The acceleration of the engine and the intensification of the working process lead to the maximum gas pressure increase in the cylinder as well as to an increase in the thermal stress of its components. Hence, it is necessary to perform modelling of the heat-stressed-deformed state (HSDS) of the main elements forming the gas joint of the engine. The object of the study is the diesel CHN21/21 cylinder head. In order to increase the reliability and performance of this family of engines, it is necessary to study the heat exchange between the working fluid and the main engine components as well as the calculation of the HSDS of the main engine parts, in particular, the cover of the cylinder. The developed methodology for calculating the HSDS of the cylinder cover allows one to take into account local thermal boundary conditions that increase the accuracy of the calculation. To evaluate the HSDS, a three-dimensional finite element model of the sleeve assembly, the cylinder cover and the block interacting within the gasket location zone has been used. For calculating and direct modeling with the help of finite element methods (FEM) the ANSYS software complex was used. The design grid was generated automatically, and in the stress concentration zones a number of similar calculations were performed with different degrees of the “thickening” of the grid. The parameters of convective heat transfer set on the shell surfaces resulted from ICE program calculation the workflow parameters of which had been obtained earlier from the AVL Fire software package. HSDS calculation of the cylinder cover was carried out taking into account the SDS of the assembly unit mounting loads and considering the tightening force of the power pins and the fuel injector. As a result, equivalent stresses were obtained for all parts of the calculation model.

Dynamics, driving stability and passability of a vehicle can be enhanced with the help of active torque distribution systems along the vehicle axles. The efficiency of such systems, especially in the absence of an interaxle differential, depends mainly on the controlling algorithm of the interaxle multi-plate clutch. When studying the history of systems and algorithms of active torque distribution along the vehicle axles, some problems were identified to have encountered the first developers of those systems in operation. Since that time there appeared many programs for mathematical modeling of physical systems, which allowed testing and debugging of the algorithm developed for a virtual object. The article has been written to demonstrate one of the variants of modeling application as a stage of control algorithms development for technical systems. For this purpose some problem situations which the first developers of active torque distribution systems had encountered were simulated. Then both published and own variants of the problems in question solution were checked. Particular attention was paid to the case of self-oscillation in motion on a slippery surface and the occurrence of vibrations when the vehicle was muffled and stopped after a turn. The paper presents the schemes of simulation models performed in the LMS Amesim computational complex, the results of modeling in the form of graphs, the analysis of results, the analysis of published possible solutions to these problems, as well as the author's solutions.

At present the development of ground vehicles using engine technologies in the automotive industry on the basis of electric drive is actualized to solve the following issues: climate change, improved air quality and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Along with the support of government agencies for the development and implementation of this type of vehicles, incentives and incentive programs for consumers are introduced, which give an understanding that the production of new types of energy saving machinery will also be global. It is known that the main problem of the spreading of such vehicles is directly related to the system of storage and accumulation of electricity necessary for traffic functioning. The article provides an analytical study of the current ways of accumulating and storing energy in modern vehicles and which are used by various automakers to find out the strengths and weaknesses in them. The chemical composition of the most widespread and actually used lithium-ion storage devices in comparison with a traditional type of fuel - gasoline has been considered. The mass of substances involved in obtaining energy was determined by calculation. An analytical comparison of the energy density per kilogram and the actual price of the energy source for today were given according to information provided by distributors of world manufacturers. The carried out analytical research allowed to reveal the most perspective at present types of storage devices taking into account mass, power consumption and cost. Such information is useful in the design of vehicles while developing energy accumulation and storage systems.

A block diagram of an intelligent system has been proposed to determine the supporting surface characteristics during the movement of a tracked machine in real time environment. The possible advantages and disadvantages of the system were indicated and the system was compared to the methods of forecasting traffic conditions, based on database analysis, contactless telemetry, scanning of terrain and other methods. The description of the system blocks was given considering in detail the purpose and interrelationship between the component elements. The requirements for blocks and individual components of the system were specified. The concept of system integration was presented to determine the supporting surface characteristics during the tracked machine transition to an autonomous motion control system. A method was proposed in which the databases were not applied and which was based on the solution of the direct and inverse problems of terrain mechanics with reference to autonomous tracked mobile complexes to calculate the supporting surface properties. Typical examples of various types of soil bases behavior to determine the supporting surface characteristics were taken as the basis for the development of algorithms for the work of the system. Different identity criteria were proposed to test the correspondence of the surface behavior models to its real properties. The analysis of technical problems was carried out, the solution of which was a necessary condition for creating a system for determining the supporting surface characteristics. When provided by the feedback the synthesized system possesses the property of adaptivity. For the functioning of this type of a system it is necessary to develop: 1) a system of sensors that enable to obtain the initial data for a terrain characteristics system in real environments; 2) an apparatus for the verification of the calculated characteristics; 3) the method of obtaining “load-deformation” dependencies for a specific type of the supporting base; 4) the method of assessing the physical properties of the surface by the support base mechanical characteristics.

