The road to low carbon vehicles

The University of Warwick has been engaged in automotive engineering research for
nearly thirty years and has a widespread reputation as a leader in this sector. Nearly all
of our automotive team, approximately 70 people in total, have worked for commercial
companies within the industry, and this gives us the edge in ensuring joint research and
technology transfer is achieved both efficiently and effectively.
Since 2003, The School of Engineering, incorporating WMG, at The University of Warwick
has attracted over £100m of funding for automotive engineering from a range of sources
including private companies, Advantage West Midlands, the Technology Strategy
Board and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council. This has resulted
in the successful delivery of several major R&D programmes of national importance.
Through our extensive training programmes the expertise we have developed has been
transferred to hundreds of companies regionally and nationally, including several major
vehicle manufacturers.
It is clear that the automotive industry will have to constantly innovate to meet the
technical, commercial and environmental challenges of tomorrow. The global momentum
to develop vehicles with reduced carbon emissions is now growing. This challenge
requires research and development programmes that draw together key pieces of
knowledge from different areas to produce holistic solutions. The University of Warwick
has proven experience in operating in this manner and this brochure highlights our
expertise across a range of themes that will be critical to the design, production and
widespread adoption of the next generation of vehicles.

Join us along this road »

» System Modelling, Simulation & Control

» Energy Sources, Storage, Conversion & Recovery
» Electrical Systems & Power Electronics
» Ancillary Systems
» Intelligent Transport Systems & Data Processing
» New Generation Vehicles & The Environment
» Human Machine Interface, Quality Perception & Driver Behaviour
» Innovative Materials & Manufacturing Processes
The University of Warwick
System Modelling, Simulation & Control
The University of Warwick has extensive expertise in computer
modelling and control engineering. The following are examples of
recent work we have carried out in relation to hybrid-electric vehicles.
The tools developed can be used to assess technical performance as
well as indicate the commercial advantages of hybrid vehicles to public
consumers, fleet operators and manufacturers. The models can be
used at all stages of vehicle development, from concept through to
validation, and their usage considerably reduces timescales.
WARwick Powertrain Simulation Tool for ARchitectures
(WARPSTAR) – this tool was developed in collaboration with over
50 partner companies during the four year £37m PARD programme. It
focuses on hybrid vehicle powertrain simulation to determine which
configuration, or architecture, offers the greatest technical benefits.
It has been actively used for provision of proof of concept, component
sizing and control strategy development by a number of vehicle
manufacturers, each with interests in differing markets.
Prof. Paul Jennings and Dr. Andrew McGordon
Hybrid Vehicle Cost/Benefit Analysis (CBA) framework – this tool
provides detailed whole-life costs, costs per mile, and expected CO2
emissions data for hybrid vehicles. It can be used for individual vehicles
or fleets and is suitable for use by both end-users and manufacturers.
Prof. Paul Jennings and Dr. Andrew McGordon
Device Modelling for Electric/Hybrid Vehicles – the Warwick
team has, in collaboration with Toyota, developed a validated model
to evaluate the effectiveness of different electrical power converter
technologies utilising our expert knowledge of power electronics.
An innovative methodology was used to decouple the parameters
of this complex electro-mechanical-thermal system allowing greatly
accelerated simulation without compromising accuracy.
Prof. Phil Mawby and Dr. Angus Bryant
Multi-domain Modelling – the Warwick team is currently working on
several applications of multi-domain modelling of electro-mechanical
systems, including driveline systems and mechatronic components.
Dr. Peter Jones and Mr. Ross McMurran
The University of Warwick team has considerable expertise in building
complex computer models for simulating dynamic material behaviour.
These validated models have proved themselves to be essential tools
for delivering bottom line value to industry.
03
High Strength Steel and Aluminium Forming Simulation –
for vehicle designers to take full advantage of an increasing number
of new lightweight sheet metals it is important that their behaviour
during manufacture is well understood. The Warwick team has worked
with Jaguar Land Rover and major material suppliers to develop
sophisticated models to predict forming limit curves (FLCs), springback
levels and cosmetic surface defects for a range of new materials.
Prof. Rajat Roy and Mr. David Williams
Product Complexity Modelling – we have developed a suite of tools
that analyse the effects of product variety. These tools are invaluable
when considering the cost implications of developing a range of low
carbon vehicles.
