Research, and Technology.

Schematic of PSA's incorporation of a fuel cell in
a vehicle via the Hydro-gen program.

For the two French automakers, this fuel-cell program is a continuation of work already carried out within the framework of the European Fever and Hydro-gen programs. Started in 1994 by Renault and five European partners, the Fever project gave rise to an experimental, long-range zero-emissions demonstrator based on the Renault Laguna Nevada. The project was essentially aimed at acquiring knowledge on the integration and use of fuel cells in cars. The program ended in June 1998 with the presentation of the demonstrator to the European Commission. This zero-emissions fuel-cell vehicle had a 400-km (250-mi) range.

For its part, PSA has researched within the framework of the Hydro-gen program the onboard integration of fuel cells running on hydrogen stored as a gas in high-pressure reservoirs. This research should, before the end of the year, lead to the presentation of a demonstrator based on a Peugeot Partner fitted with a 30-kW (40-hp) fuel cell that gives a performance comparable with the corresponding diesel engine that powered the Partner.

Jean L. Broge

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