The article analyzes the requirements for safety belts and child restraints as well as the Russian Federation regulatory documents and the UN Regulations international code regarding the seat belts and child restraints. The types and peculiarities of seat belts usage and child restraints on motor vehicles of categories M1 and M2 (with a maximum permissible weight of up to 3.5 tons) have been considered. The required correlation of mass, height and age parameters of the child for certain types of child restraints is given. It is pointed out that there is a danger of using M2 buses (up to 3.5 tons) not equipped with diagonal-belt seat belts for intercity transportation. The shortcomings of the amended version of Paragraph 22.9 are noted in the Russian Federation Road Traffic Regulations (RF Regulations) with regards to the transportation of children. The amendments which concern the following regulatory documents are suggested: the Russian Federation Road Traffic Regulations with respect to child restraints for the transportation of children; GOST 33552-2015 “Buses for carrying children. Technical requirements and test methods” concerning the alternative change of the backpack belts design using three-point seat belts with a flexible shoulder strap to adjust the upper anchorage point of the seat belt; the Technical regulations of the Customs Union “On the safety of wheeled vehicles” to comply with modern international safety standards. It is proposed to organize a coordinating body responsible for the development of standards ensuring a high level of safety and for the compliance with the rules prescribed by regulatory documents in the field of passenger traffic safety.

The article gives an analytical review of the current state, problems and trends in the development of various technologies for electric and hybrid power drive of vehicles. It is shown that modern vehicles with electric and hybrid power drives are hardly inferior to traditional vehicles with an internal combustion engine (ICE) in high-speed qualities, are far superior in their environmental performance (especially in reducing CO₂ emissions) and energy efficiency indicators, but are costly and have less electric driving reserve. The most efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles are Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV), while the cheapest simplest vehicles are Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV). In recent years, there has been observed a sharp increase in the development pace of BEV and PHEV, though it was restrained by the effect of cost, limited power reserve, insufficient development of charging infrastructure and obtaining electricity from renewable and low-carbon sources. It was shown that accelerated electrification was based, on the one hand, on the rapid improvement of characteristics and the reduction in the cost of the drive (primarily lithium-ion batteries) due to its improvement and development of mass production, and on the other hand, on the growth of the price of advanced ICE. The most activity is demonstrated by the European Union, which plans to cover half of the vehicle market with new electric vehicles by 2030, and which promises to fill the entire market with electric vehicles by 2050. The article gives an analysis of the problems associated with the use of hybrid and electric power drive on passenger vehicles and the trends in its development, as well as offers on the direction of developments in the field of electric power drive for vehicles in Russia.

The life of a modern urban person largely depends on the ecological situation in the city. The ecology of the urban environment is influenced by many factors. A leading position in the emission of pollutants into the environment belongs to the means of transport. The main part of harmful emissions is caused by the toxic substances. In connection with the problem of environmental pollution and depletion of oil fields, there comes a necessity to create and put into operation such engines, which in their parameters will comply with the most modern environmental standards and will be highly efficient. For the purpose of improving environmental safety and fuel efficiency, the use of dual-fuel engines is a promising solution. The working process of a dual-fuel engine differs from the one in a conventional diesel engine. In the dual-fuel engine, most of the fuel in the gaseous state is supplied into the intake manifold and is ignited by a small amount of diesel fuel, called pilot fuel and injected directly into the cylinder. In this article the studies concerning the effect of diesel pilot fuel parameters on the performance of the dualfuel engine performance indicators have been analyzed. Such parameters of the pilot fuel like quantity, injection pressure and injection timing have been investigated. The analysis of the influence of the pilot fuel parameters on the knock process and the analysis of the diesel fuel injector nozzle tip thermal state have been carried out as well. According to the obtained results, the optimal values of the investigated parameters promoting emission decreasing and increasing of fuel efficiency of the dual-fuel engine have been chosen.

The article outlines the retrospective of creating domestic antitoxic devices for automobiles and other machinery equipped with an internal combustion engine (ICE). The works in this direction have been carrying out since the 60s of the last century. They were started at the Laboratory of Neutralization and Problems of Vehicles and Tractors Energy (LANE), which became a structural part of NAMI, as a separate Center “Ecology of vehicles and engines” after numerous reorganizations occurring in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For more than fifty years history of these departments, numerous projects have been implemented to develop neutralizers to support auxiliary devices and complex neutralization systems practically for almost all models of domestic vehicles with gasoline, diesel and gas engines. Highly efficient and economical monolithic catalysts on a metal basis were synthesized, the technologies for their manufacture were created and organized the pilot production of antitoxic systems that met the requirements of the automotive industry and satisfied environmental standards - from the requirements of the first domestic GOSTs to modern and promising EURO-5 and EURO-6 standards. Among the users of the FSUE “NAMI” developments a number of foreign companies should be mentioned: from Japan, Italy and Portugal, where diesel forklifts were equipped with the neutralizers H-13 and H-32 and which were also supplied for serial motor vehicles. The work of the Center was repeatedly marked and exhibited at international conferences and exhibitions and the Center received awards at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, the Geneva Salon “Eureka” and other exhibitions.