Prof. Rajat Roy and Mr. David Williams
High Speed Material Deformation and Crash Simulation – we have
used state-of-the-art high speed servo-hydraulic equipment to develop
new international testing procedures for gathering data on how
materials behave under extreme loading. This has enabled materials
and joint strength to be characterised in a consistent and effective
way. Results have been used to improve the accuracy of impact
simulation software within the automotive industry, consequently
reducing the amount of highly expensive physical crash testing
required for lightweight vehicles.
Dr. Paul Wood and Dr. Claus Schley
Modelling of Engine Combustion – considerable reductions in
vehicle CO2 emissions are possible by improving traditional IC engines.
Warwick has expertise in the thermofluid modelling of in-cylinder
flow, combustion, emission production and catalytic processes.
Dr. Alireza Vershagh
 04
Energy Sources, Storage, Conversion
& Recovery
The active management of energy in any vehicle is critical to efficient
operation. The University of Warwick is currently expanding its
facilities to enable leading edge research in this area. The multi-million
pound Vehicle Energy Facility will be unique in Europe, and together
with the new power semi-conductor fabrication laboratory will offer
developers of hybrid-electric vehicles unparallelled opportunities for
advanced integrated engineering.
Vehicle Energy Facility (VEF) – comprises: linked dynamometers for
both internal combustion engines and electric machines; a battery
cycler able to simulate different battery chemistries; a Hardware-in-
Loop (HiL) system capable of virtual component and vehicle testing;
control and measurement equipment for electrical and mechanical
power and control strategy development; and emissions monitoring.
Prof. Paul Jennings
Mechanical Hybrid Powertrains – working in collaboration with
industrial partners, the Warwick team has researched the fuel
efficiency of a wide range of hybrid powertrains, with particular focus
on mechanical systems within public service vehicles. The results
from this research have provided a valuable understanding of system
potential to our industrial partners.
Dr. Alireza Vershagh
Electro-mechanical Energy Conversion – the Warwick team
has expertise in the design and optimization of energy converting
machines and drive systems. The tools we use consider the multi-
physical aspects (electrical, thermal, mechanical) of machine design,
and hence the motor/generator architecture of a vehicle can be
optimized for any given application. Furthermore, our techniques can
facilitate advanced integrated modelling of the design of machines and
power electronics.
Dr. Annette Muetze and Dr. Angus Bryant
The road to low carbon vehicles
Electrical Systems & Power Electronics
The University of Warwick possesses world-class expertise in
automotive electrical and electronic system development. Our
extensive range of equipment includes fully integrated ‘Lab Cars’
allowing evaluation of prototype and production vehicles, real-time
simulation platforms, network analysers, low-voltage transient testing
equipment, machine vision systems, diagnostic tools and support
systems. The following examples of work demonstrate our capabilities
in this area:
Software Integration – many of the technologies to deliver reduced
CO2 emissions require a much higher level of interaction between
systems under software control (e.g. Hybrid Electric Drive). In this
context it is vital to have techniques for planning and managing
software delivery and integration to allow the assessment of the
complete system performance to be done at a sufficiently early stage
of a vehicle development programme. These techniques have been
applied within Warwick’s largest partner Jaguar Land Rover and
several of their key suppliers.
Dr. Peter Jones and Mr. Ross McMurran
Evolutionary Validation of Complex Systems (EVOCS) – we have
developed sophisticated tools for validating the design of automotive
electronic systems at a ‘system of systems’ level. Key areas of
development have included: robustness testing (including low voltage),
interaction modelling and analysis, multi-domain physical modelling,
test case generation and coverage, flexible HiL platforms, test
automation, machine vision, and static code analysis.
Dr. Peter Jones and Mr. Ross McMurran
Diagnostics & Condition Monitoring – the Warwick team has
developed a variety of innovative techniques for condition monitoring
and for on-board and off-board diagnostics at component, system and
cross-system levels. A current project with industrial partners Jaguar
Land Rover, IBM and Autotxt is working towards the vision of a ‘self-
healing vehicle’.
Dr. Peter Jones and Mr. Ross McMurran
Integrated Power Control Electric Vehicles (IPCEV) – working in
partnership with Zytek and Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, we
have investigated the impact of emerging technologies on the design
and application of power electronic converters in the field of electric
and hybrid-electric drivetrains.
