Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences was first conceived, published, and disseminated by the Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis (CINDAS)* at Purdue University in 1957, starting its coverage of theses with the academic year 1955. Beginning with Volume 13, the printing and dis semination phases of the activity were transferred to University Microfilms/Xerox of Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the thought that such an arrangement would be more beneficial to the academic and general scientific and technical community. After five years of this joint undertaking we had concluded that it was in the interest of all concerned if the printing and distribution of the volumes were handled by an international publishing house to assure improved service and broader dissemination. Hence, starting with Volume 18, Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences has been disseminated on a worldwide basis by Plenum Publishing Corporation of New York, and in the same year the coverage was broadened to include Canadian universities. All back issues can also be ordered from Plenum. We have reported in Volume 39 (thesis year 1994) a total of 13,953 thesis titles from 21 Canadian and 159 United States universities. We are sure that this broader base for these titles reported will greatly enhance the value of this impor tant annual reference work. While Volume 39 reports theses submitted in 1994, on occasion, certain uni versities do report theses submitted in previous years but not reported at the time.

The International Conference on Mechanical Design and Production has over the years established itself as an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas in these established fields. The first of these conferences was held in 1979. The seventh, and most recent, conference in the series was held in Cairo during February 15-17, 2000. International engineers and scientists gathered to exchange experiences and highlight the state-of-the-art research in the fields of mechanical design and production. In addition a heavy emphasis was placed on the issue of technology transfer. Over 100 papers were accepted for presentation at the conference. Current Advances in Mechanical Design & Production VII does not, however, attempt to publish the complete work presented but instead offers a sample that represents the quality and breadth of both the work and the conference. Ten invited papers and 54 ordinary papers have been selected for inclusion in these proceedings. They cover a range of basic and applied topics that can be classified into six main categories: System Dynamics, Solid Mechanics, Material Science, Manufacturing Processes, Design and Tribology, and Industrial Engineering and its Applications.

This book describes the procedures of developing an adaptive suspension system with examples. This book gives a thorough introduction to air suspension systems, which contain height leveling systems, electronic control systems, design fundamentals, performance superiority, etc. This book encompasses all essential aspects of suspension systems and provides an easy approach to their understanding and design. Provides a step-by-step approach using pictures, graphs, tables, and examples so that the reader may easily grasp difficult concepts. This book defines and examines suspension mechanisms and their geometrical features. Suspension motions and ride models are derived for the study of vehicle ride comfort. Analysis of suspension design factors and component sizing along with air suspension systems and their functionalities are reviewed.

This second volume is a compilation of 43 articles representing the scientific and technical advances in various aspects of system dynamics, instrumentation, measurement techniques, simulation and controls, which would serve as an important resource in the field. The articles represent state-of-the-art contributions in the fields of dynamics and control of nonlinear, hybrid and stochastic systems; nonlinear control theory; and adaptive, model predictive and real-time controls with applications involving fault diagnostics, manufacturing systems, vehicular dynamics, simulator designs, smart actuators, etc.

Suspensions play a crucial role in vehicle comfort and stability. Different types of suspensions have been proposed to fulfill the essential characteristics of vehicle suspensions. A semi-active suspension with adjustable damper improves the performance of a suspension in different conditions and it is better than a passive suspension in terms of ride comfort and handling. Furthermore, it is not as expensive and complicated as an active suspension. Semi-active suspensions rely on adjustable damping coefficient. A new type of air suspension with independent ride height and stiffness tuning has been developed recently. By using two air chambers in the suspension system, ride height of vehicle and stiffness of suspension can be adjusted independently and simultaneously. The conventional air suspension systems use compressor to pump the air into a single flexible rubber airbag and by inflating the air, the chassis will be raised from the axle (ride height control). In this type of suspensions, the stiffness of spring is not under control. In the new air suspension system, by controlling the air pressure on both chambers, one can tune the suspension stiffness and the ride height of the vehicle at the same time for different driving conditions. The air suspension is also able to maintain the vehicle body at the same height and natural frequency for different load or number of passengers. This thesis discusses about the design analysis of an air suspension with ride height and stiffness tuning. The analytical formulation is developed for the optimum design of the new air suspension system. In this thesis, the interconnection between the pressurized chambers of the new air suspension with ride height and stiffness tuning is studied to further improve the performance. Proper interconnection of air springs can help the suspension system to distribute the load between tires more evenly on rough roads or uneven surfaces. Different configurations in air spring interconnection have different impact on the handling and tire load distribution. To study the effect of air spring interconnection configurations on tires load distribution and vehicle handling, a general mathematical model is developed. This model is used to compare various configurations in detail. Results show that interconnection could improve tire load distributions greatly. It is also shown that improving tire load distribution will deteriorate roll stiffness that in turn deteriorate vehicle handling at higher speeds. Since on rough roads, vehicle's speed is necessarily low, interconnection will not have adverse effects on vehicle handling when activated.

A concise reference that provides an overview of the design of high speed off-road vehicles High Speed Off-Road Vehicles is an excellent, in-depth review of vehicle performance in off-road conditions with a focus on key elements of the running gear systems of vehicles. In particular, elements such as suspension systems, wheels, tyres, and tracks are addressed in-depth. It is a well-written text that provides a pragmatic discussion of off-road vehicles from both a historical and analytical perspective. Some of the unique topics addressed in this book include link and flexible tracks, ride performance of tracked vehicles, and active and semi-active suspension systems for both armoured and unarmoured vehicles. The book provides spreadsheet-based analytic approaches to model these topic areas giving insight into steering, handling, and overall performance of both tracked and wheeled systems. The author further extends these analyses to soft soil scenarios and thoroughly addresses rollover situations. The text also provides some insight into more advanced articulated systems. High Speed Off-Road Vehicles: Suspensions, Tracks, Wheels and Dynamics provides valuable coverage of: Tracked and wheeled vehicles Suspension component design and characteristics, vehicle ride performance, link track component design and characteristics, flexible track, and testing of active suspension test vehicles General vehicle configurations for combat and logistic vehicles, suspension performance modelling and measurement, steering performance, and the effects of limited slip differentials on the soft soil traction and steering behavior of vehicles Written from a very practical perspective, and based on the author’s extensive experience, High Speed Off-Road Vehicles provides an excellent introduction to off-road vehicles and will be a helpful reference text for those practicing design and analysis of such systems.