On 16–17 October 2024, the annual International Automobile Scientific Forum (IASF-2024) Russian Federation Automotive Industry Scientific and Technological Development was held. The event format assumed both offline and online participation. During the Forum, the participants discussed the issues of intensification of scientific research in furtherance of the updated Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation, introduction of modern technologies in urban transport, development of educational environment in the field of innovative vehicles, etc. Within the Forum, an exhibition of technical achievements of FSUE “NAMI”, higher education institutions and manufacturers of automotive vehicles and components was held dedicated to competitiveness of the Russian automotive industry. Components of electric, hybrid and intelligent vehicles, electronic control units, assemblies and aggregates of powertrains, electric vehicles, and hybrid vehicles with additional power sources were presented. The Forum also featured a contest with two categories, namely the “Best Student Scientific Paper” and “Best Graduate Student and Young Specialist Scientific Paper”.

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). The paper deals with the area of electric drive application in vehicles in the Russian Federation and analyzes their development trends in the advanced countries witnessing the greatest progress in this area. It provides energy efficiency characteristics of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, as well as their sales trends in the advanced European countries. The paper also considers environmental and energy issues of electric vehicle use in Moscow.

The purpose of the study is to justify efficiency of use of electric vehicles in Moscow as well as to analyze the electric vehicle development in the advanced European countries.

Methodology and research methods. Analysis of information about application of the electric drive in vehicles and comparative computational and experimental evaluation of efficiency of use of electric vehicles relative to traditional vehicles within the UN urban driving cycle.

Results. Energy efficiency characteristics of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids as well as electric vehicle sales trends taking into account the cost of power in different countries were analyzed. The energy efficiency calculation for the use of electric vehicles in Russia showed that in summer the consumed power ratio between the traditional vehicle with a gasoline internal combustion engine and the electric vehicle amounts to 5.2. In winter, this ratio amounts to 2.5. Experimental evaluation of power consumption for operation of the electric vehicle HVAC system was performed. The analysis of electric vehicle development in the advanced European countries has shown that the electric vehicle sales depend on the power cost.

Practical significance. The analysis and computational and experimental research performed by the authors have shown that the solution to the issue of strong atmospheric air pollution with hazardous emissions in Moscow will largely depend on the use of electric vehicles with environmentally friendly and energy-efficient powertrains.

This is the final part of the research “On fuel and deposits”. It is dedicated to some aspects of the issue of deposits in diesel engines. The study considered physical models of the mechanism of formation of EDID (external deposits) and IDID (internal deposits) on the outer surface and inside the tip of the spray nozzle. It also describes methods for determination of diesel fuel tendency to deposition and for assessment of efficiency of fuel additives for deposit control.

 Introduction (problem statement and relevance). Conversion of a reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) in order to use new fuels is accompanied by changes in power, economic and environmental characteristics. In the traditional approach when engine operating cycle calculating, the quantitative evaluation of influence of changes in the type and chemical composition of the fuel being used on power and economic parameters turns out to be difficult.

 The purpose of the study is to obtain analytical dependencies for the quantitative evaluation of influence of chemical compositions of fuels – gases, alcohols and simple ethers – on charge and indicator parameters of the RICE operating cycle.

Methodology and research methods included thermodynamic analysis of gas exchange processes based on the ratios of partial or fractional volumes of the air-fuel mixture components.

Scientific novelty and results consist in the dependencies for taking into account the influence of chemical compositions and mixture formation methods on the engine power and economic parameters.

Practical significance consists in the quantitative evaluation of expected changes in the engine parameters when designing the engine or in case of conversion to a different type of fuel.

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). Industrial and, in particular, automotive design are effective tools in positioning a product in the market and drawing purchaser’s attention. That is why it is vital to seek and test new methods and means aimed at enhancing designer capacities, improving the quality of their work results, reducing the development time and costs. One of the promising focus areas to improve the design process is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. This raises the task of studying the world’s best practices in this area.

The purpose of the study is to determine the possibilities, development trends and prospects of application of AI technology when vehicle styling design developing and their practical application testing.

Methodology and research methods. Methods of analysis and systematization of results of research works in the area of application of AI technology in design have been used; an experiment on their practical application has been conducted.

Scientific novelty and results. An analytical review of research works on development, testing and application of algorithms, trainable models of systems and software programs using AI technology in vehicle designing has been carried out. Systems with machine learning tools ensuring generation of realistic images of vehicles and their components, creation and testing of styling design according to the set aesthetic and engineering criteria, assessment of the degree of similarity of the designs, software programs with integrated CAD/CAE systems have been reviewed. Results of testing of the process of creation of vehicle render images with the use of AI-powered software Vizcom have been presented.

Practical significance. Application of AI technology in vehicle styling design ensures faster search for design ideas, higher quality of images received, and extended possibilities of variable presentation of the initial design concept.