Prof. Phil Mawby, Dr. Annette Muetze and Dr. Angus Bryant
The University of Warwick
Ancillary Systems
The University of Warwick team has carried out research into
improving the performance of a range of vehicle ancillary systems,
often combining knowledge from different fields including computer
modelling, electronics, hydraulics and materials.
Waste Heat Driven Vehicle Air Conditioning – the team at Warwick
has developed a vehicle air conditioning system driven by engine waste
heat, specifically the coolant circuit. The physical size of the equipment
developed is thirty times more compact than commercially available
units, and offers an estimated vehicle fuel saving of 8%.
Prof. Robert Critoph
Power Boosting of 12V Ancillary Systems – many vehicle
manufacturers are striving to find 12V solutions to cope with the
increasing platform loads from steering, suspension, safety, distributed
power and driver support systems. We have developed a method of
providing a transient high voltage and high current bus to supply the
motor drive stage of an electric power steering system. This could
be utilised in preference to a conventional hydraulic system to gain
fuel consumption efficiencies of up to 5%. Furthermore, the boosting
methodology can be applied across other vehicle ancillary systems
including active suspension.
Prof. Phil Mawby
Intelligent Transport Systems
& Data Processing
ITS System Architecture – the University of Warwick team has played
a key part in recent UK ITS Projects, such as Co-Driver and facITS, and
has been particularly concerned with system design, data processing
and methods for ensuring the integrity of data and systems.
Mr. Ross McMurran
Sustainable Action on Vehicle Energy (SAVE) – we are currently
working with Ove Arup and Partners, Jaguar Land Rover and Froude
Hoffman to research the links between individual driver behaviour and
a prediction of fleet CO2 emissions. The outputs of particular journeys
are expressed in a common unit (energy per person km), enabling
meaningful comparison and evaluation. The linked vehicle and city
data models will be extended to incorporate investigation into the
wider issues associated with hybrid and electric vehicles, such as how
to best account for emissions at a power station when an electric
vehicle is plugged into the grid. Additionally, the project is researching
intelligent vehicle-to-grid energy control that could provide mutual
benefits to both the automotive and energy generation industries.
Prof. Paul Jennings, Dr. Peter Jones and Dr. Andrew McGordon
05
New Generation Vehicles & The Environment
Environmental issues are propelling research in many technical areas.
The Warwick team is leading the way in applying cross-functional
expertise to a number of research projects that stimulate engagement
between the scientific community and the general public. We have also
investigated and advised legislative bodies on the impact of choices
surrounding environmental concerns.
Environmentally Friendly Racing Cars – Warwick has developed and
showcased small racing cars which use natural materials in novel ways
including hemp fibre/plant resin matrix bodywork, biodegradable
plant fuels, cashew nut extract brake pads and potato starch tyres.
Development is currently taking place on a biodiesel powered Formula
3 car, and wider opportunities for routes to market are being explored
with industrial partners.
Dr. Steve Maggs and Dr. Kerry Kirwan
Axon 60: A Structural Carbon Fibre Car with Plug-in Hybrid
Technology – this industry-led project brings together patented
lightweight carbon fibre technology, excellent aerodynamics and
hybrid propulsion. Warwick is contributing its expertise in modelling,
simulation and data gathering to enable appropriate specification,
selection and testing of hardware. Additionally, Warwick is further
developing its cost/benefit analysis tool to quantify the potential
commercial benefits, and provide inputs to a business case.
Prof. Paul Jennings and Dr. Andrew McGordon
Wealth Out of Waste (WOW) – we are working to develop
lightweight and novel products from plant waste by utilising natural
mechanisms in a highly innovative biorefinery. The two-stage process
under development extracts material which potentially could be used
for fuels, polymers, lubricants and adhesives. Discussions are now
taking place with regards to automotive applications for this cutting
edge, environmentally friendly process.
Dr. Kerry Kirwan
Environmental Competence: Vehicle Interior Air Quality –
we have carried out research into detecting and measuring volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from materials within vehicle
interior cabins using state-of-the-art equipment. As polymer usage
within consumer products (in this case motor vehicles) is expected
to increase, the need to control VOC emissions will become critical to
avoid detrimental effects upon human health. Warwick has already
played a leading role in advising governing bodies on legislative
matters in this field.
