Delphi Automotive Systems Research Articles

Methodology to develop a geometric modeling process according to collaborative constraints

A product design goes through a Digital Mock-Up which is based on the product geometric model. This latter has an important role in the design project whose exploitation mainly depends on how it has been established (DELPHI Automotive Systems, Delphi met á plat ses arborescences, CADReport no. 192, février, 2004). Furthermore, the growing competitive context hardly encourages firms to implement new working methods like collaborative engineering. However, its implementation in combination with product geometric data generates many problems in terms of project and data management. For this purpose, this article proposes a methodological solution to the problem at hand. Moreover the problem gets complicated as the project progresses. As a result, the detailed design phase becomes critical particularly in the face of this problem. Therefore, the current article focuses on this phase of the product design process through an example.

Leveraging Technological Capabilities across Polarized Cultures: Shanghai Delco Electronics Limited

Rallying its units for an impending spin-off from General Motors, the Delphi Automotive Systems division cleared the Delphi Delco Electronics (Delphi-D) unit to begin planning for entry into China in 1994. Delphi saw China as ideal for leveraging its technological and innovation capabilities as well as the enormous General Motor heritage and reputation from years of experience delivering quality products to the automotive industry. Delphi-D found a perfect partner in Shanghai Changjiang YiBiao Factory (SCY) (name disguised to protect the firms) that held nearly 50% of the Chinese automobile instrument cluster market. SCY was keen on acquiring new technology to meet increasingly sophisticated customer demands in order to retain market lead as well as to tap into the international market. After rounds of negotiation the two firms formed a fifty-fifty joint venture, Shanghai Delco Electronics Ltd. (SDE) in August 1996. However, SDE started experiencing problems almost immediately. The Delphi-D team at SDE assumed their SCY counterparts would willingly integrate proposed technology and the requisite processes at the joint venture. However, the SCY team resisted prescriptions from the Delphi-D team that they sometimes perceived as "haughty". Broiled in culturally-loaded misunderstanding in a market that was becoming complex by the day as the government legislated new regulations and other manufacturers jostled for a piece of the market, SDE's management sought focus by developing a five-year plan that captured the partners' goals in 1998. However, as the end of 2002 approached, SDE's five-year plan remained largely unrealized. This case shows how implementation challenges can affect the realization of joint venture objectives and illustrates specific challenges that can mar even a well-formulated technology intensive international joint venture strategy.

Delphi to test use of gasified coal in SOFC

Michigan-based Delphi Automotive Systems plans to test the feasibility of powering its Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Generation-2 SOFC using gaseous fuel extracted from coal. The demonstration was expected to take place at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) coal-gasification plant in Wilsonville, Alabama in June. Visit www.re-focus.net for the latest renewable energy industry news

Engine oil condition sensor: method for establishing correlation with total acid number

The engine oil condition sensor, invented at Delphi Automotive Systems, has the capability of detecting three oil degradation stages: good, rapid total acid number (TAN) increase, and rapid viscosity increase. During the second stage, the sensor output is expected to increase proportionally with TAN. In earlier experiments, the sensor output was compared to TAN obtained by a widely accepted titration method. The results suggested that the correlation between TAN and the sensor output could be improved if data scatter originated from the titration method is reduced. Therefore, a complementary method for determining TAN with less data scatter is highly desirable. In this report, the original assessment is confirmed by measuring TAN through both the titration and the electrochemical (EC) methods. The experimental results indicated that the TAN measured by the EC method could be complementary to that measured by the titration method. A good correlation was thus, established between the TAN and the sensor output obtained during the second oil degradation stage.

Rapid prototyping for direct manufacture

Introduces the concept of using technologies collectively known as rapid prototyping (RP) for the manufacture of end‐use products rather than prototypes, and presents recent examples. Gives details of a cost analysis performed by De Montfort University and Delphi Automotive Systems (France). Discusses the findings from the cost analysis along with opinions generated from an Internet based conference held from November 2000 to January 2001. The combination of findings from the cost analysis with expert opinions generated by the Internet conference have helped to identify the potential future for rapid manufacturing. In particular covers the issues of material properties, quality control and identification of suitable products.

MORE DOE FUNDS FOR FUEL CELLS

FOUR INDUSTRIAL TEAMS WERE selected last week by the Department of Energy to take part in a 10-year, $500 million program to develop better ways to manufacture cheaper and commercially acceptable solid oxide fuel cells. They are Honeywell, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., Delphi Automotive Systems and Battelle, and Cummins Power Generation and McDermott Technology Inc. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are just one of several fuel-cell technologies that enjoy DOE support because of their commercial potential, department officials say. SOFC's particular application has been to higher power operations, such as industrial or largescale central electricity generating stations. According to DOE officials, SOFCs have the advantage of being able to readily use fossil fuels as a source of hydrogen, and of running at high temperatures (1,500 °F), which could be used to provide heat for industrial applications. The 10-year goal of the new DOE programs is to cut capital costs to ...

Low-Cost Modular SOFC System Development at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing technologies for low-cost modular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems to accelerate the development of such systems for stationary, mobile and military applications. This work is being pursued with funding from several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) programs, including the Solid State Energy Conversion (SECA) Core Technology Program, the Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR&TD) Program, and a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Delphi Automotive Systems. Experimental and modeling studies are being conducted on a number of important challenges, including low-cost materials and fabrication processes, seal and interconnect stability, cell and stack designs, rapid system startup, thermal cyclability, and long lifetime. This paper summarizes the progress made in these investigations.

The Network Vehicle-a glimpse into the future of mobile multi-media

The Network Vehicle is the Delphi Automotive Systems' vision for the future convergence of computers, the communications infrastructure, and the automobile. It features many advanced functions such as: satellite video, Internet access, virtual navigation, remote vehicle diagnostics and control, games, mobile office, automotive web site, and customized real-time stock quotes and sports scores. These features are enabled by an integrated planar antenna that is capable of multiple satellite reception, a client-server network architecture, and unique human-vehicle-interfaces such as color reconfigurable head-up and head-down displays, steering wheel controls, voice recognition, text-to-speech, and large touch screen active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The software applications are written in Java, using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to reduce the complexity and cost of the source code.

Testing and evaluation of composite iron powder : D.Gay. (Delphi Automotive Systems, USA.)

Testing and evaluation of composite iron powder : D.Gay. (Delphi Automotive Systems, USA.)

High performance microencapsulated powders for PM applications: D.E. Gay (Delphi Automotive Systems — GMC, Indianapolis, USA). Int. J. Powder Metall., vol 32, no 1, 1996, 13–25

High performance microencapsulated powders for PM applications: D.E. Gay (Delphi Automotive Systems — GMC, Indianapolis, USA). Int. J. Powder Metall., vol 32, no 1, 1996, 13–25