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). The braking system in a vehicle plays an extremely important role. Modern braking system technologies have been constantly improved throughout the history of the automotive industry development. Today, anti-lock braking system (ABS) are widely used and are standard for motor vehicles around the world. Methods to control the braking system in order to optimize the braking process efficiency have been studied by many scientists. This article investigates and develops a simulation model using digital technologies for evaluation of the braking system efficiency applying a number of different control methods.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the ABS efficiency when using different control methods by means of a number of operation efficiency evaluation indicators: braking time, braking distance, etc. The article represents three different control methods along with a detailed evaluation and selection of the most efficient one.

Methodology and research methods. The methods used in this study are based on the fundamental principles of the vehicle theory. The braking system characteristics are analyzed in detail in four ABS-related cases by means of development and application of two control algorithms: PID control and fuzzy logic.

Scientific novelty and results. The research results for the four cases show that the efficiency of the braking system when using the PID control method with the braking distance criterion has better results – 27.59% – compared to a braking system without ABS. The PID control method considered in the article gives the best results when studying braking systems with ABS on vehicles.

Practical significance. The results are based on application of different control methods in order to make optimal decisions to improve the efficiency of vehicle braking system use with a view to increase the vehicle safety level.

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). Today, electric buses are used as one of the main transport means on the routes of Moscow. It has been found that operation of electric buses significantly differs from operation of conventional buses equipped with an internal combustion engine. In this regard the need to define the initial data in terms of the electric bus speed on the route, power supplied and torque distribution per unit of time on the transmission shafts determining operational loading modes of the electromechanical transmission gear, remains a pressing issue. Thus, it is necessary to perform a comprehensive mode-metering of the transmission as the examined vehicle drives the city routes.

The purpose of the study is to form initial data for determination of the load mode parameters of the transmission being developed or examined.

Methodology and research methods. The proposed method of forming the initial data consists in reading the information coming to the electronic unit of wireless message transmission via the Controller Area Network protocol (CAN messages) along with the functions of collecting telematics information with further processing to represent it in the form of graphs of distribution of torque and speed over time.

Scientific novelty and results. The mode-metering of loading of an electromechanical transmission of urban wheeled electric transport when driving on the route, using the Controller Area Network bus embedded in the vehicle, allowed obtaining a set of data on distribution of vehicle speed and torque occurring in the transmission over time.

Practical significance. The developed method of mode-metering of electromechanical transmissions of urban wheeled electric transport can be applied in analysis of transmission durability on various electric bus routes in Moscow while excluding creation of expensive specialized measuring complexes.

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). The main issue of environmental safety of the country is air pollution on heavily trafficked highways and, respectively, in the interior space of vehicles. Studying of toxic effects of nitrogen oxides NO, NO₂ on a human body is related to the fact that they are one of the main components of vehicle exhaust gases.

The purpose of the studies is to define the nitrogen oxide content in the environment and interior space of the vehicles under test with different engine types throughout the spring–summer–autumn seasons when driving along the developed route under the conditions of heavy traffic flows, and to determine the factors influencing the increased content of nitrogen oxides in the interior space of vehicles with different engine types.

Methodology and research methods. The studies were carried out according to the specially developed and approved procedure throughout the spring – summer – autumn seasons.

Scientific novelty and results. The results of the studies were used at the stage of development of a test method for assessment of vehicle interior air purification systems efficiency within the framework of UNECE Inland Transport Committee activities.

Practical significance. Based on the conducted studies, a conclusion was made on the necessity to include nitrogen oxide NO into the list of pollutants to be limited in the European standard under development.

Introduction (problem statement and relevance). The development of modern automotive leads to the need for widespread use of combined welded joints made of dissimilar steels. An example of such a design is the crankcase of the drive axle of the truck. The main difficulty in the production of crank cases is to obtain a high-quality welded joint of pearlitic dissimilar steels, the probability of hot and cold cracks. For obtain a welded joint used a method of arc welding with a melting electrode in a protective gas. The main disadvantage of this method is the preheating and post-thermal treatment. Is a substantiated that the required quality of the welded joint can be obtained without preheating and post-thermal treatment. In the article presents the results of the computational analysis and practical studies of the properties of the welded joint.

The purpose of the study is to improvement of the technology of arc welding by melting in a protective gas environment of pearlitic dissimilar steels.

Methodology and research methods. Analytical research method: analysis of the scientific literature, technical documentation, calculation method for predicting the properties of a welded joint. Practical studies of the structure and hardness of the welded joint.

Scientific novelty and results. Alloying the weld seam with chromium and molybdenum in combination with the proposed technological recommendations contributes to the binding of carbon into carbides. Reducing the carbon content of ferrite reduces the likelihood of structures of high hardness. This allow to the refuse the preheating and post-thermal treatment of the welded joint.

Practical significance. Have been developed and confirmed by the results of research the technological recommendations for obtaining a high-quality welded joint of pearlitic dissimilar steels without preheating and post-thermal treatment.

The paper contains materials from the first studies of the problem of urban air pollution caused by vehicle operation to the United Nations (UN) Regulations being developed over the last 70 years. It also analyzes the materials of studies by NAMI experts, who significantly contributed to the issue of reducing urban air pollution during vehicle operation.