Dr. Geraint Williams and Dr. Mark Pharaoh
 06
Human Machine Interface,
Quality Perception & Driver Behaviour
The University of Warwick has a world-class reputation for its
pioneering research in this area, particularly with regards to vehicle
interior sound quality. We’ve focused on better understanding the
relationships between the real world and controlled environments.
Vehicle Sound Quality – we have developed novel interactive
methods for investigating and creating the optimum interior sounds
for different vehicle types. Consideration is now also being given to
exterior sounds and how pedestrians will cope with quieter electric or
fuel cell powered cars. Without any sound cues when these cars are
approaching there are obvious dangers for pedestrians unless external
sounds can be artificially added. However, this must not be at the
expense of increasing general levels of annoyance.
Prof. Paul Jennings
APpropriate Product Representations for Assessment In
Structured Evaluations (APPRAISE) – the Warwick team is currently
researching methods for the most effective and efficient means of
capturing the subjective and emotional responses of customers. Key to
this is understanding how ‘perception-forming’ processes vary in different
environments such as real vehicles on the road, in a static vehicle driving
simulator and in a listening laboratory. The results of this ‘experiential’
research will help vehicle manufacturers to produce products that are
viewed most positively by users, by setting targets for engineering
parameters based on the predicted subjective opinions of customers.
Prof. Paul Jennings and Dr. Rebecca Cain
Next Generation Human Machine Interface (HMI) for Intelligent
Vehicles – we are currently researching the relationship between
people, vehicles and the environment. The goal is to develop HMI
solutions that will facilitate efficient and effective driver access to
complex information systems within the vehicles of the future, and
considers the physiological aspects of haptic, gesture and voice
recognition systems.
Dr. Mark Williams, Dr. Alex Attridge, Mr. Matthew Pitts
and Mr. Tom Wellings
Quality Perception – for any new vehicle to be successful, it is vital
that customer expectations of build quality, comfort and refinement
are met. Innovative research in conjunction with nearly 50 companies
has been carried out over the past five years into translating
qualitative metrics into quantitative engineering specifications. This
has utilised equipment including a laser scanner capable of measuring
a full vehicle, a unique switch haptics laboratory, and a real-time
supply chain information database. A new state-of-the-art £7m
‘Product Evaluation Facility’ is currently being commissioned to lead
the next generation of research in this area.
Dr. Mark Williams and Dr. Alex Attridge
The road to low carbon vehicles
Innovative Materials &
Manufacturing Processes
The University of Warwick has built up considerable expertise in the
development and application of new innovative materials, and has an
extensive range of equipment including injection moulding machines
(ranging from 30t to 500t), micro-machining and micro-moulding
machines, blow-moulding machines, extrusion and compounding
machinery. We have state of the art equipment for mechanical and
micro-structural characterisation, including a recently acquired
analytical high resolution scanning electron microscope.
We have carried out extensive research in the area of aluminium
vehicle structures, and have a range of automated equipment for
studying resistance spot welding, self-pierce riveting, cold metal
transfer, friction stir welding, remote laser welding, granular hot melt
adhesives and robotic taping.
Major research areas include:
Polymeric Automotive Body Systems through Dual Injection
Moulding (PABS2K) – research carried out with industrial partners,
including TWI, JCB, Jaguar Land Rover and Lucite International, has
developed a number of different material and processing combinations
for lightweight glazing. This technology can deliver transparent panels,
with the potential to replace windows and sheet metal, which weigh
up to 40% less than equivalents, with considerable associated vehicle
fuel economy improvements.
Prof. Gordon Smith and Dr. Kerry Kirwan
Metal Forming for Advanced Material Applications – this
research, carried out with a number of Tier 1 automotive suppliers,
developed a series of mechanical and forming assessment techniques
to provide designers and manufacturing engineers with information
to facilitate appropriate selection of emerging new lightweight
materials and metal alloys. Facilities available include a sheet metal
tester to generate forming limit curves (FLCs), dedicated tooling for
forming evaluation under a range of different conditions as well as a
comprehensive suite of metallographic preparation and inspection
equipment.
Prof. Gordon Smith and Dr. Geraint Williams
Manufacturing Processes: Advanced Body Joining and Low
Volume/High Flexibility Manufacturing – we have achieved
significant improvements in researching and understanding the
technical issues and capabilities of the following processes when
applied to aluminium sheet material: self-pierce rivets, resistance spot
welding, remote laser welding, friction stir welding, granular hot melt
The University of Warwick
adhesives, cold metal transfer (CMT) and MIG welding. Research has
also been carried out into novel low-cost flexible fixturing and self-
locating panels. The project results are already being utilised within
the main project partners including Jaguar Land Rover, Stadco, Sertec
and CovPress.
Prof. Ken Young, Mr. Richard Hewitt and Dr. Li Han
IN-mould Spray Painting Impact Reduced on the Environment
(INSPIRE) – we have used granular injection technology to develop
a process whereby a product can be moulded and painted during a
single operation. Given that it is estimated that 70% of energy within a
vehicle assembly plant is generated by the paint shop, use of this type
of process could deliver huge cost and energy savings.
Prof. Gordon Smith
One-Step Assembly of SMART Mouldings by Multi-layer
Technology – the team at Warwick is currently working to produce
mouldings that have integrated sensor and responsive capabilities. This
research has major applications in many industries but is significant
in the automotive sector where body panels could include additional
functionality such as electronic sensors, batteries or solar panels
Prof. Gordon Smith
Superplastic Forming of Automotive Body Panels – the new
engineering materials group led by Professor Dashwood has over
50 years combined experience in the superplastic forming of light
alloys. This work has led to the development of novel faster forming
aluminium alloys and a greater understanding of the behaviour of
conventional superplastic aluminium alloys. Current work is concerned
with the development of affordable superplastic magnesium
sheet and the application of friction stir welding to the field of
superplastic forming.
Prof. Richard Dashwood and Dr. Roger Grimes
Much of our research involves rapid prototyping and manufacturing
(RPM). Within Warwick there is a specialist facility capable of
stereolithography, concept modelling, plastic laser sintering, sand laser
sintering, electron beam melting (direct metal parts), 3D printing and a
range of rapid tooling processes.
Dr. Greg Gibbons
07
Major Programmes
The School of Engineering, incorporating WMG, at The University of
Warwick is highly experienced in managing and coordinating major
automotive R&D programmes. These include:
The Premium Automotive Research & Development (PARD)
Programme (2003-2008)
This groundbreaking programme was launched in 2003 with the
aim of developing cutting edge technologies and working practices
within the West Midlands automotive industry. £37m of direct funding
was provided by Advantage West Midlands and this was matched by
contributions from several hundred companies.
The Premium Vehicle Lightweight Technologies (PVLT)
Centre of Excellence (2008-2011)
This £6.4m project is working in partnership with a major vehicle
manufacturer and a number of key supply chain companies to research
and introduce a range of lightweight material and structural solutions,
with a focus on lower CO2 emissions.
The Premium Vehicle Customer Interface Technologies (PVCIT)
Centre of Excellence (2009-2012)
This £4.3m project is working with a group of automotive companies
to research and introduce methods that will facilitate a better
understanding of customer product needs and expectations. It also
seeks to compliment the design and development process through the
use of state-of-the-art measurement and assessment facilities.
Birmingham Science City Project
The Warwick team is working with counterparts at Birmingham
University to develop energy efficient technologies as part of a
£10.6m initiative.
Sharing Our Knowledge
WMG at The University of Warwick is currently running a range of
short courses to facilitate specific automotive technology transfer.
These include: Hybrid Vehicle Technology, Electrical & Electronic
Automotive Engineering, Manufacturing Processes – Advanced Body
Joining, Simulation of Metal Forming & Joining, Building Craftsmanship
into Your Products, Business Process Re-engineering and Material
Emissions.
The Engineering Doctorate Programme
The University of Warwick currently has over 50 Engineering Doctorate
researchers working in collaboration with over 25 companies. The
EngD is the ideal programme for individuals and sponsoring companies
to economically reap the benefits of high quality, focused research.
For all enquiries about brochure content, please contact:
Gavin Bottrell
International Automotive Research Centre
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom
e automotiveresearch@warwick.ac.uk
t +44 (0)24 7657 5978

Gordon Brown and Jack Straw visit WMG at the University of Warwick, May 2007